Somehow 2024 is about to come to a close. The last six months seems like 6 days and simultaneously 6 years. We've moved all of our worldly possessions and ourselves from Colorado to Wyoming and have, once again, established a new home. We feel settled and it truly feels like home. Our first 'big' holiday of Thanksgiving cemented that feeling with family and friends in town and everything functioning as it should. There is still so much to do (mostly outside things like landscaping, planting etc) that will have to wait until spring.
While the six months flew by and I feel like we got a lot done, I feel like the studio build is going painfully slow. As previously reported, we prioritized getting the building itself completed and the infrastructure properly done. We also prioritized getting our non-studio rooms completed within the new structure. I'm happy to report that those rooms got finished a few days before Thanksgiving which was just in time to use them to house family that flew in from NY.
So, we now have our studio bunkroom, studio bathroom w/ shower and our workout room completed. We also have the whole place insulated and heated (as previously reported) which was critical for the climate we live in of course. All of the electrical rough work is done. It's completed in the auxiliary rooms mentioned above and it is in place to feed the control room (2 x 20A + 1 x 15A), live room, iso room (2 x 20A + 1 x 15A) and lounge (20A + 15A). The circuits have been run and everything is connected back to the panel. Once the walls are up, all of the surface mounted outlets and lights will be installed.
Our custom interior studio windows and doors have been quoted and I'm just trying to time the order accordingly based on the build schedule and lead times. Our contractor is working with the framing and drywall contractor to lock down the financials and timing. We also just brought our 26kw standby generator online to backup everything in our home and the studio building. We have had stable power since moving in but added it for additional insurance and peace of mind. I don't imagine continuing a recording session if we have a known outage, but it will sure be nice to have lights, HVAC in the event we did lose commercial power.
On the plus side, Chris Smith and I were able to work on a whole bunch of Soul Rash demos that are now in the hands of Billy McKee in NY to add his amazing vocals. We're making progress despite the construction. Also, I had a visit from studio owner, Roy Long, who runs a very cool studio in PA. We became fast friends while attending the same workshop at Blackbird Studios in Nashville almost two years ago. It was great seeing him. I also appeared on close friend Steve Luongo’s Rock and Roll Show and Tell podcast which was a great hang.
Somehow the NAMM show is upon us once again. This year will be special as my brother (and Soul Rash drummer) Brett will be attending and performing and my cousins will also be joining us. This will be a good time. I'm sure I will write my next update from Anaheim at the end of January.
That's all for now! - Jim
In the meantime, here are some pictures taken over the last couple of months........
Brandon bringing home the bacon on a cold day. By the way, if you record or mix here, we cook for you. Smoked meats, homemade pasta, etc.
A sunset view from the studio. Amazing every night and different each time (no filters on this)
Our SSL Origin with their new side cars which I have yet to actually install. Wanted to see what a great job our vendor did on them.
Most of our outboard gear on display to complement all of the onboard features of the SSL above.
Me and Roy
Marie took this one just south of the studio.
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