Islander Bob Moses feels the weight of a broken industry on his shoulders. A long-time audio engineer, pioneer of the digital music era and current executive director of the 14,000 member Audio Engineering Society (AES), Moses has seen, and been directly involved in, incredible innovation on the technical side of the music industry. But that innovation has also led to an unforeseen disaster for the artistic side, as people stopped buying record albums and started downloading — legally and otherwise — their music one song at a time and sharing it with their friends. Record stores went out of business, and, according to Moses, 90 percent of the income dropped out of the industry. The previously existing infrastructure, essentially, collapsed.

“We are in the midst of a transition now that music is coming from the internet,” Moses said. “The system is broken and musicians are getting screwed (out of earnings from their work). What the final solution is, we don’t know.”

But while he and his peers may not have the answers now, he does hold out hope that the next generation can get it figured out.

And strangely enough, it’s thanks to a little drama involving the Vashon Island Rowing Club last spring that Moses has come face to face with that future.

Kai Scheer, a then 17 year-old junior at VHS and member of the VIRC junior crew, had qualified for nationals after a tumultuous spring season. After being cut from a nationals boat the previous year, this was a hard-earned triumph for the quietly determined teen. The celebration was short lived, however, when a crew mate, who had qualified in two different events, decided only to race one at nationals — and it was not Scheer’s. While this is common among competitive junior rowers, it was still a heartbreaking turn of events.

So coach Richard Parr suggested a different partner. With the understanding that there was limited time for training with someone new, Scheer agreed to give it a try. All it took was one practice, however, to turn disappointment and uncertainty into great enthusiasm as Scheer found a new rhythm with Mabel Moses, Bob’s oldest daughter.

And while it was rowing that brought Scheer onto Moses’ radar, it was music that brought the multi-talented teen under his wing.

Many on Vashon, especially at VHS, know Scheer as the bassist for the band Ten Cent Time Machine, a staple at the school’s open mic sessions as well as several gigs at venues around town. A classically-trained violinist since second grade, Scheer — who also plays drums and some piano — started playing bass and with the band two years ago, despite an acknowledged dislike of performing. The engineering side of music, however, has always been a focus.

One day after a crew practice, Mabel introduced her dad to Scheer and mentioned that they had something in common.

“Kai started talking to me, and I was like, ‘This is so cool!,'” Moses said about Scheer’s desire to learn from him. “I knew from that moment that I wanted someone like that in the industry.”

Mentoring is important to Moses, and, he believes, crucial to the survival of the business.

“The only way to fix problems and transition from old systems to new ones is to give the next generation the tools to do that,” he said. “So you need to find great people and introduce them to the profession and tap into their talents. … It’s kind of like a sports team recruiting the best athletes.”

Not surprisingly, the young musician has been a willing recruit.

“I’m really starting from scratch here. The only real experience I had doing sound has been the open mics at school,” Scheer explained. “But Bob has connected me with some amazing people on the island who have helped me a lot.” Those connections include composer Jason Staczek, theater director Michael Barker and voice actor and VoV host Jeff Hoyt.

But Moses has not limited Scheer’s introduction to the audio business to Vashon. As the person who essentially manages the technical side of the music industry on a global scale, Moses — who says he couldn’t do it without drinking a lot of coffee — knows pretty much everyone there is to know. So when it was time to make his annual trek to the Grammy awards in February, he decided to take Scheer with him.

“It’s part of my job, but the bow tie thing is boring,” he said. “So I like to be there for the pre-production work and rehearsals, which is what we did. So now Kai’s learning how that part of the business works, and people now know who Kai is.”

And by “people,” Moses is talking about some seriously heavy hitters in the world of music.

“I met Geoff Emerick, a sound guy who did some Beatles’ records at Abbey Road studios,” Scheer said. “He told me to always ask questions. And to just keep knocking on the door, and eventually they (the industry) will let you in.”

Emerick is an audio engineer who worked with the Beatles on four of their albums, as well as many other artists, such as Paul McCartney and Wings, Elvis Costello, Supertramp, Cheap Trick, Split Enz, Big Country and Gentle Giant, to name but a few.

Scheer also got to meet and talk to Leslie Ann Jones, a multi Grammy-award-winning recording engineer and current director of music recording and scoring at Skywalker Sound (Lucasfilm).

“Leslie mixes the Grammy show,” Moses said, “and also won one herself that night. She’s a true leader in the industry, and she’s a badass. I really wanted to introduce her to Kai.”

For Moses, it’s about opening doors. For Scheer, it’s about learning as much as possible.

“I was very overwhelmed when I found out I was going to the Grammys with Bob,” Scheer noted. “I didn’t want to embarrass him or myself, so I did a lot of research. It was amazing talking to everyone, to hear how they got started, how passionate they still are and that they still love what they do.”

Now it seems that the normally reserved Vashon teen’s knowledge, insightful questions and engaging demeanor have caught more than just Moses’ attention. Several industry leaders, including the head of the Grammys, that met Scheer in February have approached Moses about including his protegé in a forum focused on mentoring talented young people in the business, to take place at the AES convention in Los Angeles in October.

While Moses said that the details are still being worked out, the fact that these major players want Scheer involved is clearly significant.

“People who meet Kai see a leader,” he said, “someone they want on their team.”

Someone else hoping to bring this audio-MVP to her team is Marlie Pesek, program director at Seattle’s Robert Lang Academy (RLA) — an audio engineering training program developed and based at the legendary Robert Lang Studios (RLS), where artists such as Peter Frampton, Nirvana, The Foo Fighters, Death Cab for Cutie and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have made their music. Echoing some of Moses’ sentiments on how the industry has changed over the last decade, Pesek noted that bringing more young people into the business is crucial to its survival.

“Once the technology made it possible for pretty much anyone to do their own recording, it’s been harder and harder for big studios to stay in business,” she said. “So we need to change with the times. But we also need to let young people know that it’s still possible to have a career in music production — most people don’t realize the extent to which audio engineers are needed by tech companies, particularly gaming. … And there are 300 gaming companies in Seattle alone.”

Embracing change, RLS has started its own program to train a new generation of young recording industry professionals, and Pesek would very much like Scheer to take part.

“Kai has such a great vibe and is so passionate,” she said. “It was wonderful to see the eyes light up … the obvious excitement at seeing the gear, rooms and experiencing the acoustics. Kai is proactive, open to all of the knowledge that can be gathered, and isn’t afraid to get the hands dirty — a perfect candidate for being a student here.”

Ultimately Pesek said, the music community — which includes current recording artists and sound industry veterans alike — wants to share its time and expertise to foster experiences for young people like Scheer, adding that she also couldn’t think of a better mentor than Moses.

Seemingly unfazed by selfies in Rhianna’s dressing room, Justin Bieber rehearsing for his Grammy performance or meeting some of the biggest names in the business of making music, Scheer has been busy getting a feel for things by running the sound board for Drama Dock’s latest, “Becky’s New Car,” and is looking ahead to attending the University of Washington this fall. Scheer will study engineering and also plans to take UW’s renowned certificate program in audio production.

And while he laments that the very thing he himself helped create (digital music) is something he does’t like, Moses said he is honored and excited to be involved in helping the next generation of music-makers find their way.

“It’s such a joy,” he said, “to watch these leaders meet this talented young person and who are excited to be welcoming and open doors. More young people should have these kinds of opportunities.”

As for Ten Cent Time Machine’s stage-shy bassist, these experiences have definitely left their mark.

“I want to work with great artists,” Scheer said without hesitation, “to make art with others and produce special things. I aspire to be like the people I’ve met.”