Springfield artists seek talent for new recording studio

Longtime friends Brad Veysey and John Keefe Jr. of Springfield have turned a downtown basement office space into a cool, fully-equipped recording studio complete with a sound booth and music equipment.

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Print article Print Springfield artists seek talent for new recording studio TORY JONES BONENFANT So.802 Studio co-owners John Keefe, left, and Brad Veysey, who is also a producer, look over material at their new recording studio in downtown Springfield. — TORY JONES BONENFANT So.802 Studio co-owners John Keefe, left, and Brad Veysey, who is also a producer, look over material at their new recording studio in downtown Springfield. — TORY JONES BONENFANT SPRINGFIELD — Longtime friends Brad Veysey and John Keefe Jr. of Springfield have turned a downtown basement office space into a cool, fully-equipped recording studio complete with a sound booth and music equipment. The two entrepreneurs, together known as “Causin’ Effect,” are the group behind the recent Top 20 hit “Redneck,” and they hope to encourage artists and musicians to use the new So.802 Studio for recording sessions and band practice. Enlarge Map The whole idea of creating the studio was bringing the community together, Veysey said. “It’s all about positivity,” he said. The studio is furnished with a recording booth, keyboard, drum set, microphones and speakers, and other sound-mixing equipment. Veysey and Keefe designed the space not only for themselves, but also for others who want to record music or use the space for band practice. “We are always looking for talent,” Keefe said. They have been working with a business consultant, who is helping to develop business strategies. Veysey said he “built this to make music, not money,” but they do both have families to support as well, he said. Both Veysey and Keefe are 33 years old, and both are married with two children. Veysey has another child on the way. When his second child was born, over a year ago, was around the time the group’s hit “Redneck” was in frequent rotation on a local radio station. “I can say, ‘The day you were born, we were No. 20 on the charts,’” Veysey said. Veysey said they have ties to the community, through the economic development office, local artists, and staff members Brenda Cheney and Mike Johnson with Turning Point Recovery Center of Springfield, who were both there on Friday and said they were supporters. Veysey said that the inspiration for opening a recording studio was for private reasons - they wanted a place to mix and record music, and were paying for private studio time - but also to involve the community. They were paying up to $600 a month at times for recording fees, he said. The idea for a studio in Springfield came after he had paid $300 of “hard-earned money” one day last November for recording time at a studio in Manchester, New Hampshire, Veysey said. He had Keefe there, and they planned to make hits, he said. “It was good, but we’re perfectionists, and it was not ‘the take,’” he said “And I don’t like music to be discouraging.” “When you’re paying as much for time as we were, trying to make an album, you realize just how much you are paying. I said, ‘We have to find a space,’” Veysey said. With that in mind, Veysey set out to find a location that would work for what the two had in mind. The place they decided to rent, in the lower level of 10-12 Clinton Street, was the first location they visited, and was perfect, he said. When he first looked at the space, he could visualize how the studio would look after renovations. Along with being recording artists together and individually, Veysey is the producer at So.802 Studio, while Keefe’s role is “everything else,” Vesey said. Keefe takes care of the business end of things, such as taxes. The new studio overlooks gentle waterfalls in a bend in the river, and comes with shady exterior space at the rear of the building that they plan to develop into an outdoor lounge or patio seating area. “Being by the river, after the chaos of the studio, has helped me write so much music,” Veysey said. When he first began looking into the idea and approached Bob Flint, executive director for the Springfield Regional Development Corporation, Flint was very supportive in helping the entrepreneurs find a home for the business, despite Veysey’s criminal history, which Veysey said he does not hide. Flint worked with the co-owners, and suggested a location that had space available in the same office building that houses the SRDC and the Oriental Palace Restaurant. They moved in and have been renovating for the past eight months, including new flooring, new paint and couch. Local sponsor businesses donated paint, gave discounts on furniture and offered free flooring installation. The entrepreneurs also created a play area for young children across the hall from the sound booth. New sound studio equipment including a “strong laptop” capable of heavy-duty usage, and a program called FL Studio program that helps organization, mix mastering, and effects after recording sessions. The two are also using local artists to create album cover artwork. Upcoming projects include a new album, “One Summer ‘Till Vegas,” which Veysey said picks up from where the last song on 2015’s “Mudd Season” album left off — “But we supersized it.” The new album focuses on the way of life in Vermont, and the drug epidemic and how it affects children, adults,and the community, Veysey said. Causin’ Effect’s music is “edgy, melodic, beautiful,” he said. “Plus, technically, we’re getting a lot better.” They are also reaching out to local musicians including bluegrass artists Doug Day and Mike Mancuso, who the two have been trying to get into the studio, they said. So.802 Studio is now also officially a recording label, and has begun earning royalties, Keefe said. “We keep our eyes open for new, creative talent in any form — arts, music. We know talent,” Veysey said. The two studio owners have already begun working with local artists some who they have been recruiting for nearly a year. Two such artists are singer Junum and rapper Yung Breeze of Bellows Falls, who both stopped in for studio time on Friday. Junum came in and sang one day, “and I said ‘Get in the booth!’” Keefe said. Breeze, in addition to using the studio to record, is also now a mixing engineer for the studio. Keefe is also releasing a solo project, “The Broccoli Tree.” “This is a permanent thing. We’re not leaving,” said Veysey, who lives within walking distance of the studio. “It’s like a dream, really.” Veysey said that both work at other jobs, so the studio is open “most days,” but that they hope to expand the studio’s hours soon to regular business hours. Artists can make an appointment by contacting the studio. Keefe and Veysey are planning an open house, 1 to 3 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 18. For more information, those interested can enter “So.802” in any search engine to locate the studio’s social media sites and videos on YouTube. They also have a website, www.jibbathegent.com. Those interested in a studio appointment can call Keefe at 802-591-2623 or Veysey at (802) 376-4651, or emailso.802.vt@gmail.com.