Real Estate & Elegant Maine Living - The Way Life Should Be

E 23: Maine's Creative Community Through Stories, Sound & Music: The Studio Portland (Part I)

• Elise Kiely • Season 1 • Episode 23

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In this episode of Elegant Maine Living, I sit down with John McArthur, one of the owners of The Studio Portland, to talk about how creativity, connection, and community come together in the heart of Maine.

John shares his journey from being a gigging musician to working in tech for 35 years, and then back into the world of sound and music through his son’s career as a composer and sound engineer. Along with his wife Reva Tankle and business partners Amanda and Thorn Dickinson, John took ownership of The Studio Portland in 2024 and has since grown it into a hub for musicians, podcasters, filmmakers, voice actors, and storytellers.

🌟 In this conversation, we explore:

  • Why Portland’s creative energy—and even this specific building—matters so much.
  • The ways The Studio connects diverse communities: from podcasting and voice acting to singer-songwriter contests, live-stream concerts, and filmmaking.
  • How The Studio creates opportunities for emerging artists to showcase their work through high-quality audio and video recordings.
  • The role of collaboration, generosity, and connection in Maine’s creative economy—an economy that generates an estimated $1.5 billion annually.

John also gives us a behind-the-scenes look at initiatives like the Society of Creative Pursuits meetups, voice acting workshops, and intimate concerts at The Studio, all designed to help artists share their work and grow their careers.

Whether you’re a musician, podcaster, filmmaker, or simply someone who appreciates Maine’s creative culture, this episode will open your eyes to the talent, sophistication, and community spirit thriving right here in Portland.

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Elise Kiely: [00:00:00] Welcome everyone to the next episode of Elegant Main Living, titled, creating Community Through Stories, sound and Music, the story of The Studio Portland. So I'd like to welcome my new friend, John McArthur, and before we get started, the number of the day is $1.5 billion. This is the estimated annual economic impact of Maine's creative economy, including visual arts, galleries, performance spaces, and design work.

Maine's creative economy generates. Around $1.5 billion every year, and that is proof that beauty culture and business thrive [00:01:00] in Maine. John, welcome. 

John MacArthur: Thank you so much. It's great to be here. 

Elise Kiely: I have ever since I decided to do this podcast, which was the end of 24, and you were one of the first people I told that I was going to do this podcast 'because I kept it a little private and because I didn't know where I was going to actually execute.

And interview and share some thoughts and ideas. And I did a search for podcast studios and The Studio Portland came up in my search and we had a short conversation and I knew after that short conversation that I had found a partner in this endeavor. 

John MacArthur: It's great to be your partner for sure. 

Elise Kiely: You have, so you were so welcoming and I really did not know, I didn't know what, I didn't know about doing a podcast or even recording studio.

I wasn't sure the difference between mixing and mastering, and you have been a gentle and confident guide through this process. So I'm very [00:02:00] grateful, John. 

John MacArthur: You're welcome, but I have to credit the team 'because it's not me. It's about creating a team of creatives that can do this work 

Elise Kiely: well.

And that's just it's about creating community and you have really opened my eyes to a community in Portland that I had very little exposure to. And, but, and before we go to the community part, can you give us a little background of how you came to be a part of The Studio? 

John MacArthur: Sure. The, my first introduction to The Studio is our son came over to help the previous owner of The Studio rewire The Studio and he'd been doing some mixing work for the previous previous engineer producer here.

He had mixed a number of actually Maine bands like Golden Oak. He had done their, al mixed their album in the past and he, so he'd wired a couple of studios for the previous owner, and so they had a good relationship. 

Elise Kiely: So it was through your son that you got introduced to this studio? Yes. But you have a long background in music technical [00:03:00] skills as well that made your being a part of The Studio very easy for you.

John MacArthur: It was. It was a very easy transition in many ways. I helped my brother build his first studio in 1977 I think it was in Tampa, Florida. I imagine 

Elise Kiely: things are a little different than they were in 1977. 

John MacArthur: It was a four track tape machine. Yeah. Yeah. But the same sort of techniques to create a good sound space and sort of thing. 

Elise Kiely: And so you own The Studio with your wife, Reva 

John MacArthur: and Thorn and Amanda Dickens and Thorn and two and another couple. Two, yeah. Another couple. Yeah. Yeah. Do know. And so 

Elise Kiely: the four of you own and operate The Studio and then you have a team of engineers that help you with the technical aspects of it.

Yes, 

John MacArthur: that's right. 

Elise Kiely: Yeah. Yeah. And we're, I'm so grateful that you have The Studio and right in the heart of Portland. Is the location important to you? It 

John MacArthur: is to us, and it's not actually, you talk about community, it's not just the location of Portland, but it's actually the location of this building [00:04:00] because in this building we have a growing community of creative forces.

Whether it's the advertising agency next door that we've done work with, or there's a music producer and sound plugin rep. In the adjacent space, in the same building. We have multi Grammy award-winning mastering engineer in the space and the f and we've got some others that, I don't know how much it's been publicly announced yet, but there's a lot of creative energy here, 

Elise Kiely: which, I think, which is a, for someone that's not in the creative space, I don't consider.

Artistically creative. I definitely appreciate it. This has really opened my eyes to what talent and resources we have in Portland, Maine, in our little community. The level of sophistication and expertise in these areas is really [00:05:00] incredible.

And I think that's so interesting of the story of, and I think that's a common story, whether it's in our artists or business people or students. And I think it's very interesting that there is this draw to come back. 

John MacArthur: Yes. Yeah, 

Elise Kiely: and it, the way life should be, the authenticity, the simplicity, yet sophistication and to have that as two sides of the same coin is pretty unique.

Pretty special. 

John MacArthur: Yeah. And I will tell you that when we have an out of town artist here, they really appreciate our restaurants. 

Elise Kiely: I bet they do. I bet they do. John, let's talk a little bit briefly about, about your background, because I think that's important to show the success of The Studio and the vibrancy of The Studio.

Portland, could you share just a short background? 

John MacArthur: I'll keep it really short, but I started off as a musician. I was a gigging musician after, actually during college and then after college. And I did that for about six or seven years, and then I went into tech for [00:06:00] 35 years and just had little bit of a finger in music, but then my oldest son decided he wanted to become a sound engineer and he was already a composer. He was writing a lot of music. So through college. And so he actually went to school in Maine, which that was really my first, other than going up to Rangely Maine to look at Moose one time, I think Husson University, NESCom, new England School of Communications was my real intro to, to Maine.

And he's the one who fully pulled me back into music and we opened a recording studio. And then this is the second studio we've owned where he's worked, 

Elise Kiely: I think. I think that's wonderful. And your son, Sam, works in The Studio Portland as well? Yes. Doesn't he? Yes. 

John MacArthur: Yes he does. Yeah. Yeah.

Elise Kiely: That's fantastic. And when you all took The Studio Portland. Over? 

John MacArthur: Yes. 

Elise Kiely: About a year ago. Year and change ago. 

John MacArthur: Yeah. We made an initial in investment in the March timeframe, and then we made our full investment in June. So we [00:07:00] That's when the ownership changed. 

Elise Kiely: Transferred to you. Yeah. And when you took over ownership, did you have a specific plan or a mission that you wanted to achieve by taking The Studio Portland over?

John MacArthur: Actually, that's a, so plans are interesting, right? One of the, one of the great things about being a human is that you're adaptable, right? And so the first thing that I recognized, we have a huge community that we've developed in New Hampshire, but most of my community is in, has been in New Hampshire where I've been since 2018, where our previous studio was 2017, our previous studio.

And so the first thing I knew I needed to do was either develop or join communities. So there were communities that I joined that already existed, and there's communities that I helped create. 

Elise Kiely: And how difficult, and let me start with, did, how did you identify the communities that you wanted to join?

Not being from here?

John MacArthur: Very different from the studio that we operated in New Hampshire. This is [00:08:00] a multipurpose commercial studio for, so for example, we didn't do podcasting at the previous studio. We didn't do voiceover with actors and our dialogue replacements. We did music, and we did a couple of interviews segments, during political seasons, but nothing major. This is a very diverse studio. And so with each of those, we've been able to identify either a community builder or a community connector to partner up with. So in the voice acting community, I found someone, Nancy German, who had reached out to the, and she's a voice actor, full-time voice actor, living north of Maine of, in Maine, north.

I'm in Maine, north of Portland, right an hour and a half north. She's full-time voice actor, a lovely woman, and she has been so generous with her time and she's created, she's. Introduced me to the voice actor community, and now we're doing voice acting classes here and creating a community here.

Elise Kiely: I can attest because that's part of what you have given me is the gift [00:09:00] of connections, and when I started this project, I knew there were certain things I needed help with, A lot of things I needed help with. Definitely the technical, but also the voice piece of it. And you introduced me to Nancy and we had several wonderful sessions and what a resource she is.

And it her resume is very impressive. Yes. And her expertise is so strong. So the fact that we have that type of resource within an hour and a half drive of Portland is so helpful. 

John MacArthur: And then I'll use another example. We have an actor who comes to The Studio to do voiceover and dialogue replacement.

And he's the one who introduced me to the Society of Creative Pursuits and the Society of Creative Pursuit. Meets down at Novare Res on the last Tuesday of every month. And it's animators and it's filmmakers and it's actors, and it's casting directors and it's just a lovely community that, that that exists there and gets together and shares, ideas, [00:10:00] filmmakers and videographers.

Yeah. And is 

Elise Kiely: it just a social gathering with people making connection or do you have a curriculum that you do or a agenda? 

John MacArthur: It's just a gathering. It's just people getting together. How can we help each other? 

Elise Kiely: And if there are creatives in the community that's listen, that are listening to this podcast, how would they get exposed to that or invited to that?

John MacArthur: Reach out to me at John at The Studio Portland, and we'll meet up at the next meeting and I'll introduce you around and I'll introduce you to some other people who are better connected than me. 

Elise Kiely: I, I love that, John, and I'm obviously going to put links to The Studio Portland, and your contact information in the show notes.

That is so typical Maine. Of if you want to be invited, if you want to be included, just put your hand up. Let somebody know that you want to be a part of and they will welcome you. That is hospitality. That is such elegance that you would do that. And authentically, I've, I've been the beneficiary of your generosity and so I think that is, [00:11:00] that's so welcoming.

And important for people that have been here for generations who want to be part of that creative community or are new to Maine and want to be part of that creative community. 

John MacArthur: It's been really it's been fantastic, voice acting. Was it one area? The filmmaking was another area.

The podcasting was another area. So we've developed some great relationships in the podcasting side and sound design. I know you leveraged one of our, one of our networks to to help get the sound for this show. 

Elise Kiely: Yes. Jameson Hunt. Yeah. Who was lovely. I think we had two sessions. Yeah. And he came up with music that I just love listening to.

So that was such a, that was such a great resource. 

John MacArthur: But the other thing, because we are a big music studio is I needed to find a way to find my way into the music community here. And so while I worked with over 200 different musicians, primarily in [00:12:00] New Hampshire, I didn't have a big community up here.

So I partnered up with a local restaurant and we ran a singer songwriter contest, and over the course of seven weeks, I met 42 different musicians that I'm, and many of whom I'm now booking throughout Maine and New Hampshire. Some booking that we do through that other agency.

Elise Kiely: So for those who aren't as familiar with this community.

These are the local restaurant 

John MacArthur: restaurants breweries wineries, concert series, industry festivals town festivals, things like that. All over the region. 

Elise Kiely: And then you'll, but for the restaurants, the breweries one, you would have a singer songwriter contest. There would, we did be several applicants, and then there'd be a.

A vote or 

John MacArthur: an award there We'd I found some local judges. Actually, Jameson was one of the judges. Uhhuh you could and then I had another fellow who's a who's a audio engineer who had moved to here from England from. And he was one of the judges. And then I had and then I had someone from Bull Moose Records, who was one of the judges.

Talk about [00:13:00] a great community there. Wow. The Bull Moose community was great. And then we tapped into some just some big music fans and supporters of music national distributors. They were great. 

Elise Kiely: That's wonderful and gives exposure to young, up and coming, or maybe not young, but up and coming artists who are looking for a venue and an opportunity to get exposure for their craft.

John MacArthur: Absolutely. Yeah. It was fabulous. I couldn't have asked for. It was such a win-win situation. And we it's, I know that's cliche, but Oh my gosh. In the middle of winter on a Thursday night the restaurant that we partnered with Thirsty Pig was packed. Wow. On the snowiest of days it was packed.

Elise Kiely: And I think, my sense is, John, and I love your opinion on this, is that. Post COVID, people are so hungry for live music and live art and to have a gathering place. 

John MacArthur: Yes. That's absolutely true. Certainly we had this huge bubble after COVID. Huge bubble. And we did things [00:14:00] talk about community.

We tried to do things during COVID, including live stream, house concerts. I love 

Elise Kiely: that. That you all did that. Yeah. 

John MacArthur: For one of the artists that we were supporting at the time. We did, I think it was. 13, I think it was 13 house concerts where we'd find a host and they would invite their friends and it would be a donation concert.

We would stream it from our studio. We, and my wife and I also run house concerts and we've done some private concerts here at The Studio as well. 

Elise Kiely: And I've been to one, one of those. Can you talk about those a little bit and the opportunity for up and coming artists to come here.

John MacArthur: Sure. When we were first invited to The Studio by the previous owner, we came and they, he had a partnership at the time with WCLZ and they were bringing in national touring acts to perform in front of a small audience here in The Studio. And they would record and videotape it and it was, my, my wife and I came to one and we watched it and we said, oh my gosh, this is [00:15:00] exactly what the artists that we work with need, they need good promo material.

That's high quality, but represents a live performance so that when you're pitching to a venue that has live music, they're seeing something that looks like what they might get 

Elise Kiely: in a live situation, in a live 

John MacArthur: situation. So when we saw a concert here in The Studio my wife and I said, this is exactly what our performers that we work with need when we're trying to pitch them to someone. We need good quality video with very good quality audio. And that's exactly what they were doing with these national touring acts. And so we put together a concept that was affordable for local musicians, so they could come in and record three songs in front of a live audience.

And and then we, and then they can use them to book themselves, or we can use those to book them at at the venues that we book. 

Elise Kiely: And you have all the equipment that's needed to record that audio and video. 

John MacArthur: Yeah. I think the nice thing about [00:16:00] this studio, and there's lots of great studios again, and I have great relationships with other studio owners here in, in Maine.

But the, one of the nice differentiators for this studio, or one reason to come to this studio is if you want that live feel, we can put 25 people in this room with the performer. And there's, and it feels comfortable, it's intimate. And comfortable. And and we also have cinema quality cameras here so we can videotape it.

And so high quality video, high quality audio, and enough room to do a live performance in front of an audience. 

Elise Kiely: That's a pretty unique situation to have, I imagine. For a studio to have the space that you have. It's a great space. We, 

John MacArthur: we love it here. 

Elise Kiely: It's really lovely. And the, I love the old building and the architectural details, the high ceilings.

It's authentic to Portland, Maine. 

John MacArthur: Yes. I think and there's a mission too. You talk about communities. This used to be an educational institution here. [00:17:00] 

Elise Kiely: Oh, is that right? The building 

John MacArthur: was originally, yes. 

Elise Kiely: It was a school. 

John MacArthur: Yes. 

Elise Kiely: John, let's keep diving into the sense of community that you're building here, because I think it's so important today this to, to create and lean into community for so many reasons.

Are you creating a community of the artists themselves to collaborate as well as the voice actors and the podcasters? 

John MacArthur: We've been doing a lot of connecting people with other people. The reality is that none of us can do it all. But I think one of the things that when you've been around for a while.

That I know a guy. Or I know, I know a person who can help you. That, that's what we do a lot of. We have, there's some wonderful communities here from other nations and some of them are very interested in filmmaking. I know a guy who can help them, so we make those connections.

Yeah. And help support them that way. There's other, we talk about other connectors [00:18:00] that we've tapped into. Con Fullham is just a fabulous 

Elise Kiely: con, can you say that again? 

John MacArthur: Yeah. Con Fullham, C-O-N-F-U-L-L-A-M. And he has he has a, multinational girls choir that he puts together and they've recorded here.

Wow. And talk about building a community of people, where they can all feel comfortable together. It is. He's just a wonderful connector and I've connected him with some folks that I'm working with, so I'm just, yeah, I just like to put things together and make, try to make magic happen whenever I can.

Elise Kiely: That's wonderful. John, thank you so much for sitting down for the first of what will be a two-part series and talking about The Studio Portland and how you came to be a part of it with your wife, Reva, and your business partners, Amanda and Thorn, and the community that you're creating here and furthering the careers and the exposure of young emerging artists.

I think it's so important and I'm so grateful for your help. [00:19:00] Thank you for joining us on Elegant Maine Living, and remember, if you are dreaming of a lifestyle in Maine or already living it, this podcast is for you. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode. And I invite you to take this journey with me.

Please share it with your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. I would love a review and welcome feedback and encourage you to reach out with questions or topics you would like to hear about. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or simply an email to Elise@EliseKiely.com, and all of those links will be in the show notes.

And remember, this podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only, and does not create an attorney-client, or real estate advisory relationship. I am happy to engage. If you have any questions or if I can help in your real estate journey, simply click on the links in the show notes [00:20:00] to contact me through social media or email.

I'm always happy to help in any way that I can, and we welcome you to come and explore Maine. Thank you for listening to Elegant Main Living, where elegance isn't just an aesthetic, it's a way of life. Until next time, keep living with elegance.

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Elise Kiely

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John McArthur

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