Hey all, most of you probably know i'm involved in the re opening process of a commercial studio in my area. my first involvement in a studio that is in a commercial building, and just a studio, not a home, practice area etc.

Finally after a few months the final coats of paint are starting to dry and the finish trim/slats/fabric are starting to go up!

But, now that the physically hard work is wrapping up this month (or two), i'm starting to think about the 'grand opening party' and would love to hear any thoughts, experiences, positive and negative.

my thought was a fully functional, hooked up, studio w/ mic'ed instruments, and some really good food. i figure this will be in the 2k range as far as money goes. We have a person on board who is pretty well connected, he was thanked when the beach boys recently won their first Grammy, and did Christina aguilara's web management for 10 years.

so, i'm off the hook for the most part as far as label execs, and industry phone calls etc.

My thought was to try to involve a local radio radio station, to do a live broadcast from the opening, have local restaurants cater, as in do free or heavily discounted food, in exchange for free advertising, and since there is an art gallery across the street, try to incorporate the art scene, perhaps involving RISDY (rhode island school of design), which is a nationally acclaimed art college, almost the 'berklee of art' if you will.

also i'd like to incorporate a well known Rhode island surf shop, and perhaps the skate shop from my area.

i feel like it's important to be part of the 'scene' ya know, and i kinda have been for a long time, not a 'scene-ster' persay, but people know me...

so i'm really looking to make this opening about more than just 'new studio open', and more of an event that gels eating, drinking, music, art, and even film. i think that targeting the 'creative type's' of all sorts, would really have much more of an impact in the longevity of this studio, than simply getting a bunch of label people, and bands.

any thoughts? any help s much appreciated. the first 'grand opening' is slated for October, but i'm looking really to do an 'event' which is realistically time framed for spring time 2014.

I'm not paying the bills, but obviously money is pretty tight after prettying up the place, about 25k has been spent, which is only 5k above the budget (yeah only 5k lol), and i expect to probably hit 30-35 when it's all done. so please excuse the expression, but hookers and coke are out of the question as far as entertaining the bigwigs goes. my personal theory is that becoming some sort of part of the local/regional scene will help keep the doors open in between the prospective indie label projects. My thought is that a lot of small time projects, will help keep me engineering, and the place open, and creates a more steady source of income.

my grand idea is to have an event where the streets get blocked off and their are cops doing traffic, (it's a small NE style downtown area), something big enough where even the general public will say 'hey whats going on today'. and while the studio is the center piece, i'm looking to do something much bigger than a glorified studio tour with food. my personal feeling is that by creating a sense of art and creativity around the studio in the form of things like surfing skate live performance, even martial art demos, it would create a much larger demographic, and a sense of community that could surround a nice studio. maybe i'm just dreaming here, but i think i can make something big happen, while i can't predict the results as far as studio numbers, i think i can do this 'event'.

does this make any sense or am i just sounding like a pipe dreamer? i may never be a great engineer, or great anything, but if i'm determined to do something i very rarely fail, so i welcome any ideas that seem even bigger than mine, or any thoughts anyone has.

thank you!
-kyle