Inner State Studio Fulfills Musical Niche in MidCity
by Craig Gunsauley October 19, 2006
MidCity Advocate As the music scene has grown and thrived in the MidCity in
recent years, Inner State Studio is fulfilling a growing demand by providing
a recording studio for singers and musicians that want to produce their own
compact disc.
Casey Friedman has run Inner State Studio in space above his family’s
Horn Trader Musical instrument shop for four years, working with hundreds of
local musicians and recording dozens of cds. Horn Trader music is located at
S. Western Ave. near W. Reno.
While some commercially viable artists are producing cds at Inner State Studio
to try to get airplay on the radio and make sales to the public, many other
musicians are making recordings to have a record they can share with family
and friends, said Friedman. Many artists record songs so they can put them on
the internet on Myspace and other social networking sites. Friedman has worked
with 29 artists or musical groups in the past 12 months.
“There’s a journey that takes place in the studio,” said Friedman.
“ The artist always becomes a better musician after going through the
recording process. You get to hear the performance without a filter. They discover
just how good they are and how much they need to practice and improve.”
Friedman has made recordings of dozens of local bands and singers, including
Loose Shoes, the Reverb Brothers, Broken Sky, lisa Curl, Shiloh Brown and minutes
too far. Oklahoma is full of musical talent, but friedman believes there are
not enough experienced promoters in the market.
“We really need a serious record label in the city to promote, market
and distribute the local music,” commented Friedman. “It’s
not easy being a working musician. It’s like any kind of independent art.
You have to keep learning and growing and working with other people. A lot of
it is networking with other artists in the community. The main thing is being
able to work in a group. A lot of people run into problems because of group
dynamics.”
While Oklahoma City has a large number of venues for musicians, it is very difficult
for them to make a living as an independent artist, said Friedman. Most still
have day jobs.
A 1998 graduate o Classen School of Advanced Studies, Friedman attended the
Berklee College of Music in Boston for two years but did not graduate from the
schools program. He worked in studios in Boston and Los Angeles and played in
Bands before returning o Oklahoma and opening his studio.
Depending on budget and work schedules, artists may spend months to record a
cd, said Friedman. Some discs may take a year to complete. “Some of these
people are really shooting for the stars,” said Friedman. “They
have aspirations, hopes and dreams they put into these recordings. Others are
making a permanent record of their compositions.”
Carrie Hirst Starkey and her husband used Inner State Studios to record a
44 second theme song for a children’s television show they are producing.
The song was written by Wayne Coyne, Michael Ivins and Richard English of the
Flaming Lips and performed by 15-year-old Classen SAS student named Billy Reid,
who played five instruments in the recording process.
“We didn’t know where to go,” said Starkey. “We went
to the studio and it was fantastic, much more professional than I expected.
It was a great experience for us.”