Business Spotlight: Mic Check

There was a time when key players in Springfield’s burgeoning music scene had to congregate in dark and dank basements to rehearse for upcoming shows.

Bryan Foster is among a handful of businesspeople working to raise the bar for recording and performing by local acts.

The Springfield native opened Panama Rehearsal Studios at 450 S. Union Ave. on June 10, 2011, in hopes of moving bands out of their garages and into an affordable, outfitted rehearsal area.

“I built the space so that up-and-coming bands could forgo their basements and bedrooms and come here, where they can get as close to a live venue as possible,” Foster says. “I wanted to give the local bands a tool so that they could go out there and be ready to perform.”

Setting up shop
Foster invested about $55,000 in transforming the empty office area into a well-equipped studio. He hired Ozark-based Reid Homes Inc. to renovate the 3,000-square-foot space into a studio complete with soundproof walls, a stage, lighting and PA systems.

Foster has equipped the rehearsal space with multiple Gibson Les Paul, Epiphone and Ibanez guitars. The stage is set with tube-driven Marshall, Bogner and Peavey amplifiers, and a studio Yamaha drum kit. For the vocals, Foster has multiple industry standard Shure SM58 microphones.

“Bands can just walk in, plug right in and play,” Foster says. “Or they can bring in their own equipment.”

At $30 per hour, bands can rent out the studio for practice or even invite small listening parties. Included in the hourly rate is an MP3 recording of the band’s rehearsal for later review. For repeat customers, Foster offers a discounted hourly rate of $25.

As a Logic Pro certified professional, Foster also offers live demo recordings for $30 per hour. These tracks can be edited, mixed and mastered to the band’s preference.

Prepared rehearsal space is a novel idea for Springfield. Although there are more seasoned recording studios such as Studio 2100 at 2100 N. National Ave. and Lou Whitney’s The Studio at 328 South Ave., offering the fully equipped convenience is a rarity.

“I’ve always thought there was room for a rehearsal studio business in Springfield,” says Nick Sibley, who has leased up to 12 empty buildings to bands for rehearsal the last 30 years. “I’m the only guy I know of who would rent space out to bands.”

Nick Sibley Music, his jingle and theme music production shop at 412 S. Campbell Ave., recently discontinued the band rehearsal service due to the maintenance involved. Sibley would rent a building for $150 per month and allow bands to come and go as they pleased. The rehearsal spaces were empty rooms with no equipment.

“It was basically just a space for them to learn their songs,” Sibley says.

Panama Rehearsal Studio’s most frequent customers include the Cole Porter Band, a popular red dirt, country band from the Ozarks. Frontman Cole Porter came across the Panama studio when he did some research about opening his own rehearsal space in Springfield.

“I found that Bryan had already done everything I had planned to do and more,” Porter says. “We used to drive out to a friend’s barn to rehearse every week.

“By the time we got there and set up all of our equipment, we barely had time to practice. We save time and money by rehearsing every week at Panama.”

Moving into music
Originally from Springfield, Foster and his wife, Angi, moved to the Tampa Bay area as newlyweds. In 1996, he opened Area 51 Personal Watercrafts, a beachfront Jet Ski shop in St. Petersburg, Fla.

“It’s very unusual when someone can have a career that they really love,” Foster says. “So far, I’ve been able to do it twice. In St. Petersburg, there was a surf shop next door to Area 51 and outdoor bars everywhere. For lunch, you could walk down and get the fresh catch of the day. I look back on those days with such fondness.”

Foster sold Area 51 in 2001 and returned to Springfield when he and his wife had their first baby. He began working as a contractor for FedEx, but sold his business in 2009 to take a few years off and begin plans for developing Panama Rehearsal Studios.

“Not everyone wants to deliver packages for a living, so that was a means to an end,” Foster says. “This is a dream come true here.”

When Foster opened the rehearsal studio last year, he only had two regular bands reserving rehearsal space weekly. Currently, weekly spots are reserved by eight bands, including the local Rhett Roberson Band. Foster, who declined to disclose first-year revenues, also has leased the space to signed bands such as Never Shout Never and Romance on a Rocketship.