Meet Andrew McKee of McKeezy Productions in Imperial Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew McKee.

Andrew, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I had the privilege of being involved with various school & community music programs growing up in San Diego (and having extremely supportive parents driving me to all of the events and rehearsals!) I continued my musical education at the University of Redlands and earned my bachelor’s in Music Composition in ’05 – while there, I had my first formal introduction to recording arts.

After college, I worked at the local Guitar Center and continued playing and recording with original bands while saving my money to buy recording gear. I moved to LA and got an internship at the renowned Larrabee Studios, but ultimately felt like I needed a better understanding of audio engineering and music production.

I moved back to San Diego in ’09 and enrolled in the Recording Arts & Technologies program at Southwestern Community College while working as the Music Program Coordinator for the Imperial Beach Recreation Center. During that time, I started touring with E.N Young (Tribal Seeds, Stranger) and through him connected with Hirie (the artist that I currently tour and record with). Since then, I have been busy touring while engineering and producing for a variety of artists in different genres. My fiance Ana Marie Cervantes (a previous SD Voyager interviewee) and I are currently building a tiny house and planning our wedding.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has had many potholes, times where I’ve felt like I’ve been driving in circles, and some wrong-way signs but I do feel like it has all led me to exactly where I need to be. I’m extremely blessed. I have a loving and supportive family, an amazing fiance, I tour with an awesome band of great people, I have lots of amazing friends, I get to do what I genuinely love… couldn’t be better!

But to clarify, it definitely hasn’t been easy. On top of the financial struggles of establishing a career as a touring musician that we’re all well-aware of, many of us are constantly dealing with issues like self-confidence, depression, and trying to maintain health and relationships while away for long stretches. With Hirie, we’ve recently graduated to touring in an actual tour bus with a dedicated driver – but it’s only been possible because of years of hard work and dedication. I can confidently say the same regarding my own music production career – I still feel like I’m just getting started, but it’s taken many years of long nights and determination to grow into it.

Please tell us about McKeezy Productions.
McKeezy Productions is my recording business moniker, and I specialize in bringing other people’s music to life. As a multi-instrumentalist with my own studio, I am able to fully produce a song from scratch – I do however, really love bringing in my talented friends whenever possible! Music is definitely a team sport, and I feel like the best music is usually comprised of many flavors from different players, writers, etc.

I think the thing about my work that I am the proudest of that also sets me apart from others is my attention to detail. I strive to find what’s unique about any given song and choose the right colors from my palette to accent and enhance what my clients present to me. I’m constantly working and practicing off the clock to develop my abilities and musicality, and I think my clients really appreciate that.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I just wish I would have practiced A LOT more as a youth! I constantly feel like I’m playing catch-up as an adult.

Pricing:

• Recording, editing, mixing – $45/hour
• Production, songwriting $45/hour + backend royalty (percentage TBD)
• Horn line writing + recording $150 + 1% royalty

Contact Info:

• Email: andrewmckeezymusic@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmckeezymusic/

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