NOTE: This podcast was originally published on October 28, 2015.
I’ve known Chris for over twenty years. But we didn’t start out as friends. In the beginning, I hired him to correct technical problems in my studio and, believe me, there were many.
Chris Gately at Great Egg Studio
He would arrive at my studio with his modest tool kit and ask me about the technical issues I was encountering. His approach was methodical and deliberate.
Curiously, his exploratory questions were reminiscent of my times in therapy. Where my answers would guide his inquiry, ultimately leading to the source of the problem. Now if only my therapy sessions worked this well!
…from working relationship to friendship
During subsequent meetings, our conversations would drift. We’d begin assessing a technical problem in the studio and then the discussion would morph into a tangential discourse about music, recordings, studios, equipment and wherever else our imaginations would take us.
Before we knew it, hours passed. When it came time to square up, Chris would pull a modest, random number out of the air that did not truly reflect the time spent. I believe, at this point, we evolved from a client relationship to a friendship.
…a long, illustrious career
Over the years, I learned about his illustrious past in the music and audio industries. Starting with his father, who was a principal at Hafler Industries, a manufacturer of power amplifiers for professional audio systems, where he worked to starting his own audio business and, ultimately, moving on to technical engineering work at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA.
Chris has the honor of being represented on some of the finest recordings in the music industry. But though you may not always find his name mentioned in the credits, it was he who made those studios run smoothly and reliably.
Chris Gately & Marc A. Gallo
It’s easy for us to give the artists all the credit. But we should also give credit where credit is due. And that credit is due to Chris Gately…the man behind the scene.
Special thanks to David Ivory for post-production. Music during the Current Projects segment is by Cast In Bronze, performed by Frank DellaPenna. All other music selections are from Mind The Gap’s Music Library.
