ION INDIE MAGAZINE September 2015, Volume 16 | Page 98

talking about seasoned veteran musicians. And that’s the thing: Not everyone is utilizing this valuable resource. As a matter of fact, almost nobody is. From my personal experience with the process, I can tell you this: A few years ago I put together a Rock band. I had been in cover bands, a tribute band and in other people’s established original projects. Until that point in time, I had never put together a band from the ground up. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I was a little “green around the gills”. We put a few songs together and tried to piece together the next steps. It seemed logical that the next step would be to do some recordings and compile a press kit for venue owners, to help get our asses on some stages. I mean, that’s how it was done--or so I thought. We asked around, and only one name kept coming up. A short while later, we found ourselves in Cherry Pit Studios. After our first two songs were finished, Eric asked if I wanted to sign with him for licensing. I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, but the word “sign” sure sounded cool. He explained what it was all about and clearly described the terms. It didn’t cost us anything upfront so, what the hell, why not? You see, these songs did not exactly reinvent the wheel, to say the least. The caliber of artists that go through those studio doors include some of the best talent in the region--in the country, for that matter! At that point, with that lineup, we were somewhere a little further down the talent ladder, if you know what I mean. There wasn’t a high consensus that it would amount to much, but like I said--what did we have to lose? Nothing! About six months later, I got a call--miraculously, we had our first placement! THE KATIE COURIC SHOW had used one of those first two songs on a segment! It was a pretty decent placement. When you see (hear) it for the first time I can guarantee, it will BLOW your mind--and it absolutely NEVER gets old. I won’t even try to describe it, but I put it up there with the birth of my two sons, graduating college and grad-school--and hell, I don’t know. But it’s up there, for sure. Just imagine if you catch one of your tunes on TV having no idea it was coming on. Trust me, it is pure AWESOMENESS! I think you get where I’m coming from… A few years later, with 4 of our 6 published works being used on well over one-hundred episodes and events, a thousand-plus uses in five different countries, eight straight fiscal quarters of royalty checks totaling over $10,000 in revenue, I knew that this would have never happened if I would have chosen to record at any studio within 100 miles of Cherry Pit Studios. Signing that agreement with Eric Labrosse was one of the best decisions I have ever made. How can you even make such a decision if you don't know that such a thing exists? Recently I had a chance to get Eric away from his packed schedule (he is usually booked solid 2 to 4 months out these days) and ask him a few questions about music, licensing and Cherry Pit Studios. Dr X: What got you into music as a whole? Eric LaBrosse: Ever since 8th grade, I've been in bands. I guess music is just something that has always been a part of my life. DX: What was your musical development? As in what instruments you played; what bands you were in? EL: I actually started out as a drummer and singer. I eventually started fronting my own band out of high school called MARASHINO, which was originally just made up of a bunch of high school buddies having fun. After high school, we toured a lot and eventually got to open for bigger bands like SHINEDOWN and SEETHER a few times. After that band, I continued with my current band THE HEROES LIE. I also play guitar and clarinet. DX: What got you into starting to record? EL: I started recording because my band back years ago would take too much time in the studio, so I started building my own studio. Recording is something I’ve always been interested in. Eventually other bands liked the recordings enough to want me to record them. DX: How did you do it--learning to use gear, methods--the progression from the first time recording to sitting in your new studio