So you have a band. You’ve written a few songs. You posted a video of one of your performances from your cell on YouTube. You’ve even played a gig or 2 or 50 at a local bar. What’s next? Sit on you Ass? Wait for a music Ex to come knocking at your door? No Man! Get up and get a demo. We all know that no one will come to your house and sign you. You have to do it all for your self. So at some point you will need to start thinking about recording a professional demo. That is, getting all your bandmates together, all your songs that you’ve polished and even your gear in one place where a professional can record one or more tracks for you.

One such location is Jackpot! Recording Studio in Portland Or. We like to follow kick ass bands and one such band is Gossip. They actually used Jackpot! studios to do some recording so if they did it, Jackpot! must be good. A few other artists that have graced Jackpot! Studios are Eddie Vedder, The Decemberists, R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Spoon and The Shins in the past 13 years. Straight from their website to your eyes, “Since 1997 Jackpot! has worked with many talented, well-known artists and provided the local music community with a comfortable and affordable place to make records.” All and all Jackpot! is a good place to start.

Here is a list of positives to using Jackpot!
-Over-the-top assortment of gear
-New 48 channel Rupert Neve Designs 5088 console
- 24 and 16-track 2″ analog tape decks,
-An MCI 1/4″ 2-track mixdown deck,
- Pro Tools HD2 Accel with 32 ins and 40 outs via Apogee converters,
-Vintage EMT plate reverb
- Upright grand piano,
- Over 31 channels of boutique mic preamps
- Over 29 channels of outboard equalization,
- Over 20 channels of compression

And to keep the session flowing their location is at SE 50th and Division, near Trade Up Music, Stumptown Coffee, Petite Provence’s French bakery, North Bar, The Blue Pig Cafe, Bete-Lukas, numerous other restaurants and a handy Plaid Pantry market across the street.

Many artists have fallen in love with Jackpot!, here is a testimonial by one legendary rocker:
“We went to Jackpot! Studio; that’s where we did the Baseball Project record. It just felt like a really comfortable, easy studio. I liked the sound. The room was big enough for drums, but it wasn’t a huge room. I’ve been looking for a tighter sound. It just seemed like a great studio.”
-Peter Buck, R.E.M., courtesy of Pitchfork

We like sharing with the community goodness and resources that will help make the journey into music majesty easier. And we also like to build that community that will be all inclusive. With this in mind, we wanted to post some resource information for bands in the Portland Oregon area that will be helpful in their journey. Think of this as Music-Is-Life having your back.

This series and others will be, of course, on going and will branch out into other cities. We aren’t endorsing any one resource, but offering options. As with anything, do your own research to find the best option for your needs. We wanted to give you a helping hand if you will, a starting place.

Here are some pictures that will jump you to locations on their website.

*All images courtesy of Jackpot! Recording Studio