Local Flint, Michigan Musician Hopes to Help Local Artists Break Out

Micah Horgwath of Flint, Michigan is your normal 24 year old. He likes to party with his friends, he works a part time job while attending college for communications, oh and he is also a state certified pro-audio specialist. In his spare time, he records local music acts' demo songs and mixes them to perfection. It's a hobby he can make a few extra hundred dollars off each month, but he hopes to make it a full-time job. He plans to open a new recording studio early 2008 in Flint Township, near the local Guitar Center and Best Buy.

Micah has been studying music since he was a small boy. Throughout high school he was involved in every aspect of a production his school put on. He primarily worked on the soundboards and crafted ideas for play productions.

"Music has always been my passion. I learned to play guitar when I was seven years old. It was self-taught. I picked it up and just made sounds. I learned chords and strumming patterns by listening to my favorite songs," says the 24 year old songwriter.

"I also learned how to play drums in my teens as well as bass guitar. I used the skills I had by ear training and then took lessons."

After high school, Micah set out to do what he loves most, produce music. He attended the Recording Institute of Detroit and became certified as a pro-audio specialist. There, he learned to properly record various music instruments and vocals, use hands on mixing hardware, and also touched lightly on digital recording.

"Digital recording is going to be the way of the future in music. Analog recording is typically combined with some type of digital programming and software."

Micah plans to take that knowledge of music and do something for the community and help local artists break out into the music scene, somewhere somehow.

"There are so many local acts that are great. Rock bands perform all over the area and many are very well known among the crowds who attend various shows," he says.

"There are an endless amount of ways to get into the music industry. It's just about finding the right one and having good timing," he explains.

"The internet is a pool of knowledge and resources and eventually will take over major label structures. Independent music is on the rise because of the internet."

Micah is currently in the process of closing on a loan to buy the building where his FlintTown Records recording studio will sit. From there, he will take out another $15,000 loan to purchase equipment such as monitors, high quality microphones, and the Pro Control unit which works with popular software Pro Tools with automatic faders.

"It's a big investment, but I hope I will be able to make it back within five years of recording. There are a ton of acts who need to get their quality songs recorded and put out there."

In a falling economy, especially in the Flint area which is the third most dangerous city in the U.S., Micah has compared several other local studios rates to allow himself some competitive rates.

"Most studios run about $40 an hour. They are more experienced studios however. So I'm planning on $30 an hour plus additional fees for mixing and mastering. I want to get personally involved with each project as well to make sure they're the best they can be," he says of his studio plans.

His main weapon? The internet. Several websites exist that help promote artists in an independent world and also distribute their independent records.

"Tunecore I found out about when I was shopping at Guitar Center. I'm opening an account with my label name and each artist can be uploaded and distributed to various digital online retailers such as iTunes and Napster for a small yearly fee per album."

Horgwath plans on a mid-January grand opening once his loans close and he sets up the studio peremeters inside. Flyers will be available at Guitar Center and other local venues where bands play.