Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiff Falls.
Hi Tiff, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been surround by music since I was a little kid in Montreal, Canada. My dad’s side of the family were all musicians or singers, and every family get together had the family band playing all night. My grandfather was the main inspiration for everyone to take it up and was a guitar player and singer, mostly blues. I loved being around music and instruments and wanted to play them all. My mother supported music in a different way with her awesome range in genres of music she loved. From Zeppelin to Beatles, Heavy D to BB King, Santana to Loreena McKennitt plus so much more. She opened my eyes to the fact that we can like all of it at once and that blew open my world. I then got into hard rock which is still my favorite genre, and got into electric guitar. I played in a hard rock all original band in Florida when I was 19-22. Loved every minute of it and still miss that band to this day as I love performing and writing with a band.
Moving forward, I met Karine Pierson, my wife, in 2016 and became a stage hand for her event band that played all over Michigan just by going to all her shows and wanting to help. I stumbled into a trial by fire scenario when one evening, the sound engineer up and quit a few hours before the show. Karine said “OK, so you have to run sound tonight because we cant find a sub!” Immediate panic hits like a ton of bricks, but I quickly ran through everything I learned and observed previous and with the help of the band, we made it through the night with minimal hiccups. It was exhilarating! Having to solve issues real time for a live band and being the one who translates what the music sounds like raw to what the audience experiences, knowing you are the final and vital piece to that connection was an incredible feeling. I knew and felt that it was what I needed to do with my life, alongside being a musician. Through the last 2 years of that band, to hopping on a year long audio A2 gig with a country band, getting trained by Glenn Preston from Grand Funk Railroad and learning vital things to expand my skills, to forming a duo in Pontiac with my wife called The Lofteez and playing out, to moving to Traverse City and getting my associates degree in Audio Technology at the awesome Northwestern Community College, it brought me to graduation of the program in 2023. I was working at the Workshop Brewing Co. as sound engineer and booking manager to get hours for Audio Tech classes at the time and heard about a job available at The Alluvion. I was first connected with The Alluvion when I volunteered to be on the crew for a show that Maria Ulrich was taking on as she was my teacher at the time. This was very early on for The Alluvion, so there was no stage, no wood walls, and no surface for the mixing board to even mix on. This was my first introduction to the space. NMC was incredible for providing us with ample networking opportunities and so many festivals to get experience working, its an absolute vital part in this line of work to have these connections. The teachers were also part of the amazing time I had in the program including Brady Corcoran, Patrick Niemisto, and David Chown and they helped changed the course of my life. I applied for the job, thinking well, Ill give it a shot and hope they pick me haha. It was a nerve wracking few weeks waiting for their final decision, but as fate had it, I made the cut! Being so warmly welcomed into the initial group of Jeff Haas, Brad and Amanda Kik, and Matt McCalpin, I felt like I was somewhere incredibly special. They care about you in The Alluvion family, they dont just say it. They show up for you day after day. I feel heard, supported, loved, and pushed to be the best person and sound engineer that most of the time I dont even know I can be. Im also so stoked to be working with my fellow classmates from the Audio Tech program at The Alluvion, like Skyelea Martin, Will Lewellen, Rebecca Hurt, Sam Briggs and McKenzie Johnson and our newcomer Paxton. They are kicking so much ass! This community of musicians and people in Traverse City and surrounding places like Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo have allowed me to fit right in and evolve myself into new possibilities, including the adventure Im currently on now, my first ever tour with Irish American band the olllam. Yep, three L’s. This band is the most unique band Ive ever worked with in music and with Joe Dart on bass., Mike Shimmin on drums and Joe Hettinga on keys all from Michigan and fused with Irish and Scottish traditional players, its unlike anything youve heard.
Thanks to the incredible support and teachings of David Marchione, sound engineer for Bob James and a great soul to be around, I was able to get my name in the hat for this tour. Along with Nick Nagurka who helped me secure gear and helped me with my many questions I had for the road and other generous souls who put in a word for me, I was able to land this gig. Three shows in and its already changed my life and increased my skills by more than I could of ever expected. These things shape your life for good, bringing a fullness and pride you can only get from being brave enough to jump off of your comfort zone directly into a new, scary, and exhilarating world as your workd explodes outward and expands to fantastic levels. Words are unable to express the gratitude I have for my life and the people in it, you really just have to feel it and soak in the epic glory of taking a chance on yourself and believing others when they believe in you.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I feel the only way to get to smooth roads is to trudge through the rough ones.
The hardest challenges for me usually are internal. We fight against ourselves a lot. Imposter syndrome, not feeling worthy, lack of confidence, general anxiety of performing well. While most of these feelings are normal, I feel the chronic nature of them can hinder a lot of progress. We moved around a lot the first few years of our duo, learning lessons of who to connect with and who to avoid. Sometimes those lost friendships are devastating, missed opportunities can kill your motivation and just the day to day of life’s struggles all weigh in sometimes simultaneously. Its hard to pick yourself back up from those blows. We got in with a bad manager for a while, went through a period of deaths of family and friends, suffered financial hardships, the things that just help you dig in deeper to your boundaries, your soul, your resilience to keep showing up for yourself. Build up your community, its vital in hard times.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Its hard to pick one or the other between creative and employee as usually we all wear many hats.
First, Im a musician, I love playing guitar and bass and producing our music we have that is currently in the works to expanding into a full band and playing out.
I love our music in The Lofteez, I am proud of the skills I learned at NMC to record and produce it to take it to the next level. I love writing music in styles that I grew up loving to listen to. So im excited to get back into that creative aspect of it.
I am most known in my community for being a Sound Engineer, especially at The Alluvion. I am incredibly proud of what we have made The Alluvion continuously evolve into. We have curated a space for people to really listen to the music, to experience in its fullest form, up close and personal. You are getting big venue energy from a small but mighty space. So many people have seen their childhood heroes play not even 5 feet in front of them, got to meet them and talk gear, music and life with them. Those experiences are what core memories are made from. Sometimes I still wonder how I get paid to do this job and that this is my life. These lyrics from Talking Heads runs through my head almost every day at The Alluvion “And you may ask yourself ‘How do I work this?…’this is not my beautiful house”
Im not sure what sets me apart, but I know that the passion for whatever you do in life will shine through as being yours and yours alone.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Oh man, so much haha! For audio engineers, the things I always repeat to myself are things like, always ask questions if you dont know something, knowledge is all the power you need, and confidence comes from knowledge. Take the right initiative at the right times. Willingness and being open to learn from everyone, no matter the skill level, and absorb perspectives like a sponge, will make you be so much more versatile. Leave ego completely out of it, it will limit you the most. Be friendly, be compassionate and understanding. Trial and error everything you can. Take time to get somewhere early and learn a board, experiment in real time with compression, FX, anything you feel like you are lacking in. You are the one responsible for your ultimate success. Professionalism first and foremost. Most of all, have patience.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @riffintiffsoundz
- Facebook: RiffinTiff
