Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Zachary Rippy of Downtown Mesa

We recently had the chance to connect with Zachary Rippy and have shared our conversation below.

Zachary, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I recently got off of a tour with some of my childhood heroes, Blink 182 and Alkaline Trio. I was mixing the band Drug Church who opened a leg of the tour. I had done a few arena and amphitheater shows but this was different. My first concert was Blink and No Doubt in 2004. “Dammit” was the first song I learned on guitar. “Enema of the State” was one of the first CDs I got with my own money. I have been using “The Fallen Interlude” to check PAs since I started touring. I also love the band Drug Church that I was working for. Everyday on the tour was a dream!
Earlier this year I got to do a festival with Metallica. Afterward I called my uncle and my mom to brag about it and they obviously said “wow I know them!” And I got that satisfaction. That was so cool, however, I didn’t grow up learning to play guitar to Metallica (maybe unfortunately?). I did grow up loving Blink and still do. This here is probably the moment I am most proud of up to this point.
I am hoping to have the same experience in the studio one day soon.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Sound Signal Audio (Visual) is the multimedia production entity operated entirely by me, Zachary Rippy. I am a Grammy-nominated engineer and creative in the underground and independent music scene. I generally record and mix (do sound for) rock and metal bands in the studio and live in concert. I’m the guy at the spaceship like console with all the knobs making things sound the way they do, either on record, or at a live concert. I primarily spend my time making records, sometimes videos, and touring with bands. I do not work for a larger company and stay independent so I can choose the things I want to work on.
I run a recording studio in Mesa, AZ and have been touring a lot but mainly with Converge and Harm’s Way as of late. I’ve recently worked on records for Gatecreeper, Midnight, and Fleshwater.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I’ll try my best with this one. Growing up I was a very angry young man with a lot to prove. I didn’t have a lot of my own opinions or feelings. A lot of carrying my parents ideas until I was on my own. Still very angry and with a lot to prove, I started looking inward at who I want to be rather than outward. My parents ideas or things I picked up from movies and popular culture, all of it had to go and I had to reset myself. It’s still a process and I find myself every once in a while going back to who I was. I am now looking for my own approval and satisfaction internally.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
There have been a few times I have wanted to give up. I had a large dispute with my landlord and almost lost my inheritance. Through perseverance and id like to think, being a decent person, that all worked itself out. Over the Covid pandemic, I did have a large scare and went almost 10 months without any real music work. I was back to doing construction and maintenance work. I actually didn’t mind the work however, I really missed my on the road lifestyle after sometime. It was a good reminder and motivation to the course!

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
I don’t think so. I am struggling to find the real me myself. I used to make art and express myself. A big reason, and probably not a good one that I love my job is I am a facilitator. I can check out of my own creative endeavors and get behind somebody else’s. It can totally satisfy that immediate need to create and participate. However, when it’s finished and I look back on something I helped somebody else complete, there is something missing. I got into this for me to create and express myself but I find it harder and harder each day. This is a me problem though and I have lots of anxieties and things I am still working through to meet my ultimate goal of one day making my own piece of art that resonates with people over time.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What will you regret not doing? 
Every year that passes that I don’t put out my own music or creative projects weights on me. It is a regret I have had, do have and will have. This is one of the biggest struggles in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://soundsignalaudio.com
• Instagram: @sound_signal_audio
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-rippy-27432228
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soundsignalaudiovisual/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SOUNDSIGNALAUDIO

Image Credits
“Dookie” Manuel Barajas @dookiemeno
Kevin Allen @supremeoverlordkevin