Earlier this year, Valise was the first band to record in the new studio.  We started tracking just 24 hours after moving in, so this record means a lot to us as a sort of celebration of the new space!

"Dreamcatcher EP" was released in June and the band has been steadily growing over the past few months.  They just released a music video (above) for the title track from the EP, and will begin touring this Winter.  This is definitely a band to watch, so head over to their Facebook page to check them out, and if you like what you hear, buy their EP at any of the links below!

Online Store | iTunes | AmazonMP3

The very talented Puckett sisters of Poema recorded their Holiday EP at the Vanguard Room. It was released this week on itunes and Amazon. We had a great time with them. Here's a very non-christmas-y photo...

We may  have neglected our blog for the past two months, but we haven't been neglecting the studio construction.  Things have come a long way since our last post, and it's time for an update.  After the floated floor went down,  we started in on the framing, followed by insulation, drywall, and we've even started painting some of the rooms.  It's incredible how quickly it all came together, and how different the space feels now that all the rooms are built and closed in.  We've got loads of pictures and video to sort through, so we'll be posting more updates of the recent (and upcoming) progress, as we finish over the coming weeks.

In the meantime, check out these super sweet photos, taken just as framing was completed.  They were shot by the talented Oliver Schlienger, of Embark On The Day.

Radial is in the studio, recording their new full length.  They are super sweet, and so are these photos.

The first single from Holly Ann's "Ravens" album has been posted on her facebook. Go be her friend!

We're happy to report that things are moving along nicely at the new space.  After all of the planning, waiting, demolition, and cleaning, it felt so good to finally see the first part of the studio built - the floors.  They are floated, layered, and filled with insulation, making them approximately four inches tall and incredibly dense.  This is the first time we could actually see out layout take shape in the space, and really gave us and the construction crew a huge morale boost to see it finally coming together.  Keep an eye out for the next video post!

We're delighted to have Orlando up-and-coming pop-rockers Embark On The Day in the studio this month.  They're a young band who has already made a pretty big mark in the Orlando music scene, so we're stoked to be working with them on their debut EP "A Story Of Love".  We're about halfway through tracking, and expect to have the record wrapped up sometime in August.  This will be one our final projects in the home studios, and even though we couldn't be more excited about moving into the new space in September, it's hard not to be nostalgic about the good times we've had working at home.

Holly Ann's record is finished! The title of the album is Ravens. It was mastered by our buddy Troy Glessner at Spectre Studio in Seattle. We LOVE this record and can't wait for it to come out. All of the lyrics are on Holly's blog if you need taste to wet your appetite.

The Valaska EP is officially out. So far, it's an online-only release... You can get it on itunes and bandcamp... and I'm sure other retailers have it as well and more to come. Congrats Dave!

We've resumed work on the new Sonnet To Sleep album. It's good to have Mr. Rios back behind the mic!

We are very excited about this record. We've been working on Holly Ann Rossmiller's record for a while. We still have some strings and a few guitars and other odds and ends to finsish, but this is shaping up to be an incredible record. She wrote some brilliant songs. Here's a photo of her shredding on the piano... tenderly.

Here are a few photos of the new space. It's in pretty rough shape but we have high hopes for it.

Nikki Kummerow has moved the States! She's one of the most exciting artists to have ever set foot in our studio. A few years back, she came all the way from her native Australia to make a record here. Now she's married to a real nice guy named Jesse and living in Nashville. If you're in the Nashville area and see her name on a flyer or something, you HAVE to go see her. She'll make you weep!

Our buddies at Academy Fight Song are doing a vinyl release of the debut Anchor&Braille LP, Felt, with a brand new bonus track. This album is so dynamic, it's going to sound incredible on vinyl!

Many of you know, or can tell from the photos, that The Vanguard Room is a home studio. We've been operating the studio in houses, warehouses, or anywhere we wouldn't be too much of a bother.

We've had the pleasure of working on some really great music despite our untraditional studio space and we never felt we were limited to the point of hurting the end product. Nevertheless, it's been a dream of ours to move the studio out of the house and expand our facility. We've been searching for the right spot, off and on for the last 7 years. 

We are SO excited to announce that we've found a great spot and have officially signed a lease and started construction! The new space is in the Dixieland Historic area, very close to Downtown Lakeland. It's going to have MUCH more room. We'll have a good-sized live room with high ceilings so we can get a nice big roomy drum sound. 

But before we can move in, we'll be doing a TON of work on it. The whole place will be gutted, the AC, plumbing, and electric re-done, and an acoustically designed studio built inside. We will post frequent updates along with video blogs to document our progress. 

The Vanguard Room's favorite L-People recently premiered their new music video on Myspace. Check it out if you're ready to party.

Person L - Goodness Gracious

 

... but have you experienced a Chicago-style melancholy alternative pop song?

I had the pleasure of producing an EP for Chi-Town's VALASKA. The record is all finished-up, mixed, mastered, and sounding beautiful! We haven't heard if there's an official release date, but Dave put 3 songs up on VALASKA's Myspace page. Check it out. We'll let you know as soon as we hear when the whole thing will be for sale.

We're feeling real good about the new website. Thanks so much to our friend John Snapp for building it. We have a few more features we'll be adding soon and we'll be posting lots of content and updates. So if you're interested in what's going with the studio and the artists we're working with, check back often!