thenoizfaktory
Member
The idea for this project came from multiple people that I have had contact with over the years.
The first person that got this project moving in a forward direction is my wife Angelica. While standing on the driveway of my old house my wife said that we need to buy some land so that we can build the studio correctly. I then brought up how expensive building a studio of this size would be. She didn't flinch and simply said tomorrow we need to go shopping for land so we can build our house and the studio on the same property. So that's what we did. Angelica is nothing less than AMAZING to me. She has supported me and this dream without question. The sentence that I routinely say when it comes to my life and her willingness to support my dreams is “I'm the luckiest f***er on the planet”. Although I've said thank you to her in the past and repeatedly throughout this build it does need to be said again...THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNCOMPROMISING SUPPORT! This brings me to the next step which was to get the studio designed.
This brings me to the key player in the design and the construction of the studio and that is Dave Del Valle. There are numerous things I think everyone should know about Dave and for the sake of boring you I will simply say that I think Dave is a genius, an extremely kind person, a very hard worker and someone that I hold in extremely high regard. So one day Dave sat down with me and designed a studio that he wanted. Dave is an Audio Engineer, a musician, and an inventor. When we sat down and discussed the studio Dave asked what do I want and the only thing I knew was that I needed to have the studio designed for easy load in and load out. I didn't want people to have to lug their gear through an alley with trash cans or through the lobby. The other item on my wish list was the ability to record live performances so that artists could have DVD's to sell. With the ability to video live performances and due to the size of the live room I thought we also could get a small audience in for the performance. The rest of the design I gave Dave complete free reign and asked him to design it the way he would want something built. Dave wanted to make it so that he did not have to walk a straight line which may be the longest distance to reposition a mic. So he made the studio so you could walk a complete circle. Dave also wanted to make everything line of sight. Since we have two vocal booths, Dave wanted to make sure he could see the singers and that they could see him. This was executed flawlessly in my opinion.
I have to digress back a bit to the load in part. The load in area was conceived out of numerous conversations with another friend of mine Acacio Carvalho. Acacio is a prog metal drummer with a monster drum set. Frequently Acacio and I would discuss what he liked and didn't like about studios. Acacio's biggest complaint was walking up stairs with his drum set which inevitably meant multiple trips up and down the stairs. This would then be followed by setting up his drum set with mic placement and then starting to lay down drum tracks. I know this made for an exhausting day. So I wanted to make it so you could drive up and not have to walk more than 10 feet to be in the live room. We accomplished this pretty well in my opinion. Acacio is also the person that will be handling the web site. He has skills in graphic design, web design, and video production that I rarely see in musicians. In addition to that, he sees the world the way I do which is why I want him doing the web site.
As we progressed on the design of the building I had asked Dave if a 40'x80' building with 18' walls was big enough. Much to my surprise it was more than big enough and I was left with a residual 30'x40' area which meant I could incorporate another aspect of the studio...a store, music school, lounge, silent rehearsal spaces and guest quarters.
The music school idea came about from the years of working with a guitar student and friend Bailey Walker. As I worked with him and shopped gear with him I noticed that there were voids that were not being filled. First off it presented an opportunity to be a mentor to kids. I didn't have a mentor for music nor did I have people to teach me things or fiercely look out for me and help me buy the correct gear. In short, there's a 13 year old kid inside me that is pissed off because this was a component missing from his life. I decided to change things and lead by example. I decided that I would be the guy that would help people buy gear the way I would buy gear. Since I know people don't have a ton of money as I don't have a ton of money it is important that I make every penny count and spend their money as if it were my own. Which is how the concept of the store came about. I will bring in gear that is easy to repair and/or comes with a 5 year warranty. In short, I'm not here to push gear for a buck. If I sell gear that is engineered to fail that speaks volumes as to the kind of person that I would be. In short, I will be investing a lot of me into the purchasing of gear and I will not throw people under the bus to make a buck.
Once all this was in place then it was time to move forward and break ground. The only problem was that I didn't know anybody for the slab or for the metal building. One day my friend Anthony Rodriguez introduced me to a guy by the name of Mauricio Sanchez. One day Dave and myself had a meeting with Mauricio and during that conversation I was presented with the people to do the cement slab and to erect the metal building when it was delivered. The only thing left to do was to pull the trigger and break ground.
There were features that are built into the studio that were after thoughts and in my opinion they are genius after thoughts which I think were upgrades to the entire studio.
As this story unfolds you will also get to hear stories about other prominent people that have made this possible. For those of you that know Austin Guitar House then you also may know the names Oz Hofstatter and Ray Kainz. These two people have selflessly given of their time to lend a hand and without them none of this would be possible. This also is a statement as to the kind of Oz-some (awesome) store that Oz has built. I don't know many people that I hold in high regard or that I am hugely fortunate to have them as a friend. You can rest assured that Oz and Ray are huge upgrades in my world.
This brings me to another great person by the name of Chris Forshage. You may know him as Forshage Custom Instruments. Here is yet another selfless person who has been in my corner when I needed a hand. You can also rest assured that without Chris none of this would have been possible. I am supremely fortunate to have Chris as a friend and he is yet another person that I hold in high regard and is an upgrade to my world.
I briefly mentioned Acacio earlier in this story. There are things about Acacio that I think everyone should know. You can rest assured that he's a phenomenally hard worker, an extremely skilled drummer, and his skills in web design and video production are second to none. The thing is that Acacio has been involved with me on this since the beginning. Although he has yet to have seen what his input has contributed in person he is instrumental as a part of this whole process. I frequently refer to Acacio as my secret weapon. He will be a part of this studio when it is up and running. Acacio has integrity that is rarely seen outside of this group of people. I only get to see Acacio once a year at the moment and that's how it's been for the past five years. I am grateful for his input and for his friendship. The nicest thing I can say about Acacio is that “HE KICKS ASS!”.
Although you might not expect my guitar student and friend, Bailey Walker, to contribute much to this process I think you'd be surprised at what a 13 year old kid can do. Bailey is always quick to offer a helping hand and is always willing to learn something new. In short, he doesn't look at things with fear he looks at things from the perspective of how can I accomplish this. Bailey has been instrumental in helping out with clean up. Bailey understands the concept of leaving a good energy behind. When I started this Bailey was 13 he's not 13 anymore. My biased opinion of Bailey is that he is the coolest kid on the planet and I'm extremely fortunate to have him as a friend.
Although he doesn't make a ton of appearances, Bailey's older brother Zack has also gotten involved and helped raise a wall. The reason Zack isn't available is because he's off at Texas A&M. I can simply state that the day that I needed an extra set of hands I only had to ask Zack for help and without a moments hesitation he showed up and lent a hand. Zack is yet another awesome person that is always in my corner. Yet another invaluable friend in my world.
The last two people that you more than likely won't know are Anthony Rodriguez and Dan Salcido. In short, these two people have been in my corner from day one and without hesitation. The best way that I can sum up these two people...and Dave Del Valle...is by their actions of helping me move 52 tons of materials into the metal building. The sheer selfless act of doing this speaks volumes as to the kinds of people they are and the kinds of friends that I have. I only know that it was 52 tons of materials because Dave sat there and calculated the weight. In short, Anthony and Dan are nothing less than stellar awesome people and that's the nicest thing that I can think of to say about them.
As this story goes on you won't find me saying anything I don't believe. I am surrounded by great people. All of these people are a part of the co-op mindset that is bringing this building to life. To everyone that has been involved...THANK YOU!
http://www.austinguitarhouse.com
http://www.acaciocarvalho.com
http://www.forshage.com
The first person that got this project moving in a forward direction is my wife Angelica. While standing on the driveway of my old house my wife said that we need to buy some land so that we can build the studio correctly. I then brought up how expensive building a studio of this size would be. She didn't flinch and simply said tomorrow we need to go shopping for land so we can build our house and the studio on the same property. So that's what we did. Angelica is nothing less than AMAZING to me. She has supported me and this dream without question. The sentence that I routinely say when it comes to my life and her willingness to support my dreams is “I'm the luckiest f***er on the planet”. Although I've said thank you to her in the past and repeatedly throughout this build it does need to be said again...THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNCOMPROMISING SUPPORT! This brings me to the next step which was to get the studio designed.
This brings me to the key player in the design and the construction of the studio and that is Dave Del Valle. There are numerous things I think everyone should know about Dave and for the sake of boring you I will simply say that I think Dave is a genius, an extremely kind person, a very hard worker and someone that I hold in extremely high regard. So one day Dave sat down with me and designed a studio that he wanted. Dave is an Audio Engineer, a musician, and an inventor. When we sat down and discussed the studio Dave asked what do I want and the only thing I knew was that I needed to have the studio designed for easy load in and load out. I didn't want people to have to lug their gear through an alley with trash cans or through the lobby. The other item on my wish list was the ability to record live performances so that artists could have DVD's to sell. With the ability to video live performances and due to the size of the live room I thought we also could get a small audience in for the performance. The rest of the design I gave Dave complete free reign and asked him to design it the way he would want something built. Dave wanted to make it so that he did not have to walk a straight line which may be the longest distance to reposition a mic. So he made the studio so you could walk a complete circle. Dave also wanted to make everything line of sight. Since we have two vocal booths, Dave wanted to make sure he could see the singers and that they could see him. This was executed flawlessly in my opinion.
I have to digress back a bit to the load in part. The load in area was conceived out of numerous conversations with another friend of mine Acacio Carvalho. Acacio is a prog metal drummer with a monster drum set. Frequently Acacio and I would discuss what he liked and didn't like about studios. Acacio's biggest complaint was walking up stairs with his drum set which inevitably meant multiple trips up and down the stairs. This would then be followed by setting up his drum set with mic placement and then starting to lay down drum tracks. I know this made for an exhausting day. So I wanted to make it so you could drive up and not have to walk more than 10 feet to be in the live room. We accomplished this pretty well in my opinion. Acacio is also the person that will be handling the web site. He has skills in graphic design, web design, and video production that I rarely see in musicians. In addition to that, he sees the world the way I do which is why I want him doing the web site.
As we progressed on the design of the building I had asked Dave if a 40'x80' building with 18' walls was big enough. Much to my surprise it was more than big enough and I was left with a residual 30'x40' area which meant I could incorporate another aspect of the studio...a store, music school, lounge, silent rehearsal spaces and guest quarters.
The music school idea came about from the years of working with a guitar student and friend Bailey Walker. As I worked with him and shopped gear with him I noticed that there were voids that were not being filled. First off it presented an opportunity to be a mentor to kids. I didn't have a mentor for music nor did I have people to teach me things or fiercely look out for me and help me buy the correct gear. In short, there's a 13 year old kid inside me that is pissed off because this was a component missing from his life. I decided to change things and lead by example. I decided that I would be the guy that would help people buy gear the way I would buy gear. Since I know people don't have a ton of money as I don't have a ton of money it is important that I make every penny count and spend their money as if it were my own. Which is how the concept of the store came about. I will bring in gear that is easy to repair and/or comes with a 5 year warranty. In short, I'm not here to push gear for a buck. If I sell gear that is engineered to fail that speaks volumes as to the kind of person that I would be. In short, I will be investing a lot of me into the purchasing of gear and I will not throw people under the bus to make a buck.
Once all this was in place then it was time to move forward and break ground. The only problem was that I didn't know anybody for the slab or for the metal building. One day my friend Anthony Rodriguez introduced me to a guy by the name of Mauricio Sanchez. One day Dave and myself had a meeting with Mauricio and during that conversation I was presented with the people to do the cement slab and to erect the metal building when it was delivered. The only thing left to do was to pull the trigger and break ground.
There were features that are built into the studio that were after thoughts and in my opinion they are genius after thoughts which I think were upgrades to the entire studio.
As this story unfolds you will also get to hear stories about other prominent people that have made this possible. For those of you that know Austin Guitar House then you also may know the names Oz Hofstatter and Ray Kainz. These two people have selflessly given of their time to lend a hand and without them none of this would be possible. This also is a statement as to the kind of Oz-some (awesome) store that Oz has built. I don't know many people that I hold in high regard or that I am hugely fortunate to have them as a friend. You can rest assured that Oz and Ray are huge upgrades in my world.
This brings me to another great person by the name of Chris Forshage. You may know him as Forshage Custom Instruments. Here is yet another selfless person who has been in my corner when I needed a hand. You can also rest assured that without Chris none of this would have been possible. I am supremely fortunate to have Chris as a friend and he is yet another person that I hold in high regard and is an upgrade to my world.
I briefly mentioned Acacio earlier in this story. There are things about Acacio that I think everyone should know. You can rest assured that he's a phenomenally hard worker, an extremely skilled drummer, and his skills in web design and video production are second to none. The thing is that Acacio has been involved with me on this since the beginning. Although he has yet to have seen what his input has contributed in person he is instrumental as a part of this whole process. I frequently refer to Acacio as my secret weapon. He will be a part of this studio when it is up and running. Acacio has integrity that is rarely seen outside of this group of people. I only get to see Acacio once a year at the moment and that's how it's been for the past five years. I am grateful for his input and for his friendship. The nicest thing I can say about Acacio is that “HE KICKS ASS!”.
Although you might not expect my guitar student and friend, Bailey Walker, to contribute much to this process I think you'd be surprised at what a 13 year old kid can do. Bailey is always quick to offer a helping hand and is always willing to learn something new. In short, he doesn't look at things with fear he looks at things from the perspective of how can I accomplish this. Bailey has been instrumental in helping out with clean up. Bailey understands the concept of leaving a good energy behind. When I started this Bailey was 13 he's not 13 anymore. My biased opinion of Bailey is that he is the coolest kid on the planet and I'm extremely fortunate to have him as a friend.
Although he doesn't make a ton of appearances, Bailey's older brother Zack has also gotten involved and helped raise a wall. The reason Zack isn't available is because he's off at Texas A&M. I can simply state that the day that I needed an extra set of hands I only had to ask Zack for help and without a moments hesitation he showed up and lent a hand. Zack is yet another awesome person that is always in my corner. Yet another invaluable friend in my world.
The last two people that you more than likely won't know are Anthony Rodriguez and Dan Salcido. In short, these two people have been in my corner from day one and without hesitation. The best way that I can sum up these two people...and Dave Del Valle...is by their actions of helping me move 52 tons of materials into the metal building. The sheer selfless act of doing this speaks volumes as to the kinds of people they are and the kinds of friends that I have. I only know that it was 52 tons of materials because Dave sat there and calculated the weight. In short, Anthony and Dan are nothing less than stellar awesome people and that's the nicest thing that I can think of to say about them.
As this story goes on you won't find me saying anything I don't believe. I am surrounded by great people. All of these people are a part of the co-op mindset that is bringing this building to life. To everyone that has been involved...THANK YOU!
http://www.austinguitarhouse.com
http://www.acaciocarvalho.com
http://www.forshage.com
