How Do You See Your Studio? An Analog Blueprint

Back in 2016, SonicScoop ran a popular “Sweet Spot” article on Audio Evidence Mobile. A former police van turned mobile sound powerhouse, the truck hit a speed bump—along with the rest of the world—when coronavirus forced a recording slowdown.

That hasn’t stopped AEM creator Rob Seifert Gage (Angels Cut, eels, Porno for Pyros, Reggae on the River, FOH for Wyclef Jean) (@audio_evidence_mobile, audioevidencemobile@gmail.com) from staying very creative with a full slate of indie mixes, plus radio and podcast production. Operating out of his Northern California homebase, Gage recently realized he wanted a fresh visual perspective on his beloved, intensely customized 1989 Chevrolet step van.

Audio Evidence Mobile is visible from a whole new perspective in this detailed drawing from Analog Prints.

The result is what you see here, a unique blueprint-inspired illustration lovingly created by Scott Iulianelli of Analog Prints. “As a studio owner and an art lover, I am always searching for creative renditions of my Mobile Recording Studio,” Gage says. “I turn to Instagram these days for artists and have commissioned a few, but the idea I have had to make a blueprint hadn’t materialized.

“The reason for the idea is simple: to highlight the vehicle and what’s in it. I’ve sketched it and asked a real computer engineer to design it, but when I saw Analog Prints’ work on different microphones and consoles, I had to ask him.”

After years of evolution, Gage sees the current AEM iteration as his ideal Hybrid Mixing system. “Trying to emulate my favorite gear from the various studios where I haven’t worked in the last 25 years, I have come close. The Yamaha Rev5 digital reverb, Yamaha P-2200 amp and NS-10’s from my time at Aire LA Studios, Focusrite ISA mic pre from assisting Barney Perkins at Encore, and Daking gear from the mixes I did at Phase One in Toronto. I had to have something of each color. My absolute two pieces I couldn’t work without are the Avalon 747 compressor/EQ and the Universal Audio 4-710d mic pre.”

A Powerful Draw

Like many of his audio engineer clients, Analog Prints’ Iulianelli likes letting the constraints of an assignment play a positive role, feeding here into his minimalist artistic philosophy.

“When it comes to most things, mostly art and music, I am a big fan of letting my limitations guide the outcome,” the Detroit-based artist says. “Screen printing is an old school way of doing things with some inherent limitations. Most of my prints are hand-screened by my friend Brent Mosser: Each color requires its own screen and adds cost and labor to the final product so you’ll usually only see 1-4 colors on my screen prints, and I think that gives them their style. However, I pick up inspiration from all over and it always finds its way into whatever I’m working on.”

His visual approach dovetails perfectly with depicting audio hardware. “When I am drawing all these knobs, tubes, and wires, I feel that I’m playing in a space that fits somewhere between a gear photographer and a gear builder,” he explains. “I think the art brings the beauty of the gear into a different dimension and holds the viewer’s attention longer than a photograph for some reason, but I am not sure why.”

A recent favorite drawn by Scott Iulianelli : The famed Fairchild 670 in pen.

Iulianelli was particularly pleased to see the Audio Evidence Mobile commission come to Analog Prints. “Rob came to me with a vague idea of what he was picturing in his head, which was his main desk loaded with gear and his beautiful van—he also mentioned ‘blueprint’ somewhere along the way. I started out with a ruler and just started making vertical and horizontal lines until the proportions were right for the van, then did the same for the desk.

“My dad was a builder and also a visual thinker so sketching ideas like this was pretty familiar and reminded me of something he would draw on a napkin with a blue ink pen at our neighborhood Big Boy diner when I was a kid.”

Interestingly, the soundtrack Iulianelli plays in his art studio is mostly non-musical. “I usually listen to books while I draw,” he says. “My recent listens were; Biocentrism, Carl Jung’s Psychology and Alchemy, and The Kybalion. When I have been enjoying music lately, it’s been Run the Jewels, Black Sabbath, William Onyeabor, Fela Kuti, and LCD Sound System.

“I love helping people bring their ideas to fruition. If anyone is interested in a custom project, they can reach me at AnalogPrints.net.”

True to character, Rob Seifert Gage is simultaneously satisfied and thinking ahead to the Next Big Thing. “The blueprint is absolutely a historical document in the making of my Audio Evidence Mobile,” Gage confirms. “I hope to see it on the t-shirts and hoodies of my audio peers very soon.”

— David Weiss

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