Dorian Gehring is a musician and music producer from Chicago, IL. He has his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and Music Production from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. As a musician he focuses mostly on the violin and guitar, but has some years behind the wheel on other instruments. Though he currently plays mostly fiddle music on the violin, he studied classical violin for nine years at Northwestern University’s String Academy.
Dorian found his love for recording as early as he could press both the play and record buttons simultaneously on his little tape recorder. He would bang on the piano and sing at the top of his lungs until the tape filled up. When he was in grade school he started learning how to use his father’s Fostex four-track tape recorder. By the eighth grade he had produced an album of songs in which he played all of the instruments (guitars, bass, piano, drums, and vocals) that was produced on the four-track. Dorian’s first opportunity to record in a professional studio was at Delmark recording studios in Chicago. His grade school music program recorded two albums of student written songs. He also recorded two Cajun albums with his band at Delmark during those years. In high school he recorded one more album on the four-track before purchasing Pro Tools software.
Dorian’s high school home recording endeavors include a full album for his band (at the time) SmazE that was self-recorded, as well as several projects that he did for classes. In high school he joined artist and classmate Sima Cunningham as a musician on her album. This self-titled album was recorded and produced by Brian Deck at Engine Studios in Chicago. This opened up a continuing musical collaboration between the two. Cunningham quickly joined forces with SmazE, and The Audians were born. They recorded once more with Brian Deck in the following year, and also started working with Jeff Oliver and Riverbend Studio. They produced the album Aliens And Friends with tracks recorded at both locations. Dorian also recorded a Cajun album at Riverbend Studio with Jeff Oliver. The first album Dorian produced on his own was the debut album of a group (now called) the Souls. This album was also recorded at Riverbend Studio. In addition to recording, Dorian also did a lot of live sound work. The Cajun group travels with a full PA system, and Dorian also ran sound for school coffee houses. During this time also was the sound crew chief for high school theater productions. He graduated with enough knowledge to land him a technical theater scholarship at Cornell College.
At Cornell College Dorian was seen working extensively with the theater department running sound and designing shows, as well as recording student artists and bands in his dorm room. He recorded an album for Simon MacKenzie as well as the group the Lost Boys. He was also hired by individuals to record audition tapes.
During all of this he found time to collaborate musically with Sima Cunningham on an album called “Time Is Never Your Friend“. He still gigs regularly with his Cajun band, the Vagabonds. In addition to The Cajun Vagabonds, Dorian can be seen playing Cajun music every Sunday from 6-8pm at the Davis Street Fish Market with the Bucktown Aces.
In past summers he has worked for the Chicago Park District in the Inferno Mobile Recording Studio. This program goes to summer camps in the district and creates an opportunity for the campers to record and create music videos.
Currently Dorian can be sighted playing gigs around the Chicago area. Behind the scenes he can be found over at Engine Studios a few days a week, or doing session work as a musician or engineer elsewhere. Dorian is also giving lessons on fiddle, guitar, and sometimes accordion, though he would be glad to show you what he knows of a few other instruments. For information about recording, booking, or shows head over here.
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