Studio Day at Dirt Floor with Jake Klar

On November 7th, Jake Klar recorded his Songscape: Great Mountain Forest song at Dirt Floor in Haddam, CT. Both Klar and Dirt Floor are Green Roster members, dedicated to upholding environmental practices in their businesses. 

Left to Right: Eric Lichter, Max Wareham, Jake Klar.

Klar brought along Amherst-area musician and friend, Max Wareham, to play another layer of guitar. Eric Lichter, founder of Dirt Floor, had a cozy set up for them in the log cabin studio overlooking the Connecticut River. He even had a fire going, which you can hear crackling along to some of the tracks. It's an appropriate addition to Klar's song, which is inspired by Great Mountain Forest's history as a working forest. Great Mountain Forest provided timber-turned-charcoal to the iron industry of northwest Connecticut, which fueled the spread of railroad infrastructure in the 1800's. At a later date, Harrison Goodale, will likely be adding saw to the song, in keeping with Great Mountain Forests' heritage of sustainable forestry.

As always, it is a pleasure working with Dirt Floor. Eric Lichter is one of Sustain's strongest supporters and we could not bring you Songscapes without him. He donated this recording session to Sustain, which is incredibly generous. Thank you Dirt Floor!

See our short Facebook Live session at Dirt Floor (and a sneak peak at the song!):

Songscape: KWWRA Recording Session

Yesterday, Parsonsfield headed over to Green Roster Studio, Dirt Floor, in Haddam, CT to record the song they composed for Songscape: Katahdin Woods and Waters Recreation Area. The studio is nestled up in the hills overlooking the Connecticut River, in a cozy log cabin, complete with a great fireplace, a bear of a dog, and even a house rabbit! Owner Eric Lichter was incredibly generous and donated a full day of recording studio time, which has been Sustain's largest donation yet! We couldn't have done this without Eric's support and time.

Enjoy a few photos from the day below, and be sure to keep an eye out for our "Making of Songscape: KWWRA" video in the future, and of course, the release of Parsonsfield's newest song!

Spotlight Interview: Dirt Floor

Dirt Floor is a Green Roster Studio, and the first member to have joined our community of environmental bands, luthiers and studios. Run by Eric Lichter, Dirt Floor has really embodied the spirit of Sustain and our desire to bring the environment into the music industry. Sun-powered, in a cabin above the beautiful Connecticut River, and run by a down-to-earth team, Dirt Floor not only respects the environment, it fosters a great environment for bands to record songs and albums.

We bring you this interview with Eric Lichter to shine some light on Dirt Floor, their ethos, and their dedication to being green.
 

What is Dirt Floor?

Dirt Floor was at one time simply a recording studio, but has grown into so much more. It has become more of a style of production and record making, in a very classic style reminiscent of recordings from the early 1970s, the timeless sort. As a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and artist myself, I often help solo artists craft entire records from the ground up.

What are your proudest accomplishments?

Well, besides raising a small daughter, who I adore, I would say creating a record that helps an artist get to the next level in their career. There are many, so to pick just one would be impossible. Also, watching a community of artists come together through the Dirt Floor connection has been a joy to witness. Jake Klar, Jonah Tolchin, Spirit Family Reunion, Parsonsfield, Kerri Powers and Ian Fitzgerald are but a few of my very favorites, and have become family.

Sustain is all about bringing best environmental practices to the music industry. Can you tell us about what Dirt Floor has done to uphold an environmental ethic?

Considering the environment while running a business, especially a studio, has always been at the forefront for me, as one who tries to live a clean and low impact lifestyle. I also wanted to use old technology and make records using the power of the sun, utilizing solar panels to power the studio portion of the house. It all comes back around to my role as a father, and trying to teach my child how to respect mother Earth

What advice do you have for other recording studios thinking about adopting environmentally-friendly practices?

My advice for other studios looking to do their part and adopt environmentally friendly practices would be to take stock in their surroundings. Do they use plastic water bottles? Is there a lot of trash being produced from clients? There are so many little things that can be considered, and this is a great place to start. I tell clients beforehand that we have everything that they would need and to avoid those plastic bottles. Again that is a small example. Every studio is unique, and the footprint is different for all of them.

How do music and nature relate to you in your life?

For many years I have tried to live light, and to respect mother Earth. She has been an inspiration to me as an athlete, a self-professed nature boy, and of course as a songwriter, in the tradition of writers I've admired like John Denver. Nature helps me to see the wonder in things, and to still look at the world with that sense is a very wonderful thing, and so important today. Every time I step outside my front door, that childlike excitement returns, and I feel it's my responsibility to affect my own world, and hopefully influence those around me to do the same.

What would you like to see come forth from partnering with Sustain?

Partnering with Sustain was a no-brainer for me, and an incredible opportunity I wanted to jump at, knowing that this could only benefit like-minded artists and of course the environment in a positive way, and the possibility of a beautiful ripple effect was something I really wanted to be a part of....

Learn more about Dirt Floor at www.dirtfloor.com