MANSFIELD — Changing the world was too big a leap for Mansfield-native Reed Burkhart to make when he was an 18-year-old L.A. dweller.
So, the 24-year-old swallowed his pride, came home to Mansfield and decided to start with a step. That step led him to the old Music Moves Studio on 310 Marion Avenue.
“I kept driving past it and thought I’d find out who owned it,” Burkhart recounted.
At this point, he had moved back in with his mom and his heart was set on opening a recording studio.
“Since the building was already set up as a studio, I thought it was perfect.”
A quick month later, Burkhart signed a lease, purchased the sound equipment, did some construction, hung rock-and-roll posters, hosted an open house and called it Red Keys Recording Studio.
‘The only thing that’s ever made sense’
His zest for music came at a young age when his father, Jimmy Burkhart, bought him a drum set.
“He wanted me to be a guitarist, but he gave me a drum set,” he said with a laugh. “He taught me everything I know. Music is the only thing that’s ever made sense to me.”
His dad now supports the effort to open a recording studio, from helping with setting up equipment to greeting band members at the door.
Through high school, Reed played in bands in garages, basements, parties and bars. He continued after high school when he and his band members moved out to Los Angeles, with hopes high of tickling the ears of a Hollywood producer.
When that didn’t work out, he moved back to Ohio — this time he tried Columbus. He played in bands but felt as defeated as he did in his L.A. days.
“I couldn’t find my way in,” Reed said of the music industry. “You really need to know someone in this industry. People always say that, but it’s true. There was no lack of me trying.”
After trying to get that “in” and seemingly failing, he did something he thought he would never have to do — go to school.
“I thought it would be the only way,” he said.
He applied to Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio and was approved for the Music Management program. He specialized in production.
The studio
“The idea here is we’re here to serve people,” Reed said of Red Keys Recording Studio.
Reed believes a recording studio is one additional catalyst for regenerating a community. He said it only takes one band to put Mansfield on the map, and he wants the chance to cut that band’s album.
“I grew up across the street from the GM plant. It was hard to see it crumble and then the whole town degenerate. And then we get negative coverage. I mean, Oprah Winfrey did a story about how this area suffers from heroin. That sucks,” he said, bluntly.
“This,” he said as he opened his arms and looked around his newly installed recording studio, “this is not about making money as much as it’s about making a difference. I want to change the community by making great music for people.”
Red Keys Recording Studio’s going rate is $25 per hour.
In Columbus, that figure climbs to at least double, sometimes triple. And his studio has professional quality equipment, he said.
“They’re going to get a good sound,” Reed said.
The equipment includes an iMac with ProTools 12, Focal Professional monitors, two Focusrite preamps, Hear Technologies outboard gear and a fully responsive digital interface with an M-Audio MIDI keyboard.
The studio features an open-space live room with sound absorption panels, a full, acoustic drum kit, electronic drum kit, microphones, amplifiers, guitars and necessary cables. Adjacent to the live room is an isolation room for recording vocal tracks.
“Mansfield has untapped talent. And now they have this service at their disposal. I see this as a public service because I want to help change my city,” Reed said.
To contact Red Keys Recording Studio, call 419-545-1006 or email jrburk21@gmail.com. You can also check out the Facebook page.
“That’s my personal cell (number). When they call, they’ll get personalized service from me.”
