Skip to Content

Faculty


Director of Recording Arts:

Mark C. Erickson


Part Time Faculty:

Chris Bell

Chris honed his skills on tape machines and analog mixing desks working on recordings like Erykah Badu’s “Mammas Gun”. His discography includes The Eagles number 1 record “Long Road Out of Eden”, Don Henley’s number 1 record “Cass County” as well as Brian Blade and The Fellowships Grammy nominated record “Landmarks”, Luther Dickinson’s Grammy nominated “Blues and Ballads”, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and many others. Chris was nominated for a Grammy award in 1998 for “Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical as well as working on several Grammy winning projects.

All Music Credits: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/chris-bell-mn0002251312        

Billy Henry

If you have watched TV in the last 15 years you have heard Billy’s work. You might have muted it, but you have probably heard it. Putting his 1992 BM degree from Texas State University to good use, Billy Henry has been playing, singing, writing and recording music for a plethora of genres and mediums including two movie scores, many commercials and dozens of scores and sound design for plays. For the past eight years he has worked for a ‘music house’ writing, producing, playing, recording and mixing music for numerous clients, including: AT&T, Chili’s, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Lone Star, Miller, Budweiser, BMW, Sonic, Whataburger, Schlotzsky’s, Mr. Gatti’s, McDonalds, Time Warner, Rolling Stone Magazine, The University of Texas, The Houston Rockets. The music he has written and performed on some of these commercials has won multiple ADDY awards through the years. His latest work can be heard on the Texas Tourism website and commercials. He is glad he can be a part of the Texas State faculty and pass on some of his experience to his students.

Gary Hickinbotham

Gary got his first high-quality stereo tape recorder at the age of 14, inspired after a visit to the Columbia Records recording studio located in Washington, DC.. 

Once in Texas, he became involved in the local recording scene. Because of his combination of recording, construction and musical background he was asked to participate in the construction of the Fire Station Studios in San Marcos, just south of Austin. He was asked to stay on by chief engineer Richard Mullen after the studio was completed and so became the second engineer, working with Stevie Ray Vaughn and Eric Johnson. When Richard left after a year Gary was promoted to chief engineer.

He was able to record many artists of national stature and worked with many producers and engineers from major labels.  One of the recordings he made, the Texas Tornados, won a Grammy. Two other albums, one by Doug Sahm and one by Tish Hinojosa (which Gary co-produced), each won Indies and much critical acclaim. His discography includes Townes van Zandt, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Hiatt, J.D. Souther, Gary P. Nunn, Jerry Jeff Walker and many others. 

He authored the article on the history of the recording industry in Texas for the Handbook of Texas Music published by the Texas State Historical Association in conjunction with the Center for Texas Music History. He has also written articles for The Journal of Texas Music History.


Mentoring / Master Class / Workshop Presenters:

Malcolm Harper

As owner of the remote recording company Reelsound, Malcolm Harper has had the privilege to work with many renowned artists. His impressive discography is surpassed only by his accolades, which include: Grammy awards, Ampex Golden Reel awards, a Prime-Time Emmy award, a Day-Time Emmy award, and two MIX TEC nominations. Malcolm also serves as a Trustee for the Texas chapter of NARAS. 

Terri Hendrix

Terri Hendrix has always preferred to celebrate the light rather than wallow in the blues — but she’s no stranger to facing the dark head-on. On her new album, Cry Till You Laugh, the award-winning Texas songwriter spins sorrow into joy and wrings wisdom from the blues with the poetic grace and uplifting melodic flair that has long been her trademark. As Jim Beal of the San Antonio Express-News observed in his review of the album, “Part of the beauty of Terri Hendrix’s music is she’s among the best at recognizing, writing about and celebrating resilience and common ground, the things we can all cry, and laugh, about.” A classically trained vocalist and deft multi-instrumentalist (guitar, mandolin and harmonica), Hendrix is a firm believer in the theory that “life’s too short for one genre,” dodging musical pigeonholes alongside legendary producer Lloyd Maines (guitar, dobro, pedal steel), by weaving folk, pop, country, blues and swinging jazz into an eclectic style all her own that plays like a carefully compiled mix-CD. Add to that her charismatic stage presence and reputation for always delivering an energetic and spiritually uplifting live show (from intimate listening rooms to huge outdoor festivals), and it’s no wonder why the Terri Hendrix “experience” has been embraced by three generations of loyal fans across the country and around the globe. To date, Hendrix has released 14 albums on her own Wilory Records label. In the fall of 2011, she published the second edition of her first book; a tie-in with her latest album featuring song lyrics, photos and essays on life, health, business, music and “owning your own universe” called Cry Till You Laugh — The Part That Ain’t Art.

Nick Landis

Alumnus Nick Landis has mastered over 1500 recordings while working previously at nearby Terra Nova Mastering. His discography includes work with a diverse group of artists, including: Ruthie Foster, Meat Puppets, Asleep at the Wheel, and many others. Nick also serves on the board of governors for the Texas chapter of NARAS and recently served as Vice President.

Lloyd Maines

Lloyd Maines has been playing music and producing music for almost 50 years. He honed his recording and producing skills early on, in Lubbock, Texas. He produced all genres i.e. country, folk, conjunto, gospel, heavy metal, Jazz and Bluegrass. He absorbed information and techniques on how to make all these types of music sound authentic. He has worked on over 3500 projects, either as a musician or a producer. The artists are too numerous to list…

Just Google it. Maines says that his main objective, in the studio, is to get the most from the artist and their songs. He tries to capture their best performance. He likes the idea of recording music that may be listened to a hundred years from now. So, it has to be the best that it can be.

Danny Reisch

SRT Alum Danny Reisch  is an Austin-based producer/engineer and musician.  When not touring the world drumming for Sub Pop's Shearwater, Danny operates and works out of Good Danny's, which serves as his home base for recording/production in Austin, TX.  Good Danny's was named Best Recording Studio 2013 at The Austin Music Industry Awards.  Danny was named Producer of The Year 2011 at the Austin Music Awards and has been a staple in the Austin music scene for over a decade.  He has produced albums for White Denim, Okkervil River, Shearwater, The Bright Light Social Hour, Suzanna Choffel, What Made Milwaukee Famous and dozens more. 


Faculty Emeritus:

Robert ( Bobby ) Arnold

Working in Willie Nelson’s private studio throughout the 80’s afforded Bobby the opportunity to record some of the biggest stars of the time:  Willie, Merle Haggard, Ray Charles, Neil Young, Julio Iglesias, Dolly Parton, Emily Lou Harris, and Aerosmith to name just a few. As well he worked with some of the finest record producers, engineers, and studio musicians in the world.

Bobby later freelanced in the Austin area as an engineer at both Arlyn and Bee Creek studios, working on releases for Jr. Brown, Rich Minus, Calvin Russell, Bobby Mack, Lucinda Williams, and many others.

In 1993, Bobby was hired as chief engineer for the Fire Station Recording Studios. This afforded Bobby the opportunity to both assist in the development and implementation of the recording program at Texas State University, as well as build a client base for the recording program’s commercial facility.  At the Fire Station, Bobby continued to record many Texas-based talents.

Bobby was also the rhythm guitar player for the Lucky Tomblin Band from 2001-2013, playing authentic country music in dance halls and concert arenas throughout Texas, the United States, Canada, and France.