Today we’d like to introduce you to Bruce Bang.
Bruce, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Born and raised in Houston, TX. Graduate of Dobie High School in 1995. Went to University of Houston for one year before settling at San jacinto College Central and obtaining my AAS in Music Business, Audio Engineering in 2001. I was around music from an early age, taking piano lessons in elementary school and being around my father who played guitar and was in a band. Later I played saxophone and was dj’ing parties in high school. I got my first synthesizer to make beats just after high school and never turned back.
I got my first studio internship at Southern Fried Entertainment in Stafford, TX working under a few platinum producers Marlin Demby, Crazy C, and Joseph Hearnes who had worked with a lot of major artists from Ice Cube, UGK, Geto Boys, etc. They taught me the ropes on music production and with all the analog gear, and since I was in school for audio engineering, I was updating them about the new recording techniques we learned in school using computers. This was around the time analog and digital tape was transitioning into recording with the current standard Pro Tools.
In the early 2000’s under Southern Fried Entertainment, I got my first production placements working on Paul Wall & Chamillionaire’s “Get Ya Mind Correct” I produced a song called “Falsifyin” on. The album peaked at #67 on the BillboardTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and nominated for Indie Album of the Year in The Source magazine. I also worked on Big H.A.W.K. ‘s album “HAWK’ and produced a song called “What You Boys Know”. Fast forward thru the decade I was a freelance engineer/producer at several studios in Houston and worked with a lot of legendary Houston artists including Kelly Rowland, Screwed up Click members Z-Ro, Lil Flip, Lil O, Big Pokey, Yungstar, and ESG, I befriended and worked with a lot of artists that switched to other prominent roles in the industry today like Kiotti, Madd Hatta, Michael 5000 Watts, GT Mayne, Dj Hi-C who currently are a big part of Hip Hop Radio at KBXX.
In 2009, I started iMIXhouston with E-Rock from 5th Ward Boyz and Stephan “Blackcard” Townsend which later became iMIX Recording Studios. The original location was located in Northwest Houston, off 290west. We worked with several artists at the time that went on to be successful regionally and nationally. After establishing ourselves and working on several projects, we moved to our current location near the Galleria area in 2001. Currently, we have a handful of talented engineers and producers on our team that continue to work with major and indie artists from all genres. As a producer/mix engineer, my current clients include Paul Wall, Baby Bash, Lil Keke, Tanya Nolan, Jae Rene, Ashton Travis, and Gt Garza whom I’ve produced, recorded and/or mixed several songs and albums for collectively.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Being a Hip Hop musician in Houston was definitely a tough career path. At times, I’ve learned other side-hustles to bring in extra income. I’ve done artwork gigs, filmed and edited music videos, taught lessons how to produce, record and more. I’ve experienced a few pivotal moments where I debated either moving to another city to pursue my career or quit and work a regular 9-5 job.
Early on, I worked as a waiter, restaurant manager, bank teller to make ends meet while pursuing music part-time. Before opening iMIX, I moved to Austin, TX for a couple of years and studied to obtained certifications to work at a Hedge fund and daytrade stocks.
But thru all the trials I faced stepping away from music, I just realized that you can’t be successful at anything with just half your time and effort. My biggest breakthrough was becoming an entrepreneur was taking the leap to finally build my own studio/brand instead of working for someone else. Also finding like-minded individuals to build with and sharing knowledge to strengthen the team around you.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about iMIX Recording Studios – what should we know?
I’m the head engineer at iMIX Recording Studios. I do several things after being around so many talented artists of the last 20 years. I consider myself a record producer foremost, but I’m probably most known as a Mix engineer. I’m most proud of making the name “iMIX” bigger than myself. Our commitment to quality has made it possible for my other colleagues around me to make a living doing what they love.
What sets me apart from others is my personality by allowing artists to be comfortable and create without judgment. I think I’m a rare blend of being very technical and having good musical taste and ability, while also being able to communicate with the artist to bring out the best performance.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My early mentors include attorney Leslie Cross who taught me a lot about the business side of the music industry. Southern Fried Entertainment’s Marlin Demby and Tim Walker who taught me the basics of music production and how to work in a recording studio environment.
My biggest supporters/advocates have been my longtime friends/clients Baby Bash, Paul Wall, Kiotti who always show major love, refer new customers to me and always make it known I have a major hand in their sound. My longtime team consists of Stephan ‘Blackcard” Townsend, Christopher “C-Rob” Robinson, and Garrett “Trakksounds” Brown that are the lifeblood and make iMIX Recording studios possible on a day to day basis. As well as my team of engineers that continue the brand and legacy moving forward: Rafael “Box” Hernandez, Dre Moore, Lab Ox, BlackSheep Filmz, and The Prblm Slvrs.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brucebang.com
- Email: brucebang@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imixbrucebang
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bruce.bang.31
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/imixbrucebang
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/imix-recording-studios-houston?osq=imix+recording+studios
- Other: www.iMIXhouston.com
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