Brian Hewson has heard it all.
For those driving down the backroads of Erin, the sound of Stompin’ Tom Connors might be closer than they think.
And while it may seem like a small, unassuming gravel road leading in to Escarpment Sound Studio, it is a road well travelled by some of the top names in Canada’s music industry.
This year, Hewson’s recording studio marks 25 years in the business.
“It’s great to be in this business after 25 years. This industry is a real fickle one, so it’s nice to still be doing this and have people I’ve been working with for years and years as repeat clients. It’s a nice feeling.”
One has to love music to be in this business, and it is clear talking with Hewson that is the case.
“The reason I’m into this is that I totally love music – all kinds of music.”
He adds, “It has been a pleasure to work with some of the best talent in the country and being able to help people achieve their musical goals is very rewarding.”
Hewson uses a mix of tradition and technology to bring a solid sound to studio sessions. His background in the sound and recording industry itself stretches back nearly three decades.
In the 1970s he started off as a bass guitar player, then his keen interest in music led him towards the technical side.
“I guess I was always the kind of guy who would have two tape decks at home. I’d play one and record on the other. I always wanted to know what was inside of things, so I would take them apart. I enjoyed the equipment as much as the guitars – if not more sometimes.”
In 1977, Hewson enrolled in Sheridan College’s three-year media arts program in Oakville to study recording and film.
It also gave him the opportunity to do many recordings and work with some up-and-coming stars such as Rick Santers and Platinum Blonde.
After graduating, he began work with Soundpath Productions in Oakville, “which was a great place to start.”
It was during his time at Soundpath Hewson worked on projects such as Triumph’s Stages album, the Spoons’ Listen to the City album and demos by other major artists of the era.
“It was mainly a commercial house … we did hundreds and hundreds of commercials. It was a great feeling to record something, then hear it on the radio driving home.”
Because of a slowdown in work, Hewson was laid off from that studio at a point when other studios were not hiring.
“It’s was a pretty small market back then,” he said.
During this time he was doing freelance engineering with artists like The Mercy Brothers, Jeff Bird and Double Exposure. During that time he also held a job doing live sound at a club on Queen street in Toronto.
From the sale of his first home he was able to build a small studio in Acton which was the start of Escarpment Sound Studio. The story behind the name is his love of the Niagara Escarpment, which runs through the area.
Hewson described getting his first studio together as “both exciting and scary. It was my first business and I dove in not really knowing what I was doing.”
Work included dealing with neighbours concerned about potential noise. In the end, he soundproofed the building and assured the neighbours there would be no big parties.
For five years Hewson worked out of his small but productive 16-track studio doing demos, commercials and albums including three “Stompin’ Tom” projects.
That first studio was very small – 14 feet wide and 30 feet long with sliding doors in the middle, he said.
“It was just big enough to get stuff done. It was always very cramped.”
As a result, he began searching for a bigger place. He’d been driving around and saw the “for sale” sign on the current location in rural Erin.
The property included a stone barn. Even though the walls had partially caved in, Hewson saw the potential and thought “this could be an incredible studio.”
Because of his experience, Hewson had a good idea of what he wanted and worked on a design he believed would work well.
He hired an acoustic expert to design the angles and materials – “both are very important to get the proper sound in the room.” He pointed to the angles in both the ceiling and walls to absorb sound.
“It’s a really creative atmosphere, with the chance to provide input,” he said. “There’s different songs and different people every week. That part is great.
“We do basically every type of music.”
A recent week’s work included a new Stompin’ Tom album, work with a local country band, a blues band with members from Kitchener and Oakville and a heavy metal band.
“I used to do a lot of commercials, but not so much any more,” he said. Some of that work included Old Hide House commercials for about 18 years.
He explained some commercial work has moved to smaller studios, to people’s homes and to radio stations.
“[Over the years] Technology has changed dramatically and it’s totally affected everybody,” Hewson said.
“A lot of big studios are closing down in Toronto. They just can’t sustain the work. Everybody has a computer at home where they can record doing something, so we’ve totally lost the demo market, where bands would come in and do a quick demo for their songs. That almost never happens anymore.”
The whole industry took a big hit with the computer revolution, he said.
As a result, Hewson began to diversify and his work now includes services such as CD duplication and other things – not just recording.
“What’s kept me busy is that I have a really large room [within his studio]. It’s something not many studios can offer for large projects.”
Of his highlights over the years, Hewson said Stompin’ Tom tends to be the name people recognize.
“I call him Captain Canada; he’s just so well known. He’s 75 now, and he wants to get all these songs out. He’s a really hard worker and he’s a great producer. We’ve worked together since 1987.”
The current album is the 10th project they’ve worked on together.
“He loves the atmosphere and is a country kind of guy,” he said.
The biggest draws to Hewson’s studio now are the room in his studio and the country atmosphere. He added the stone walls are great for drum sounds and acoustic strings.
Some bands from Toronto might come to the studio and stay for three or four days – just sleeping there.
“They can huddle down, work on the project, and not be distracted,” he said.
The room is also large enough to accommodate an entire high school band.
“There’s hardly any studios that can accommodate that anymore,” he said.
In a walk through the studio, Hewson described various components of the operation – especially the equipment.
“A lot of people aren’t even using the large consoles any more, they’re just using the computer. You can use a computer, but you don’t get the same kind of results.”
He explained the console is definitely an asset, and it’s something not many people have anymore.
And while the equipment is expensive, he said it is not as complicated as it seems.
Hewson explained each strip controls aspects of a single microphone, and once a person knows how to control that, the strips to control the others are the same.
But at the same time, Hewson is harvesting the best of both worlds.
“We’re kind of between the digital and analogue world.”
He can record digitally – computers make up a large portion of the control room – but he still has analogue compressors, limiters and reverb (all things from the 1970s, 80s and 90s that can be plugged into the control strip to provide analogue sound into the computer).
In a comparison of tape versus digital, Hewson said it is akin to the arguments for vinyl recordings.
“There is that sound, but there is also the noise which comes with it – that everyone’s forgotten about.
“You get a warmer sound, but you also get a bit of the hiss.”
The studio also includes various speaker sizes.
“When we’re mixing we’ll use the different speakers – some sound like a home system, while others create the sound of much larger systems.
“We try to make sure it sounds good on all systems.”
Other rooms include a lounge with pool table. “It’s a great place to relax,” he said.
The main recording room includes a tall ceiling to eliminate echoes and creates a church effect with a nice open sound, Hewson explained.
He added, “everything needs to have a microphone.” There could be 12 or more microphones, plus additional mics above the musicians to catch the sound.
As well, the performers also have to have headphones to hear Hewson speaking from the control room.
In addition, his studio has isolation booths to record louder instruments and to separate the sounds from overlap.
“Everyone can play live, but its still totally controlled.” Hewson said “a lot of people know what they want and I help them get that.”
He explained some have a clear plan of what they want to do, others have never done it before and look to him for guidance – with the sound and with the songs.
“Lots of times, I’m totally taking people by the hand, guiding them through the process to get the right sound.
“With some people, I even have to tune their guitars to get it to sound good. People don’t realize how important the tuning is when you are doing a recording. You have to have good sounding instruments.”
Hewson also noted, “One of the advantages of me being in the country is that I can have windows [in the studio].”
He explained that many studios don’t have any windows at all, because they cannot be soundproofed.
“You’re not as worried about sound getting out, but sounds from the outside getting in.”
“You can almost never get rid of that sound. That’s why 90 per cent studios have no windows, so you are in a dark atmosphere all day long. It can drain you of your energy.”
In contrast, Hewson’s studio is brightly lit with natural sunlight.
“It’s more like a house atmosphere. There’s a couch and carpet as well. I try to make everything as comfortable as I can.
“People get nervous when they are under the microscope, so I try to ease things up.”
In addition to the booths, all the rooms are wired for sound and can act as separate studios for different instruments – where they are not in with the drums.
Having all the rooms wired provides more options, while still giving control, Hewson said.
“When people make a mistake, you don’t want it on everyone else’s microphones.”
Hewson also has his own wall of fame, representing many of the albums he’s helped create over the years.
“There’s a lot of bands from Guelph, Kitchener and within an hour’s circle around me where people are coming from.”
While there’s other studios in the area, Hewson said his is one of the larger ones.
“I’m like a mid-sized studio, but I probably have the biggest building,” he said.
Over the years, Hewson has seen a lot of really good young talent. He has also sponsored local talent through contests in which the prize is studio time.
“I get all these young bands, and it’s really great because there is a lot of talent in our young people.
“Most of the bands in the area have been here at one point or another – which is great.”
Even now, one of the challenges he experiences is attracting talent from Toronto.
“They think we’re in the boonies. But once they’re here, they realize it’s worth the drive. In the 50 minutes they’d spend getting here, they might do the same just getting across the city [because of traffic].”
However, he is getting more of that business as the larger studios in Toronto are closing.
As a result, he’s been able to attract high-end session players.
“It’s a sign of the times. We’ll see what happens.”
He adds, “every one has software where they can record at home, but it ends up sounding like a home recording.”
Then the same person comes to his studio and works with someone who has been in the business for 30 years – and they have the room and equipment to instantly get a nice drum sound.
“They go, ‘Wow, we should have done this before’,” he said.
He also has some freelance engineers who work in the studio either to assist with overflow work or to work on their own projects.
Over the years, Hewson taught advanced audio at Sheridan College in Oakville for 14 years and also taught a course at the Metal Works Institute in Mississauga.
Currently, he teaches privately in his studio courses on basic audio and recording with Pro Tools.
For more information about Escarpment Sound Studio, visit www.escarpmentsound.com.
