CREDIT: GREG HATCHETTE
Fanshawe Music Industry Arts (MIA) students were treated to an uplifting opportunity meeting and chatting with one of Canada's most prominent industry professionals, Richard Chycki.

Students of the Music Industry Arts (MIA) program were given an exciting way to further their studies into surround sound mixing when they were visited by one of Canada's most prominent industry professionals, Richard Chycki. With 26 gold and platinum awards in surround sound mixing and credits that include Aerosmith, Rush, Dream Theatre, P!nk, Mick Jagger and The Tragically Hip, students of MIA eagerly absorbed every word of advice that Chycki had to offer them. Chycki shared with the students a multitude of inspiring and entertaining anecdotes from his life in the industry, offering ground-breaking advice and encouragement along the way.

Chycki began his inspiring journey in the industry at an early age. Being self-taught in audio engineering through text books and manuals, his passion for audio engineering was quite obvious. During this time Chycki was invited to work at a band rehearsal space which housed a small studio. Here, he recorded demos for bands, which were sent to record companies, gaining himself some notoriety. It was through this recognition that Chycki was given the opportunity to work with Kim Mitchell on a successful song, bringing further traction for himself.

Opportunities began to flow his way due to a positive personality and excellent work ethic, until one day he landed himself a gig as the drum engineer for Aerosmith's album Just Push Play. His work in this area was so valued that Chycki was quickly invited to stay on for the rest of the album's recording process as well.

It wasn't long until Chycki got invited to mix a live recording for Canadian icons Rush and from here he was hired to augment original, classic Rush recordings from stereo into 5.1 surround sound mixes. Students were thrilled when, after sharing this story, Chycki brought in his mix for the well-known song Tom Sawyer giving students the opportunity to hear and observe what he had done in order to achieve his mix. Current MIA student Ryley Anthony was left in awe, stating that it was “Honestly so awesome…that he's worked with Rush [who are] my heroes,” he went on to share that the experience of listening to Chycki's mixes was “very immersive.”

This wonderment in Chycki's work and career was heightened when he shared that he was recently honoured with the privilege to mix the audio for the legendary last concert of Canadian superstars The Tragically Hip. Chycki told how he was asked to take on the project with a very strict schedule and mixed the entire three-hour concert in less than a week. He went on to say that this experience was a “very, very emotional concert to mix, I mean this is a show where Gordon is facing the biggest danger that any human being can face… and is playing the absolute final concert of his life. So the gravity of the situation in the video is very apparent…and I wanted to do the absolute best job possible to pay proper tribute to that.”

Chycki inspired students with this project as well, bringing in some of his sessions for the class to view and hear. Alakai Hamnett stated that it was a “very emotional thing to hear the Tragically Hip” in the surround sound environment. Hamnett also shared that being given the opportunity to learn from Chycki and hear him speak “was absolutely incredible; very, very inspiring and very informative.”

Chycki seemed just as happy to speak to the students, saying that “I've been very fortunate to have a successful career and one of the things that I want to do is help to steer and motivate students in a positive direction.” He went on to state that he wants to be realistic with students telling them they will face adversity but “I want to be honest and motivate, to say that there are ways to get through this… [it] would make me feel really great if it helped somebody to succeed,” he shared.

When asked what the main piece of advice he would give to a student trying to make it in the industry, Chyckie said to “keep doing your best work. No matter who you're working with…That is the biggest thing; be the guy that people wanna hang out with in the room and have a great time…be positive and know your craft.”

Students were left extremely inspired by all that Chycki offered them and awestruck by the music they'd heard.

More info on Richard Chycki can be found on his website at richardchycki.com.