Musicians around Athens have various outlets for creating and producing music.
When Water Witches began recording its latest album, the band had to get a little crafty.
“We took big quilts and put them across little clothing racks and put that around the drum kit or around me with my guitar so we could block the sounds,” Ethan Bartman, a guitarist in the band, said.
Musicians around Athens have different resources available for creating an album or producing sounds, but it’s up to the musicians to decide how they want to achieve an end product.
Water Witches decided to record its album outside of a studio to cut costs but also because Bartman had some experience in audio engineering, Charlie Touvell, the drummer, said.
“I think it fit for the aesthetic we were going for," Touvell said. "If we were going to a clean, studio pop aesthetic, I think it wouldn’t have been as ideal. But we were going for something a little more organic — something a little more 'in the dirt.' ”
The group went to 3 Elliott Studio, the closest recording studio to Ohio University’s campus, to mix its album following the recording.
The studio began in 2000 in a garage but has since developed into a five-room facility, Josh Antonuccio, an owner, said. The studio has remained busy for the past 15 years and has brought in students as well as local, regional and national musicians.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="7e9bb316-6bba-11e5-b2bc-b7234f9c25d1"}}
“We have a ton of students that’ll come over,” Antonuccio, an OU lecturer in the music production and recording industry program, said. “They’ll produce beats in their dorm room, but they really want their vocals to sound awesome. ... They’ll come in for a few hours and do all of their vocals.”
When it comes to creating an album, Touvell said artists might be doing everything themselves, so a lot of planning as to go into it.
Jake “TASTE” McDonald grew up in the Athens area and recently created his latest project Fresh Taste. McDonald said he had trouble in the past finding a place to record.
“It is somewhat hard to find a place in Athens,” McDonald said. “I have had music ready to record for awhile, but there aren’t many options in the area.”
Once his high school friend Terry Smith created a studio, McDonald said he never had trouble finding a place to produce music.
After taking a break from traveling, McDonald said he was able to do all of his work at Smith’s studio. He said he put all his progress together to develop an album with a “fresh perspective” and now has the finished product available on SoundCloud.
Smith started the company XX III Entertainment about a year ago because he said he enjoys listening to music and helping people make music. His experience comes from studying music production at Hocking College.
“I started with a few pieces of gear and slowly grew from that point as I worked with artists and recorded people,” Smith said.
Currently it’s a home studio, Smith said, but he plans on expanding and opening a commercial studio in about a year. People usually find out about the studio through word of mouth and social media.
A few students have recorded there, he said, but it has been mostly local artists. The studio space is fitting for a solo artists or a small band, he said.
Smith said in Athens, people have many different options.
“It’s definitely not hard to find (a place to record),” he said. “If people want to make music, they can definitely do it pretty easily.”
@liz_backo
eb823313@ohio.edu
