Meet Pamela Parker

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pamela Parker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Pamela , so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?
Being a female in the music industry, both performing & studio work (engineering & producing), I am often the only one in the room that is a woman. Growing up with an older brother, I learned how to be resilient in many different ways and stand up for what I believe, even when no one else believes me. It will always be a struggle to be the only female in the room, but what I’ve learned is that so many people value my opinion, because I am the ONLY female in the room. There are many emotions that I feel in the music industry and Spinal Tap the movie is very relevant to everything I deal with on a daily basis. There’s always some surprise around the corner that I wasn’t expecting and I’ve learned that how I deal with those moments and how I feel about others’ decisions is really what makes my experience what it is. I believe that you cannot control the outcome of many things, but what you can control is your reaction to it.

One of the ways I’ve learned to be effective & successful as a female in a male dominated industry, is to offer something no one else is offering. One of my crown jewels (others say) is my voice and I am often called in as a Vocal Producer for many sessions last minute. Vocal Production is a lost art form in my opinion, even though I know there are Vocal Producers out there, but at the studio where I work, I’m the only one! This is one of the ways to stand out from the pack; if you do what you do and you’re so good at it, no one can deny your talent!

I will say that it is not easy being the only female sometimes, or 1 of 2 or 3 females out of the whole studio. Some artists who have come to our studio have rules in their own world where their wives or girlfriends won’t even allow them to work with women in the studio. This, to me, is one of the hardest things to overcome, because these artists have these rules in place due to lack of control in their past. This has been one of the toughest things for me personally to accept because I’m always a professional and would never cross that line. I have lost out on being asked to do certain projects just because I am a female, and that’s just how it is.
However, in history, there have been many relationships started in the studio, so I can understand the rule they have in place. That being said, I have come to accept that I am a woman in a male dominated industry and that comes with its own limitations, and that just is what it is.

I am the kind of person that likes to break down barriers, so hopefully someone will read this article and realize how unfair it is to put all women in that box. When I go to the studio to produce & engineer a project, I am a total professional and to limit that based on my gender should be a thing of the past at this point in time.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Pamela Parker and I am not just another pretty voice! “My story is one that can’t be told, my freedom I hold dear…” – one of my favorite lyrics from Led Zeppelin’s song Ramble On really speaks to me when I sing it live. I am originally from Washington DC / Maryland. I have been playing music since the age of 5 and never really knew it was my calling until I took some time off in college and went on a search for my ultimate life’s purpose. This was a big undertaking at the time, but it was quick for me to realize music was the way I wanted to spread positivity in the world. After a childhood of playing many instruments (piano, violin, drums, guitar & singing) and being very athletic (ballet, tap, gymnastics, diving) I was set up for just about anything I wanted to do with my life. When I went searching, I was jamming with some friends and realized music was the way to affect the world in a positive way! Music is a universal language and penetrates deep to the core and heart of all living creatures. Music can change the way you feel in an instant, so this is why I went so deep into music.

Once I made the decision to pursue music, all the rest fell into place. I got two degrees in music, Vocal Performance and Commercial Music (Recording & Music Technology) all the while quadruple minoring in classical & jazz piano & guitar, which lead me to have 5 juries a semester during all 6 years of music college. Once I graduated, I decided to call upon a friend I had met on the Jam Cruise 2, Michael Franti. He hooked me up with an internship with Jay Bowman & Maestro Curtis, which changed my life forever. I came to San Francisco to do the internship and eventually ended up moving out here and started working at Hyde Street Studios, a legendary studio where some pretty amazing albums have been recorded! I’ve now been working there for 16 years and never looked back. I am an audio engineer, music producer, session musician and front my own band, Pamela Parker’s Fantastic Machine. I’ve released 5 of my own albums, 2 with my previous band I toured with on the East Coast and 3 Pamela Parker albums. You can check my solo albums out under my name, Pamela Parker. There you will find 3 albums all produced and recorded at Hyde Street Studios, by myself and various team members over the years. I feel so lucky to call Hyde Street Studios my home away from home and have also produced many albums and singles for other artists under that roof as well. It’s hard to say how many after so many years, but every one of them has been an absolute joy! The most recent full length album I’ve produced is for a great musician, Jen Rund. We produced her album at Hyde Street Studios and you can find it under her band name, Jenerator. The album is called HOME and I’m so proud of what we accomplished with this album starting production during the pandemic.

On a related note, one of my focuses for the studio has been Vocal Producing, because the vocal is the most important part of any song. Vocal Producing & Private Vocal Coaching for so many years (24 to be exact) I’ve come to know what singers need help with in the moment and what they need help with for the months leading up to the recording as well. Nothing compares to being properly prepared, especially vocally, so this is why I’ve developed my first course offering called Own Your Voice: A Vocal Endurance Training. You can find this at www.PamelaParkerVocalAcademy.com and it has been a labor of love finding out how to serve the vocalists I work with on a daily basis. PS – I’ve also been a music teacher for 24 years now, oh how time flies. I teach voice, guitar, piano, songwriting & music production.

Not only did I just release Own Your Voice: A Vocal Endurance Training, but some new music has finally dropped this year starting in June that I co-produced with Jaimeson Durr, a fellow engineer I met at HSS. My first single off the new album, MotherStar, is called To’Night and has gotten over 60,000 plays on Spotify. The second single, just dropped on September 8th, Don’t Cha Know, and has already over 26,000  plays on Spotify. Professionally speaking, I’m focused on marketing & licensing my music, producing & recording albums for artists and continue to work with selective private coaching clients in music.

Next up is to continue having the most fun in life, love and the pursuit of musical happiness!!!

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?
Looking back, the three things I’d recommend you have in your back pocket are patience, your own personal vision and perseverance to get through the rough spots. One of the best things I have done for myself is to stick around and keep working hard on what I love to do. If I had quit when the going was tough, I would never be where I am today. My advice for anyone early in their journey would be to intern at a studio and learn the ropes. Do as many gigs as you can, and have fun doing it! Do the things you love and learn how to make money from those things. That will be the best part of your life, loving what you do! (And do yourself a favor and watch Spinal Tap the movie, you will see what could possibly go wrong and what many others face in the music business).

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Collaboration is a huge part of what I love about the music industry. I would love, love, love to connect with others who want to produce their albums or single songs from the ground up. I work with many types of artists and love to help artists navigate the entire process from pre-production, budgeting, production, finding session musicians, mixing, post-production, sync licensing and marketing the music they’ve spent so much time, money and energy into producing. I like to see people succeed and get plays/sync placements on their released music and get live gigs from the music they produce with me in the studio. If you want to collaborate with me on producing an album, recording at Hyde Street Studios in SF, mixing a song, or wanna collaborate on writing a song, hit me up via email [email protected]. I’d love to connect!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Photos by Dr. Dano Photography, Ashliegh Castro Photography, Ryan Hickey, & Jay Blakesberg.

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