Why I Filmed an Unboxing of a Phone Charger
During this series, I filmed an unboxing of a phone charger.
Yes—a phone charger.
On the surface, that probably makes no sense at all for a studio-focused YouTube channel. It’s not exciting, it doesn’t blink, it doesn’t make sound, and it certainly doesn’t scream music technology. So why include it?
The short answer is: because that’s what happened in my studio that day.
Filming What Actually Happens
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my channel is intentionally a little different. From the beginning, I made a deal with myself: I would film what happens in my studio—good days, bad days, productive stretches, confusion, mistakes, and all.
That means sometimes I may come across as knowledgeable and confident, and other times I might sound like a blabbering fool brainstorming ideas out loud. Both versions are real, and both belong there.
This channel exists primarily as a resource for my students. If they watch my videos, they should recognize the same person they see in lessons. Someone who loves music, enjoys technology, and is happy to share what they know—but who also isn’t afraid to make mistakes, rethink decisions, or admit when something didn’t work.
Edited, But Not Curated
To be clear, the videos are edited. If they weren’t, they’d make far less sense than they already do. What I don’t do is edit out mistakes simply because they’re messy or unflattering.
You’ll see me rewire my studio multiple times. You’ll hear me obsess over mixer placement for weeks. You’ll witness my overcomplicated workflow theories come and go in real time. All of it stays.
Not because it’s popular—but because it’s real.
A Studio Is More Than Gear
So back to the phone charger.
Owning and operating a studio—especially one that also functions as a business—isn’t only about music gear. It also means hole punches, pens, binders, staplers, loose-leaf paper, and all the other unglamorous tools that keep things running.
Not everything in a studio can have blinking lights.
That realization made me wonder: what non-studio items live in other people’s studios? Is it all gear, all the time? Or is there a fridge shaped like R2-D2 hiding in the corner with an iced tea inside?
When watching studio videos online, I often notice the personal items that soften the space—bobbleheads, toys, memorabilia, odd little objects that make the room feel lived in rather than clinical.
The Personal Side of My Studio
In my studio, those personal touches include:
- Wooden carved church mouse musicians
- A saxophone-playing dog made from pipe fittings
- A carved wooden head
- Five large framed pictures of famous jazz musicians
- My grandfather’s violin on display
- A trumpet
- A few of my mother’s old Royal Conservatory of Music textbooks
None of these items improve my signal flow or my mixes—but they make the space feel calmer, more familiar, and more human.
The Point of It All
So yes, I filmed a phone charger.
Because studios aren’t just collections of instruments and cables. They’re workspaces, living spaces, creative spaces—and sometimes offices filled with mundane tools that quietly support everything else.
For me, documenting all of it—the exciting and the ordinary—is part of telling the real story of what it’s like to build and live in a studio.
And that, more than anything, is what this series is about.
Happy creating.
