About Ava Anderson

Hey y'all, I'm Ava. I record a whole lotta rock 'n' roll and sing with every fragment of my body. I grew up in the farmlands of New Jersey. I spent summers playing dress-up and imaginary games, running through fields of tall grass and hay bales sprinkled at random. My parents always had music playing, and we spent nearly every night having dance parties in our small creaky living room to Sting, Hootie & The Blowfish, Don McLean, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, The Beatles... the list goes on. My mom would sing me show tunes and lullabies every night (and still does sometimes upon request). My love for music goes all the way back to this time when I was a kid. I started with piano lessons at ten years old, then picked up the guitar at twelve. I had already written hundreds of songs, lyrics and poems without music, but I desperately wanted to learn to play the guitar. My parents told me that if Sting learned to play on his own, I could too. Fast forward many years of moving houses, to North Carolina then New York. Years of continuing to write, sing and play at local events, pep rallies, town festivals, and more I'm sure I'm forgetting. I started recording myself with GarageBand and playing around with the software... discovering what reverb was - wow. I worked at a studio in Manhattan during high school and fell in love with this other world. Being an artist was (and is) incredible and wonderful, but I became fascinated with the art of recording. I continued to work at this studio into my first year of college at Marymount Manhattan where I was studying Business Management. *YAWN* I dropped out, worked as a barista for a couple of years "finding myself." Long story short, I applied to Berklee College of Music where I was sure I wouldn't get in, but I got in. It was one of the happiest days of my life. At Berklee I was able to pursue two degrees, one that pushed myself as an artist (Songwriting), the other that pushed me to become a great producer and engineer (Music Production & Engineering). I feel extraordinarily #blessed to have been able to live such a fulfilling life as a musician already, and I'm still sort of young. Yay!

Work experience

  • No work experience Entered

Ava's Skills

Engineering
  • Assistant Engineer
  • Mix Engineer
  • Music Editor
  • Recording Engineer
Live
  • Touring Musician
Producing
  • Mixer
  • Producer
  • Production Assistant
  • Vocal Producer
Songwriting
  • Co-Writer
  • Top Line

Ava's Genres

  • Alternative Rock
  • Blues
  • Country
  • Pop
  • Punk

Ava's Experience

Assistant Engineer: Too many sessions to count. What’s important to me here is the sonic hierarchy. I ask questions when I’m not sure about something, and I know when to shut up. I work fast but efficiently. I’m easygoing but know my place. I’m comfortable and confident in setting up microphones, running cables, getting coffee and dry cleaning… Engineer: I’ve worked with Neve 88RS and API Legacy Plus consoles. I’ve also worked with Studer 827 & A810 and Otari ATR-102 tape machines. (Tape, tape, tape… I love tape). Mix Engineer: I’ve mixed countless projects for school, for fun, for whatever. A couple of examples are on my website, but my greatest claim to fame is probably my self-titled record ‘Ava Anderson’ which is everywhere you can buy or stream music. Producer: I’m confident in my producing abilities because I’ve been on both sides of the glass. I know how to talk to and treat artists because I am one. Being a producer means being thoughtful. It means keeping the peace even if you’re running out of time. Most importantly, it means catering to the artist. Songwriting: Definitely my strong suit. I have roughly 15 years of songwriting experience writing for myself, with others, for others, the whole shebang. Listen to “Keep Goin’ On” by Yellow Lights – I co-wrote that with one of my colleagues.