You know, recording studios are always interesting to me, what about you? One thing that always sticks out to me is their size. I always thought they all had to be gigantic, to accommodate entire bands, their isntruments, speakers, amps, and the like. But I saw that documentary a few years ago, Get Back, about the Beatles, you know it? But it in you can see that Abbey Road is really not that big of a place, and when the 5th Beatle, Billy Preston showed up, the space got downright cramped, now wonder they performed on the roof.
But as small studios go, there’s one I found that’s right here in Vancouver, and its amazing what they can pull off in such a small space. Demitone Studio is not a large space. It’s got low lighting too, it feels like a little indie bookstore almost. Picture one of those ones you would’ve gone to as a kid for something that wasn’t available at chapters. With the random islands in the middle of the store basically stacked to the ceiling. Demitone is like that, but music. How they do band tracking is beyond me, but somehow they make it work. Because it’s a small space, they really put time into making it look great, it’s well furnished, lit well as mentioned before, and has got this really great vibe, like its somewhere great music comes from.
Which it is, one of the groups that came through is called Slow Rage. They recorded the album “…Until it Happens to You” there and I really enjoyed what I listened to. They have a song on there called BONES which feels like Craig Northey sings Metallica. But the rest of the album is completely different, its got this great just “indie band” quality, Craig Northey wasn’t just a flippant reference they really remind me of classic Odds at some points, but with a more modern edge. Check it out if you have the time even if usually you don’t listen to alt-rock, there’s something there for you.
Speaking of Odds, their drummer Pat Steward is another of the clients Demitones has worked with, he didn’t record any albums there, but he did prep sessions there. If a Vancouver rock institution like Odds signs off on your place, I think you gotta be doing something right.