The sound of success

Burton Twp. man continues to reel in awards with area recording company

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 1:23 AM EST

By Betsy Scott This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Music was still only available on vinyl when Michael Bishop was first turned onto it.

As a child growing up in Chardon, he recalls being fascinated by the sounds coming out of the turntable.

"I had always been interested in how recordings sounded and wondered how they were made, from probably 5 or 6 years old," the 57-year-old Burton Township resident said. "That got my curiosity going about how sound was recorded on a record. I would hear a lot of aspects other than music."

About 50 years and seven Grammys later, his keen ear is still in tune with what it takes to make a melodious recording.

As chief recording engineer with Telarc International records in Beachwood, he is up for two more individual Grammys — Best Surround Album and Best Engineered Classical Album — the winners of which will be announced in February.

"Just to get to the nomination part of the process for the Grammy awards, your entry has to get through a list of tens of thousands of entries," Bishop said. "There you are with four other nominees in your category. That's quite an honor and quite a place to be."

So how does one stay humble when rubbing elbows in the recording studio with the likes of Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt and jazz great Oscar Peterson?

"You live in Burton," he said laughing. "We're not in the hub of the entertainment business, that's for sure, and I'm very happy we're not. This is a much, much better place to raise a family, here in Geauga County. I had the opportunity back in the 1970s to go into the recording business in Los Angeles. ... Maybe I missed a good opportunity, who knows, but I know my family is much better off for it, and therefore I am."

His wife, Wendy, and grown daughters, Amber and Brianna, have been able to join him on some recording jobs, and those are among his top memories in the business.

"About my most favorite was a session I was doing with Mel Torm�©. We got him to record a Christmas album with the Cincinnati Orchestra. My wife and girls came down for the session. The music was really special, and working with him was a highlight of my career. I walked in the hallway and Mel Torm�© had both my girls on his knees singing Christmas carols to them," he said.

"There have been a lot of moments like that. There are plenty of times I've been in a recording session and I'm thinking, 'Wow, somebody's paying me to do this.' "

So how does a kid from rural Geauga end up a top recording executive?

Bishop's beginnings were humble enough. As a teen, he and a friend created a makeshift studio in his friend's barn on South Street in Chardon. The best of the local bands came to record in exchange for a free copy. He soon was recording well-known homegrown acts at a Mentor dance club, including Eric Carmen, The Choir and Glenn Schwartz, guitarist for the James Gang before Joe Walsh.

After graduating from Chardon High in 1969, he briefly tried to pursue his passion at Kent State University, but no such institutions offered recording programs back then.

He spent some time at loose ends before landing a job with Clair Brothers Audio in Lancaster, Pa., which provided sound reinforcement for major concerts. His first gig was for Elton John, and he later worked on a Johnny Cash tour.

He discovered live sound wasn't what he was looking for and ended up back in Chardon.

Soon after, he went to work for the former Cleveland Recording Co., the major recording studio in the area.

The wide variety of genres — from commercial jingles to rock — provided a solid foundation for his current job with Telarc, which primarily deals in classical, jazz and blues.

He started freelancing for Telarc in 1978 and came aboard full time a decade later.

The job has provided him plenty of opportunity for travel and walks on the red carpet at Grammy time, but he said he much prefers to be at home with his wife and his horses, practicing for team penning competitions.

He recently brought some good PR to his hometown when he arranged for blues recording artist Eric Bibb to use a historic building at Century Village, on Burton Village Square.

He often gets asked for advice on how to break into his field.

"Learn everything you can about music, electronics, computers, and be extremely versatile," he said.

"There are many opportunities outside of the music business that involve audio recording."

He said there are good programs at some Cleveland institutions, and at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland.

URL: http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2008/12/10/news/nh212540.prt

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