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20 Artscene Sign up now for guitar, bass, drums, and piano OAKVILLE'S MUSIC STORE · WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2009 MICHAEL WILLEMS / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER PAPA'S GOT A BRAND NEW STUDIO: River 16 Recording Studio on 1428 Speers Rd. recently marked its grand opening with a day of performances. Here, Jordan John (left) and the Blues Angels, with Prakash John on bass and Al Cross on drums, jam in the live room. The 700 sq. ft. room was designed with acoustics primarily in mind. New studio owner hoping to hear the sweet sound of success River 16 Recording Studio for the arts community By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakville's music scene just got a little bigger with the addition of a new recording studio. River 16 Recording Studio opened this spring, with the goal of giving talent a high-quality, affordable place to record and rehearse. It has taken owner Rob Lackie more than a year to get the facility ready, but he said the hard work was worth it in the end. "We opened this studio to cater to a whole range of people," said Lackie, an Oakville-based singer/songwriter. "I figured there was need in the market for it. I'm here to help the push the arts scene." As for the name, readers familiar with the area likely correctly guessed it comes from Sixteen Mile Creek. The studio, located on Speers Road, features a 700 sq. ft. live room. The focus of the room's design was to maximize acoustics, with a 15 ft. vaulted ceiling, dou- ble-insulated walls and hardwood flooring. there also seems to be a lot of guys in their "It has a Led Zeppelin, big room sort of 40s and older who are coming back after sound," explained one of the studio's engi- having their children." neers, Tyler Mastantuono. River 16 Recording Studio offers various There's also a vocal booth in the corner recording packages, whether for a demo of the room. disc, EP (four to six songs) or a full-length The control room features the latest album. recording technology, which processes "A lot of bands have been doing their sound captured by highdemos to take to bars quality preamplifiers and "There seems to be a lot of here," Mastantuono said. microphones. The venue has also young bands and singers Lackie is also developbeen busy with bookings whose parents are getting ing a green room in the for bands to practice. back of the studio for behind them, it's good for The studio can also artists to relax between them and a good way to be booked for video sets. shoots and performancexpress themselves." The space is ideal for es for record labels. bands and solo artists of Rob Lackie A new service River every genre, from alterna16 Recording Studio has River 16 Recording Studio owner tive and country to jazz started offering is oneand classical, he said. on-one recording lesMost of the clients so far have been rock sons. `n' roll, but Lackie is hoping to attract oth"We've got our course outline and it ers, such as school bands and classical teaches the basics of what you need to musicians. know if you want to do stuff in your home "There seems to be a lot of young bands studio," said Mastantuono. and singers whose parents are getting Musicians who are producing a disc in behind them, it's good for them and a good their home studio but want to record speway to express themselves," he said. "And cific tracks or need help mixing the album can come to River 16 Recording Studio. The studio can also find backup musicians for solo artists or bands looking to enrich their sound. "Oakville probably has some of the best session musicians in Canada and the world," said Lackie. "We know a lot of them and many of them also seek us out." Lackie said the studio offers competitive rates. "I wanted to make it a public studio, so if someone comes, they don't walk out of here with a huge bill," he said. "And for beginners who are learning along the way, they aren't spending huge amounts of money to do it. Basically we're charging less than some of the smaller, project studios." The studio employs two engineers, including Mastantuono, who works fulltime, as well as Garrin Carter, who is there part-time. Mastantuono has a degree from the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology. He has experience working in every music genre, such as rock, jazz, folk and country. See River page 21