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Amp Rehearsal studios (5259 Lankershim Blvd,
91601, across the street from the Television
Academy of Arts and Sciences (in the heart
of NoHo), is the most incredible practice
facility available to musicians in the Los
Angeles area. (For those of you who don’t
know what a rehearsal studio is, it is a
place musicians can rent so that their band
can have a place to practice because their
apartment landlords won’t stand for it.)
Even though their client list includes
notable bands like Good Charlotte, The
Calling and Black Eyed Peas and people like
Juliette Lewis and Roger Daltrey, they treat
local unknowns with the same dignity and
respect. Their prices are competitive and
incredibly low for what they offer, too.
Photographer Rony Armas, of Lunaset Studios
(www.lunaset.com), and I recently stopped by
and talked with the co-owner and founder,
Zaven Grigorian.
SD - Are you from Noho?
ZG - No, Canada. I came here in 1998. I was
signed to Sony (as a recording artist) up in
Canada and wanted to come to L.A.
SD - How did Amp Rehearsal come about?
ZG - Well, the rehearsal studios throughout
the valley and in Hollywood were not very
nice and the people who worked there were
not very friendly to musicians. (For those
of you who don’t know about how “not very
nice” a rehearsal studio can be, it should
be understood that way back in 1998,
rehearsal studios, in general, were known
for smelling like aged bodily excretions,
and being littered with beer cans, used
condoms and needles. On top of that, the
people who ran them were generally people
you would never want to deal with on any day
other than rehearsal day.) So, I found a
partner, Ronald Girgis, and the rest is
history.
SD - What did this building used to be?
ZG - I think it was a closed down furniture
store that had been here since the 1930s. We
opened in 1999.
SD - Wow. This foosball table and pool table
are unusual to see in a rehearsal studio. So
are the pieces of upholstered furniture.
ZG - Yeah, it’s really comfortable for
girlfriends or whoever.
SD - I like the vending machines. I really
like your snack machine. I don’t think I
have ever seen anything like that before.
ZG - Chips, candy, picks, guitar straps,
drum sticks, drum keys, guitar strings, bass
strings, batteries, guitar cables, blank
CD’s….(really)
SD - Blank CDs? What for?
ZG - We are the only rehearsal studio in LA
that features a digital recording system in
every practice room that allows you to
record your rehearsal for free. All rooms
have an AKG microphone hanging from the
ceiling that feeds into a tube mike pre amp,
which goes into a CD burner. We issue easy
written instructions on how to use the
equipment but we will provide an engineer
for support at no extra charge. All you need
is a blank CD. AND, at the end of your
rehearsal we can pop it into our 6-disc
burner and burn a copy for the rest of your
band and friends. Also at no extra charge.
SD - Are the rooms quiet enough to record
in? (we all went into a room and closed the
door)
ZG - Well, the walls are 22 inches thick.
They were designed by well-known studio
designer, Steve Klein.
SD - Uh-huh. Nice.
ZG - Another great thing about Amp is that
we are completely outfitted with all the
gear you need to rehearse. You don’t have to
waste time loading in your equipment,
setting up, and then breaking down again
after rehearsal, or waiting for the previous
band to vacate the room you rented. No extra
charge for that either.
SD - What gear are we talking about?
ZG - Since we are official dealers of some
of the best gear in the world, such as
Sennheiser microphones (www.sennheiserusa.com),
Gallien-Kruger amps (www.gallien-krueger.com),
Sabian cymbols (www.sabian.com), Paiste
cymbols (www.paiste.com), Line6 amps
(www.line6.com), Gibraltar Hardware (for
drums; www.gibraltarhardware.com) and
Aquarian Drum Heads (www.aquariandrumheads.com),
you can play with the best and if you want
to purchase equipment you can do it right
through us.
SD - Unreal. This is such a great location,
too. Most rehearsal studios are scary hidden
away in industrial areas with nothing around
for blocks.
ZG - Exactly. Not only do we have a free 23
spot parking lot adjacent to the building,
plenty of street parking and 50-cent city
parking available to our clients, but also
we are within walking distance of dozens of
restaurants and coffee shops.
SD - Starbucks, The Pitfire Grill, Big
Mama’s Pizza…..
ZG - Just to name a few. The businesses in
our neighborhood cater to the 300 – 400
members of the 40, or so bands, that come
through our doors every day. We love NoHo.
We recently bought our building. We are here
to stay.
SD - Nice. What’s on the horizon for Amp?
ZG - Well, we are always adding something
new, every year, to enhance the rooms. We
try to have the best rooms for our
customers. Our nine current rooms will
double to 18 by December 2005 (in the
basement underneath the current rooms). We
also recently acquired the space underneath
the dance studio next door and plan to add a
possible showcase venue and a full-blown
recording studio.
SD - I know you said you were at one time
signed to Sony up in Canada. Are you still
involved in music, outside of Amp?
ZG - Yeah, I still do a lot of writing and
producing.
SD - Cool. Zaven, this has been a pleasure.
Thanks for showing us around.
ZG - Thank you.
Amp Rehearsal Studios, 5259 Lankershim Blvd,
North Hollywood, CA 91601, (one half block
north of Magnolia), (818) 761-2670. Hours
are 10am – 1am, 7 days a week. Rates vary
from $13 - $24 per hour (for three hour
blocks) depending on the size of the room
(the 9 rooms range from 10 x 16 all the way
up to 24 x 14). Weekday Special: $10 per
hour on weekdays before 6pm and Saturdays
after 6pm for solo artists (great for
drummers). Inquire within for lockout rates.
Storage is $5 per day.
©2005 Scott Detweiler. All Rights Reserved.
This is the second of a series of upcoming
interviews by Scott Detweiler of some NoHo’s
most interesting music people. Scott is also
an accomplished musician in his own rite.
For more details, log on to
www.detweilermusic.com, or write to scott@detweilermusic.com.
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