On the Blue Ridge
On the Blue Ridge features conversations with people shaping the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hosted by Asheville-based journalist Jon Page, the show explores the ideas, creativity, and vision driving communities across the region.
Through long-form interviews and on-location storytelling, each episode captures the evolving story of these mountains. Rooted in Western North Carolina, the conversations focus on people doing meaningful and inspiring work across the region, from conservation and outdoor recreation to the arts, agriculture, food and beverage, entrepreneurship, and beyond.
On the Blue Ridge
Jessica Tomasin on Echo Mountain's Next Chapter
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Jessica Tomasin is the owner of Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville.
Housed in a former church in downtown Asheville, Echo Mountain has been a fixture of the region's music scene for 20 years, welcoming everyone from local musicians to internationally known artists.
Jessica has been part of Echo Mountain since the beginning, serving as its longtime studio manager. But in April 2025, Echo Mountain announced that it was closing. For a while, it looked like the end of an era.
Then, last December, Jessica announced that she had acquired the studio and would reopen it.
In this episode, Jessica shares her journey from longtime studio manager to owner of Echo Mountain Recording, what it took to bring the studio back after its announced closure, and why she felt it was worth saving. We also talk about memorable recording sessions, the importance of community in music, and her work with the Connect Beyond Festival.
Echo Mountain Recording
echomountain.net
Follow Echo Mountain on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
Connect Beyond Festival
connectbeyondfestival.com
Impractical Instruments
impracticalinstruments.com
Heartbeat Sessions
artsforlifenc.org/heartbeat-sessions/
Oakland Rising
youtube.com/watch?v=HUx_nPaa-Vk
Theme Music
The song "Goa" was written by Lyndsay Pruett and performed by the Jon Stickley Trio.
Learn more about On the Blue Ridge and sign up for updates at ontheblueridgepod.com.
When we're talking about the things that have truly impacted me and moved me, like those are the things, you know, that I really truly love because that is I do feel like music can be so, so, so impactful in people's lives.
SPEAKER_02Today, on the Blue Ridge, our guest is Jessica Thomason, the owner of Echo Mountain Recording, an Asheville studio that has found new life under her leadership. I'm your host, John Page. Let's begin. Housed in a former church in downtown Asheville, Echo Mountain has been a fixture of the region's music scene for 20 years, welcoming everyone from local musicians to internationally known artists. Jessica has been part of Echo Mountain since the beginning, serving as its longtime studio manager. But in April 2025, Echo Mountain announced that it was closing. For a while, it looked like the end of an era. Then last December, Jessica announced that she had acquired the studio and would reopen it. In this episode, we talk about her journey from employee to owner, what it took to reopen Echo Mountain, and why she felt it was worth saving. We also discuss some of the memorable artists and recording sessions she's experienced over the years, the evolving role of recording studios in today's music industry, and the importance of making professional recording spaces accessible to musicians at every stage of their careers. I spoke to Jessica in late August at Echo Mountain, where we also talked about the Connect Beyond Festival, which she directs, and the role of music and the arts in Asheville's recovery following Hurricane Helene. But our conversation begins with Echo Mountain and what makes it such a special place.
SPEAKER_01Echo Mountain Recording is an analog and digital recording studio, and it's where we make dreams come true. Uh that's one of the best ways to describe it. But we make we make records, and that's not all we do. We record audiobooks and we do some podcasts and we do some sound things for television and film. And uh yeah, and we we have a range of people that record here from solo artists, independent people who are brand new to recording to seasoned professionals and uh legacy artists. So and everything in between.
SPEAKER_02Does it feel different knowing that, you know, you're you're the person helping to lead it into its next chapter?
SPEAKER_01It feels a little different, but this place has felt like home for me for a really long time. So I I, you know, part of it's like I feel uh this stewardship of of wanting to keep it going for the local community and for the music community at large, since we have clients that come in from all over the country and really all over the world. So there's definitely that this feeling of, I mean, there's definitely a feeling of ownership. So it is different in that regard, but one of the things that's the same for me is that it's always felt like home. And I've just been able to do some things now to make it a little bit more my own home.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. What so what does the role for you look like today?
SPEAKER_01Well, I've really leaned into the aspect of supporting community. And so one of the things that we've done, for instance, that's different that not a lot of studios or really any studios that I know of are doing to the in the same way as doing a membership where we're uh we have a subscription model where people pay uh a dollar amount that's reasonable and there's three different tiers and you get different incentives, but it's like a recording savings account, right? So it's just banking money for for future studio time. So one, it helps us from a cash flow perspective, but two, it helps artists and bands to invest in their career because studios can be really expensive to record in and the the finances can be a barrier to entry. And so one of the things that I saw was people putting studio time on a credit card and then paying 29%, 26% interest on trying to further their career in advancement. So I saw this as a way to do something like that. I also, you know, we opened our doors to the public for the first time for people to come through the space. That's something we've never done here. And uh we had uh an open house and we had over 350 people show up. So those are some things that are a little bit different now of, and I keep looking for ways and trying to do things in that regard of how can we be more of support and of service.
SPEAKER_02I I would imagine there's some kind of benefit for that membership plan of somebody who's just starting out like getting in here in increments and kind of getting to know your team and getting to know what it's like, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. There's one of our members, this woman, Jenna, who I've become pretty good friends with through this process. It's been really cool to see her grow as an artist and feeling like this is a safe space for her, which is, you know, as a woman in the music industry, is something that's really important to me is that, you know, the music industry has always had gatekeepers, right? And so back in the early days, you know, it was the AR people who were the ones who were deciding, you know, for labels like who gets to make a record. This these places weren't very accessible. Granted, technology's changed a lot and people can have studios in their bedrooms now, but being able to come into a space like this that has this history of of albums and records and just a wealth of knowledge of staff that works here and has been here for as long as I've been here, some 20 years, some 12 years, some six years are engineers, right? And feel really welcome and open to this space. We've been also been doing workshops. That's the other thing. So this person, this uh woman Jenna that I've been telling you about, she she's taken a number of the workshops, so she's learning how to do recording on her own, which is just I love that. I love empowering people in that way to be able to figure out, you know, how to advance their careers and and and give them the confidence to know that they can have have a some sort of say in how what they learn next and in how they can become a better artist.
SPEAKER_02And similarly, it seems like you you've kind of been putting out like the question of like what do you all want to know? Like what do you want these workshops to be?
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. So we did a series of workshops. And then, you know, I have some friends, uh obviously, you know, I say this all the time, people come in as clients and leave as friends. And I have some friends who have had very prolific careers as engineers and or producers, and they want to help, right? They love this idea, and especially some of them that are have very storied careers really love this idea of giving back and supporting community. And so they have offered to do workshops. And these are big names in the music industry, right? And so, but what I love is that they have said to me, Well, what do you think people want? And I said, Why don't we ask? And so I put a call out. I'm getting ready to do a newsletter tomorrow where I'm gonna also put that out too, is just, hey, what would you like to learn? And so I've been taking that input in, and so I'm talking to some of these folks. So we're hoping to offer some more workshops later this year based on seeing the topics that people would like to learn from somebody that's had a long and prolific career in music production.
SPEAKER_02That's really awesome.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um so you mentioned this place being like home. I know I I came in through the basement, I guess. Yeah. Uh and all the things. Yeah. And it uh you know, there are a few people down there and it it felt very uh friendly and warm and welcoming. Um if we rewind uh 20 years, what did it feel like the the first time you came in here?
SPEAKER_01When I first came into this studio, it wasn't fully built yet. It wasn't finished. Uh so it had a lot of potential, but it was really exciting for me, obviously, to see something of this size and caliber in Asheville. And and I've lived here for a really long time. It's 28 years that I've been here, and so it was really cool to see that this was something that to me felt like one of the next things that was gonna help put Asheville on the map in a way. And so it was really exciting. And then it was also really I felt very grateful to be able to be a part of helping to get this off the ground and make it happen. So that was another thing that was that is how I felt when I first walked in the door. I was like, wow, I get to be a part of something really cool for Asheville.
SPEAKER_02What were you doing b before then?
SPEAKER_01Oh man, okay. So I was uh working in construction at the time. So I was painting houses and just doing all sorts of odd jobs. Like I remember before I got the call to come in here for an interview, I was caulking windows on a like 30-foot ladder in, you know, 40-degree weather, just above, you know, not far above freezing, just enough that you could actually still, you know, caulk the windows and that sort of thing. And I was pretty miserable. Um I had done, I've done pretty much everything that you can possibly imagine at this point. I worked in food service before that. I uh service industry. I worked for Outward Bound. I was a a guide at Outward Bound. I worked at the climbing gym that used to be on Wall Street here in Asheville for four years. Uh yeah, did a little bit of a little bit of everything.
SPEAKER_02So if this place wasn't fully built out as a studio, maybe that construction background uh might have helped you get the get the job here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. I mean, I listen, I didn't know. I went to school at Mars Hill and I had gotten a degree in theater, like technical theater. So I'd done some stage design, stage management, which I am can I am convinced can can make you prepared for anything if you know how to stage manage because you just have to take care of so many different things at once.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Sound design, stage lighting, all those sort of things. And so, but I mean I didn't know I worked on like a little, you know, eight-channel board doing, you know, sound for shows and things like that. So I learned a lot by being here, like the mic panels that are in all of the rooms that basically where you connect the microphones for power and record and connect to the control room in here. It, you know, I was a part of pulling all the cables because none of that was set up. So I was able to learn a lot about the process of recording just from actually setting the studio up. Even even the recording console itself wasn't set up. So it was in here, but it was completely disconnected. So there was a lot of things that I learned just because it was it was part of the job with getting the place open.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And and we haven't mentioned the like the big thing that this is formerly a church. Yeah. Uh so how much is Echo Mountain Recordings identity like tied to this building?
SPEAKER_01It's interesting. You know, we had two buildings. So we actually had another studio that was adjacent to this one. And when it came to keeping the studio going, it w it it was a no-brainer to keep just the church. Um, if I was gonna keep it going. One, just because two studios was too much to maintain, but two, because the church was really like this place is pretty magical. It's we say, you know, churches obviously have good acoustics to begin with, right? So anybody that stepped foot in one knows that. And um, and you know, the stained glass, the high ceilings, it's almost like that room is an instrument in itself. And and it's just magical. I mean, you walk into that room and it you just feel sort of the awe of it. And and it's it's pretty special. I mean, people people love this space. And again, like I said, it felt, you know, feels like home to me, and I'm not the only one. There's a lot of people who walk into this live room and feel that about the space that they've, you know, their home, they're at church, whatever, whatever, you know, works.
SPEAKER_02Their sanctuary.
SPEAKER_01Their sanctuary. Yeah, and that's what we call that room is a sanctuary. Oh, okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Uh you know, if you when you look back at the the 20 years, are are there any particular sessions, artists, or moments to just like really stick with you here? Or are there too many for that to be a fair question?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there are there are a lot of sessions that stick with me. I think the things that stick with me the most will not be the ones that people would expect, right? Where it's like, oh, the b biggest name or something of that sort. Um they're like I said, it's it's we're a part, we get to be a part of something very special with making music, right? And so, and music impacts people in so many different ways. It's so they call it a universal language for a reason. And it, you know, one of the most important and and moving projects that I've ever been a part of is we did these sessions called the Heartbeat Sessions with an organization called Arts for Life. And uh there was there is this cello player in town. Her name's Melissa Hyman. She plays with The Moon in You and a few other bands. And she, I came in, she was here for a session. I can't remember what she was here for. She was recording on somebody's session, and I came into the control room and I had just seen the documentary Alive Inside, and which is about how music affects people with Alzheimer's dementia. And it's an incredible documentary. You can see it on YouTube, and it really starts off with this woman who's I probably in her 80s, and they ask her what her name is and where she's from, and she's like, I don't know, I don't know. And then they play a Louis Armstrong song, and she immediately goes into the first time I heard this song, I was 12 years old. My sister and I snuck out of the house together. He was playing at blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I stood on my sister's back so I could look in the window, and she tells this entire story, and she is so amazed. And she's like, I didn't know I had that in me. Right. And so I was so moved by this. And and I and I come to find out later, right? Because I've that, you know, I've always had this strong sense of curiosity. And so I'm like, why is this? Why is that? And so I've learned from people like I've had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people like Daniel Leviton, who's a musician and a neuroscientist who wrote, This is your brain on music. And so Daniel explained to me how the part of the brain that accesses music is deeper than the part of the brain that accesses language. And so oftentimes brain disease doesn't go that deep. And so that's why you'll see somebody who can't remember certain things or might even be nonverbal, where you play a song and they're able to sing the song or it brings them back to certain moments, right? Is because of this. So I was so moved by this. And so I come into the the studio the next day, there's a session, and I'm like, oh my gosh, you guys, you gotta you have to see this. Oh my this is this thing. Melissa tells me she's a music therapist and works with pediatric cancer patients. Oh wow with Arts for Life at the hospital. And she said, you know, I've really wanted to get a stethoscope that can record heartbeats and record the heartbeats of these kids and use it to make a c a cover of their favorite song. And I said, Well, if you can, if you can do that, I will do the sessions for free. And so she did and she made it work, and we got we have done so many of them, and you can go to the Arts for Life website and look up the heartbeat sessions. And we have recorded so many songs for these young people and their families, and for some, the kids, you know, go into remission and they heal and they have this beautiful thing where they're have their favorite song with their heartbeat as the backing beat for the song. All these musicians donate their time. We record it, we make a video. And then some of the kids have passed on, and the parents still have this thing that's a part of their kid, you know, and it's just the most beautiful thing to me. It's like, what a, you know, you have kids. So like imagine, imagine that you're able to give that.
SPEAKER_02I'm sitting here like thinking through all those things and about to about to get miss the eye just because of the the thought of it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. So again, it's not, you know, we've had Steve Martin in here and I love him and he's great. And, you know, we've had, you know, we've we've recorded with Jennifer Lawrence, we've did some music for the Hunger Games with T Bone Burnett, and that was an amazing thing. But like when we're talking about the things that have truly impacted me and moved me, like those are the things, you know, that I really truly love because that is I do feel like music can be so, so, so impactful in people's lives.
SPEAKER_02W when you go back and think about that you were kind of bouncing around before here, um, at what point did it kind of crystallize for you that this wasn't going to be just another job and that this was going to to be kind of like a mission for you?
SPEAKER_01I mean, pretty, pretty quickly, I would say, because it I, again, I have I love to learn new things and I'm always really curious. So the fact that this opened up a whole new world to me, and I always loved music growing up. It was a when we didn't have much from you know, from coming from meager upbringing, one of the things my mom always did is every other month I would get to pick a new album or CD or cassette, and then my brother would get to pick one, and then I would get to pick one, and he would get to pick one. So even though we didn't have much, like the one thing that my mom always made sure that was in our lives was music. And I'm really grateful for that because my mom was a huge music fan. So that's so I knew that I got, you know, I was like, I'm not gonna squander this opportunity to be able to be a part of something so special. Now, I've also had moments like I mean, we had Dr. John in here, and I'm a huge New Orleans music fan. Dr. John, Alan Toussaint is my favorite songwriter, and so, you know, having Dr. John in here, and he was just doing a show next door and needed to record a quick little video and recording for um, he won an international blues association award and couldn't be there to accept it because he was on the road, and I think it was London or something. And so last minute we had Dr.
SPEAKER_00John in here, who's just a character and recording, and he, you know, was sitting at the piano and was like, I'd like to thank the International Blues Association for this reward that I got, you know, from Echo Mountain.
SPEAKER_01And it was just like, I remember sitting here with Julian, who's our chief engineer, who's been here for 20 years. I stole him away. We both worked at the Orange Peel together and stole him away to work over here 20 years ago when we opened our doors. And we were sitting next to each other being like, Can you believe we get to do this right now? I don't know. It was just like, you know, and that was another special thing. But again, he wasn't, he was just here to do this, you know, quick little recording on the piano thing, and it was just uh it was cool. Now, don't get me wrong, there's plenty of other things and and that sort of thing, but those are just two sort of opposite ends of the spectrum.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah. What what about mentors for you professionally?
SPEAKER_01Definitely have some mentors professionally that have have come through these doors. Um You know, there wasn't a whole lot of women, you know, there's still not a whole lot of women in this world. And so, but again, with that regard, you know, most most professions, except for teaching and nursing. Are predominantly male. That was not anything that was new to me from working on the in the outdoor industry or restaurant industry or and I before that automotive industry. I guess I worked for the automotive industry in Detroit. Um so, but I would say definitely you know, it's definitely Steve Wilmans, who is the the previous owner who you know, I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him. He was definitely a mentor to me for sure. Uh we had um an entertainment lawyer, um Derek Crownover, who was from Nashville, and then he introduced me to this woman, Nicole Cochran, who was uh uh she was probably my first female mentor because she was a studio manager and uh publicist in Nashville for many, many years. And so she sort of took me through the how to how to do everything and and made lots of introductions and connections. And one of the very early things that Steve and I did was uh go and tour so many studios in Nashville and had a really amazing time doing that. So those those were the very early mentors, and then there's been other people throughout the years. Michael Selvern, who's a musician and producer and entertainment lawyer, he's been a mentor to me, and you know, and then there's a lot of you know, we continue like now there's I have a lot of other women in my life. I I have a a friend Gina Johnson who's a producer and engineer, and she's done she produced Jason Isbell's Last Records and she and John Prime's before he passed, and she's worked with Little Big Town, Chris Stapleton. Uh she's done some really incredible things, and we you know, we gotta stick together, so we us women and so we talk on a regular basis and text pretty much almost every day and um help to lift each other up in that regard.
SPEAKER_02That's awesome. Uh if we go back to last year, I think the announcement that Echo Mountain was going to close came in April. Correct. Uh I was looking back through social media last night, and if you go towards the end of uh I guess around October, uh you know, it sort of looks like a liquidation thing where it's like there's a yard sale. Um and then December 30th rolls around and there's the announcement that that you're going to reopen it uh as the new owner. At what point did you realize that that was something that you wanted to do, that you could do it, or you know, did you know it immediately or did you wrestle with it?
SPEAKER_01I definitely wrestled with it because this is the longest time I've done anything. And part of me thought, you know, it's not the only thing I do. That's the other thing, is that I wear many other hats besides Echo Mountain. It might be the thing that most people know me for, but then there's people who don't know me, uh, don't know the studio at all, and know me as a mentor for young people as I've run an apprenticeship with some kids out on the West Coast for four years. And I am a personal trainer. I teach five classes a week, you know, and there's people who just know me as their trainer. Uh I I uh I have Connect Beyond Festival, which is a nonprofit that's storytelling for social impact. My husband and I have an interactive media company together called Impractical Instruments. So, you know, it's not the only thing I do. So when it came time for like the when Steve decided that he was done, that he wanted to retire, part of me was, well, there's so many other things I could do, and maybe it's time, right? And then I got a lot of calls and a lot of people who were like, please, please, please try to keep it going. And then I had one friend in particular who was like, I need to introduce you to somebody who I think you you would make good partners. And, you know, that happened in August of last year. And I didn't really, I wasn't, I was like, well, let's explore this. And I just don't know if it's gonna work or if it makes sense. And at that time, you know, I'd already committed to some other things too. So like I, the apprenticeship program that I just finished two weeks ago, uh, I had committed August of last year that I would do it for another year, right? So I was already committed for 12 months and I signed a contract and all of that. And I wanted to honor that commitment, and I also enjoy that work because I really love working with young people. Um so, but as the conversations started getting more and more serious, and I was like, oh, this could actually happen. This really could happen, but I didn't want to say anything to anybody. You know, I was talking to the staff about it here. I had to do all sorts of other things. It's not like I could just be like, oh yeah, let's do this deal and we're gonna make it work. Like I had to, I had to negotiate rent to stay in this space and be able to do it affordably. I mean, obviously, there's there's a lot of things that had to go into play. I had to negotiate um the gear and keeping the gear and what that was gonna look like. And so it took a lot of time and energy, and then time just started to tick away. And this is not the sort of business that you can just turn an open sign and be ready to go. I mean, we typically book out like 90 days, 60 to 90 days in advance. So I couldn't just turn an open sign and be making money. That's not how this works. So there was a lot of those things. Not to mention I got married, not to mention I was also having to close down, you know, we had two studios. We had a ton of gear. I s we still had to move out of another space. And then, you know, so really the deal really went through on December 23rd, and that's why it was announced on December 30th. And then I left for my Yeah, and then I left for my honeymoon on January 2nd. Oh, wow. And I was only gone seven days, but it was like I needed that. I was like, well, I could have really used that time, but my husband would have murdered me if I was like, no, honey, we can't go on a honeymoon because I bought this studio. Sorry. I mean, there was already other things that I had committed to with him with our business that it was like. And then I got this grant for my festival, Connect Me On Festival, to do this collaboration with these other organizations and create this youth program. So what I'm not gonna turn that down. And I found that out in October that I was getting that grant or November, something like that. So I found out before all this. So it was like, and all these other things committed. So I was like, Am I insane? Probably. And that's why, you know, perfect example was like when you were reaching out to me and we're like, Can you do this? I was like, I don't have a spare mo like my husband's yelling at me for being like, You committed to do this work with us, you know, and rightfully so, because I committed to him and I was like, Well, you're the you're the closest thing to me where you love me and you, you know, we don't have an actual contract, so you're not gonna, you know what I mean? Sort of thing. So, anyways, but it all, you know, it was really, it was really hard. It was I'm not gonna lie, it was it was very, very, very challenging to pull off reopening the studio. And then that was only the half of it. Then it's just we realizing like I created this video with our publicist Catherine Campbell, who's incredible. And they were like, you got to do this on this day so that you can answer questions and do interviews and all of this stuff. Otherwise, you're gonna have to do it from Puerto Rico on your honeymoon. And they were like, I don't want you to have to do that, and I didn't want to have to do that. And so we announced and then started working around the clock to get back open February 1st, and sure enough, we had our first session on February 2nd. And uh yeah, but then I realized we had a communication problem because we had said that we were moving out to Marshall, that we'd sold the buildings. We were moving out to Marshall, and then we were closing, and then we were reopening. And even though that video I made organically had a hundred thousand views and got shared, I don't know how many hundreds and hundreds of times, people still didn't understand that we were still open. And it was Steve Canyon Rangers who fully brought that to my attention. Like we would have staff meetings, and the guys would say, like, hey, I ran into so and so, and they said that they didn't that they were like, the studio's still open? Oh, are you guys out in Marshall? Oh no, oh, you're in the church still? Like, oh, there was a lot of crazy how rumors can fly. Yeah, and then Steve Canyon Rangers came in here. They asked me if they could do a rehearsal in here, and one of the guys and like we go way back, well before like those guys were just forming the band, Picking on a Porch and Brevard, and like I knew them from back then. So they were like talking about this new album, and they they were like, Well, where are we gonna do it? And one of the guys was like, Well, what do you mean where are we gonna do it? We have to do it at Echo Mountain, and they're like, What are you talking about? And one of the guys was like, Jess bought Echo Mountain, and the other guys were like, What? You're kidding me. And so I was like, Oh man, if you guys don't know, and you guys are like, my friends, yeah, then who else doesn't know?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So then that's hence like we had to shift gears and and there was no way of me knowing that that was gonna be the case until I got into it. And so yeah. So then we we ended up doing um a grand reopening on April 18th or 19th, something like that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And and was that the where we had like bringing 300 people in here? Uh that'd make me a little nervous having like this awesome big board out and random people coming in.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it was it was a little nerve-wracking. I mean, that's so and that's the reason why we really don't do public events and things like that, is because this stuff is very old and expensive.
SPEAKER_02And I'm scared just being this far away from it, five feet away from it. Yeah, break it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I and I get that. And so, but you know, um, but there's but still it was it was really cool and it was funny because it was a lot. It was a lot of a lot for me and and just to be around that many people. And but I'm so glad that we did it because I really love the opportunity to show people how the magic is made. And music is so important to so many people. I know it's not everybody's thing, but for those that it is, it's a really special magical thing. And so to be able to show people the inside of the space that maybe somebody like the Avett Brothers, who's one of their favorite artists, recorded in, or it was kind of cool seeing, you know, I I opened the door and there was a and I was I I was looking for something specifically for to load in. My friend San Lynn Gaither was doing free photos for artists, which was incredible. He ended up doing it for eight hours straight with no break. There was a line out the door to get in. And I remember one of the first people in line was a guy who came, he lives here now, but he grew up in Oklahoma and he used to be an audio engineer, and you know, is home to um Leon Russell and and that sort of thing. And so he or Levon Helm and he um he was so stoked to be in the studio for the first time in a professional studio in probably 20 years, and we talked for a long time and it was very cool. And then just see you know, that there's that side of it, and there's people who are just through and through fans, and then a bunch of younger sort of punk artists came in who had never been in a studio like this, and just talking to them too about wanting to record and they're you know, at the beginning of their music careers and stuff like that was you know, it was really cool because we always like I pride myself on us not having egos in here, meaning that like everybody gets treated the same, whether you're the young punk band that's recording for the first time or you're Steve Martin, that's like everybody gets treated with the same level of respect. There's no ego, we check that out the door. We're in the service industry, we're here to be of service for you to make the best music possible, right? Because for an artist, making music is such a personal thing. So the only thing is is that we might have a special tea for Steve Martin only because we know what he likes. Yeah. So, you know, in that regard. So other than that, it's it's you know, so it was really cool to to see all of that and and have all of that in here and and also community, right? So it's like I told you I was a personal trainer. So many of my regulars at kind of my workout classes showed up, right? Because I brought flyers and things like that, and they were like, This is what you do when you're not, you know, kicking our butts and sweating your face off. I'm like, Yes, this is where I am when I'm not there. I was there this morning. I taught a class. So that's why I got here right before you did.
SPEAKER_02So I'm not really sure how you sleep, but um I do though.
SPEAKER_01That's the thing. I'm like in bed by 10 30 every night.
SPEAKER_02It's it sounds like all of this is just a lot of moving mountains.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, pretty much.
SPEAKER_02And I I will say I love that Steep Canyon Rangers album. I interviewed Aaron Burdett on the podcast uh right before it came out. And was I was actually I knew that that was done here, so I was listening to uh the title track Next Act on the way over here, which I just love that song so much. Um But I'm curious, you do you feel like the the tide is kind of turning? Like you've had a lot more people coming through. Uh who are some of the folks that have come through recently that uh that you're excited to see their music start getting out in the world?
SPEAKER_01So American Aquarium was one of them. And you know, they PJ Barnum is just one of the nicest people out there. I mean, he is a genuinely lovely human. And they've done a number of records here, but you know, I d just this business, like most businesses, are all about relationships, right? And so I did a lot of outreach after buying the studio and was like, hey, we're still here, just let you know. And BJ was one of the first people that I reached out to, and he responded immediately and booked five days. Awesome. And it was awesome, and it was so sweet, and he came in here because he needed to do um uh record some video for his album release, and so he was like, Oh, I'll shoot it in the church. So that was that was really awesome. Riverwiless was just here, and I love, love, love them as people and as a band. And Daniel Sheeran, who's who's in the band, used to be an intern here many, many, many moons ago, probably 18, 19 years ago. So it's really cool to like come full circle and see his band doing so well and and being here. Um so I had a band in here um that was from Oakland, California called Oakland Rising, and uh they were here playing Connect Beyond Festival, and they got to record here as well. So that was again as something I could I worked out for them. But it's interesting because they're this young artist collective, Oakland Rising is of a number of artists. And my friend Phil Green manages them. It's part of a nonprofit. He's an incredible human. He used to manage Fantastic Negrito, another great Oakland artist. And I was out in California when working with some kids out there and called Phil because I was in San Francisco and got together with him and met uh August Lee Stevens, one of the artists, and she was incredible. And I was like, man, it'd be really great if they could play the festival. So play Connect Beyond Festival. And so we I brought them, I found a way to bring them out, and there was supposed to be three of them. Well, B Devo, they ended up getting um an abscess tooth and couldn't fly. So it's just the two of them. So they were, I told them they could rehearse and rework out some of their parts. And so it was this artist Naeema, who's 16, and August Lee Stevens, and they were in the studio rehearsing before they were playing at the Orange Peel on Saturday night. And the one of the engineers here, uh, my engineer Kenny Harrington, who was working the first day of the uh um American Aquarium session, called and said, Hey, BJ needs to shoot a video for something, he needs to be filmed something. Can he do it in the studio? And I was like, on Saturday, and I was like, Yeah, sure. And he's like, Well, what do I charge him? I'm like, Don't charge him anything. He comes in on Monday to record, like, it's fine, just give him the space. Just know that I have that band rehearsing because they were also gonna record here on Sunday with Kenny. And he's like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, no worries. So unbeknownst to me, the thing that BJ was filming was for this documentary called From Sea to Shining Sea, which is gonna come out on PBS, but the I can't remember the guy's name, but from Newport Folk Festival, right, up in Rhode Island, he's making this documentary for the 250th year anniversary of the US, and he's interviewing one artist per state as he crosses the state, right? And he's doing it with another artist, Devin Gaffillion, I think is his name. Um and BJ was the North Carolina artist, which which I completely understand because he's such, again, he's so personable, such a nice person. And uh, so he was they were filming, I'm not sure where, what room they were in, maybe the piano room or something. And then he heard, I think his name's Jay. So he heard Oakland Rising rehearsing, and he was like, Whoa, who are you? What are you doing here? And so they explained, we're here to play this festival. And uh, we flew all the way from Oakland, California, and you know, we know the festival director and whatever. And so we ended up interviewing Oakland Rising for the documentary. And the documentary features Bruce Springsteen, Sarah Farrell, Tyler Childers. I mean, it's pretty incredible the the amount of artists. I had no idea at the time, right? It was just said yes to this thing, you know, because I want to support BJ and and yes, give him the space that he needs. Unbeknownst to me was it gonna be this absolutely incredible project. And the band got to end up playing Newport Fo Folk Festival, which is huge, right? So they they ended up going out and playing, and and now there's been this wonderful connection between American Aquarium and Oakland Rising. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. And so it was really like that is just for me like the testament to the magic of this place. Of this was just, I said yes to something that I felt was important for this, you know, to help a client out who was help, you know, who didn't hesitate in booking time went to support the studio and support me. And look at what that turned into. It was like immediately snowballed into this thing, which is now this is gonna be a great documentary. I mean, I keep, you know, looking at the footage that they keep posting, and I can't wait till it comes out because I think it's gonna be a really cool, beautiful piece about music in America.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and you'd shared it the the link with me. And then I so I watched that clip about Oakland Rising, which was awesome.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, and then I just kind of hopped around to some of the other things. It looks like it's gonna be really cool.
SPEAKER_01Um Yeah, and I know like those those two ladies, I'm and I'm sure more of the artist too, but Naima, I mean, she's 16. August Lee Stevens is 26, and they're incredible. Like everybody will know who they are within the next five years. And that's like the other thing that's just really cool, right? Is and uh and to know that you know, we can help have a part in in making that happen.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. You you've brought up Connect Beyond festival a few times. I did want to um go to that for a minute or two. Tell me a little bit about that and how it came about.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, I have been producing festivals and events for a very long time, probably somewhere between 13, 15 years. And I got really good at throwing a party. And I've done some pretty big events and and big things. Like I used to book and co-produce the music with um some partners in NBC for the Breeders' Cup Horse Race for you know, 60 million people around the world to watch and 80,000 people in the stands to working with AC Entertainment, uh, the folks that did Bonnaroo and Forecastle and Big Years and and and things like that. And um produced local festivals, Goombay Festival was one that I did for years, and um and just felt that m music and art had the opportunity to be way more impactful. And so I wanted to do something that was tied to how stories could connect us and change lives. So it's music, film, literature, and visual art. And it's like a TED Talk meets tiny desk concert, meets Sundance Film Festival, meets uh Meowf now. So now that we do like an interactive art component of it, which we just did for the second year in a row. And uh and so yeah, so that's I created that. It's a non profit. We now have a youth program. With uh Slay the Mic multimedia, and my daddy taught me that two organizations, and we have a program called Youth Envision Asheville, where we're teaching kids all sorts of skills from uh time management, 3D printing, graphic design, storytelling, filmmaking. Uh, we just taught them last week here at the studio how to make cyber decks, which are basically mini computers. So they basically made m mini computers and then got to design the box as or what held it. So they we had all sorts of different lunchboxes and things like that, and they bedazzled them and did all sorts of stuff, and then they'll continue to use those computers to learn things about how to do editing. They're gonna work on creating a logo for the program this year. Uh, they pu did a bunch of public speaking at the festival. They actually interviewed some of the other creators. So we did some um film screenings and they interviewed the filmmakers and the film subjects. They uh got on stage and they interviewed some of the other creators that made the interactive art exhibit called the community garden. And so we're gonna continue to give those, this group of about 15 kids that opportunity over the next year and a half.
SPEAKER_02That's great. And the festival will be back again next.
SPEAKER_01It'll be back again next year. Yeah, we don't have plans yet, just mainly because the festival was the last weekend in May this year at the Orange Peel, and it's sort of traveled around and been at various venues throughout the years. And so right now I'm just trying to catch my breath because I went had the festival and then went straight into running a youth apprenticeship program out in California that lasted eight weeks and then um just came back from out there. And so now I'm just trying to focus on the studio right now and and have a good rest of the year.
SPEAKER_02As we were, you know, right around the two-year anniversary of Helene after everything Asheville's been through, how how important um our places centered around music and art uh and community um to what comes next?
SPEAKER_01I would argue that places of art and culture are at the hub of what people need and want right now. We're at such a point of disconnection. I don't think anybody who is listening to this would disagree with that, right? Because of from being on our phones to the uh political divide that is everywhere to just the weight of the world of how everything feels right now. I mean, to be at war, to not be able to afford basic necessities, to see the problem with homelessness and how, you know, the unhoused community, mental health issues, like lack of resources for people. Um, it's the one place music and art is where I feel like we can finally feel more connected and more coming from a place of abundance. And so I think it's crucial right now. I think it was crucial after the storm. I think we see that all the time. I think, you know, it's always one of the first things that we turn to and look towards is having something that when we can't articulate how we're feeling, that is what music and art do for us, right? And so those are those sort of things that we we look for. Um we look for the stories, you know, that's what these podcasts are about, right? Is like your podcast is about talking to people, real people who are in the community or even if, you know, larger audience of things that you can relate to, you know, and that's one of those things that I think is just so crucial and and important of making the time for those things, making that there's so much opportunity for free music and free arts and free things like that.
SPEAKER_02If we go back to Echo Mountain, I mean we kind of touched on a lot of this so far, but I'm I'm curious if you just think about what was what was at stake if this place didn't reopen.
SPEAKER_01One of the things that was really hard when we announced that we were closing is that it felt like Asheville had just been hit again and again and again um for different reasons. It just felt like we were losing another big part of the community. And so that's how I felt. I felt like if it didn't continue, I there were some things that I really wanted to try and do that we had just started to implement when Steve decided he wanted to close the studio. So for instance, like the membership. I just felt like it was such a great way to support community and lean more into that. And I didn't get a I didn't get a chance to do it. Like I we started it and then had to go, oh, just kidding, here's your money back, you know, for because we did it for two months and then we're done. And so I felt like that was what was gonna be one of the things is that we were just gonna be create this this hole in the community. There's other amazing studios here. Drop of Sun is one, you know, um, Sound Temple. Um there's um a few others. I'm I'm not remembering right off the top of my head, but like, you know, there's people who that are here doing great stuff. And I and I feel like there's space for all of us, right? But it just felt like, you know, we've been a part, we've made over, we've worked with over 800 clients. 800, over 800. And some of those we've made two, three, four records, five records with, right? So that's a lot of music that we've been a part of creating, not just for the local community, but for fans. And it really felt like that was gonna like I felt like we were letting people down with that. So it definitely was one of those things where, and you know, even like even after the storm, you know, obviously nobody had water, but we went straight into recovery. Um, we housed Brother Wolf here to, and they were trying to evacuate all the animals that they had gotten out of their shelter that were in foster homes, they had to get all of them out of town, you know, because nobody had running water. And you're like, oh, here's this dog that I or this cat that I said I would foster, and now my house is devastated, right? Um we were I was doing everything from sourcing oxygen for the fire department to saline bags for party hospital, you know, um, water totes for flush asheville, you know. I was able to get 2,500 within seven days because we were about to have a serious public health crisis on our hands, you know. These are the sort of things we all jumped in to be like, what can we do? We brought gas into front for frontline workers. We brought like 260 gallons of gas in for people who are working on the front lines to be able to get to and from work, you know. Um so you know, that's that's that's how I see this place, you know, is like that's what we do. And it just felt so important to be able to keep that going.
SPEAKER_02We've talked a lot about the past, we've talked a lot about this past year. Um if you fast forward 20 more years uh and look back on on what this next chapter is, what do you hope you'll be able to say you did at Echo Mountain Recording?
SPEAKER_01I would like to say that I've been able to find ways to support as many people as possible, like through whether that's my staff with you know, living wages, which we pay to plenty of work, um, to help create and cultivate space for people who are new to this, especially women, to um provide people with tools and resources they may not have had from a pro music production standpoint, to helping people create magic, you know, to to take their ideas and help get them to a broader audience. And hopefully, you know, have some fun in the process. And uh and yeah, so I'm still figuring it out. You know, it's been a really crazy uh year for me, just with all of these other things that I've had to balance and manage. I lost my mom in the middle of all this, and so it was like I'm I'm looking like I I'm just finally sort of starting to come down from just the the go, go, go and the stress of all of that. And um, I'm looking forward to ways of creating something new and different too. It's like that's the other part of it. It's just I think there's lots of endless possibilities, and I look forward to figuring out what those things might be as the world changes and just having the space and the capacity to do so.
SPEAKER_02That's all for today. Huge thanks again to Jessica Thomason for joining me. You can learn more about the studio at Echomountain.net and about the Connect Beyond Festival at Connectbeyond Festival.com. You can also check out impractical instruments at impracticalinstruments.com. And if you'd like to learn more about the Heartbeat Sessions or watch that Oakland Rising video we discussed, you can find the links to both in our show notes. You can also find OnTheBlue Ridge on Facebook and Instagram at OnTheBlue Ridge and online at on the blueridgepod.com. And if you're enjoying this podcast, please follow or subscribe wherever you listen. Consider leaving a rating and a quick review, or just share it with a friend, as it really helps more people find the show. Our theme music is the song Goa, written by Lindsay Pruitt and performed by the John Stickley Trio. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time on the Blue Ridge.