 The young Lincoln man, who will graduate from Lincoln College this
semester, has an obvious love of music that has caused him to invest
his time and money in creating Lincoln's only professional sound
studio. "I have loved music since grade school," Nathan relayed. "I
am in a band, write music and have always been interested in the
recording business."
The business, Cabin Studios, is located at the corner of Pekin
and Chicago streets, in the back of his parents' business, P & W
Pool & Spa.
Whiteman is a most organized young man. When it came to the
actual conversion of making a dream a reality, he left nothing to
chance. He attended an intensive two-month recording workshop in
Chillicothe, Ohio, to not only learn more about the audio work, but
also the business aspects of owning and running a recording studio
His equipment and the studio itself were created using knowledge
gained from an acoustical engineer. "It took almost a year and a
half to get everything finished," he said. "I had a lot of help from
some really good friends in getting this studio built and open for
business."
Nathan also understands that a new business venture takes time to
become established. He plans to work this summer with his father,
who owns P & W Pool & Spa and Rick Whiteman Construction, to pay
bills while his fledgling business grows.
Nathan looks at business from a far more practical standpoint
than many his age. Realizing there are limited numbers of bands and
individuals in the area who will use his services, he is working on
other ways to grow his business. "Cover bands can use my services to
burn demo CDs to pass around, and there are individuals in the area
who enjoy rap, R and B, and hip-hop who just want to have their
music recorded in a professional manner," he said. "But there are
just so many musicians in the area. I intend to expand by offering
more services, including helping with business cards, biographies,
posters and press kits."
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Whiteman has also turned his attention to creating a Web presence on
the Internet. "Bands from anywhere can send me their individual
instruments or vocals on CDs, and I can mix and master them to get
the best sound possible out of their music," he said. "I'm also
thinking about branching out into commercial audio and visual work,
such as with commercials and longer presentation work, as well as
surround sound and Foley work."
The young man doesn't mind the fact that he will be working two
jobs while his business grows. "I have worked in the factory and at
construction, but this is what I love," he said. "I could do this
for 12 hours straight and not be tired."
Whiteman admits that new computer programs for hobbyist musicians
are becoming more and more sophisticated, and that could also cause
his business direction to change in the years to come. "The computer
programs are getting better and better, but a computer will never be
able to replace a good ear," he said.
Besides a good ear for music, Whiteman obviously has a good head
for business. Through the month of April, Nathan is offering a
special sale price of $20 per hour for studio time, which is half
his normal rate. Studios in surrounding communities charge as much
as $100 per hour for similar services.
Individuals interested in learning more about Cabin Studios,
including a list of the equipment used to make a professional
recording locally, can visit Nathan's site at
www.cabinstudiosrecordings.com.
[By MIKE FAK]
Readers can find more of Mike Fak's writing at
www.searchwarp.com
and www.problogs.com.
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