Richmond - The number of musicians and bands in Richmond is mind-blowing for a city of its seemingly puny size.  However, its ratio of bands to recording studios doesn't portion itself very well.  I can think of very few legitimate places to record, and one couldn't keep count of the the number of new bands popping up out of the woodwork every week. 

Enter No Control Studios in Church Hill, operated by Robert Cheeseman.  Robert has been the driving force behind Richmond pop-punk quartet Drawn a Blank for several years and left for the west coast in 2008 to pursue a career in audio engineering.  After working in recording studios in Los Angeles, he made the decision to move back to Richmond and put his skills to work.

The studio is built in the sub-levels of a Church hill home that Cheeseman found on Craigslist.  For an independently owned facility the place is constructed surprisingly well.  Several different rooms separate the studio for it's tracking and performing purposes.  The control room is carpeted and proofed with sound pads.  With high end hardware and software, Robert spends entire days down here tracking and mixing the upcoming Drawn a Blank album.  Since building the studio, the band can take its sweet time with the process without having to worry about money and time, which would otherwise be an expensive commodity and force a band to rush its work in a matter of days.

I spoke with Robert about the studio and Drawn a Blank.

33: First, can you tell me about No Control studios - when did you officially get it up and running? 
Robert Cheeseman: No Control Studios has been "officially" up and running since about late January of this year.  It's one of those things where it will always be a work in progress as I'll always be acquiring new gear, switching things up here and there, and continuing to strive for perfection (if such a thing exists in recording).  But as far as being a studio with the capabilities to track and mix, it's been functional since early on this year. 

33: When and why did you decide to move back to Richmond and start doing this on your own?
RC: Late spring of 2009.  I was still living in Los Angeles working non-stop in studios, and I remember talking it over with an engineer friend of mine out there who's opinion I value very highly.  I just gave him the run down on my idea, and he definitely was really encouraging of it.  I knew I wanted to, but I needed some reassurance that I wasn't making a bad move.  The "why" is a multi-angle answer, though.  On the most basic (and possibly most important level to me personally) was just that I got really burned out working on music that I wasn't passionate about.  The whole reason I got into recording was so that I wouldn't have to make a living doing something that I didn't care about... I knew there would be parts of the industry out there that I'd have a problem with, but the biggest surprise was how political it was, just like any other industry I guess, and that also played a pretty big role in me wanting to move back.  There was also a lot of sketchy stuff that happened regularly, and people were just supposed to accept them because "that's how things work," which I wasn't having. 

33: How did you score such a humongous house to build this thing in?
RC: We found Cheese Manor on craigslist, actually.  The second I got back here I started looking for houses, and it was listed there for rent/sale.  We looked at probably 5-10 houses total, and this was one of the last ones we found.  Pretty much the second I saw it (and the basement), I knew that this was the one. 

33: You worked at a recording studio in Burbank right?  Was it a full-time job or an internship?  I can't imagine leaving the west coast for Richmond.  I bet you get that question a lot.
RC: Yeah.  After finishing up at recording school (the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Tempe, Arizona), I immediately moved to LA and got an apartment with two classmates from school in Burbank... well, actually I crashed on couches with people for like two weeks, because I moved there with no place to live, but we found the apartment, signed the lease, and got moved in, and I lucked out and got a call about an internship during that time frame and started immediately.  Our school requires us to complete an internship, and they help us get into studios we want to get into, but the top five studios on my list were all full at the time.  But Eldorado was looking for an intern, and it turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened to me.  I ended up interning there pretty much for 3 or 4 months straight, almost every day, all day, and it was just myself and the engineer at the studio, so I learned a TON while I was there and also happened to get my first legit credit on a record during that time for assistant engineering.  Plus Chris (the engineer at Eldorado) became one of my best friends/colleagues in LA and threw a lot of work my way after I left Eldo so it worked out great.  After my internship ended there I got hired at Glenwood Place Studios, which is also in Burbank.  It was kind of a complete 180, going from a big one room rock studio to a big, sleek, 3-room pop studio basically, but was still awesome.  I worked at Glenwood the entire remainder of my time in LA from that point, which was about 15 months if I recall correctly, and again learned a ton and got some awesome experience there.  I also had few side gigs here and there, mainly out of Stagg Street Studios in Van Nuys, which was cool because it was always either assisting or engineering.  I do get that question a lot, but it's whatever... I'm glad with the decision I made, although I could definitely see myself moving back out there in the future.  It's just not what I needed at this point in my life, though.

33: What are your visions for No Control?  What is your ultimate goal?  Track a Bad Religion album?
RC: Ideally, I'd love for it to become a legit thing where I could make a living recording bands, but at the same time maintain my want and need to work with bands and artists that I'm into and support.  I'd love to be a part of a BR record for sure, I'd love to just get some sort of credit on one... that's definitely a lifelong dream... I'll probably have to move back to LA to make it happen though. [laughs]

33: What big projects are you working on now?
RC: Nothing "big" in particular.  I spent all of July up in Boston co-engineering an EP for my friends in Energy (www.thisenergy.com).  It's called Walk Into the Fire, and comes out on Bridge 9 Records October 26... I'm really proud of how it turned out, and hopefully people dig it.  Other projects I've been working on are all local stuff, mainly my own bands and friends' stuff.  This past weekend I finished tracking an EP for the Kindling Kind, a pretty cool girl fronted indie/pop sounding band from here in Richmond.  I've got to start mixing that later today, and then there's the ever present Drawn a Blank record that is getting knocked out slowly but surely.  Hopefully with more output more people can hear what I do and will be into it and will want to record here... we will see how it goes!

33: You're recording the next Drawn a Blank record.  You've been with these guys for quite a few years - is it pretty easy to stay in a band with the same tight knit group of guys? 
RC: Yeah, we actually started recording the record in late February if my memory serves me correctly, so again, it's taking it's sweet time.  We're finally getting close to the end.  I'd say it's 90% done tracking, then I just have the daunting task of mixing the whole thing... I wanted a lot of options so kind of went overboard with tracking and used a ton of mics on everything so the Pro Tools sessions are huge.  We've been together since early high school, and we've never really had an issue of not being able to be a band.  For being together so long we haven't really ever done much or been that dedicated, which is probably a reason that it's lasted so long... the band has just always been a fun thing to do... friends making music and hanging out.  I think the plan is to try to do some touring once we put out the new record, but people haven't fully committed to it yet.  We're not very good at being a band from the "business" side of things [laughs].  Plus, there have been a good chunk of unofficial breaks we've taken, such as when I was in LA and when we were all at different schools for college, etc.

33: Is all the music written for the new album? 
RC: Yeah, well mostly.  There are two guitar solos that we need to write, but other than that it's all written.  James and I keep coming up with a new lead part here or some interlude, but as far as the songs go, it's all written.

33: How is it turning out compared to the stuff on Look Alive!?
RC: The songs themselves are all drastically better, in my opinion.  I still am really into a few songs on Look Alive!, mainly "Keep the City Alive and Trying", but overall the new songs are a good step in the right direction... they're all still fast punk rock songs for the most part, but I think the song structures and the vocal melodies, etc., are way better.  Sound quality-wise it's way better.  I recorded Look Alive! in my bedroom in my parents old house before going to recording school, and I had no clue what the hell I was doing.  It turned out decent for what it is, but the new stuff sounds a lot better... at least I think it does... if not maybe I'll look into a different profession... [laughs].  Plus, we've been taking our time with this recording and haven't rushed anything or compromised anything because of money or time.  In the past, we've always had to do the "Okay, we have two days to record EVERYTHING for this" route, which can sometimes have good results, but a lot of compromises are usually made.  

Projected release date?  Formats?  

No idea about this.  Ideally, we will do a small run of CDs and mainly do a good pressing of the LP on vinyl.  Hopefully it's out sooner than later, though.

33: DAB has always rode on the sails of a DYI attitude.  Was it a plan from the beginning to start your own recording studio?
RC: Absolutely... I've always been a DIY kind of person in most aspects of life... if there's something that I think I can figure out, I'll do it... plus I'm my own boss so it rules.  DAB have always been a really DIY-driven band, from recording, flyering, occasionally making our own merchandise and just how we approach the whole band thing - it's just what fits for us.

MySpace.com/NoControlStudios

MySpace.com/DrawnABlank

By Correspondent: Grant Fanning

Born in the mid 80s, Grant has an appetite for everything rock and metal.  Spending most of his grade school days in his bed room listening to heavy metal and playing guitar, he's got a deep knowledge for the seemingly endless array of genres that make up heavy metal and rock music.  Furthermore, a journalism degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a position as a music director and DJ at Richmond Indie Radio provides him with some priceless experience to be a member of the music press.

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