I’m Richard McCluskey, the founder of Right Take Studio and I have loved performing live my whole life. There is something so magical about walking out on stage with a guitar, with your knees shaking and your mind racing. Though you’re terrified you tell yourself, “I’m going to do this.” And then something wild happens - you do. You go out into the great wide open, and you share part of your soul with the audience. Every chord that you play and every lyric that you sing echoes out into the room and, if you’re authentic, sends chills down the spines of anyone within earshot. It’s like you and your band are having a conversation with the audience, without words.

If they like it, you can feel it coming back to you and your performance gets better. If they don’t, you can change your approach to better capture their imagination. It’s a co-creation, a conjuring of all that is good.

However, when we cut records, we lose some of that magic. Everything starts to sound the same, clinical, too perfect. Producers pass songs through AI algorithms to make sure the track sounds just like the last smash hit. Everything just becomes a long stream of sameness

When you go see a live band perform though, you can see humans doing what they do best, creating art. You see the sweat and hear the mistakes, it is real and visceral, and honest.  That’s what I hope to capture.

The truth is, I can’t compete with billion-dollar studios that have all of the latest equipment. But, I have enough really good outboard gear, well-chosen pieces of boutique equipment, and a workflow honed from hundreds of hours of practice, that we can easily make your record sound fantastic, and give you a video to go with in all at the same time. 

Another reason I wanted to start this studio is because bands these days, especially those that are just starting, are having a hard time finding places to play. It costs so much money to put on a live show, and most venues now want references from other places you have played, making it almost impossible to get started. Or maybe a band does manage to find a gig to play, but it ends up being at a grand opening of a clothing store, or a brewery where no one can hear them. 

With Right Take Studio, I want to give artists a way of getting that kick from playing live but then being able to send it out into the world. Nowadays, the audience doesn’t have to come to you, you can go to the audience. With the streaming aspect of our studio, the folks in the control room can tell the band, “Cindy from Wisconsin is asking you to explain one of the lyrics in your latest single.” Or we can say, “Tom from Delaware says you guys suck, what do you want to do about it?” And the band can playfully respond on the live stream, “Hey Tom, fuck you.”

I hope that Right Take Studio can open a lot of doors for solo musicians and bands. They can play live shows and then stream those performances all over the world, hopefully gaining a wider audience in the process.

Lastly, I want to give back to the community. I got where I am today because of the kindness of others. When I first emigrated to America I was penniless. After the dot com crash, I was even homeless for a short time, sleeping on benches and in a 1974 Ford Econoline E100 van that had rust holes everywhere. When it rained, I got wet; there were days when I woke up in puddles of water. Not my finest hour. Fortunately, it was the kindness of strangers that allowed me to sometimes eat, drink, and wake up in a warm bed. And now I want to give back. If you are a musician or band who is starting and can’t afford the studio fees, get in touch. Every so often we’ll give away studio time for up-and-coming artists. America has been kind to me and I want to return the love.

Best,

Richard McCluskey
Founder of Right Take Studio