Ghost Hits
Andrew Oedel '10 doesn't mind if the first thing you notice about his recording studio is the floor.
Andrew Oedel '10 doesn't mind if the first thing you notice about his recording studio is the floor.
Spanning the entire 2,000 square feet of a former silk mill, the maple hardwood floor was notably distressed before Oedel and his father personally tackled the job of refinishing and staining it.
“Everyone who comes in comments on the floor and I think good, because I spent a lot of time on it,” Oedel jokes.
The floors are not the only impressive detail about Ghost Hit Recording, located in the arts and innovation district of Holyoke, Massachusetts. More recently the production site of a large-scale
countertop manufacturer, the old building with brick laid walls is seeing new life producing music. And the floor and walls do their part to help.
“I loved the way the room sounded. It makes for cool acoustics,” says Oedel, who has combined his natural musical ability with years in the industry to engineer and produce with the region’s established and emerging talent.
The journey toward running his own recording studio has been the logical career track for Oedel. It’s a journey that began with Shake the Baron, the rock ‘n’ roll band he and three classmates started while at Conn. The band’s popularity gained them a following, and Oedel recorded Shake the Baron’s first album at Conn’s Cummings Arts Center.
A college internship took him to New York City, where he spent days at Engine Room Audio and nights at Avatar Studios. Working in the industry while still a student opened doors and fostered professional relationships that have lasted beyond that initial summer.
“That internship was the biggest and most positive thing that happened to me,” he explains. “I just went to Austin, Texas, for a few days to work with one of the engineers I met there. I text these guys every week. And it’s been that way for eight years.”
Oedel has struck a balance between the rock ‘n’ roll life of a musician and the more business- and career-focused world of music and sound production.
“Every once in awhile I’ll have a week with four deadlines, a bunch of sessions to pick up, and it’s a real slog making everyone happy. But I love that feeling, too. Half of why I’m in my business is I really enjoy making people happy with their experience. It’s definitely the creativity part that I enjoy, but it’s also making people happy when they walk out the door.”