Tucked away in an industrial park sits an old white warehouse that has seen better days. Inside is the home of ecletic, indie venue Club Roar. A mixture of furniture and odd knick-knacks makes the interior resemble an organized storage unit.
Students mill around, chatting among themselves, waiting for the show to begin. The makeshift stage, marked by large rugs and sound barriers, is set for a typical show. However, this performance is far from an ordinary small artist performance.
Belmont musicians Mackenzie Scott, Natalie Royal and Tyler DeRose, Ryan Macadoo and Kyle Sapp of Foxes Have Foxholes performed in the first live EP recording show on July 22.
Pipeline, a music business think-tank made up of nine Belmont students, came up with this potential solution to high recording fees by combining the recording sessions with a live show. The fees generated from the recording are offset by admission fees as well the multiple performances in one night.
“This is the future of bands being able to afford recording,” Ross Hill, a member of Pipeline, stated after the show.
Opening the session was Scott, a Belmont junior. Her soulful and self-described “depressing and grim” songs kept the audience quiet and still even after recording.
Royal’s set was a little more upbeat but ranged from the tearful song of “Savor” to the silliness of the “Synesthesia Song.”
Foxes have Foxholes rounded out the night with a set that included muffin jokes and the “Kite Song,” which “was written with the intention to be the cutest song in the world.”
Scott, Royal and the boys of Foxes Have Foxholes not only got a professional level EP recording from the show, but also received video and photos from the event for promotional use.
Molly Shehan, another member of Pipeline, believes that live EP recording shows not only provide a service to smaller level artists but also creates a stronger tie between consumer and artist.
“It’s a creative solution that allows consumers to see another side of music…. A perfect marriage between consumer first and artist needs,” Shehan said.
The EP recording show, known just as the “concert” in brainstorming sessions, is one of four major ideas that Pipeline is hoping to introduce to the Belmont music scene within the next semester.