By APRIL WILKERSON Shawnee News-Star
TECUMSEH, Okla. (AP) - The latest technology in the music recording industry doesn't have to be situated on a busy street shadowed by skyscrapers and driven by a frantic pace.
The rolling pink hills of rural Tecumseh can just as easily accommodate top-notch mixing boards, musical instruments and vocal rooms.
That's the dream-come-true setting for Lance Faulkner, whose Music 4 Life studio continues taking shape in the country just west of Tecumseh. Inside his studio, he has a mixing board that's the only of its kind in Oklahoma, and the capability to record everything from country to hip-hop to gospel. Outside, he's putting the finishing touches on a performing stage where he hopes to hold concerts throughout the year. It's intentional, this technology in a rural setting, because that's where people relax and do their best work, he said.
"This is something I wanted to get into as a stress reliever," said Faulkner, whose day job is designing prosthetic limbs at his business, Prosthetic Designs of Oklahoma. "I've got a slogan: 'Welcome to my world, where simplicity is needed and music calms my soul.'"
Faulkner has been in the business of making music sound good for more than a decade. He has run the sound board at concerts for artists like Gary Allan, Chad Brock, Tone Loc, Sir Mix-a-Lot and Jeff Bates. In 1990, he moved to Oklahoma and continued doing sound, even investing in his own PA system. A few years later, his equipment was stolen and he decided to quit for a while. But he couldn't stay away too long, and two years ago, he started designing his own studio on his 20 acres.
The centerpiece is his 32-channel digital mixing board, made by DigiDesign, that Faulkner says is the only of its kind in Oklahoma. It represents the industry standard used on both coasts (country duo Big & Rich has two of them, he notes), and uses the computer software ProTools.
"It's the Cadillac of the industry," Faulkner said. "It's basically a computer, and everything is operated from a keyboard. I'm finishing courses to be certified in ProTools."
The 32 channels of the mixing board allow Faulkner to lay down track on top of track, he said, as well as experiment with vocal and instrumental sounds. For example, the word "walking" can be lengthened or shortened without the singer having to re-record.
"It's the same with instruments. You have many different options," he said. "Today it's much different. It's a matter of pointing and clicking."
Faulkner also designed the rest of his Music 4 Life studio: the two vocal rooms and a "live" room where the musicians play. He keeps many instruments on site, from guitars to keyboards to acoustic and electric drums. The vocal rooms feature the latest types of microphones and are lined with cedar, an acoustic-friendly wood; acoustic foam lines the rest of the studio. He also plans an expansion that would create extra piano rooms and an echo chamber for better drum sound. Faulkner learned more studio tips during a recent trip to John Carter Cash's studio, where The Man in Black used to record, he said.
Faulkner said he hopes to attract singers of many styles and levels, from the local person with big dreams to the big star passing through the state. Mostly, he wants Music 4 Life to be a place where people can make their music without being rushed, as often happens in bigger cities, he said. He's even building his family a new home and plans to turn his existing home into a "band house" for traveling musicians.
"I want people to relax and not feel pressured to get it done in two hours," he said. "That's the whole idea of having it in the country. They can enjoy themselves, go fishing, feel at ease."
Faulkner will do most of the sound mixing himself, and he plans to hold auditions for professional musicians and background vocalists who can work as needed. He said he's ready to put his ear for music to work with the technology he's already assembled.
"Having a good ear (is the most important skill)," he said. "In the studio, I may be able to hear things that other people can't, and most people outside the studio will hear things that I can't."
Outside his studio, Faulkner is wrapping up work on a stage that is reminiscent of the Zoo Amphitheater, along with a separate deck seating area and a sound booth. Bleachers are in the works as well.
Faulkner hopes to host at least two major concerts every year, and he's already planned one for this spring. On April 14, country artist Jeff Bates (known for hits like "Long Slow Kisses") will headline a concert that starts at 7 p.m. Also performing will be Jeff Sibble and the Trailblazers, an Ada group.
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