Be amongst the first to try out the all new "Studio B" Rehearsal room.

Our new lobby has been a big hit with everyone and alot of you have already noticed we have "all" the Lakers games on. So those of you who follow the sport don't have to worry about missing any games while you rehearse. We will have the entire finals in the lobby so when you take a break just pop in the lobby and check out a few minutes of the game, grab your self a drink or a snack and have a good time.

So tonight is game 1 Lakers vs Magic, if you don't already have your practice booked give us a call now 562.464.9456

D.O'B. SOUND
8531 Wellsford Place Unit I
Santa Fe Springs, CA. 90670
Ph. 562.464.9456
www.dobsound.net

Don't forget to pick up your "Free Rehearsal Card" as well.

Beginning now, we are giving away free rehearsal time. We have a new Free Rehearsal Card that you can get validated every time you rehearse...so rehearse with us 6 times and get your 7th rehearsal absolutely free!!! Based on your average rehearsal bookings...so if you always rehearse for 3 hours at a time, you will get a whole 3 hours free.

Make sure you pick up your card the next time you come in to rehearse. For those of you who have not been here before or haven't been here in a long time, stop by and see all the improvents that have been made. From the all new lobby to the all new store front to the all new recording studio that is now available for booking....a "real" professional recording studio with top of the line gear and over 18 years of experience!

We know we'll be seeing you soon.

We got plenty more in store so stay tuned.

By Derek O’Brien

When booking time at a rehearsal studio, make sure that you have confirmed and double confirmed your availability with all band members so you can lock in a time at the studio. Last minute cancellations are not only a bummer for the studio owners but, for the other bands who wanted that time slot and did not get it because you had it booked…

If everyone in the band has an e-mail account (and they should), It is also a good idea to send everyone a reminder a couple of days before rehearsal and then again when the next one is booked.

Some actual and (strangely popular!) last minute cancellation excuses:

“Our bass player is in jail”, Response – It can be just as productive and sometimes even helpful to practice with out one of the members because it reveals a bit more of what is going on with the other instruments / vocals. Without the bassist – you can really focus on the rhythm guitar patterns and how they gel with the drum patterns.  

“The Singer is stuck in Arizona”??!! Response - without the singer, the band can put the focus on meticulously tightening up the music and the back up vocals (without the lead vocalist to blame for issues with the back up vocals!)

“Our guitarist had to go to the hospital (but he is OK) ??!! Without the guitarist, - Drum and bass time. Make sure all the kick drum patterns and bass patterns sync well with the songs. Sometimes there can be pattern discrepancies that go un-noticed when all the guitars, vocals, keys and fullness is in the room. Honing these barely noticeable loose ends can really tighten up the over-all sound when you bring back in all the other elements.

“Our drummer’s grandmother died” Sure… So, a vocal practice (especially when there are vocal harmonies involved can be a great thing. You can turn down the instruments to maybe half volume and work out all the harmony parts and really hear everything with more detail than if it were at full volume. Make sure the harmonies between the bass / guitar / keyboards are all working with the vocal line and see if maybe some parts could be a little more interesting without distracting from the hooks /  lead vocal. It can also be a good time to brush up on drummer jokes (unless his or her Grandmother really did die). Some examples:

Q; What did the drummer get on his IQ test?
A; Drool.

Q; What do you call a drummer without a girlfriend?
A; Homeless.

Q; What do you call someone who hangs out with 3 other musicians?
A; A Drummer.

You get the idea….

After the practice, it helps to book the next one there on the spot if everyone can commit so you get your chosen room / time slot.

03.25.09
So we are now a month into construction and some times you tend to have the help hiding.

The walls are now finished and are at 8"-10" thick, with double doors.

We're finally at the stage where we are picking our colors and will begin prepping the walls for painting, followed by the lighting and flooring. Then it's all about acoustic treatments and setting up. It's been a long tough month but our savior has been the almighty iPod...how did we ever get by without this before?

02.27.09
We started the construction on the new recording studio a little over a week ago and it is coming along nicely. We reached a few snags along the way, mainly having to reconstruct some walls that were not very square... or rigid... or sound proofed... or even safe for that matter. We had some fun knocking down walls (that's always cool), reinforcing other walls, making new entry ways, working 14' feet up ladders and breathing tons of saw dust and dry wall dust...sweet.

Here are a few pics of the progress so far. More pics are in the photos section and more will be added.


So this is how day 1 pretty much began...


first you see the wall...


now you don't...


yes, this is room A...


Slayer was on the iPod...


MLV...its heavy...

Our policy is has its always been.

If you cancel anytime before 24 hours of your rehearsal, no problem...we get calls every day to book rooms so we can fill no room without a problem.

If you cancel on the day of your rehearsal you will need to pay for 1/2 of the session you had booked. That means if you booked 3 hours, you need to pay for 1-1/2 hours.

If you are a complete no show (no call either), you will need to pay for the entire time you booked.

Why do we have this policy? Because most bands are organized and book their time in advance. When you don't show up we lose out and you denied another band of practicing at that time. So please be a good sport and show up to your rehearsal...call if you cant make it because its a lot worse to be a no show.

Thanks

Real quick, just so everyone knows what is going on, there is a complete updating & re-modeling of the gear and rehearsal rooms. There will be major improvements on everything and this will be detailed more in future blogs.

Derek O' Brien who has drummed for such legendary bands as SOCIAL DISTORTION, AGENT ORANGE, THE ADOLESCENTS & PUNK ROCK KARAOKE just to name a few & Larry Ramirez who plays in SECOND CHANCE and also runs LOADED BOMB RECORDS have aquired Basement Rehearsals. The guys will be bringing a slew of great ideas, equipment and opportunites to the table so don't blink for a second otherwise you might miss something. They will also be bringing in their massive Pro-Tools recording studio and doing room conversions to expand and make a much larger recording facility.

I'm sure a lot of you will be asking what, why, where, etc. etc as to the happenings with Basement Records. We will be moving our offices and our recording studio to a new location. The reasoning for all of this is we've been lucky enough to expand our label, publishing & other business ventures to where they need our full attention. There will be new signing announcements shortly, tour info, music placements spots and more in the very near future.

I personally want to thank each and everyone person who I have had the pleasure to spend time with over the last two years. There will still be many faces everyone will recognize here (mainly Jorge) and I can vouch that Larry & Derek are not only great guys but are guys who both play in bands, record bands, rehearse at studios and know what it takes to have a great place. This isn't a situation where just some dude off the street thinks he can run a place these are guys who know the ins & outs of everything in the music business.
Thanks again all, see ya soon (now I'll have the time to go see everyone who asks me to come out to shows....or maybe I won't! :)
gracias!
-Chuck

Again this isn't really rehearsal related but know a lot of you that come here are familiar with these faces. Check out the BASEMENT RECORDS profile in the Feb. '09 issue of REVOLVER MAGAZINE.