A daily chronicle of creativity in film, TV, music, arts, and entertainment, produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from November 2014 – March 2020. Host John Horn leads the conversation, accompanied by the nation's most plugged-in cultural journalists.
Being in a band is no cheap endeavor. You have to buy and maintain your instruments, there are touring costs and, of course, the sometimes prohibitive cost of booking a recording studio. The sneaker company Converse is trying to help solve the latter challenge for up-and-coming bands by letting them use a professional studio for a day — at no cost.
Converse Rubber Tracks started in Brooklyn three years ago and has expanded globally — from Toronto to Johannesburg and now Los Angeles. Jed Lewis, Music Marketing Director for Converse, said he loves what this program does for young bands since he used to be a struggling musician himself and knows how much renting a recording studio can cost.
Mirror Talk was one of the bands selected for the pop-up studio in Los Angeles. They're a new wave-R&B band that formed two years ago, but the members have been playing music together for more than seven years. Guitarist Steven Lopez says the band wants to emulate the sound quality from records they’re inspired by – artists such as Prince and New Order.
The band plans on using the tracks they record at the pop-up studio for their upcoming EP titled “1997.” As for Converse Rubber Tracks, there’s another session planned for L.A. in late September.