Keeping it moving....

Been a busy week.. the warm weather moved into NYC early and everyone is catching the music bug. Seems like this past week everyone is calling to book studio time in the CuckoosNest. I never set out to own a studio. but the past 6 years seem to have flown by and ultimately here i am. Started out as small analog set-up pieced together with random equipment i had accumulated over the years. I just wanted a place where i could chill and develop the ILLSEED product. At one point i was recording in the office of a Barber Shop i had owned for a few years, and after liquidating that business i layed down vocals in my brothers kitchen. i figured i would find a local spot and just build on that. i put up a few thousand dollars to get in the door and took on a partner, an old school rock and roll head that owned a bunch of of gear. My brother and a good friend of mine were running a construction company at the time and they blessed me with the building of the place.. nothing crazy but we worked nights and weekends for a month and constructed a small vocal booth an office and entryway, and basically just started recording. My partnership lasted a little over a year at which time i was forced to end the relationship because my partner was not holding up his financial responsibilities, and he had practically began living in the space. He was an old hippie and didn't have much of a business sense but that's cool, we parted ways as friends. i took some time to get my finances in order and cleaned the place up a bit, i fielded a great  many phone calls from his previous clients who were looking for time owed or money owed and resolution for all sorts of broken promises, i found this all to be quite humorous.. the old hippie had managed to get advances from a handful of artists, and while he failed to deliver they were more concerned with his overall well being than the outstanding debt. after closing that chapter i was able to restructure my overall business. a young producer "Fuzz" who i had known for several years, actually from the time he was about 16 years old, was also developing his career and had ventured into opening a studio not to far from where i was. after meeting with him he had brought to my attention his own hardship and that after 1 year in business he was unfortunately closing down. he had invested a substantial amount of money into his place and i understood his position from the point of view of an artist. my goal was not to own a recording studio, but to have a place to make my own music outside of the kitchen. a place where i could entertain collaborating with other artists and producers, a place to serve as a headquarters for my label. the timing could not of been any better, i had parted with my previous partner and Fuzz was faced with liquidating his equipment, and as we all know after market value is about 30% of the original purchase, so he stood to lose a hell of allot had he thrown in the towel. A partnership was a no brainer. i had the location he had the equipment, and with a little remodeling the place would be perfect. The Cuckoos Nest was born. Once again my brother and Sal provided an entire reconstruction and this time we went all out. i cannot express enough the amount of money i saved because of this contribution. Grateful is an understatement. on top of that my new partner was producing the kind of music that we were making. Hiphop, so above and beyond being partners we were now collaborating musically Fuzz was now a part of ILLSEED. and i valued this more than any partnership. So we got it in for a few years just covering the bases paying the bills to keep the business floating while we made our music. Fuzz was still growing up, and unfortunately he got caught up in circumstance. without diving into details he was forced to make a plea bargain for gun possession, and was headed upstate. it was tough because i was losing a producer and part of the team, ya see even through all the bullshit Fuzz was consistent and dedicated to the music. When he left for his trip he left behind what amounted to a catalog close to 200 original beats, no samples, all Fuzz. He had also contributed a few tracks for the FirstCousins project, and i knew it was my responsibility that we ultimately used some of his music on our album regardless of his whereabouts. i put the ILLSEED interests before anything else and i want to provide for all the family. Me and Fuzz reached an agreement and before he departed i bought out his end and forgave some outstanding debt, also made it known that the doors would always be open and i had intended to keep the Nest going no matter what and regardless of our business partnership he would always be part of the ILLSEED family. So, here i am 2009, over 6 years since i opened the studio,  4  years since i partnered with Fuzz and branded The CuckoosNest, and a year and a half that ive been running it on my own. Like i said i never set out to own a recording studio but sometimes circumstances just lead you down a path you may not of intended on. we need to recognize those that have helped us along the way, even those that only walked a few steps in that direction, no matter what happens along the way. im just enjoying the journey not exactly sure where the road is going but im rolling down the line, just enjoying the ride.