Meet Dominic Mendoza

We recently connected with Dominic Mendoza and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Dominic with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

My work ethic and drive has been developed since I was young. I believe a lot of it was from being heavily involved with sports. Sports taught me hard work, dedication, discipline, and how to get up from defeat. From early morning workouts, timeliness, and needing to be a student before an athlete I was able to learn a work ethic that translates into my everyday life to this day.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m originally from the small town of Gallup, NM. For most of my life, I pursued my dream of playing baseball. During that time, the only music I knew was my favorite songs and a single year of band class in 6th grade. Music was never a major focus.

It wasn’t until I attended community college in Las Vegas, NM (yes, there’s a Las Vegas, NM, haha) that I was introduced to music in a new way. My peers would record, freestyle, and make beats, and I quickly became fascinated by the creative process of making music.

From there, music consumed me, and my passion grew rapidly. In the fall of 2012, I moved to Mesa, AZ, where I enrolled at Collins College to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Audio Production. During my time there, I had the incredible opportunity to work in the school’s state-of-the-art music studio as a paid work-study. For three and a half years, I honed my skills in mixing, recording, and production.

Since then, I’ve focused on mixing and mastering and developed my brand, Plusforty8. The name is an audio reference to phantom power (+48v), which is required to use a condenser microphone. Without phantom power, the mic won’t work. I see this similar to the mixing and mastering process, as it’s essential for bringing a song to life. Mixing and mastering is about capturing the artist’s intention and emotional impact, translating it into an experience for their listeners.

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with artists and producers across the country and even overseas. I’m continually building relationships to further expand and grow my brand.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Some of the most impactful qualities and skills that have helped me grow as an engineer are:

Hands-On Experience/Experimentation: I’ve taken on numerous projects, often for little to no pay, just to keep work on my desk and continue practicing and perfecting my craft. There’s no substitute for experience, and the more you do it, the more you learn. Experimenting with different techniques and creative effects is key to gaining understanding and building knowledge.

Trustworthiness/Reliability/Communication: Artists entrust you with their work, which is incredibly important to them. They’ve invested their time, money, heart, and soul into creating it. It means a lot to them when you show that you’re just as passionate about their vision as they are. Clear communication and collaboration are essential as the artists want to know you care and are willing to work as a team to bring their vision to life.

Having Fun: It’s easy to get caught up in the technical aspects of mixing and mastering and lose sight of why you started in the first place. Keeping the fun alive is essential to staying inspired and motivated.

If I could offer any advice, it would be to practice your craft as much as possible to build muscle memory and knowledge. It’s also important to honor your commitments and put your ego aside. Even if you think your mix is perfect, if the artist wants to make changes, it’s their song and they have the final say. Finally, remember to enjoy the process. The grind becomes much easier when you’re doing something you love.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Along the way, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with and learn from other engineers, producers, and artists. I believe the creative process should be a collaborative effort. Two minds are better than one, and exchanging ideas and emotional elements in music is how some of the greatest songs are made. I’m always open to collaborating with other engineers (iron sharpens iron) and I genuinely enjoy teaching the art of mixing.

If anyone wants to reach out, collaborate, and/or book a 1/1 session, DM and reachout to me @plusforty8 on instagram.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Portraits of Resilience

Sometimes just seeing resilience can change out mindset and unlock our own resilience. That’s our

Productivity
Perspectives on Staying Creative

We’re beyond fortunate to have built a community of some of the most creative artists,

Confidence
Kicking Imposter Syndrome to the Curb

This is the year to kick the pesky imposter syndrome to the curb and move