Studio provides affordable recording spot for artists
Maria Saldivar
North Texas Daily 9/13/2007
Richard Haskins may be recognized from his former days working at The Tomato, but the 22-year-old Denton native isn't in the pizza business anymore. Today he is the owner of Black Bottle Recording, which provides audio production to a variety of musicians.
At four months old, Black Bottle Recording has more than 30 clients. Country, punk rock, hip-hop and Celtic bands as well as choirs have been in and out of the small studio located at 221 N. Locust St.
Hip-hop group D. Cook travels from Louisiana every other week to record with Black Bottle.
Haskins said that after attending the Media Tech Institute and finding out that options were limited in the DFW area for an audio engineer, he went forward with his plan for his own recording studio.
"I was literally told to wait for somebody to die before I could get a job with a studio," Haskins said.
Corey Duran of the band Stymie said, "You can tell he put a lot of time and money into this to make sure it is quality."
Haskins, once on the other side of music production, said he understands being a struggling musician and wants to make quality recording that is affordable. Black Bottle charges $50 per hour of recording time, which covers an engineer and the use of the equipment. Some competitors charge as much as $225 per hour, Haskins said.
Carrek Coleman of the band Hickory Street Hellraisers said, "Not only did I trust him to come through with a good product, but he has the best prices in town."
Working with Haskins at Black Bottle are audio engineers Patrick Howard, Justin Bumbalough, Julian Gil and Nagaris Johnson.
The Black Bottle engineers bring separate backgrounds to the studio and introduce each other to new skills and methods of producing music.
"We all have our own niches, and we all have our own way of doing things," said Bumbalough, who specializes in punk rock production. "It's cool being in the same studio and seeing how someone else works compared to how you work." Haskins said the addition of Johnson has been important because he brings his knowledge of mixing and producing hip-hop music, something Haskins admits isn't his forte.
In addition to managing Black Bottle's crew and equipment, Haskins conducts business professionally, said Jared Kuenstler of the Hickory Street Hellraisers.
"He makes you feel comfortable," said NT alumnus and Hickory Street Hellraisers band member Abby Messerli of Haskins.
The engineers at Black Bottle agree that allowing people the opportunity to make music is why they do what they do.
"You're not just doing this because maybe this guy is going to blow up and he's going to remember that I helped him," Johnson said. "You're doing something good that makes you feel better too."
Though laughter resonates when the crew is in the studio, their work is something they put a lot of serious effort into - sometimes spending as many as 80 hours per week working on a production, Haskins said.
"It's professional and I think that it's really good for anybody who wants a chance to record," said Whitney Wood, Dallas junior of the band Stymie.
Haskins isn't looking at fame and fortune yet - he said he wants to give back to the Denton music scene.
"Denton is where people come to make music," Haskins said.
Black Bottle has acquired some regular customers that are pleased with the quality they receive.
"We came in at the tail end of this project but he will definitely get repeated business from us," Kuenstler said.
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Spinning The Bottle
Denton Musician Tests His Talent By Opening A Recording Business
Denton Record-Chronicle Sunday, January 27, 2008
By Greg Russell/Staff Writer
Musician Richard Haskins opened Black Bottle Recording on May 26, and has overseen enough studio output to keep the doors open.
Haskins, 23, said the studio has produced nearly 30 full-length albums from start to finish, with shorter recordings done along the way.
Any genre is welcome, though punk, country and hip-hop groups move through Black Bottle the most. The studio at 221 N. Locust St. is a next-door neighbor to Brave Combo’s business headquarters, and it was the first place Haskins spotted and chose.
“We got to build up the clientele, and it will eventually work itself out,” he said. “My goal is to not have anything leave the studio sounding less than spectacular.”
Haskins, vocalist for punk-alternative band the Wee-Beasties, based the studio venture on his experiences as a full-time musician, where getting recorded is vital — and possible even on a micro-budget, as long as a band is willing to sacrifice audio quality. Struggling bands typically make albums and demos by way of a cheap studio or in a friend’s garage and hope for the best.
And aside from Wee-Beasties — now dormant — Haskins had played in a half-dozen struggling bands. But as a new family man, he realized he would be wise to turn his attention toward something more stable.
“I was married and had a kid, and couldn’t support a family by being in a band,” he said. “So I decided to go to recording school.”
After attending MediaTech institute, Haskins worked for Dallas Sound Lab recording studio and figured he could branch off in a more local way.
“I tried to work at other recording studios and that was cool, but I wanted to start my own: good recording with inexpensive rates,” he said. “It was pretty much that. My wife was totally on board with it.”
His Dallas Sound Lab connections allowed him to get massively discounted equipment through a Las Colinas seller. The quality of the equipment is high enough to allow Black Bottle to charge competitively without committing highway robbery. The flat hourly recording rate is $65. Artists can buy studio time at $200 for four hours, $400 for eight hours, and $1,000 for 24 hours. The engineering rate per song — recording, mixing and mastering — is $250.
Black Bottle does have specialty rates, such as the “7-Inch Special,” which offers recording, mixing and mastering of three songs for 7-inch vinyl for $350, with a recording limit of six hours. Jazz groups are charged only $100 for the “Jazz Jam Jamboree,” a one-hour jam session, with recording, mixing and mastering as part of the package.
This pricing can get subjective, Haskins said, pointing out how some punk bands can come to Black Bottle and record 10 songs in three hours. Another guy has been working on his record off and on for a month and has invested about $1,500 so far.
“It’s like asking what a house costs,” Haskins said. “Depends on what kind of house you want.”
Any genre new to the studio is good for him since it keeps him on his toes.
“I hear an instrument I’ve never recorded before, and I have to figure out how to mic it and learn about the instrument,” Haskins said. “Rock bands … as much as I love doing rock bands … it’s all the same.”
Regardless, Black Bottle Recording couldn’t have set stakes in a more ideal location, and even its worst days trump a great many day jobs.
“It’s fun to be in there,” Haskins said. “You’re recording an album. It’s supposed to be fun.”
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