Anyone Here Live in Chicago ?

[vixapphire]

used to, until early '01. had a cool artist studio on north across from piper's alley. that was back when "zzounds.com" music store was a brick and mortar shop across the street. and yes, they had everything as far as the coolest VA synths, etc. went. i bought my NL2 from them, and they gave me a great deal. used to occasionally buy stuff at the "music go round" on milwaukee too. autoharp, anyone?

[Mind-Over-Midi]

Yes. South Side Baby!

[ALL*MYTEE]

North Side represent!

[echo]

Lakeview

[SoundEng1]

Southside!!!!!

[truth123123]

Northside.......WHAT!

[Nerdyrocker]

For someone looking to possibly move to Chicago, what side is the good side? How is the studio/recording business going in Chicago these days?

[Isle of Weight]

ROMEOVILLE....... WHAT, WHAT!!!!!

AA.

[truth123123]

"lakeview","otherside of o'hare airport in the burbs","romeoville"....hahaha quit playing NORTHSIDE and SOUTHSIDE are the real sides....WHAT!

lol its all luv

[Isle of Weight]

Originally Posted by truth123123

"lakeview","otherside of o'hare airport in the burbs","romeoville"....hahaha quit playing NORTHSIDE and SOUTHSIDE are the real sides....WHAT!

lol its all luv

Ha!!!!!!Ha!!!!!!

AA.

[trident fan]

FWIW i had a studio there for about a year. terrible. everybody who called wanted to do all there backing tracks in a day or 2 for almost zero cash. they figured they could go home and do the rest themselves. from talking to these "musicians" for 5 minutes u could tell they didin't know shit about gear or using it. actual conversation. me " i have a lunchbox" caller " good for u , then u won't have to worry if u get hungry"

[MikeK]

lakeview here.

best stuff coming out of this city imo is from john mcentire's studio.

http://www.somastudios.com/

and my apartment, of course. .

[scoob]

south side 4sho my brotha

[scoob]

Originally Posted by Nerdyrocker

For someone looking to possibly move to Chicago, what side is the good side? How is the studio/recording business going in Chicago these days?

there are alot of good studios alot of high rates and NOT a lot of good engineers

you can make a living but marketing pricing and knowing what people want will make or break you. oh and everyone and thier momma knows somebody in or with a studio but most don't know how good great mixing and recording sounds. so, you can steal bizz with enough talk hell most wnat protools and have no idea what it consists of

[scoob]

Originally Posted by ArtGarceau

I would definitely try to stay on the north side of Chicago. I would say Wrigleyville/Boystown, Bucktown/Wicker Park, and in that area. The south side has some budding areas, but still too seedy. I grew up in southern California right outside of East LA, and the south side of Chicago scares the shit out of me. That should say something.

Living within Chicago is really overpriced for what you get. I'd look at a nice burb like Elk Grove Village, Schaumburg, Roselle, etc which puts you just 30 min outside of the city, in a safe neighborhood, and you actually have room to move around.

The studio scene kinda sucks around here. The only places I know of that are getting some "name" bands would be Gravity Studios which is a Neve room. The owner is a really nice guy. There is also Steve Albini's place, Electrical, but I haven't been able to check it out because nobody will call me back.

Other than that there is one studio out here that is big, but the owner was a really big jag off to me. It is a studio with Chicago in the name. There are only two so flip a coin.

There are other big studios, but Chicago is full of indie rock bands that either spend their money at Gravity, with Steve Albini, or record in their basements.

don't for get hiphop/rappers hell you can throw a penny in a crowd and you'll either hit one or one's cousin

i think i know which you are refering too and the words suck booty comes to mind

[trident fan]

it takes about an hour to get from schaumburg to downtown. and it ain't pretty

[Tod Miner]

We all work in our home studios in chicago. It's just too frickin' cold to go outside!

me: Bucktown, USA

[DRC]

Originally Posted by ArtGarceau

Other than that there is one studio out here that is big, but the owner was a really big jag off to me. It is a studio with Chicago in the name. There are only two so flip a coin.

Im guessing that it's the one with the VR on the first floor with the great sounding rooms? I cant really talk sh*t about them because they were pretty cool to me when I interned there. I didnt even have to clean up Jeff Tweeedys puke. But it's true that you pretty much have to have some dough up front to record there before they take you seriously. Not sure what went down between you and the owner (or do you mean manager?) because that isnt my business. I just wouldnt want you to think all the guys that work there are assh*les.

I will say that there are a few guys (cant speak for all of them) over there that do know what the hell they are doing. I watched the day engineer throw up the faders on a big orchestral session, EQed and balanced to DASH with no time to prep. He just knows those rooms and mics (and the CSO). It sounded amazing. He was a real nice fella too.

I wouldn't call it a 'sound hotel', but it is one of the last big houses left. Not alot of them left anywhere really. I think the post-prod/advertising is probably keeping them in the black for the reason someone here mentioned: Track your kit there and work on the rest at home. You cant really blame someone for doing that because the rates are so high. On the other hand, the overhead (taxes, maintance, staff, etc..) on that location is f*cking scary.

Nerdyrocker: You would probably really dig Wicker Park/Bucktown. You can actually afford to live there with a few roommates. Logan Square is pretty popular with music/artist these days because of the access to the Blue Line. Im a big fan of the Ravenswood/St. Bens area myself cause you can still walk to Wrigley. Wish I still lived there. Lakeview anit too bad either but the rents can be steep. Maybe even try Uptown. Just stay north of Chicago Ave if you can and dont venture too far past Sacramento.

Good Luck.

[DRC]

And two other things:

#1) The women in this town are amazing. Been lotsa places and Chicago holds its own my friend.

#2) The traffic is terrible. There is always road construction year round. If you really wanna take advantage of living here and creating (and be surrounded by musicians that have a clue) dont move to the suburbs. It'll suck the life right out of you. That is unless you like sitting in your car for a long time.

Good luck.

[Mind-Over-Midi]

Originally Posted by DRC

And two other things:

#1) The women in this town are amazing. Been lotsa places and Chicago holds its own my friend.

#2) The traffic is terrible. There is always road construction year round. If you really wanna take advantage of living here and creating (and be surrounded by musicians that have a clue) dont move to the suburbs. It'll suck the life right out of you. That is unless you like sitting in your car for a long time.

Good luck.

True, very true words!

[DRC]

Originally Posted by Mind-Over-Midi

True, very true words!

The traffic or the women?

[scoob]

Originally Posted by DRC

The traffic or the women?

both depending on what your are looking for lol

[DRC]

Originally Posted by scoob

both depending on what your are looking for lol

Well Im gonna avoid the Traffic at all cost unless it involves Steve Winwood.

[basscakes]

West Town, Chicago Ave...

[basscakes]

I am originally from Boston, and anyone who is complaining about the prices in Chicago should go check out the coasts. I could not even rent a bathroom in Boston for the price of my 2 bedroom loft in West Town. I was a partner in a clothing store in Boston and the rent for a 1300 SQFT store front was $17,000.00 a month...Yes a month, not a year

[groovepusher]

Originally Posted by DRC

And two other things:

#1) The women in this town are amazing. Been lotsa places and Chicago holds its own my friend.

#2) The traffic is terrible. There is always road construction year round. If you really wanna take advantage of living here and creating (and be surrounded by musicians that have a clue) dont move to the suburbs. It'll suck the life right out of you. That is unless you like sitting in your car for a long time.

Good luck.

Yes the Women are amazing here. As for the traffic, Yep it sux, But man I just moved back from LA, and it feels like smooth sailin here. But traffic is bothering me less and less. maybe cuz my car is like a moving office. I can listen to the hottest new tracks, Call everyone I need to, and use my pda to email and relpy on gearslutz

[leddy]

Originally Posted by trident fan

it takes about an hour to get from schaumburg to downtown. and it ain't pretty

I was going to say that it might be 30 minutes on a Sunday morning, provided the roads are dry.

[DRC]

Originally Posted by basscakes

I am originally from Boston, and anyone who is complaining about the prices in Chicago should go check out the coasts. I could not even rent a bathroom in Boston for the price of my 2 bedroom loft in West Town. I was a partner in a clothing store in Boston and the rent for a 1300 SQFT store front was $17,000.00 a month...Yes a month, not a year

I just moved outta WestTown. Thats such a great hood. Its still gotta grit to it but I kinda liked having yuppie mansion right next to my $750 a month 2 bedroom. Musta ate dinner at J. Patricks at least once a week. I guess we shouldnt complain to much. I know San Fran is outta hand if you own, but at least they have rent control there. NY and LA are pretty bad too from what I hear.

[basscakes]

Ahhh... West Town. Edmar is gone, but the Dominics is looking like a building finally. How about Cleos? I think the best thing about West Town (or West U Village if you are a realator) is the central location. I can get to Soneteque, the Dark Room, Funky Buddah Lounge, The Empty Bottle, ETC. in about 2 Minutes on my bike.