Along with personal experiences that have beaten me up emotionally and put me back together again, there have also been many changes, one in particular that towers high above the others. This change is where my new chapter began. About seven months ago I found a new 'home' for my music. My new home is a place where my trust hasn't been flung against the wall a few hundred times, hung out to dry and left for dead on the side of the road. This new home is called Sanctum Sound / Serenity East Recording Studios in Boston, MA (sister studio Serenity West in LA, CA). After months of research, talking with studio manager after studio manager, making and breaking studio tour appointments, I finally kept one. The studio manager informed me that, by happen-chance, I would be able to meet the owner/producer, Steve Catizone, the day I was set to go for a tour. He lived in LA but was coming through Boston for a few days (as I was later informed he tries to do on a monthly basis). I took this as a good sign, along with the fact that Steve had already emailed me with answers to every question I had, answers I had been looking high and low for. Off I went to this little hidden jewel under the streets of Boston's Leather District. When I opened the door I was greeted by a place that I am pretty sure I had dreamed of before. Tiny lit candles lined the walls and floor, buddha statues, bright blue stones, deep red carpets and smoky-colored walls surrounded me. The smell of incense, the phone ringing from one of the many rooms off in the distance and, what stuck out for me that I had been missing before - music. OTHER rooms with OTHER musicians recording THEIR music. This was a working studio, a thriving business filled with people who actually gave (and still give) a shit. I remember looking up to see framed records of some of Serenity's recording artists past and present - records I actually own and listen to. I had a great feeling until I noticed that Steve wasn't there. I didn't have a lot of faith in people for many reasons and, for just a moment, I faltered. Maybe this wasn't my home after all. Just when I was ready to throw in my towel and call it a day, the door flew open and my "studio tour" turned into a one-on-one meeting and listening party with the person who would soon take on the role as my producer.
Since that day in early February, my little babies have grown into the songs that they were meant to be - full of a rich, driving energy, soaring to places they had only hoped to touch in the past. If not for the hard work, confidence, talent, encouragement and patience of my producer, my songs would still be resting quietly on my laptop in a four year old version of Garage Band, for my ears only.
Seven months have passed and I'm absolutely dying for all of you to hear what's been going on in my life. My songs of old (of which I am still very proud of) were let out of their bags prematurely; unfinished and severely lacking. This time around I am promising myself to borrow some of my producer's patience and hold off until things are 100% ready. Until then, whether you love it or hate it, my music and I have found a place where we belong. Stay tuned and thanks for reading! ;)
dreamBIG,
Arlanna
