Sheeptown Studios - Month One

As October 2022 comes to its autumnal conclusion, I look back on my first month of running Sheeptown Studios as a public business. When I built my studio back in 2019, the dream was always to open up the studio to the public, but then the pandemic happened and it seemed unlikely that it would ever happen. Now that it's here and I'm seven recording sessions into this new business venture, there's a lot of feelings I'm now having to process. So naturally, I decided to write a blog...

Every artist that's stepped through the door so far has been really different. We've had solo acoustic acts, bluesy gospel, britpop and folk punk amongst other interesting styles. Each act has brought their own challenges. There have been half finished songs in need of form and structure (which is something as a songwriter I love to help with) and there's been singer/songwriters bringing in a vision of a big full band performance of their acoustic bop, but unsure as to how to accomplish it (in which case I end up jumping behind the drums/bass/guitar to help fill out the sound). I must say, if I hadn't finished recording/mixing/mastering sixty five of my own tracks before opening doors and learned how to deal with the creative obstacles when they come (and they always do), I'm not sure I would've been able to cope with the superb, but varied performers coming to record at my studio.

Those who know me well, know that I used to teach music in prisons. One thing that I saw there in every music session I taught, was the transformative power of music and how it could create community amongst those who would otherwise never associate with one another. There have been those who've come through the doors of Sheeptown that I've known for years, a few months and even those who saw my adverts either online or at a local open mic night and thought hey... I think I'll give this free eight hour recording session thing a go! I must say it's been a pleasure to get to know so many new local musicians over the last month, some of whom I may have never spent such a concentrated period of time with. I've seen casual musicians take a session at the studio and discover a far greater passion for recording than they ever knew they had. That is awesome. That speaks to the transformative power of music that I mentioned earlier. Recording music uncovers passions we didn't know we had and it gives us confidence that we can take into other areas of life. I'm so glad my studio and my skills can give people that feeling.

As I conclude this blog, I think back on my confidence level going into this new business (which admittedly wasn't very high) and I am happy to say that I'm going into month two of Sheeptown Studios with a far greater confidence than when I first opened doors. Yippee.

I hope you've enjoyed this blog and that it's given you some insight into my thoughts around the first month of starting my studio. If you haven't booked in for a session, you can do so by emailing me at sheeptownstudios@gmail.com

Cheers guys and stay awesome!

Sco