The O-town Scene

Beginnings When musicians first started recording in the space, Baker’s bedroom was where the recording studio is now, so the group named the studio as a sort of “Thank you for putting up with everything” to Baker, who is in his final semester at SUNY Oneonta. “We’ve blazed this trail, and we don’t really know where we’re going, but we’re learning,” Hunter said. Cadwallader is the one with the recording experience. He has been recording his own music since he was 15, and when he moved to Oneonta at 17, he started his own recording business. He said he pos- tered flyers around town advertising his inexpensive rates, which college and high-school bands took advan- tage of. Cadwallader ran the studio out of the third floor of his family’s home on Academy Street in One- onta. “My parents wanted me to get a job, so I decided to record bands on the top floor,” Cadwallader said. “My parents didn’t mind too much. They were glad I wasn’t being a derilict.” After high school, Cadwallader started a music recording and per- formance program at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, Minn., and spent a few semesters on and off at SUNY Oneonta. But, Cadwallader said he’s better at learning things on his own, and he’s excited to be able to do what he’s passionate about without a degree. Cadwallader is passionate about making music — recording and sound engineering and performing. Lets Tokyo began when Cadwallad- er started playing music with Baker and Hunter about two years ago after looking for some musicians to help with his solo project. The three had known each other in high school — Cadwallader a 2005 Oneonta High School graduate, Hunter is an ’06 and Baker an ’07. Purpose in action “The studio started as a way for us to fund our own operation,” Cadwallader said. Then the idea grew to open up the studio to other musicians, with a focus on younger musicans. “We want to give back and make sure there’s a continuation of music in this area,” Hunter said. “A kid comes in and learns how to do something better, and it makes us feel good to know we’re helping younger musicians find their way,” Cadwallader added. In addition to Lets Tokyo, local bands Galleries, Betrayed by Fate and Wine Cellar have recorded at Crown Studios. Clockwise from top: Baker practices on the house drum set; Hunter relaxes in the studio; and Hunter plays guitar in the back of the live room. Joe Sullivan of Wine Cellar said his band had been playing shows with Lets Tokyo when Cadwallader asked if Wine Cellar wanted to record songs for free as an incentive for selling tickets to Lets Tokyo’s CD release party — for every 50 tickets sold, a free song. Wine Cellar sold 150 tickets, and was the first outside group to record in the studio, in Center City Oneonta. Sullivan said he didn’t know what to expect, but was impressed with the experience of working with Cadwallader, who is one of his friends. “It was a lot more professional than I thought it would be. I knew Garrett would do an amzing job, but he put a lot of time into tweaking to make it perfect,” Sullivan said. “It’s very neat. Everything is always very neat. There’s never any chords laying around. It’s extremely professional, and they always end up having a candle burning somewhere.” Sullivan recorded a solo project on break from college in January, and said Cadwallader was like a mentor. “He gave a lot of good input. I went in with a different idea and came out with something a lot bet- ter. He knows what sounds good to other people,” he said. “It definitely sounded a lot better than I thought it would. He definitely helped out a lot with his suggestions.” _ Cassandra Miller For more information about Crown Studios, e-mail crownrecording @gmail.com Contributed Jan. 20, 2011 O-Town Scene 17

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