Building a network at the Madison Music Foundry
Mike Olson really has his shit together. A longtime fixture in the Midwest hardcore scene—playing in bands like Defacto Oppression and Weaving The Deathbag—Olson still plays and also owns and operates 24/7 Rehearsal Studios, Blast House Studios, and the Madison Music Foundry. It’s fair to ask, why is this hardcore punk guy posing as a responsible, thoughtful business owner? But at the same time, it’s easy to wonder why this responsible, thoughtful business owner has a picture of himself hanging from a rope in his underwear up in his office. Olson quickly answers that his businesses—like the Foundry, which offers music lessons, the Rock Workshop for kids (and soon adults), and the new Plugged In monthly series of local music-business demos, student jams, and educational workshops—are designed to foster a positive network for local musicians. “At the end of the day, if we have a good music scene in Madison, then my business will be healthy too.” And then he’ll correct you, “That’s not underwear. That’s a diaper.” The A.V. Club recently got a chance to tour Olson’s tiny empire in Fitchburg, riding in the van with his Katrina-rescue sweetheart of a dog, Sandy, and talking about how all his businesses work together ahead of the first Plugged In at The Frequency tonight.
Blast House Studios
Olson’s newest addition, the Blast House was previously known as E Labs Multimedia before he took it over last October. Part swanky grotto, part nicely equipped apartment—throw in some sort of video game system and it’s the ultimate pad—Blast House is a cozy comfort zone and a fully functional recording studio. When The A.V. Club stopped by, local musicians Josh Harty and Blake Thomas were settling in for a week’s worth of recording two solo albums. Besides artists like local rapper Smokes and funk-R&B orchestra The Big Payback recording there, the studio also serves as the final stop for students going through the eight-week Rock Workshop.
24/7 Rehearsal Studios
Located in buildings lettered G and I on Stewart Street, 24/7 houses monthly rented practice spaces in what could be kindly described as roughly sketched airplane hangars. Olson acquired the decidedly rugged space about eight years ago, and since then it has served as a home away from home for Madison bands like The Projection People and Helliphant (Frequency owner Darwin Sampson’s band) to rehearse or basically do whatever. But Olson said that the no-holds-barred atmosphere of 24/7 was not good for recording and totally not good for kids, which prompted the next logical step of opening the Madison Music Foundry.
Madison Music Foundry
Clearly the most dear to Olson’s heart, the Foundry is 7,000 square feet of vibrant, welcoming fun. Serving primarily as a practice space for the first year and half, the Foundry now focuses on education as well. Lessons in guitar, percussion, violin, and other instruments are taught by local working musicians, like violinist Jen Paulson, drummer Joey Banks from Clyde Stubblefield’s band, and guitarist Chris Schultz from Madison metal thrashers Dissent And Revolt, so a lot of different interests are covered. “If we get kids that call and their interest is in metal, I can get them signed up with [Schultz] so they can talk. If they’re like, 'Hey, I want to learn [Mastodon’s] Blood Mountain,' [Schultz] is going to be like, 'I don’t even need to look that up.'”
On any given day, the artfully thrown-together Foundry is buzzing with voice lessons up front, the muffled pounding of drum lessons down the hall, and in the distance, the faint sound of practicing bands, including Screeching Weasel. Ben Foster (a.k.a. Ben Weasel) said that there's nothing like the Foundry in Chicago, and that it beats most of the other spaces Screeching Weasel has practiced in over the years. “We would rehearse in various band members' basements, garages, things like that; not really under the best circumstances. Not in a room that’s really meant to be rehearsed in,” Foster said. “And even when we would rent a rehearsal space, it was usually not the greatest situation. It was usually overpriced, pretty filthy, disgusting toilets, and all that kind of stuff.”
The programs
Besides the ongoing lessons and busy practice rooms, Olson wanted to do something that would keep students engaged in the learning process. “The ultimate goal is that when you have something to work toward, as far as a performance, it’s going to motivate you to practice and get to your lessons.” So far that’s worked well with the Rock Workshop, which has hand a big hand in creating almost 20 new bands—with outstanding names like Midnight Mischief and Indestructible 5—from start to finish, culminating with a recording session at the Blast House and a showcase performance at the High Noon Saloon.
The newest program the Foundry is rolling out is called Plugged In, which Olson describes as a “live classified ad” among other things. The monthly series will feature a student jam (25 already signed up for the first Plugged In) combined with sponsorship and demos from music-related businesses. “I want to create a network where if you fall into the web you’ll know all your resources.”
Such a nurturing environment starts to sound like the antithesis of a rock 'n' roll lifestyle, but Foster sees the benefit in knowing what's out there and how to handle oneself before when getting into music. "You get the feeling that everything should be very loose and that you shouldn't be taking it very seriously. But you need to take it seriously, whether you're earning a living from it or not. Because if it's important enough to you to pour the time and energy into it, creatively speaking, then it ought to be important enough to take the business end of things seriously." But that doesn't mean you can't still keep your diaper picture on the wall.
