Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanner Roman.
Hi Tanner, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have been blessed beyond measure to have such an exciting life and career full of opportunities. I started my journey as a 5th grader learning guitar alongside my older brother Travis. I have the most supportive parents in the world, who did everything they possibly could to get me started, like getting me my first guitar. My grandad gave us our first lesson on the 1981 Takamine Acoustic that I still play today. As soon as I figured it out, I was hooked. Thankfully all of my siblings are also musically talented, so I always had plenty of family influence to develop musically. I spent the next eight years forgetting to eat, sleep, or do homework, trying to become the best guitarist I could be. Freshman year of high school, I challenged myself to play an 8-minute virtuoso progressive rock piece called Acid Rain by Liquid Tension Experiment on guitar by the time I graduated. I played it in front of my whole school a couple of months before graduation and it was everything I wanted it to be! I was SURE that’s what I wanted to do forever… That is, until I stepped into Tom Reeves Recording Studio, West Park Creative for my band’s 8th grade talent show rehearsal. The moment I saw it, I said, “Nope, I’m going to be an audio engineer for the rest of my life”. So, I spent the NEXT eight years doing everything I could to accomplish THAT goal. I started attending Belmont University in 2008 majoring in Audio Engineering. I picked up gigs wherever I could by staying afterwards at concerts, helping to wrap cables, and just being available in case they needed any extra help.
An unexpected turn happened near the end of college in 2011 when I accidentally learned video. A friend and I had planned to shoot a studio-quality, acoustic-live music video (a lower budget concept that hadn’t been super-popularized at that point) for a new songwriter in town, Nikolas Wayne. I packed up my Pro Tools 6.8 setup with some condenser mics, swiped a few of my parent’s living room lamps, and headed over to a friend’s barn. Next thing I know, I am done setting up audio, but the videographer still isn’t there. Turns out, I had recorded his band’s EP the week before and I found right then he was getting signed to his first label deal and wasn’t going to make it. I told him “Congrats” and “I’ll figure something out”. Suddenly, I remembered that a friend left her Canon 7D DSLR Camera in my car. I had never used it before, so I Googled “How to record video and control brightness on a 7D”….and I did the shoot myself… it actually went really great! I totally had the option to call it off, but I chose to make due with what I had and give it my best shot…. now, it’s half of my career. Looking back, I’m so glad that I stayed optimistic and was able to find a solution. That was one of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned and I think about that most every day.
Over the next several years, I started to accumulate gear to furnish a small PA system. It was difficult to purchase much at first because I was on a mission. I had $70,000 in student loan debt and was working through the Dave Ramsey program while making $12.50/hr doing database admin at Sony ATV Music Publishing. Not to mention the handful of side jobs driving for Uber, shooting photos/video, and taking mixing gigs whenever I possibly could. I was able to pay off that $70k in 3 years. I appreciated all I had learned at Belmont, but I was thrilled to be free of that financial burden so I could invest in other things.
A few years later, I received a phone call from a college acquaintance named Jared, who was also in the industry. He told me he’d been following my career online and noticed that I almost always prefaced my work-related posts with either “So thankful to be a part of…” or “super blessed to be involved with…”. I didn’t even notice I was doing that, but Jared did and wanted me on his team because of it. I learned a lot with him and still work sporadically with his crew at Macro Productions, which I am very grateful for. He and Nathan are top-notch and I’m honored to say that I just worked alongside them for the 2021 Sports Emmy’s in June which was a BLAST.
In 2017, I met a very talented female performer named DeAnna who was in the market for an engineer for her entertainment company. She came over for the initial meeting to look through my PA options and made it abundantly clear that I was not just “a sound guy with some gear.” She immediately encouraged me to move forward with making Roman A/V official by getting my LLC set up and helping me understand what I needed to be a marketable business. She believed in who I was and what I was capable of from the very start… I asked her to marry me a few months later…. (she said yes and we will celebrate three years in October)
Since we’ve joined forces, I have learned a whole bunch about self-worth, running multiple companies, moving forward, work culture, the stark difference between manipulating and managing, and how important it is value your people, not just because ‘you can’t win without people’, but because people and their lives are what’s actually important. What is this all for, if not for people?
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I am incredibly passionate about what I do, so it doesn’t feel like the ‘ridiculously hard work’ that it is. Regardless of the ups and downs, I’d much rather chase my own dream than spend my days working toward someone else’s! I can really see my weaknesses clearly sometimes, but I’ve been working very hard to conquer them. The more I dig, the more I uncover how I can develop.
If there is anything smooth about my journey, it is the people I work alongside – I am treated like a person first and foremost and I try to make sure that’s the way our team feels as well. I went through a rough personal and professional patch in 2015 as a 25 years old. After some serious contemplating, I asked myself whether or not it is possible to be known for ONLY working with the best of people. IF that is even possible to manage, just think of how freeing it would be to ONLY have healthy work environments everywhere you go… I would like to thank the Capitol Theatre in Lebanon, Jonathan Korzelius, Mike Whetzel, Seth Hewson, For A Good Time, Call…LLC, Audience of One Productions, Macro Productions, Christ Presbyterian Academy, Big Screen Productions, Anthem Entertainment, Franklin Christian Academy, Studio Tenn, Franklin Road Academy, Performing Writer, Cahoots, and countless artists, venues and industry professionals for helping me answer that question. I look forward to every day at work because of people like you!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
ROMAN A/V Specializes in: A/V Installs, live streaming, live audio/video and recording, sound design, acoustical renovations, official and acoustic live music videos, PA Rental, DJ services, studio recordings, EPK development…
I am sometimes leery of people who say that they have a usual amount of professional skills. Sometimes that means, “I dabble,” but I have truly spent my life trying to master each of these skills on a competitive level. The same can be said for our team and I’d say that’s what sets us apart. We have the most solid contractors who work alongside us. They are “masters of all trades” and will not leave a stone unturned. Being able to find folks with that 110% mentality who treat your company like their own is incredibly rare. We couldn’t be more grateful for them!
One of the things I am most proud of is, I found out recently that a video DeAnna and I directed/shot/edited went number 1. That was a BIG moment for us! Skype – producing the Emmys was amazing…I get to see my work on CMT or sometimes even hear it on the radio… I’ve been able to tour running sound…I’ve worked the red carpet for the CMT Awards shooting photos of celebs, some of which have been friends of mine since middle school… it’s crazy to run into each other as adults while doing our respective professional “gigs.” I get to work with my wife… it’s seamless. I work for her some weekends, she works for me shooting photos or video or being the “V.P. of Vibe” for a shoot or session. I still find time to track my own music and play my guitar… I have the best life.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
People often complain that they are held back by their “starter” equipment and assume they can’t do anything of value with less expensive gear. I tell them to get better at utilizing the capabilities that you DO have access to vs being negative about it. When I teach audio, I tell the students about this Ted Talk video on Youtube which chronicles a musician’s perspective. While speaking on stage, he nonchalantly fiddles with knives and a power drill and cuts up some vegetables. While the audience is baffled about what is happening, he finishes his speech, picks up a large carrot with holes cut into it, and proceeds to play it like a wind instrument…and it sounded beautiful. So, unless your gear just doesn’t work, there is probably somebody who has worked harder to be able to make less expensive sound even better. Figure out a way to maximize your potential and then upgrade later when you can (and not on a credit card).
I also have a thing about grumpy sound engineers… I love to set the tone on my gigs. I pleasantly introduce myself, let the client know that I am there for them and that I’m willing to do everything I can to be helpful and make the show go smoothly. You’d be surprised how big of a difference that makes.
Oh, and lastly – learn how to wrap a cable correctly…seriously….
Pricing:
- Acoustic Live Music Video: Starts at $500/song
- PA System Rental: ~$500 – ~$2,000
- LiveStream: Starts at $1000
- Studio Mixing: Starts at $300/song
- Official Music Video: Starts at $3,000
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.romanav.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/tannerroman
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/RomanAVLLC
