The Profiler - Robert "Giff" Gifford

Each issue OFF! highlights a local person who has achieved success in his/her field. This edition features Robert "Giff" Gifford of Cape Girardeau.

THE STATS: Age: 30 (by two days). Status: single

Giff is the new Studio Manager for Riverside Recording. A classically trained musician, he attended the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisc. He still spends part of the year in Wisconsin, even though he moved home. He is one of the "major players" in the largest music festival in the world; "Summerfest" in Milwaukee.

OFF!: Tell me a little about your musical background. Have you been in many bands?

GIFF: I had my first band in college called SEX. It didn't exactly make me the favorite among the faculty at the Conservatory. I'm not sure if it was the name, my long hair or the fact it was a rock and roll band; probably all three. Since I first became involved in music, I have been in over 250 ensemble bands, scores

of jazz combos. I did two tours of Europe as a soloist.

OFF!: What instruments do you play?

GIFF: I play every wind instrument, percussion instrument and keyboards. In my work I score wind instruments and jazz ensembles for clients, in addition to mastering and mixing recordings.

OFF!: You mentioned you also did event planning. What kind of events?

GIFF: I have worked for every major music festival; from Lilith Fair to Woodstock, they have called me in. I still spend half of each year in Wisconsin planning Summerfest.

OFF!: You seem to wear a lot of different hats in the music field. What would you say is your favorite?

GIFF: I just love music, any form--Classical, Rock, Gospel, Jazz, which I believe is music in its purest form. To be a great jazz musician, you are pushing that line all the time. To aspire to be a great jazz musician is a dangerous thing. Jazz is for the real musicians. But as an artist, I want to create music that you can listen to a thousand times and still hear something different. You can sit there listening and then you'll say "Heyyyyyy, where did that come from? " I can do this when I master and mix a band. Touch it here, move that over there, take out that chorus, what was that verse there for? In the first 11 to 17 seconds of hearing a band, I can tell you all about the band--who is the strongest player, who can't play at all, who's lost, who's pushing the rhythm and if it is on purpose. I get the same joy when I am working on other things as well. I did the Disney Christmas Special this last year and got the same joy out of that.

OFF!: Sounds like it would be difficult for you to pick a favorite aspect of your work.

GIFF: No, my favorite thing is working with the bands perfecting their music. With some bands, you need to spend over half your recording time just rehearsing, preparing for the recording session. When I have made it the way it needs to be recorded, the bands cannot get over how great they sound. I have been told my musical talent is worth millions; but I firmly believe that if I am going to become a millionaire it will be because of my music production. I have worked with every major band in the country, with the exception of Pink Floyd and Michael Jackson. And yes, it's true. I did turn down the job with the Backstreet Boys. That's all I am going to say on that issue.

OFF!: Playing, recording, touring with major label bands; sounds like a pretty hectic career. Isn't that difficult to do from here in Cape?

GIFF: Not really. At Riverside we have wonderful rooms and gear. Combine that with all my own gear and it makes recording and mixing easily done from here in town. Plus we have the best talent there is located right here. Tim Cagle is our chief engineer. Kurt Tietz is our studio manager and my right hand. He's classically trained on double bass and scores strings. We have one of the best set ups in any mid-level market. We can compete with the Big Boys. Ours is better than anything even in Chicago. St Louis has one a little nicer than ours; but it comes with a price to match it. Right now I am mixing recordings for the band, MESH. They are the biggest "non-signed" band in Missouri. They have air play all over the country. They are getting spun in LA and all over.

As for the touring part. They will call me from all over the country and say, "Giff, we need you here." They fly me wherever that is with my gear and I get the job done.

(Note, Giff told me what he makes per day for this kind of troubleshooting. He makes in one day more than I make in two weeks.)

OFF!: One last question, of all you have accomplished musically, what is the scariest thing you have ever done?

GIFF: That would have to be a tour I did. We did eight cities in ten days. The band was only five days old when we started the tour. We did 17 original songs, two of them we wrote during the five days of rehearsal. That was a lot of fun.