The Last Shift

I am sat in my studio right now for the last ever shift I will have to work here (barring holiday/illness cover).

A month or two ago I handed over my Friday night shifts to Pabz, a lad who has been involved in the studio (mainly as a customer) for most of the time we have been open and today I am sharing my shift with Billy who really has been here from the beginning, even at one point living at the studio while I did; a period of time where the studio became home to a few of us as outside influences took away other housing options.

What a momentous day this is.

The empty unit when we first moved in

When I was fifteen I used to bunk school to go to No Machine Studios and make cups of tea, eventually I became trusted by the owner and ran rehearsal shifts and my own recording sessions. When I left home and ended up in Sheffield and later Blackpool my dream never left me; to have a No Machine of my own. Meeting my business partner put me onto the path which is taking another turn today. We leased a medium sized industrial unit and have managed to build the best recording and rehearsal studio in Blackpool.

The studio as it looks now

And today, with the business starting to be a success after years of struggle, I am taking the next step towards becoming a silent partner and removing the final time obligation to the business.

This does not mean that I will not be coming back; I have taken on a unit across the way to put the trailer and Julian in and to practice loading the vehicles. I also need to keep practicing that reversing of the trailer (going to go and do this after I've finished writing this blog post) which will have to take place here also.

The studio has been a wonderful place for me, as I mentioned before I lived here for quite a long time, with a little bedroom which has just turned into a cafe kitchen in the last week. I have made many friends, had some exceptional times, and the fact I had to go out to earn a large amount of money to pay for it has left me now in the position where that money (no longer funding the studio) has bought my school and will pay for the renovation and hopefully the first year or two of living there.

It has all worked together to put me in a position where I can live the next part of my dream and, fingers crossed, my studio will continue growing as it is now and will be here for me as and when (and if) I come back.

Rambo (our guard dog) when he was a puppy

So I am going to sit here, do a few bits and pieces, watch the NFL and enjoy my last day in the saddle as a rehearsal baby sitter.