Meet Thanos Willey

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Thanos Willey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Thanos, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Hi! I am Thanos. In case anyone is curious about my name, yes. I am named after Thanos from Marvel’s Avengers. My dad has always been a big Marvel fan. Back in 1992, he got a copy of my birth certificate signed by Stan Lee. I never met Stan. However, I have the utmost respect for him and his achievements.

My interest in audio production began in 1998. Back then, my family and I visited my Uncle Robert in Port Arthur, TX. He had renovated his garage into a recording studio. He had a pearl drum set mic’d up with Shure SM57s and several Fender guitars hung on the walls by the sound booth. I was fascinated by the gear and the room. That’s where it started for me. Over time I developed a strong passion for audio engineering and decided that was what I wanted to pursue.

My interest in audio production began in 1998. Back then, my family and I visited my Uncle Robert in Port Arthur, TX. He had renovated his garage into a recording studio. He had a pearl drum set mic’d up with Shure SM57s and several Fender guitars hung on the walls by the sound booth. I was fascinated by the gear and the room. That’s where it started for me.

Not long after in 1999, I was fortunate that my uncle Pete got me a Washburn acoustic guitar. I still own and play that guitar to this day. Over the years, I continued to play guitar and studied classical singing. Eventually, I dove into audio engineering. During my senior year in high school, I started my first job working with KISD TV. That’s where I developed my skills in live sound and video production.

After I graduated, I started working at Guitar Center for a few years. I met a lot of great people there as well and made some good friends. There was one audio engineer I met when I worked there by the name of Nick Guage Todd. He mentored me when I started live sound for theatre. I learned a lot from him. Nick is one of the hardest working engineers I know. It was because of Nick and my former supervisors in KISD TV, Randy Hudson, Brad Retz & Jerry Wilson that I had a decent foundation of knowledge and experience to build on.

Eventually, I went on to mix front of house for musical theatre and artists of many genres for several years. The experience I gained working in live sound was invaluable. Although my background consisted of live sound, I had always wanted to pursue studio recording and production. That became my next step. I was fortunate to work in KISD TV’s new recording studio in 2013 – 2016. It was a great experience.

In 2015 I attended the Art Institute of Austin to further my knowledge and education. My former teachers, George Oldziey, Adam Fangsrud, Kyle Evans, Marloes Polman, and Robert Nabbe, were phenomenal. I learned a lot from them as well. While attending the Art Institute, I was a studio maintenance tech.

I soldered cables, installed patch bays, repaired equipment, and performed maintenance on recording consoles (SSL Duality, Toft, Digidesign, etc.). From 2015 – 2018 I recorded bands, orchestras, and sound designed for my friend Ben Gibson’s former video production company YOUvolution in Austin, TX.

Over the last seven years of having different jobs in the audio field, I found that I enjoy working with music, film, and podcasts. Later on in August 2020, I ran into Eric Meyer, the owner of The Noiz Faktory Recording Studios in Georgetown, TX. He invited me out to meet with him at his studio, and I have been working with him ever since then. Eric is a good man. He is kind, honest and lives with integrity.

When I engineer, mix and master at The Noiz Faktory, it feels like home. Some of the awesome people that I have met since my time with Eric include: Josh Wolfer (Wolf Man Sound), Demetrio Scopelliti (Inspiria Guitars), Laurent Bernadac, and Geraldine (3DVarius). I am fortunate to be around such good people.

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?
– At Thanos X Productions, I record, mix, master, and sound design for film, music, and podcasts. My freelance business started back in Jan. 2015. It started off with sound for film. Between 2015 – 2017 I worked with my friend Ben Gibson’s company Youvolution as an audio engineer. I recorded and directed ADR sessions, sound designed, and mixed short films. After getting into sound for film, I fell in love with it.

– I enjoy synthesis and sound design. It is fun to create custom sounds that bring a movie to life. My love for sound design eventually led me to work on podcasts as well. Working on podcasts is also enjoyable because often music and cinematic sound design can be implemented. Aside from podcasts and sound for film, I love working on music too.

– I engineer, edit, mix, and master music as well. Mixing live shows in the past gave me experience with artists and bands of several genres. Thankfully that experience translated to the studio side regarding interaction with musicians and running recording sessions. Over the years, I have recorded some incredible artists, bands, and orchestras. I love working on music because it makes me feel happy.

There’s nothing like the sound of a well-rehearsed band singing tight harmonies or an orchestra performing Mozart in an excellent concert hall. It’s simply inspiring. That’s why I enjoy working with music. Regardless of the production, whether it be a short film, podcast, or engineering a record, I will always do my best to make everything sound good.

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?
Three qualities that were most impactful on my journey was being adaptable, consistently work hard, and always keep learning new things. What ever it is that you want to do in your life, start now and don’t wait. Time waits for no one. Set attainable goals that can be achieved steadily over time. There will always be challenges to be met and overcome. Be willing to adapt and change as needed. And always continue learning about your craft. You can never know enough. The more you know, the more you can do. Knowledge is power.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I feel overwhelmed, I will take a step back from a situation and slow my self down. I’ll reflect upon it and come with a plan of action to accomplish what ever task is at hand. I find that when faced with seemingly impossible tasks, it is often best to break everything down into small achievable goals that can be more readily accomplished. Eventually those small steps will compound over time and the task at hand will be accomplished.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Eric Meyer and Cerria Humphrey.

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