Making a 'camp for bands'

When a band is recruited for a recording session at SnowGhost Studios in Whitefish, band members wouldn't need any convincing if they knew what lay in store.

"The first thing we usually hear is, 'Wow, I had no idea,'" SnowGhost talent scout Keith Gardner said.

The artists arrive to a state-of-the-art recording studio nestled in the lower level of producer and engineer Brett Allen's lavish rock-and-log home, outside of which the views are spectacular. Inside there is a relaxed and inspiring atmosphere, where no one is keeping track of studio time.

And it's all provided at no cost to the artist.

"There are no clocks on the walls, since people aren't paying thousands of dollars an hour," Rohit Gupta, SnowGhost Web manager, said. "People are free to be creative without the time commitment."

It's hard to convey the full significance of what Snowghost offers until it's seen firsthand, Gupta said. Though the entire house actually is wired to be a recording studio, the downstairs formal studio - part of which is housed within a soundproof concrete bunker - is a no-expenses-spared operation, geared with the technical capabilities to produce high-quality tracks in both analog and modern recording styles.

As stated on the SnowGhost Web site, the studio "marries sonic perfection with the comfort of your living room."

During a SnowGhostsession, artists from around the country are invited to record in the studio and play a local show. Their performances, recording sessions and personalities are captured with top-notch recordings, video and still photos to create a brand and a band image.

"Camp for bands," is how SnowGhost talent scout Keith Gardner describes the experience.

Groups or individual artists who show up at SnowGhost come in every variety from the independent music scene.

Hip-hop band Height from Baltimore; acoustic guitarist Josh Ottum from Seattle; piano pop band Seymore Saves the World from Minneapolis; Dan Deacon, an experimental electronic musician from Baltimore with a YouTube following; and dance/funk/rock band Victory Smokes from Missoula are just a few of the talents who have found their way to the SnowGhost studios.

"We like rock, folk, pop, electronic," Gardner said. "We try to be equal opportunity."

The music, videos and written logs from the recording sessions are loaded on the SnowGhost Web site to promote the bands.

"We try to document their creative experience while they're here," Gupta said. "We're promoting an aesthetic of quality, and giving the bands not just recordings, but a context and a back story."

The artists repay SnowGhost for their hospitality with a cut of future profits from recordings and other endeavors. Downloadable tracks for purchase recently were added to the Web site, a welcome addition to the SnowGhost business plan.

Though there has not been time enough for any of the groups to realize its full potential, one of the biggest successes so far is Seattle rock band Friday Mile, a band featuring Whitefish native Hannah Williams. The group has been featured on Seattle radio, and its tracks are selling well on the Internet.

Before the SnowGhost scheme was created, Allen, the studio owner, producer and engineer, had been running his in-home studio as more of a for-hire operation, mostly with larger-profile artists.

His reputation and skills as an engineer had even led him to engineer an April recording session in Seattle for the popular band Death Cab for Cutie.

But "he was looking to work with younger up-and-coming artists, with the whole industry changing as fast as it is," Gardner said.

Gardner's fiance had introduced Gardner to Allen, and Gupta, whose home base is still San Francisco, was a childhood friend of Allen's in California, where they were both "audio geeks," Gupta said.

It was about a year ago when Allen, Gupta and Gardner started working with their new model for the recording process as a way to promote new bands and make a name for the studio.

So far, the trio, plus Allen's intern Nolan McCormick, have stayed busy, booking from two to three recording sessions a month.

Gardner was a buyer for a record store in Washington, D.C., before moving to Whitefish three years ago, so he knows where to look for promising talent - major music festivals, independent music-scene Web sites, playlists from college radio stations and word of mouth.

"When you've been in the business for a while, everyone knows each other," Gardner said. "It's a small community and it doesn't take long for the word to get out what you're doing."

One segment of the promotional plan for each band - the live local shows - has been the tough part, Gardner said.

The shows are staged toward multiple goals - to introduce people to the music and to help pay for each band's expenses for travel to Whitefish. While SnowGhost makes no money from the shows, the SnowGhost crew finds the venue, does the promotional work and takes care of the on-site details.

So far, the live shows have been a little discouraging, Gardner said. It's been hard to find a consistent venue for the concerts, and local audiences haven't seemed eager to explore new music.

It is hoped that the SnowGhost name will soon change that. Though none of the studio's recording artists have yet had time to find fame and fortune in the music world, Gardner said, they're all capable of being there someday.

"That's a nice thing about working this way," Gardner said. "A lot of times in a for-hire situation, you have to do what comes at you. But we love the music. It's a luxury we have."

For more information, visit www.snowghostmusic.com

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com