Need a Good Break?

By Harry Knolle

This past summer three Florida State students took it upon themselves to start their own recording studio to try to propel student musicians and writers to the next level. Out of this desire came Good Break Studios, created by Adam Sheppard, Steve Porter and Josh Valencia.

Good Break’s philosophy is to create a relaxed environment where artists can feel at ease while recording their work.

“We want to eliminate the nervousness, by creating a relaxed vibe where the artist isn’t worried about the money they are burning in the studio.” said Sheppard, a senior in Creative Writing.

With many studios charging an hourly flat rate, Good Break believes that this can sometimes cause stress to an artist. At Good Break Studios there are no flat rates for recording. The pricing is catered to what the artist wants to do whether it be a poetry reading or a full-length album.

Sheppard said the rates are figured out beforehand on a consultation basis. “We definitely have leeway with our pricing,” he said. “It depends on what you want. We understand what a financial strain it can be so we don’t believe in a flat rate.”

All three proprietors are musicians and consider this an advantage for their artists. “As musicians we understand where the artists are coming from and know how to improve their sound,” Sheppard said.

The trio already had their own recording gear and decided to pool their efforts to create an artist-friendly studio in their home that is also capable of on-the-move recording.

“Our house was built in 1890 and has 16-foot ceilings, so it’s not a closed-in room,” Sheppard said. “It’s been recently remodeled, and when we signed the lease we had the studio in mind so there are separate rooms for recording.”

This fall Good Break Studios is trying to expand by inviting creative writers to record their writing to have on CD. Sheppard believes that this expansion will be a great addition to their studio.

“We started inviting creative writers to expand our skill sets to different aspects of recording. We feel recorded poetry is a very under valued market.”

All of Good Break’s equipment is also recording live performances.

While talking with the owners of Good Break Studios it was easy to see that environment was something that the trio valued when recording.

“We really want to stress that we want to do what’s best for the artist by creating a positive and relaxing vibe,” Sheppard said. “It can go a long way, we want to work with you and for you to be happy and have fun while doing it.”

Good Break is still a developing studio and are making significant efforts to get their name in the community.

“We operate by a lot of word of mouth, but we do have a Facebook page where people can get all of our information and what we offer. Hopefully in the future we will have some radio spots to get our name out there,” Sheppard said.

For more information on Good Break Studios find them on Facebook or e-mail them at goodbreakstudios@gmail.com.