The Future of Bay Area Sound Studios [NOW CLOSED INDEFINITELY] FEB 28, 2010
Dear bands, artists, road crews, concert attendees, instructors, kids & friends,
We are writing to inform you of changes at Bay Area Sound Studios.
Recently, a local musician and philanthropist purchased BASS. The studio will be re-purposed as a music production facility and performance space. Initially, there was a possibility that BASS rehearsal and concert operations would remain in service for several months, however, it has been decided to ramp up the construction schedule and the rehearsal facility, as we know it, will close January 31st.
Although rehearsal services will cease Jan.31st, all recording, mixing and production services, directed by Stephen Hart, will remain intact and co-exist with the expanded studio into the future. If you have been considering using Stephen's "mixroom", or would like to learn about what the future has in store in terms of audio and video services, please contact Stephen at hartmixer@mac.com , www.hartmixer.com , or (415) 499-1742.
Brad Dollar, our studio director & staff engineer, will stay on as an engineer with the new crew. As we transition and move forward, please contact Brad for the same stellar assistance and guidance he has always provided. Brad can be reached at bradkdollar@gmail.com
Michael LeValley, the visionary behind the original Bay Area Sound Studios will also be involved in the re-purposing and construction of the expanded studio complex. The facility Michael designed is unique in it's functionality, creative environment and appearance. Plans for BASS v. 2.0 in a new Marin County location are being made, and although there is no defined timeline yet, rest assured we will keep you posted.
Keith Tidd & Lee Bothwick, our two amazing on-staff engineers will still be available for recording, live sound or any other audio services in an outside, free lance capacity. Please email them at their respective addresses [keithtidd87@hotmail.com & leebothwick@gmail.com] with any requests you may have.
Dave Garoutte, our resident lighting and stage specialist is still around and available for all of your needs in those realms! Please email him at lights@dkg-cnc.com the next time you need a quality mobile stage or lighting rig.
We are aware that it will be difficult for our clients to replace BASS as a rehearsal facility. However, there are some options. Soundwave Studios in Oakland, Renegade, Music Spectrum and Sunnbolt Studios in San Rafael, and several more are all great choices. We know they won't be BASS, and we'll miss it too, but the show must go on!
Most importantly, we want to extend a very sincere thank you to everyone who has been part of BASS, the bands who have filled our halls with music, production companies for the showcases and concerts, (over 50 in two years) community organizations and schools for the events they have sponsored, and the video crews and directors and photographers who have flooded our rooms with light. You have all made the last 2 years exciting, inspiring and most of all, FUN. Your support and loyalty has been unparalleled!
Please email us with any questions or concerns. (bass@bayareasoundstudios.com)
Thanks again,
the BASS team.
Rockin' Emo Folk Musical Actors Musicians Rap Original Music or Not - Bring Me Your Teens Who Want To Sing APR 30, 2009
Kathryn Keats is teaching a singing performance class for rockers-emo-scene-actors-musical theatre-folk-pop culture-jazz-and indie musicians of all types- if you are or have a teen who wants to learn to sing and perform, any genre, you now have somewhere to do it and a well respected musician and singer to teach you how to handle your chops. Classes are hosted by and located at Bay Area Sound Studios in San Rafael, Marin County, California, starting the first Thursday in May. Classes are ongoing on a month-to-month basis.
Teens bring your own music, original songs and copy tunes are fine. We will have a pianist for you or you can bring your own instrument and play it. We will provide a PA system, if you want one. Advance placement is required as class size is limited. Each class is 2 1/2 hours. The tuition is teen and family friendly.
Kathryn Keats is a recording artist-singer-songwriter, trained at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the Met and is a member of AEA, SAG, AFTRA and AGVA. She is also the mother of two teenage musicians and is familiar with, and loves, all genres of music. This class is for teens only.
For more information contact BASS at 415.499.3440 or by email or call Kathryn Keats at 415.516.6281. Download the flyer (PDF).
DOG & PONY SHOW FEB 27, 2008
"Making Music, Married to Media" 6:30 PM – 9 PM at Bay Area Sound Studios. Sips, snacks and expert education. Relaxed networking. Tips, techniques and tactics for recording and perfecting sound in film and video. An expert panel answers questions; pre, production and post.
This event is hosted by Propville Directory. Contact them directly for tickets and for more information: www.propville.com
MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL NOV 26, 2007
San Rafael Sound Studio Is Ready To Rock
Nancy Isles Nation
A $4.5 million music rehearsal studio offering some of the best high-tech sound and spaces available is opening in an industrial area of San Rafael next week.
Bay Area Sound Studios, or BASS, will include 11,000 square feet of rehearsal space, outfitted with the best technology available, according to its developer, and designed with colors to appeal to everyone from string quartets to heavy metal artists.
Developed by Live Oak Design Group of San Rafael, the studios range in size from 100 to 2,000 square feet. The small spaces are appropriate for individual musicians in need of a practice space or for teachers, who can receive students of the piano or violin. The largest rooms can accommodate full orchestras, or at least sections of them.
BASS is set up for all types of musicians, but it is designed in part to attract local and touring rock groups. The space at 85 Mitchell Blvd. has secure off-street parking for tour buses and semis, as well as air conditioning, a kitchenette and lounge and storage spaces accessible around the clock.
Owner Michael LeValley, who opened Smith Ranch Studios for artists about two years ago, said Marin seemed like a good place for a rehearsal studio because many musicians live in the county and it has a high concentration of working artists. Smith Ranch, at 11 Mark Drive in San Rafael, leased out in seven weeks and was running in the black six months after it opened, LeValley said.
"The concept is to develop space for artists - at Smith Ranch it was all about the light," LeValley said. "Musicians need acoustics so there is very specialized construction to create isolated, tuned rooms."
LeValley closed escrow on BASS in July 2005 and spent six months in the design and planning phase before beginning construction in April 2006. Work was stopped for a period after financing collapsed, but LeValley was able to resurrect the job by the beginning of this year.
LeValley, who worked as a carpenter and set builder in Los Angeles, said he hired the best in the business to do the work. He drew on the expertise of acoustic designer Sam Berkow, of SIA Acoustics in New York, to create a pure sound environment. Berkow designed the acoustics for Jazz at Lincoln Center as well as other significant venues.
The walls and ceiling of each space are independent from the walls and ceilings of adjacent spaces and have as many as six layers of Sheetrock separating them. In the largest studios, floors are acoustically isolated to prevent transmission of sound.
The first tenant to sign on is Stephen Hart, a sound engineer who was the chief engineer at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. He will be available to provide audio services to musicians who rent space.
Hart, a former Marin resident who now lives in Sonoma County at the Marin-Sonoma border, said he admires Le Valley's philosophy and his efforts as a community builder.
"He is a progressive thinker and very good for Marin and the art community," Hart said. "I am excited to be there for the obvious reason I am the only audio services person located in that facility, which will be filled with musicians."
Hart has worked internationally and has mixed sound tracks for artists and groups such as Aerosmith, BB King, Green Day, U2 and Santana.
BASS is sure to attract world-class rock and other bands with its optimum lighting and sound, but the rooms will also be valuable to corporate planners, Hart said.
"Those larger spaces are totally suitable for corporate events that require sound and visual media," Hart said. "I think there's also a market for using those spaces for sound stages for filming. It's very difficult to find large spaces that have the power requirements and are quiet."
Jim Farley, who oversees the Marin Center performance venue as the director of cultural and visitors' services for the county, doesn't see the new studios as competition because the hall is rented out infrequently. The Marin Symphony is the only group that practices there regularly.
"I think it's exciting," Farley said. "When I look at the benefits for us from a higher point, the more music industry activity that occurs in Marin County, the more activity comes our way."
BASS also differs from Sausalito's The Plant Studios, a recording venue, and Skywalker Sound, which caters to filmmakers.
Amanda Brunato, the studio director, said rates at BASS will be affordable, ranging from $15 an hour for a practice room to $150 an hour. Even garage bands will be able to put money together to refine their sound, she said, noting that arrangements can be made for day use, weekly and longer-term rates.
Interest in the studio, Le Valley said, "is off the charts."
RECENT CLIENTS AT BASS
Some notable recent clients at Bay Area Sound Studios include:
Van Morrisson
Carlene Carter Cash
Turning Point
DuYuVuDu
