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The Sound Kitchen Recording Studio in Franklin, Tennessee, provided an excellent learning environment for my band students at Forest Park High School. We traveled excitedly to this studio, the largest recording facility of the Southeast, while visiting the Nashville area.
Many of the biggest names in the music industry, including Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffet, Bruce Springsteen, and Dolly Parton, chose to record at Sound Kitchen. Perhaps they were lured in by the six highly equipped, full-service studios within the 19,000-square-foot building. (There are studios A through E, the Digital Village and Big Boy) Maybe it was the fifteen-minutes-from-Nashville location. Or, it could have been the sheer amiability of the managers. Whatever the reason, the likes of Amy Grant, Elton John, Michael W. Smith, and Faith Hill all selected Sound Kitchen as the birthplace of at least some of their prized selections.
My students were not only impressed by the big names, but also fascinated by the tour of both the control room and the main studio we got to take - particularly as they were able to talk with and answer questions from the studio manager Sharon Corbitt and assistant Heather Kerr as they toured.
Although its insignia boasts a fun, black, red-and-white '50s-style, we found the interior of Sound Kitchen to be fresh, modern, and state-of-the-art. As we toured, we heard about various recording formats available, such as ProTools HD, ProTools TDM, Otari, and IZ Radar Hard Disk system, twenty-four-track analog, and Sony 3348 digital.
With goals like personal comfort and technical perfection, it was no wonder to my students that the staff of Sound Kitchen attracted such a high clientele. They achieve top-notch results by creating a comfortable yet productive atmosphere. Plus they offer private lounges stocked with a variety of food and beverages, satellite TV, and wireless web throughout all of their studios.
As fun a place as it is, though, Sound Kitchen is serious about its play. The folks there do it all-from tracking, to overdubs, to mixing-under one roof. We were impressed.
Even more impressive though, was the time Sharon and Heather spent with us. Throughout the tour, they talked about their personal experiences and path through the music industry. Their stories gave a personal touch to the experience and were truly inspiring for the students. The insights they shared allowed my students to see new and different ways to get into the music business. Additionally, they got an accurate look at what life's really like on the inside. Then, even better, they could talk about the entire process, their questions, and concerns with professionals who had made it through the hoops already.
Heather had also prepared a sound sampler of tracks recorded at the Sound Kitchen and shared the music with my students. This experience was only thirty minutes long, but, despite its length, proved to be the highlight for many. The students were very interested in the music recorded there and the life stories that Sharon and Heather shared with us.
The entire experience allowed the students to see the growth of technology over the past fifty years in the recording and music industry. We also found it to be a great contrast to our tours of Studio "B", a part of the Country Music Hall of Fame tour. The Historic RCA Studio "B" hails itself as Nashville's oldest surviving and most famous recording studio. As the "Home of A Thousand Hits," Studio "B" hosted more than 35,000 songs between 1957 and 1977. Elvis Presley recorded 262 songs at what he considered to be his favorite recording studio.
From the ultra-modern Sound Kitchen to the quaint, historic Studio "B", my band students learned quite a bit about the industry in Nashville. Now they know some of the recording process and what it takes to make it in the industry. I'm sure more than a few of my students will be looking further into the recording business as a result of this trip.
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