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degreed musicians from Piedmont Bible College.
His brother Chris earned a degree from Sandhills
in percussion. Music has always resonated with
Boswell; his first memorable experience in
music began with Johnny Cash. Boswell smiles,
“Johnny Cash live in concert in Cherokee, NC.
Cash was singing with Buck Owens, and yes, he
was wearing black! I was about ten years old,
and the environment inspired me!”
Inspiring others, Boswell keeps clients and
locals current on happening events via social
media with Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
accounts. Facebook, however, remains the event
launcher. With so much going on at Mechanics
Hill, I ask Boswell about his inspiration. He
slows, “I don’t know. I just wake up every
morning wanting to do this!” Pretty much, his
grandson Evan tops the list of favorites, and in
looking back over life, Boswell wouldn’t change
a thing including the good with the bad.
For a little inspiration of your own, take a
drive to Robbins, grab a donut a few doors down
on Middleton, and get to know Mechanics Hill
Marketing. From marketing to music, from
Songwriters to Gunfighters, the innovation
center at Mechanics Hill will without a doubt
inspire your soul! ☐ mechanicshill.com
By L.S. Crain, S.Pines resident 1989-2017,
now lives in Taylors, SC, his birthplace.
shared his gift with the eager gathering at
Mechanics Hill. Throughout the seminar, IRKO
answers the questions of budding musicians,
gives insight on the music industry, and offers
examples from his personal repertoire.
From his remarkable resume, and of course
his trademark bow ties, IRKO remains an
engaging, inspiring brilliant master of the trade.
All who attended the seminar truly left a better
person from having shared the day with IRKO.
IRKO answers my wonderings...
What are the foreseeable trends in
music? Currently, there is a lot of mixing of
genres in music; I feel at some point there may
be no genres. Even country music nowadays
sounds like whatever is charting on iTunes.
Right? This can be a good thing or not, but I
do like whenever communication and cultures
come together. I am all for that. I like the crosspollinating
of different genres.
Who inspired your journey? Several
mixing engineers who nobody really knows
besides the people who are behind the scenes.
Dr. Dre is probably one of my biggest influences.
Soon enough, I will meet the guy, and I will bow
down like in Wayne’s World, like I’m not worthy.
From Italy to America? I literally got on a
plane and came to New York knowing literally
two people in the whole country. Really! And I
flew back home three weeks later with a double
platinum award for working with Jay Z. It was “a
welcome to America moment!” I say that like it’s
a miracle, but it took me ten years to get to that
point. I literally just showed up like, “I’m here.”
What does a normal day look like? I
wake up; I work out; and start working in the
studio around 10:00 until maybe 5:00 or 6:00. I
normally work alone, do my stuff, and then send
it off to whoever has control of the records such
as the producers, artists, labels, managers, and
wait for their feedback. The communication
with clients is very important because it is their
baby that I’m working with, and I have to make
sure they walk away with what they want.
What is the process? Once the artist sends
me a session, then I work at the mixer which
basically sends out the signal into all these
different faders. I will have the whole song with
the guitar here, the bass here, the vocal here,
the trumpet here, etc. I balance the different
parts and make it perfect. To give you a visual
parallel—it’s like the magazine ad where you
have the super model who is gorgeous before
Photoshop, right? But after Photoshop, she’s
perfect. I do that for audio. Artists send me their
music; it’s already great; but I make it perfect.
Favorite instrument? The mixer is my
favorite. I get to play any instrument, at my
disposal, from my fingertips with the mixer.
Favorite part of your job? When I wrap
up the mix! When it’s all finished, and I finally
get to listen to the final piece as it’s going to be
presented to the whole world, and I’m the first
one to hear it months ahead of time. You see,
when I’m working on a record, it will come out
on the radio maybe six to eight months later,
sometimes even longer than that.
How many years have you been mixing?
Over 20 years.
What did you want to be when you were
a little boy? I didn’t know what I wanted to be.
But I remember my family came to America in
1987, when I was seven years old, and my mom
says that I kept repeating, “I’m going to live in
America one day.”
Big family or little family? Small. Just
me and my brother, mom and dad. I’m from
the north east of Italy, so we don’t have the big
family like you would picture in movies; that’s
more of a southern thing.
How would you finish this sentence?
Music is— Life. Absolutely! It’s amazing. Music
has literally taken me around the world, you
know? Music has given me a whole new life and
new life experiences.
Do you have an inspirational quotation?
Every child is an artist. I don’t remember who
said it, but I love that quotation.
Most important advice you’ve been
given? To find my niche. To find what I was
good at and to go for it. Also to not waste time
and energy in other things that would dilute the
brand for the person.
Most important advice you give? Never
give up; always keep going. Things will happen
if you attract them, and if give good positive
energy, then you will receive it in return.☐
Check out irko.it.
IRKO
Music is a moral law. It gives
soul to the universe, wings to the mind,
flight to the imagination, and charm
and gaiety to life and to everything.
~Plato
p.34 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. No. 134
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