interview JORGE PEREZCHICA
photography DOOKIE
Tell us about yourself and your hometown.
FREDDY JIMENEZ: Coachella, when I was growing up, there was more gangs around. I never really got too involved in it and stuff. I knew what the lifestyle was about because I had a lot of friends and a brother that where into it. I’ve always leaned more towards music and art. All that other shit was way to fucked-up for me. When I was in middle school my brother got more involved in the streets, which made me go on my own path. Before that happened, I was always learning from him, that’s how I got into punk. Around that time there was some small music scenes forming consisting of a lot of punk, metal, hardcore, and indie rock. So I grew up going to most of those backyard shows in the East desert and some shows in Palm Springs.
What is Blue Hill Studios?
Blue Hill Studios is a mixed media creative studio focusing on silk screening and audio engineering.
How did you get into screen-printing?
I first started with a cardboard stencil, then a couple of years passed and I discovered a better way to produce my stickers, and that was screen-printing. I was really into graffiti and street art in high school. Instead of buying stickers, I’d just make them myself, because it was cheaper and I could just give a bunch of them away without worrying about cost. I would get all my blank stickers from the post office for free. I originally bought my beginner’s kit, a “yudu” to mass produce stickers for street art purposes. But, I eventually grew out of that phase and then bought my professional equipment in 2011. It was really hard to learn it professionally. I was going to just sell my press right after I bought it because it was also super expensive to do it right. But the person who had sold it to me was a really close friend of mine and ended up passing away. Before he passed away, he was trying to convince me not to sell it. He is the reason why I’ve gotten this far with this craft and why I’m not working a shitty “9-5”. His name was Sam Orozco. But, Recording, I’ve been on-and-off because there are only so many hours in a day.
Did you get help or mentoring with recording music?
Yes! From a man who’s name is Alfonso Recio. He owns Music Proz in Indio, CA. I started going there when they first opened four years ago. I gravitated towards him because of the amount of knowledge he has in the art, and eventually bugged him enough to get him to teach me his technique and share knowledge with…not many artist or musicians are like him.
What was the most valuable thing you learned?
Oh man! Patience, persistence, and to keep pushing forward.
And then you expanded into a recording studio. Is that in part because you were in a band?
I was in a band. I was trying to figure out ways to record our music without paying a studio. So my friend Andrew “Big Sexy” would let me borrow his PA system. And from there, I just looked up techniques to somehow plug that PA system into a computer. I discovered the Behringer interface RCA. And that was the beginning.
Are you looking for a studio where you can have both screen printing and the music going? Is that your future goals or plans?
That’s the plan. I’m not trying to lean on a certain side. I love both and I’m a certified audio engineer now. I am trying to build a nice studio where people from outside the desert want to come out and record an album; I’m not just doing it for just the local bands. I want it to be open for everybody.
Now you are in a band called the Tribesmen. How would you describe the sound.
I play drums…It’s all instrumental. That started because we couldn’t find a singer to fit our expectations, but I knew we had something good going. We didn’t need a singer because our music was all based on emotion and the sound felt different from the norm. It’s more cinematic. It’s more like a movie music type of deal you know? And that’s what I kind of want to lean towards. I want to write music and structure music in a way like a movie is formed.
Like a movie sound track?
Yeah, like that. I would want to eventually score for films. That’s what we hope to eventually do.