Live room
Between Schroeyens’ proven experience in all
sides of the music business and Murray’s prowess as
a producer/engineer, they’re well suited to be that
one-stop-shop.
“Everyone has a laptop and a studio now,”
Murray begins. “Sometimes people come in, go for
the tour, and we start talking rates, and it’s like, ‘But
my buddy has Pro Tools and he’ll only charge us
200 bucks a song.’ Yeah, but there’s a reason your
buddy only charges 200 bucks a song. Yes, you’re
paying for our studio, the gear, London Guitars, but
you’re also paying for me doing this for a living for
all these years. Yes, your buddy has Pro Tools and
we have Pro Tools, but it’s the knowledge – hearing
that something’s out of tune or rushed, or saying,
‘What’s that noise? Did you put Kleenex in the back
of your Strat to get rid of the string vibration?’ I’ve
been doing this for a long time. You’re paying for
experience, too.
“It’s always my goal to be faster and more
efficient,” Murray says about his Pro Tools chops, but
also his work as an engineer in general. He doesn’t
just push record; he provides direction. “Is it about
more money? No. It’s about a better product. Peo-
ple know their own rooms.”
He and Schroeyens are continually seeking to
expand their catalog of services, adding more song-
writing-focused initiatives and getting into social
media promotion. They’ve also taken on artists for
development as well – specifically the Jason Mercer
Band, who’ve seen their profile rise to the national
level in a short amount of time.
Unsurprisingly, they’re also looking towards
more upgrades to the studio proper – “a bit of a
facelift for the live room, some additional acoustic
treatment in there…” Murray offers. “Nothing sub-
stantial; you just get to know your room and those
little spots you need to deal with.”
It’s only a matter of finding time, Schro-
eyens says, adding that he’d like to do addi-
tional renovations in the building, putting in
a kitchen on the second floor, for example, as
well as additional office space for their mar-
keting team and, at some point, expanding
London Guitars.
And there are other initiatives they’re
not quite ready to discuss. “For the amount
we want to take on as creators, there’s just
never enough time, but we find the time to
do what’s important. We’ve actually got some
meetings today about the stuff that we’re
doing that’s going to take us a dramatic step
further and expand the Charterhouse brand.
“For me, this is a way to stay connected
to the root reason why I did this initially,” Schro-
eyens sums up. “I really am passionate about
music, the arts, and creation. I always feel
energetically connected to honest, passionate,
driven creators, no matter what they create. I
seem to be drawn to these people and I know
that my part of it is being a bit of an enabler, so
I’m not going to fight that; I’m going to figure
out who really wants to do this for the right
reasons and I’m going to help them. Offering
people the professional resources they need
to create their art, it’s expensive, and you’re not
always guaranteed to make money, but that’s
not why we’re doing this.”
Kevin Young is a musician and freelance writer
based in Toronto.
PROFESSIONAL SOUND • 37