With their ongoing kickstarter campaign scheduled to end in just two days on Janauary 6th, the new studio project coming to Southtown- Southtown Sound reached their $8,000 launch goal today. From the new studio’s kickstarter page:

We did it. We really did it. It feels like only yesterday when we were anxiously prepping this, totally unsure whether or not we could make this happen, but we did and it is all thanks to you. Everyone who has shared this campaign, contributed financially, or helped us out along the way; thank you so so very much. We will do our best to make you all proud of the work we hope to do here.

With that said, there has been some noticeable radio silence from our end (due to Kyle starting a new job, and a lot of busy schedules), so we would like to take this time to announce a few updates.

As far as construction goes, we have made a lot of progress! Thanks to Mario’s dad Jim, we have managed to hang a majority of the new insulation and drywall, and hope to have the rest up in the next week or two. Once the walls are up, sanded, and painted, we will be able to put in the new flooring which will be followed finally moving in equipment and furniture! We initially underestimated the project’s needs and ended up finding a lot of problems that we had to deal with, so we will be pushing back our opening a few weeks. Once we have a date finalized, we will be reaching out to our Kickstarter artists to solidify some time!

For other donors, we are waiting on the T-shirt design to come through, but we are hoping to have everything at least ready to be printed by the end of the month, and shipping will be followed shortly after. Keep an eye on your email so we can get your shirt sizes and mailing addresses!

Once again, we would just like to extend our sincerest gratitude to you all. We feel incredibly blessed with the outpour of support and love this project has recieved, it’s frankly hard to put into words. We love you all very much, and are looking forward to making 2017 a year to remember!

The kickstarter campaign will remain ongoing as the Studio has mapped out what excess funds can be used for in great detail as part of their kickstarter. Bands or musicians may also still want to donate in the few remaining days so they can guarantee recording time or utilize some of the kickstarter incentives. To donate and see the progress made on the kickstarter campaign, go here. We will be sure to keep you all updated with progress on the new studio in the coming weeks of this new year.

Today here at blacksheepspringfield.com we are bringing you big news of something new coming to the neighborhood. As you may know, Brandon Carnes (Looming, Diaper Rash) ran South Town Studio from late 2013 up until April of this past year. During that time Brandon recorded countless Springfield bands, many punk demos, and also hosted a good number of shows up in the studio space. Since Brandon moved to Pittsburg in April Southtown has lacked a place for bands to record, which was a vital piece of the Southtown package for all of 2014 and 2015.

Now a group consisting of B.J. Pearce, Mario Cannamela, and Kyle Noonan are teaming up to launch Southtown Sound – a new and improved studio to go in the same space that once was South Town Studio behind Black Sheep and Dumb Records. Today they are launching a brand new kickstarter campaign for the new studio. Check that out right here.

The campaign’s goal is to raise $8,000 to go towards new renovations, initial running costs for the first few months, and studio equipment. Check out a very detailed list and breakdown of money to be raised here on the kickstarter page. For those of you who remember or helped us with Project Southtown’s successful campaign in 2015- the remainder of the money raised from Project Southtown will be going towards this new major project in benefiting our neighborhood.

Renovations on the space have already begun, and the kickstarter campaign will be going from now until early January. You can expect us to keep you up to date on progress of the new Studio, which is projected to be in full effect in early 2017. We believe having access to an affordable recording studio for bands in our area is very essential, and is also key in Southtown continuing to be an epicenter for creativity and arts in Springfield. With this new studio Kyle, Mario, and B.J. will be expanding on what Brandon started with South Town Studio to create something even more vital to our community.