It's been an incredibly busy time since my last update just after NAMM. The house we're building is ahead of schedule on delivery and Marie and I drive up there each week to review progress and make finishing decisions. It's incredibly exciting but, as previously written about, also very stressful and scary! This is our second home build but, this time, we know so much more about the process and exactly what we want.
In parallel with the house build, the studio planning is ongoing. We have a finalized and agreed upon studio design and floorplan and it's incredibly exciting just thinking about this place being finished. I'm giving you a sneak peak at the floorplan. The studio is very generous in size. There are so many moving parts to consider it can become overwhelming. Especially now that the house building is ahead and needing a lot of attention, the juggling of priorities and timing becomes more complex.
In parallel with all of that, I established our new business entity, Timber Canyon Studios, LLC. That is now the official studio name going forward and I will retire the 5450' Studios name. Brandon Productions and My Jen Jen Music will remain as my writing and publishing entities for the ASCAP and BMI. Expect an exciting (for me) rebranding of our website, this blog page and all future collateral and promotional material sometime this spring.
OK, back to the studio build and music making. I've learned a lot from Sam Berkow (SIA Acoustics) and I am applying that to my discussions with our builder. We've determined where the mechanical room will be and the products needed to float the floor of the control room, live room and iso room as well as the acoustic decoupling products for the walls and ceilings. How it will integrate with the lounge, bunk room and our fitness room is all part of the planning and precision needed to make it all work together. In the studio building, the electrical sub panel is in place, the gas line for the furnace is ready, and the water supply lines and sewer drain are ready to go.
We're also working on the third Soul Rash album and, despite being crammed into an 11'x11' room, we're making progress. Vocal recording in NY is under way and I'll be doing some drum recording in CT in April with Brett (my brother). I simply have no room to track more than just some keyboards and guitars. That will change in the not too distant future however. That's all for now. More frequent updates and progress reports to follow. - Jim