Right between your ears. It’s our workspace. Since 1985, after we graduated from UCLA Theater, and college radio, we’ve been listening, creating and making noise as Sound Advice.
We were a startup before there were startups. We were disruptive. Our studio was one of the first “maker spaces,” a lab that focused on developing great work for our clients.
It worked. And that’s still who we are. We love a good story. We love sound. We love finding the path that delivers great ideas where they belong: right between your ears.
Creative Director Matt Wright got hooked on sound around age two, and has been chasing and making interesting stories, noises, and music ever since. His career path was locked when a neighbor showed him how to use a tape recorder to become the voices of Alvin And The Chipmunks.
Matt majored in Theater at UCLA. He and Lou met and became managers at the campus radio station KLA, where Matt was the production and program director. After college, unable to pick from among all the job offers (meaning none) that usually come to Theater majors, Matt and Lou reunited to start Sound Advice, where, thousands of spots, numerous awards, and three studio buildings later, they remain hard at work.
Matt also did a 10-year stint at KPCC, winning two Golden Mike awards for news coverage, and rubbing elbows with everyone from Timothy Leary to Carl Sagan.
Lou Schwing, our president, grew up in Lakewood, California, and majored in Theater at UCLA. In between acting and directing classes, he found his way to the campus radio station, KLA, where he worked his way up the ladder, becoming Program Director, and eventually General Manager.
A natural marketing strategist, Lou continued to work in radio after college until co-founding Sound Advice with Matt. Since then, Lou has produced thousands of radio spots and built one of the early “start-ups” into one of the leading audio messaging companies in America. He also raised a family and is involved in Scouting as an adult leader on the Executive Board of the Verdugo Hills Council, BSA, and is a Past-President of the Council.
The next time you pass someone hiking on a mountain trail, say hi. It might be Lou.
Stephan Robley is Senior Editor and Archivist at Sound Advice. He came to us from the University Of Hawaii, where he earned a journalism degree, and co-managed the campus radio station, KTUH.
In his time with us, he’s earned an M.A in Mass Communication and a second M.A. in Library and Information Science. He’s an avid surfer, a California native, and pretty laid back about everything except getting your project just right.
Richard Frank has a Ph.D. in Helpfulness. Okay, we’re kidding, sort of. Richard leads our business development team and spends his days bringing people together, like you and Sound Advice.
He’s worked for some of the busiest entertainment marketing firms in the country, which is why they got so busy. He does have a Master’s in Educational Technology, and when he isn’t making friends, he plays bass, produces music, and heads Play The Groove Music, a non-profit music and arts education organization.
Heather Foreman is our skilled Director of Operations and Production who makes Sound Advice go. She manages all the moving parts that ensure we answer your questions, address your concerns, and meet your deadlines; that materials are where they should be, and never where they shouldn’t; that the talent gets paid; and that the editors have what they need to make your project the best it can be.
Emily Wright has been around sound all her life. Some of her earliest memories revolve around spending the day at Sound Advice, where she loved to sit in front of the microphone and re-enact bits from her favorite movies, television shows, songs, and the occasional comedy record. She has since graduated from helpful kid who always wanted to participate in the various projects that came through the doors at Sound Advice, to an official editor and producer who takes pride and joy in creating radio worth listening to. She is also a seasoned actor with a BA in Theatre from the University of Redlands. She has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, led multiple technical theatre crews, created theatrical sound designs for several plays, and, at Sound Advice, is focused on audio storytelling to help market great visual entertainment. Recent projects include Lisa Frankenstein, The Bachelor and American Idol.
