Spotlight On…Alexandria Wood and the Art of Sound Engineering

Matt Hogan, Alexandria Wood, Johnny Pisano, Tommy London / photo by Howard B. Leibowitz

Alexandria Wood has the distinction of being not only an accomplished sound engineer, but is also the first woman to hold that position at City Winery‘s New York City location. At a recent Willie Nile show there, Brooklyn Roads was in conversation with bassist and Brooklynite Johnny Pisano in the “green room,” when Wood asked about the settings during their sound check; the conversation soon shifted to her.

The first thing we learned from her was that “it was not music that led me to audio engineering. I found that by chance, stumbling into the recording studio at college, where the head of the audio department helped convince me to make the best decision I’ve ever made. Having said that, it was Booker T. and the M.G.’s who led me to decide to go into the music side of audio; originally I was thinking about post production for film.”

Alexandria Wood at City Winery’s Sound Board / photo by Ray Fontaine

Wood went on to explain that “growing up, I wasn’t really introduced to music through my family so much. My parents’ taste was pretty generic for British children of the 70’s — a lot of Beatles, Kinks, etc. “Being an audio engineer opened up a lot of doors for me in terms of listening. I am sort of an abnormal engineer in that sense. However, I’ve found it to actually benefit me at times, because I am able to step back and have a more technical stance when working with musical artists.”

When Brooklyn Roads asked about her schooling, she told us that, “I received my B.A. in Audio Production. I learned about tracking and mixing in the studio, radio production, film pre- and post-production, music management, as well as being a member of the Audio Engineering Society.”

Alexandria Wood /photo by Ray Fontaine

How did she land her position at City Winery? “After [moving] to New York to start an internship at a recording studio in Dumbo, City Winery was the first hospitality job I found to support myself. I started as a host and usher … and after leaving for two years to pursue freelancing in audio, I stayed in touch with the audio engineers who worked here and eventually I had paid enough ‘dues,’ so to speak, to be brought back as an engineer.”

She lauds City Winery for having their organization systems down pat, “which allows me to focus on the part of the job I love — the sound. The challenging part of this job [is] in the less distinguished situations when the sound engineer ends up being responsible for more than just sound.”

When we asked if she knew of other women who have similar positions, she told us: “I know of a few and am meeting more through day-to-day experience and great forums like SoundGirls.Org. We may be few in number for now, but I am happy to say that that seems to be changing.”