Peter Drescher

9508 167th Ave NE
Redmond, WA 98052
pdx at twittering dot com cell: 650.473.1953
studio: 425.202.7721

Published authority on interactive and game audio technologies
Specialties in mobile soundtracks, software synthesis, and Audio UI
Expertise in sound design, music composition, and MIDI


Employment:

Audio Director, Microsoft, Redmond, WA 4.1.08 - 10.31.09

Sound Design and Sonic Branding for the Entertainment eXperience Group (EXG), a design resource for products in the E&D division. Projects included:

  • Development of Audio UI for the New Xbox Experience (NXE)
  • Sound design, content, and testing for Sidekick and PMX mobile devices
  • UI sounds for Microsoft Media Center
  • Soundtracks for various EXG demo and video productions
  • Interactive audio tool development in C#


Principal Sound Designer, Danger, Inc., Palo Alto, CA 2001 - 2008

Responsible for all audio content for all versions of the T-Mobile Sidekick, including ringtones, system sounds, and sampled instrument library.

Created interactive music and sound effects for numerous best-selling downloadable games.

Integrated audio content into OS builds. Performed extensive testing of software and hardware. Designed and implemented interactive audio functions. Wrote and debugged Java code. Consulted on speaker quality. Provided customer service and marketing support.

Organized online catalog of ringtones, generating a new multi-million dollar revenue stream. Co-ordinated content creation by top record labels (Sony/BMG, Warner, Universal). Provided technical standards, documentation, and certified weekly content submissions. Maintained production catalog. Assisted in development of database administration tools.

Built and managed digital audio recording studios, both in-house and off-site.



Freelance Author   1999 - present

O'Reilly Digital Media Feature articles and "Annoying Audio" blog
Electronic Musician Contributing Editor, monthly columns, product reviews
OnStage Magazine Feature articles and columns


Twittering Machine Productions, San Francisco, CA 1995 - 2000

Owned and operated ProTools project studio. Produced music, sound effects, and voice-overs for multimedia and the Internet. Consulted on design of new products. Expert use of the Beatnik software synthesizer. Clients: AT&T, Sprint, Adobe, WebTV, Be, et. al.


Studio Director, Halestorm, Berkeley, CA 1992 - 1995

Projects included RMF soundtracks for After Dark Screen Savers, system sounds and "music stamps" for the General Magic device, and numerous game soundtracks.


Piano Player, Oakland, CA 1978 - 1991

Played piano, Hammond organ, and synthesizer with Joe Louis Walker, the Pickle Family Circus, and various bands in the San Francisco Bay Area. Toured throughout the United States and Europe. Opening band for Huey Lewis and the News on the "Hard At Play" tour.


Programmer, Oakland, CA 1981 - 1988

Wrote business applications, sales reporting systems, and telecommunication protocols, on IBM Mainframe and Wang computers, in COBOL, as both an employee and an independent contractor.



Education:

University of California, Berkeley, 1981

Computer Programming
University of Chicago, 1980

Classical music composition and theory
Berklee College of Music, 1978

Jazz theory and performance
Colby College, 1975

Liberal Arts



Conference Presentations:

Game Developer's Conference, 2010
San Francisco, CA

"After the iPhone ... What?"
Audio Engineering Society, 2008
San Francisco, CA

"Same Techniques, Different Technologies:
Recurring Strategies for Producing Game, Web, and Mobile Audio"

Audio Engineering Society, 2007
New York, NY

"Game Audio for Broadband Phones"
Game Developer's Conference, 2006
Austin, TX

"Audio UI as Interactive Music"
Game Developer's Conference, 2006
San Jose, CA

"Creating Audio for Mobile Games"
Project BBQ, 2004
Austin, TX

"Could Ringtones BE More Annoying!?"


Online Publications:

O'Reilly Author page
List of Featured Articles, and the "Annoying Audio" blog entries