Townsville Creative Technologies College (TCTC) graduate, Joel Sutton has a driving ambition both in the studio and on the road.
What’s your link to Townsville?
I grew up in Townsville, left for Cairns when I was 16 to play with Johnos Blues band and while there, ended up backing quite a few Australian and international artists.
I then went to Sydney to play in Mal Eastick Band and played with a lot of blues bands like Bondi Cigars and the Hippos, toured with James Reyne, Vika and Linda Bull, and ended up being asked to go to the US to play and record an album with Mitch Easter who produced the first REM album.
I returned to Townsville in 2009 but, you know, I don’t think people really understand the nature of the music industry and how many have to go out and do a day job including some ARIA award winners I know. Now I’m fortunate to work with a great local company, Townsville Transport Services.
Why choose to study at the TCTC?
I was asked to play on a song with the Mates 4 Mates organisation and saw the amazing studio space at Heatley Secondary College. Then I found out just what was involved in the TCTC Music Industry course and I thought yes, this is for me, I need a change, and I guess I’ve really gone in hard but I think I might have stumbled upon something that I’m not bad at.
Because I work so many hours every week, it helped that I could do the course in the evenings and I was able to set up a basic home system which meant I could continue to work on projects in my own time. I received a lot of positive guidance from Bjarne Ohlin (TCTC Teacher/Program Manager) and feedback from all the other students who were also really passionate about music and music production and things have just grown from there.
“I don’t think I was fully aware of the incredible level of talent that’s here in Townsville and I see now how I can use my production skills and network of national musicians to bring these artists together creatively.” – Joel Sutton
How does the technology enable you to produce your music?
The whole world is using more-or-less the same high end technology, Pro Tools, and now that I know what I’m doing with it, I can work with local musicians, great songwriters, musicians and singers like Tim Griffin, Tammy Moxon, Peta-Cherae and Kendall Daines, and email my digital session files to a guitar player, say Shane Pacey, in Sydney and he will record his dry guitar tracks and email/transfer these files back to me.
When I was 16 or 17 years old, the recording studio with 2” tape machines was this mythical place that you never had access to, but now that technology is all available on a laptop. You just need some good microphones and an interface, like the Apollo 8P, which I’ve now got.
What does the future hold?
I don’t think I was fully aware of the incredible level of talent that’s here in Townsville and I see now how I can use my production skills and network of national musicians to bring these artists together creatively. I’ve put everyone on my website and I’m hoping to be able to showcase their abilities so I can mix these great musicians I’ve met over the years with local artists, some of whom are coming through the TCTC. It’s all about file sharing.
‘Tim Griffin: The Outlaw Sessions Vol1’ co-produced, recorded and mixed, by Joel Sutton, will be released in late February.
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ENROL AT THE TCTC NOW!
The Townsville Creative Technologies College (TCTC) is a purpose-built facility delivering nationally-accredited VET training at Certificate II and Certificate III level.
Located in the Heatley Secondary College campus, the College offers training to senior secondary students from all local schools as well as post graduate and adult students in both day and evening classes.
TCTC students undertake training to develop their capacity to find creative solutions for graphic design, print, publishing, interactive entertainment, web design, simulation, digital imaging, animation, film making, editing, audio and music production.
The TCTC currently delivers training in digital skills management across five creative industry sectors:
● Game programming and design
● 2D & 3D animation
● Graphic design and publishing
● Film and TV vision capture, editing and production
● Sound and music recording and production
Graduates progress directly into work, continue with further study (higher Certificate qualification or tertiary), participate in traineeship programs, and become productive collaborators in the global creative exchange process.
Enrolment information and application forms are available from the Heatley Secondary College Administration office on the corner of Fulham Road and Hanlon Streets, Heatley.
Townsville Creative Technologies College
Dalrymple Service Road, Heatley
4726 8333
www.facebook.com/TownsvilleCreativeTechCollege/