PROFILE
Dave Misener
By Manus Hopkins
Dave Misener likens the professional audio industry to the community of motorcycle riders . In addition to being a prolific audio engineer , he ’ s also a biker — and shares at least a small connection with every other motorcycle rider he sees .
“ When you ’ re riding a motorcycle and you pass another motorcycle on the road , everyone always gives a little wave to each other ,” he elaborates . “ There ’ s a camaraderie in the audio industry that ’ s much like that . It goes beyond the simple networking .”
Misener was born in Orangeville , ON , and describes his early life as “ semi-nomadic ,” saying his parents moved around a lot and he went to 11 different schools . As a teenager living in mostly rural settings , Misener started learning to play guitar and forming bands . He ’ d always wanted to become a musician , but felt like he was being pushed to “ get a real job .” Still , he kept up music as a hobby while he studied horticulture and went on to work for the City of Toronto as a gardener for 10 years .
“ All of the time , I was in bands ,” he says .“ So , I was playing music and also learning how to do recording on my own .”
Working in professional audio wasn ’ t always on Misener ’ s mind , but he took an interest in it simply because his various bands needed someone to record them .
“ It was out of necessity ,” he says . “ The bands I was in wanted to record , so I ended up recording them .”
His first experience recording was with a four-track minidisc recorder , but eventually , he opened his own studio nearly 20 years ago . Misener ran his studio for three or four years , but closed shop because he wasn ’ t getting enough work . He continued on with his gardening job , while still playing and recording music on the side .
Through a string of music events involving a band he was in at the time , Misener met Dave Dysart , president of HHB Canada , now YSL Pro . After chatting for a bit , Dysart invited Misener to come work for HHB as an audio product specialist , and Misener credits this as his actual start in the professional audio industry .
Since HHB was a small company , everyone who worked there did a bit of everything , and in addition to being an audio product specialist , Misener took up event planning , which consisted mainly of organizing trade shows and putting together producer ’ s panels , whose participants would typically include some of the country ’ s top producers . These panels are some of Misener ’ s main career highlights , as he was able to meet and become friends with several notable producers to whom he looks up . He also started leaning towards the marketing side of the business , which quickly became a massive part of his job , eventually leading him to take up a role as Universal Audio ’ s brand manager .
When the pandemic hit and Misener was laid off , he set out on his own and started jumping from gig to gig as a freelance audio specialist , after a six-week period of rethinking his goals and working on a new plan .
“ I decided I needed to make some massive changes and start pursuing things that were just a little more fulfilling ,” he says .
This led to Misener reaching out to a few different companies run by people he knew through the industry . He started working with a company called Hoffman Hayes , which focuses on healthy food programs , urban agriculture , and community development . There , Misener branched out some more as a part of their media production team with skills in video editing and photography he had picked up during his HHB days , and documented the work Hoffman Hayes was doing . This included the installation of vegetable gardens on commercial properties in downtown Toronto where the food is donated to the community .
One of these properties won an International Toby award for Outstanding Building of the Year , in part from the work the company did with the garden . Hoffman Hayes continued bringing Misener on for other projects as well . “ That seems to be a relationship that ’ s just moving forward ,” he remarks .
Misener has worn several different hats over the past year . Last summer , he got into contact with Darkspark , a not-for-profit organization that uses the arts as a catalyst for social change , and started helping them build relationships with music technology companies . Another project Misener took up was a role producing and engineering a sex-positivity and sex education podcast called Sex News with Rae , which has been
nominated by the Canadian Podcast Awards for Outstanding Health and Fitness Series , and he ’ s even started mixing albums again , as well as doing voiceover work , sound design , and dialogue editing for children ’ s animation .
“ I ’ m becoming more socially-minded ,” he says , “ and really trying to dedicate myself to work that is about education — the anti-oppression , the anti-racism work , work around food security — I ’ ve been taking my skills that I ’ ve developed over the last two decades and applying them in a way that is putting more good out in the world . It ’ s a massive thing for me .”
Going from a steady job to jumping from gig to gig comes with its hurdles and uncertainties , though . Misener said one of the most challenging aspects at first was knowing who to reach out to in order to find the type of work he wanted to do . He didn ’ t make a solid plan for setting up his freelance career , instead just winging it , which was difficult to do , and not easy financially either .
That being said , Misener is happy with the thoughtful work he is doing now , and for the work-life balance he has now been able to achieve , something he felt he was missing before . With two teenagers at home , he appreciates not being away all the time anymore . His freelance career didn ’ t come quickly or easily , but proved to be worth it . He ’ s still available for hire in media production , digital storytelling , project documentation , marketing strategy work , and micro content creation through his website , www . blankspacescreative . com .
“ I feel like taking a slow approach has amounted to work that ’ s just far more rewarding ,” he says .
Manus Hopkins is a freelance writer based in Whitehorse , YT and a former Editorial Assistant at Professional Sound .
20 PROFESSIONAL SOUND