Folk U Productions is a DIY mobile recording studio that seeks to travel the country to help emerging Artists create their first demo and break into their local music scene. In addition to the creation of their first demo, we also provide guidance on: setting up social media presence, local/regional booking, putting together a press kit, creating your own merch table, how to start networking, how to travel/tour on a tight budget, how to start a simple DIY studio, and much much more.

Folk U Productions operates under the strong belief that music and art is essential to our very health and well-being; physically, mentally, spiritually. We also believe that humanity is in a constant state of Evolution, ever waking up, and music strongly assists us in that necessary evolutionary process.  Every Artist has the potential to affect the world with their art, in powerful ways. We need more music, more passionate Artists to get their music out there. Humanity needs musicians to say the things we don’t have words for, we need to give our original Artists the space to be heard and encouragement to share – it is because of these beliefs we hold so dear that we strive for everything this studio provides to Artists to be FREE OF CHARGE.

How can we do this? First of all, we are a 2-person operation – 2 people that have lived very comfortably as wanderers. Our lifestyle is simple: thrift store clothes on our backs, simple foods in our bellies, a super cheap phone bill…our “personal” expenses are very low because of that simple lifestyle. Between the two of us, we’re a musician and a skilled jack-of-all-trades – so we are able to make money on the road that covers our simple lifestyle, without charging for our studio. We also take in donations from folks who believe in what we’re doing and want to contribute to the needs of the studio itself (bus repair, maintenance, studio gear, merch materials, etc).  If we find ourselves in a dire situation and we need to take money in exchange for recording, we use the pay-what-you-want approach; and we would still want to offer all of our other support tools for free.

For someone who is just starting out, those “firsts” are so vital. That first cd, that is so incredibly important…that first merch table…that first round of web presence…that first time on video…that first time in print…that first time an original song was played on the radio…so many firsts that are so magical, and so often essential to light that fire. For someone who is just starting out, acquiring these things can feel very intimidating, especially when money is involved. More often than not, lack of money will stop (or heavily delay) an Artist from recording. When we work with musicians, we want to help alleviate as many roadblocks as we can, and show them there’s nothing in their way if they embrace their Creativity and the DIY spirit.

Simply put: if we’re at an open mic and we see a musician that moves us, someone passionate, someone whose music needs to be heard, someone who gets inside and makes us feel things…and they don’t have a recording?! Nonsense, we gotta fix that! We don’t care if they can’t pay us, we need to make sure that music is getting heard, for the good of all humanity! They gotta have something to at least get the ball rolling! The world needs this music. WE need this music; and if we have the means to help light a fire under an Artist and encourage them to share their art, then it’s our responsibility to do so.

That’s what Folk U Productions does. And I believe in it. Even if it takes another year to get the bus the rest of what it needs – in my eyes it’s so completely worth it.