We built the studio ten years ago, leaped out there with nothing but faith, borrowed the money and built it with our own hands with a build-it-and-they-will-come attitude. We bought the best recording equipment we could afford and became the best equipped studio within a hundred miles.
Over the years we have had lots of people in that studio, some good, and some not so good. We have had a lot of fun.
We decided to start an Indie record label (meaning, we are NOT the big boys). We signed our first band,Black Eyed Susan, to contract and started on their album. It was a killer album, they were so good. But, just about the time we finished the album (a year or so after beginning)just when they were starting to get a name as a hot local band (first step)the lead guitarist decided to get married, move to Norman and go to school. So much for that band.
When we sign a band that means we do the album for free and then take royalty payments off the sale of the CD's when they come out.
Well, when the band falls apart as soon as the CD's come out, there aren't many sales.
The bands do have to pay us for the first 1000 CD's regardless if they sold them or not but that is NOT what we were hoping for.
We kept dreaming of and hoping for a band that would sell 10,000 CD's a year or more. That is nothing in the music business... popular bands sell upwards of 100,000 a year and you all know bands that sell millions.

Our next big hope was a band named The Villain Vanguard out of Ft. Worth. I can't remember exactly how we got hooked up with those guys but they were incredible musicians. They did funky jazz. They lived in our cabin every weekend for almost two years, became family to us but same thing ..... women,life,personal struggles and they just never did much but play local gigs in the Ft Worth area.

We were about ready to give up and sell the studio. Mark and I talked it out and decided that if it wasn't turning a profit with two years we were going to sell all the equipment and do something else with the building.

And, along came Kevin Pickett. He and his little rag-tag garage band came to do a demo one weekend and for some reason we just fell in love with them. After spending some time getting to know Kevin, we decided, together, to take another shot and sign him to the label.
We worked on their first album, New Tattoos, for months. Spending long hours in the studio together you really get to know someone and there was just something about Kevin. There was that spark of genius creativity that makes a musician/a person just a little extra. I told Mark that I felt like we should give it one last big Hoorah and put everything we could into helping Kevin "make-it".
There is a line in one of his songs that say "never planned anything, just thought I ought to try" and that nails it.
Mark knows a few people around here and he helped Kevin get started playing at a couple of local bars. And then Kevin being Kevin just took the ball and ran. We suggested he find a manager, he found a buddy who was willing to try and it turned out to be a very wise choice. Trav is one tenacious go-getter. As Kevin's name has grown Trav has managed to get us into better and better venues.
As we go along everyone is learning how the business works, what we have to do to get into the big venues, what it takes to get radio play and it seems that Karma is smiling on us because good things just keep happening.

This band, Kevin Pickett and Southern Rain, may just very well be the ONE, the band we have been dreaming of/hoping for for ten long years.

The dream is still alive.