Meet Sam Darring of Red Gate Recorders in Eagle Rock

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Darring.

Sam, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started making Hip-Hop music in my late teens with a group of guys from my hometown, Saranac Lake, NY. We started a company together called Penny King Productions and for the first time in my life I had a purpose and a healthy outlet for my existence. The group we had was really quite successful in our region and we wanted to keep going so members began to move to LA to pursue the passion for making music. I followed with another member and got a place in Venice to be close to the action. A few years in the company fell apart in the big city and people moved on to other career options for survival understandably. I was still refining my style and needed to keep going it alone so I picked up on basic recording to be self-sufficient. I created a new artist name and made my own album titled The Nice Guy’s Mixtape under the artist name David Darring with a producer named Alix Burke. I put the album out on Facebook and didn’t do anything with it so, it is where I left it, on bandcamp relaxing. The engineering inspired me though.

During the creating of the album I was recording all kinds of artists and getting more interested in other people’s art. I started getting involved with live musicians and creating a new project that would be far more involved with live instrumentation. The PKP crew was all about it and we developed a 7 piece group called The Gumbo. I was pushing for this group until again reality kicked in and members no longer had time to meet and create art together. It was super inspiring and I was left with a fountain of new information in the music making field due to this experience with those players and all we had done together making tunes. At this point one of my very respected musical partners and friend, Hilary Gay had moved in with me and we, along with another artist I work with, Tim Hayn were recording all the time in a small apartment off Abbot Kinney on the West Side of LA. I was studying photography and journalism at SMC and my future was not at all something I could begin to grasp directionally or financially.

A trip abroad to Belize with the community college brought me in contact with another great influence of mine Spencer Cox, he and I had devised a plan to stop paying rent to landlords with no return here in LA by creating an artist space with the main criteria for the place being amble square footage for artists to utilize and do their work. Upon my return to the states Spencer and I agreed that the artist space/warehouse was the goal. I went back to music making in the apartment only to shortly thereafter be evicted for the making of that music not conducive to apartment living. At this time Hilary brought to my attention that technical schools existed in the Audio Engineering field and I was very interested in that route over the education program I was involved in with the community college. She and I went to a couple of these tech schools to interview and eventually she convinced me to attend S.A.E. in Hollywood for a 9-month program in Sound Audio Engineering.

I moved across town, craigslist rent-a-room for style, near the school to dig in and be at the place that I decided was the key to the information I needed to grow in my field of interest. Other people’s art! At the same time while Spencer was in school abroad I was searching for a commercial space that I could affordably acquire and start the “Event Space/Artist Hub/Recording Studio“ we had been talking about since Beliez. Halfway through the schooling term I found what is now Red Gate Recorders and was able to acquire a lease to begin the beginning of the end of this story.

Red Gate Recorders is located in a beautiful 10,000 sq. ft. brick building with a Quonset hut style arched roof in the North Eastern part of LA. The 8 beaming 6 by 10 foot skylights inside the performance area let in the outside diffused light and make you feel like you’re on a patio under a canopy chilling. The minute I walked into the front door I knew this was the place I was looking for. I had seen countless other commercial buildings and learned a great deal in the process but this front portion of the 4440 York location was without a doubt waiting for me to find it. Spencer was giving me the thumbs up from abroad after I gave him the low down on the find and it began.

Originally the space was very open 3,000 sq. ft. total but with a 1,000 sq. ft. performance room as the draw for artist client interest. The place started getting used for all sorts of events like art shows, plays, productions, filming, game nights, parties, live music functions, book signings, comedy nights, live paintings, artist showcases and the list goes on. My partner and I were doing everything event related and on the side I was attending school still and beginning to separate portions of the space for recording music purposes. At S.A.E I met yet another insanely inspiring person who was one of my instructors and I approached him for advice in regards to recording studio building. I was more than very fortunate to come across an ocean of information and wherewithal for such an endeavor in recording studio building when I met Chris Harbach. He and I began working together on the project of Red Gate Recorders before it was officially named and the second transition of the 4440 York address began.

Both Spencer, Chris, and I were all working inside the location making moves to get closer to the goal spending countless hours on the project. Another S.A.E. graduate jumped on board and assisted in the studio work as well named Peter Novoa, respect to Pete. Chris, Pete and I were building acoustics and slowly but surely shutting the place down to make it quieter for recording while Spencer and I were working events learning about the business getting better and more efficient. The studio itself went into major transformation during this time because of Chris’s design ideas in the studio department and I was all in. Every time someone walked in the place they were in awe of how much had changed since their last visit and we just kept building. The studio build out itself embody’s 6 different acoustic environments currently. In the order constructed: control room, small iso, large iso, live room, studio c, studio b.

Over the last 5 years we have been very lucky to be involved in projects of all sorts due to the nature of the place. The event and recording world collide and all work as one inside these walls on any given day with artists from all over. We most recently have been working with Worldwide FM based out of London broadcasting live performances from some the most incredible inspiring musicians on the scene filling the airwaves with sound.

Over the years so many people have passed through these walls and blessed the place with their interest and love for art and music. It’s greatly appreciated. Thanks

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been smooth by any means. It has been a lot of work and countless hours that require patience and acceptance that one cannot just make their ideas a successful reality overnight. Not in real life anyway.

Please tell us about Red Gate Recorders.
The business is a multi-purpose artist event space inside a multi-track recording studio.

I manage the business client relations, maintenance, expenses, employees, advertising, social media, walk through, scheduling etc.

I specialize in getting things done. Also finding the right people for the many different professional services we offer to meet the client’s needs. Making sure they have the best experience humanly possible is my goal and I aim to meet it every time someone chooses to be here.

I’m known for my hospitality.

I’m most proud of what happens inside this place and the fact that none of that would have ever happened without everyone involved.

We take on so many different businesses responsibilities with all the services we offer to our many different kinds of clients, recording, event, production, or otherwise. Multi-Use and vibe 🙂

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
There’s no going back. Everything that has passed shall be, and anything that is to come will get my attention with the information I have collected up until then, and not before.

Pricing:

• Recording rates very on the project and budgets. Call or e-mail details for a quote.
• Event rates are $100 hourly with an additional $150 in cleaning and on-site manager fees
• Production rates are $100 hourly with fluctuations depending on crew size

Contact Info:

• Address: 4440 York Blvd, Eagle Rock, CA 90041
• Website: www.redgaterecorders.com
• Phone: (323) 510-1232
• Email: samdarring@redgaterecorders.com
• Instagram: Red Gate Recorders
• Facebook: Red Gate Recorders
• Twitter: Redg8recorders
• Yelp: Red Gate Recorders
• Other: eventinfo@redgaterecorders.com