About Me

Long days...

Howdy, I'm J Thompson.  I'm an audio engineer from Harrisburg, PA.  I'm a partner with Jason Rubal, in Seventh Wave Studio.  I'm a member and the founder of Red Sea Radio.  I also freelance as a live sound engineer, doing everything from FOH and Monitors, to mic wrangling (or A2 as it's called.), for various production companies and theaters.  

You might notice that this entire page is built in google's blogger.  It's not especially suave, innovative, or cutting edge.  Frankly, I don't have the time or inclination to build a flashy site.  I work in audio, I make records, I write music... that's where my heart is, that's where my head is, and that's where I am.  This is just an outlet to talk about gigs, highlight my work and be snarky.  It's like facebook, but I don't have to pretend to care about your side of things.

I studied Commercial Music at Bath Spa University (though, it was Bath Spa University College when I went there), and graduated with a Foundation Degree, which I'm told is the UK equivalent of a Specialized Associates Degree, in May 2003. 

2006 at Seventh Wave, engulfed in synths.

In England, perhaps as it was the zeitgeist of the early 00's, I acquired a fondness for electronic music and production.  I have since developed a synthesizer addiction, that will likely afflict me for my remaining years. 


In 2004, I started a recording project called Red Sea Radio , with Jackieraye.  We've played live a handful of times, and put out several recordings, some of which you can buy and listen to, if that's your thing.  

Red Sea Radio, 2004, Yes, we really are this cool.

Red Sea Radio recorded our second album at Jason Rubal's Seventh Wave Studio.  Jason and I hit it off, and I started working with him, programming synths and creating electronic motifs for some of his other clients, as well as doing remixes and assisting with remote recordings. I then began investing in my own recording equipment, which for convenience sake, I left at Seventh Wave, so Jason could get some use out of it as well. 

In 2006, I kind of fell ass backwards into theater and live sound work.  I had lost a job as a clerk at a large insurance company (thank god), and while bemoaning my plight, a longtime friend suggested I call a mutual acquaintance to find about getting on a call list for stagehand work.  Through meeting people and making contacts, I managed to pick up work for more production companies and theaters.  I quickly learned that there is a dearth of audio technicians in this area, and that fact has allowed me to scrape out a living for the last nine years.

An unpublished feature of A&H boards is the smell of burning dust.
Pretty lights not included.

In 2014, Jason and I struck a bargain to move the studio into a larger space, and I helped finance and construct the new digs.  We started sessions in February of 2015.  I'm housed in the "B" control room of Seventh Wave, surrounded by blood red walls, and glowing synths.  Check out the studio build page for more details about that. 

Aside from my life in audio, I'm a very proud parent of a very beautiful son named Michael.