Friday, November 2, 2012


About Us:
This year a group of us put together all our resources, quit our jobs and built two beautiful recording studios and 13 practice spaces. We believe in DIY so we planned and we built. We were up early, we were up late, we hung up drywall, endlessly, building. The toll it took on our bodies and lives was high, but in the end it was worth it. We had two studios built and working non-stop in tandem with other friends who wanted to Do It Themselves. We had 13 practice rooms that we made sure were nice, really nice, so people could create in an environment unlike any practice space any of us had ever been in. Everyone helped that occupied a space, and honestly... it was amazing. It was a massive space, 7000 Square Feet and Hurricane Sandy destroyed every inch of it. Walls were knocked over, doors snapped in half and all the gear in the entire building, erased and covered in a toxic sludge from the Gowanus Canal. But it was the people that made it amazing, not the walls or the gear and that is the reason I won't let this go. My friends, who I built this building with are too impressive for me to just let this go. We are going to make something else. I insist. I don't know what yet exactly, but it starts with first fulfilling our obligations to each other and everyone else who helped us build. So... for the first time in my life I am asking for help in the form of money. Please donate what you can to help us back on our feet, then I can assure you... we will do the rest.
Mike Law on behalf of John, Andrew, Paul, Andrew II, Jeremy and Dennis.



Here is a recent article about the building before the hurricane:


The Civil Defense has been owned and run by Jeremy Scott since 2001. Jeremy has worked with some of the most championed Brooklyn bands of the last few years. The Civil Defense had some of the most unique gear of any Brooklyn studio and can make weird things weirder, mutate the mutated. Jeremy comes from the Florida scene of DIY and brought that same ethic to Brooklyn which is how he and Mike Law originally met sharing a tiny recording space in Williamsburg in 2002.


The South Sound was the brainchild of John LaMacchia (Crooked Man and Candiria), Translator Audio's Mike Law and Andrew Schneider, Civil Defense's Jeremy Scott, Dennis Darcy (Battle For Wyoming) and Paul Michel (Spirit Animal). The idea to construct a building that housed two recording studios as well as over a dozen practice suites seemed like the ideal environment to hand pick a great community of musicians. The concept all along was to make it unlike any practice facility in Brooklyn so great expense was spent on comfort and aesthetic. Help us recalibrate!


Translator Audio was founded in 2003 by Andrew Schneider and Mike Law, later joined by Andrew Gerhan in 2010. We have worked with bands from around the world and around the world of Brooklyn. Translator Audio has made famous records that people love and we have made unknown records that we love, we make records. A hurricane erased our gear and our walls, but we will make records again, pure fact. The studio has always been driven by our community of friends and fellow musicians. We believe in building and doing things ourselves, but we do need some help to get back on our feet.

6 comments:

  1. Perhaps add some contact info for folks who want to volunteer non-monetary support?

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  2. Some other ways we could use help (I'm sure I'm missing some):

    Local studios that can help us
    get in and finish mixing and/or tracking sessions.

    Safe storage space, preferably with a
    utility sink or something so we can try to clean, dry, and restore any gear that might be salvageable. Also utility shelves to help us keep our things in storage organized.

    Help soon moving console frames out of the studio.

    Help cleaning + trying to restore consoles, tape machines, rack gear and amps if possible.

    Bands and people anywhere who may be willing to set up and/or play benefit shows to help raise funds to rebuild.

    Leads/advice on any disaster relief funds, grants, or loans that may be relevant to us to help us get back on our feet.

    Leads on a new spot so we can build again.

    Let us know if you have any ideas.

    Jeremy

    thecivildefense@gmail.com (The Civil Defense)
    audiorecorderer@gmail.com (Translator Audio)
    crookeddman@gmail.com (The South Sound)

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    Replies
    1. Tu Casa to the rescue,we have some studio related stuff that you could use, please let us know...

      www.tucasastudio.org

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  3. I've shared this page on my Facebook. the same thing happened to the south during Katrina and their rising music scene was wiped out and never fully recovered. my friends who live around 50 miles from Biloxi, MS (hardest hit area of the actual storm) will totally understand and if they have the means, will help.

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  4. Karl, thank you so much. Part of what makes this difficult for us is asking for help when so many people are currently going through much worse than us. Some friends on Staten Island lost their homes and other people who have gone through things like Katrina remind us we are straight up lucky. We got out as the water surge was coming through the parking lot toward the building. Any of us, or the French band that was in town to record could have lost our lives had we stayed in the building longer. We are alive because we got out maybe by an hour, five minutes... I don't know. I feel lucky in a lot of ways.
    On a side note a close friend is from Ocean Springs and I have heard many stories about the years long recovery there. Her Dad is inspiring to me in many ways, one of which was his approach and dedication to the recovery of his neighbors. Thanks again! Mike

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  5. I'm so pleased to have been a small part of the work you've been doing. Enjoy your "retirement" and God bless you richly!.
    financially help to needy people

    ReplyDelete