WHERE FUTURE STARS ARE BORN: WRITING AND RECORDING AT THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB

Jun 10, 2009 by Michelle Gilzenrat, Flagpole Magazine

"The music business is so much like pro sports," suggests Bruce Burch of the UGA Music Business Program, "in that it's hard to break into. You can't learn about the music business too young, in my opinion…"

While aspiring athletes have little league teams and P.E. classes to help them get in the game at a very young age, rock stars in the making have had to settle for piano recitals and marching bands at best. That is, until now.

There is a new trend in children's activity programming, and it is driven by music composition, recording and performance.

Mike Hackett, president and chief officer of the Boys and Girls Club in Athens, has worked with Boys and Girls Clubs for nearly 25 years. "I'm amazed," he says. "I can't recall a time when kids were as interested in music and dance as they are right now."

So, when plans were underway to build the expansive new club on Fourth Street, which also features vibrant construction, an oversize basketball court, game rooms, study centers, computer labs and more, the addition of a recording studio became a top priority, particularly for the teen center.

"When we first came up with this concept, what we were looking for was a cool space that would attract teenagers," says Hackett. "In other Boys and Girls Clubs in Georgia they have converted old classrooms into studios for kids and it's become very popular… but once we started planning it and certain people got involved like Pete Dugas over at TSAV and Bruce Burch and Keith Perissi… it's grown into an entity of its own. I've got a feeling that this whole studio is going to become bigger than what I ever envisioned it to be."

Unlike the converted rooms found at most youth clubs, this space was designed from the beginning to function as a professional studio.

"The biggest investment has been in the space itself," says Hackett. "We've probably spent $85,000 just to upgrade the physical space." The room has its own A/C controls, floating wood floor, double thick walls, baffling and more to ensure acoustic integrity. In this cozy, quiet haven you'd never believe 50 basketballs were thumping on the pavement just on the other side of the wall.

As for the actual design and installation of the studio, local company TSAV has offered its services free of charge. Ed Macgrueder at Musician's Warehouse has also been very supportive of the project, and Pete Dugas at TSAV says Macgrueder has donated a "significant portion of the costs associated with outfitting the studio with instruments. The basic equipment such as drums, guitar, bass and keys are already in place, and soon TSAV will be wiring and mounting monitors, mixing boards and recording equipment in the control room.

The goals of this project are multi-faceted, and the possibilities are limitless. Hackett hopes the studio will diversify club membership by attracting creative children who are interested in other things besides athletics. He also hopes to provide a safe haven where members can express themselves creatively, and he envisions the studio becoming a place of learning.

"Our kids have a lot of natural ability, but very few of them have formal musical training. One of the things I've always wanted from the get-go was the opportunity for them to learn music. You can make music now without knowing anything about music: hit the auto-rhythm button and the auto-melody button, that sort of thing…" Hackett says the emphasis in this studio will be on more organic composition that encompasses all genres and all aspects of the industry.

"One of the things we are very excited about is the partnership with the Music Business Program. Keith and Bruce are going to send their students over and they are going to do like a Junior Achievement model with the kids where they'll start up their own recording label. So, some kids might be the performers, others might learn the engineering, other kids might be involved in promotions and marketing and that sort of stuff. So, right now we have all these ideas and all these resources, and we are trying to find a way to mash it all together. I have just been blown away by how many people from the music community have come in and said, 'We want to help!'"

Where Future Stars Are Born: Writing and Recording at the Boys and Girls Club

Pete Dugas says TSAV was eager to participate in the project because of all the great opportunities he believe the studio will provide for kids in our community. "It's amazing cause, and amazing vision," says Dugas. "It has the potential to change a lot of kids' lives. Had I had access to such a space at the age of most of the Club members, my life would have been changed without question."

Burch is equally enthusiastic about the partnership and, having visited other clubs, knows that real potential exists for these young musicians.

"I think there's going to be some hit records made in that place," he says earnestly. Last year Burch visited the Boys and Girls Club in Venice, CA (which is programmed by former R.E.M. producer Scott Litt) and was surprised to learn that record label scouts were actually flying in to check out the work the California Club members were creating.

"[The Athens Boys and Girls Club] really could become an A&R center," he says.

The program may also serve as a feeder to UGA, encouraging students to continue their music education with the Music Business program or elsewhere.

"It's like basketball," says Hackett, echoing Burch's sports metaphor. "Not a lot of them are going to make it to the NBA, but it's going to inspire them to finish school; it's going to provide them with discipline; and it's going to provide them with positive activities so they aren't out there getting in trouble."

Previous
Previous

THE CLASSIC CENTER GETS A FIRST-CLASS LINE ARRAY SYSTEM WITH NEXO GEO S 12 SERIES