Meeting Topic: The Journey to Beach Road Studios
Moderator Name: Robert Breen
Speaker Name: Siegfried Meier, Owner and Operator of Beach Road Studios
Meeting Location: Fanshawe College London, Ontario, Canada
Siegfried Meier is currently the owner and operator of Beach Road Studios, which is a world class studio located on the shores of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada. Beach Road Studios provides the perfect creative atmosphere for bands and artists to make their music. Siegfried discussed with us his great journey from a young child to where he is today. He talked about the work that went into building his studio, and the path he took to get there. He was born in Bavaria into a farming community and from an early age he fell in love with music and recording music. He was in a band during his teenage years, which he began to do recordings for. During this time he started investing in recording equipment but he felt he lacked some of the technical knowledge required. So he enrolled in the Ontario Institute for Audio Recording Technology (OIART) in London, Ontario. After finishing his schooling he worked in a local music store for the next year; however, he left his position at the music store to go to Los Angelas for bit. While in LA he found work assisting in a few studios, but after a couple of months he returned to London to organize and pack up his belongings. He had planned to return to LA but while in London he heard that a studio in town called EMAC was looking for an assistant. He landed that assistant's position, and what he thought would only be three months turned into four years. While at EMAC he contributed in various ways working with Dan Brodbeck, Joe Vaughan, and Rob Nation. Siegfried shared with us some very interesting stories that he recalls from working at EMAC. Siegfried left EMAC studios in hopes of starting up his own facility; however, he still required a steady income so he began teaching at OIART. He started stockpiling gear and equipment in his apartment, building up his gear list for his own studio. Eventually his apartment became tremendously overcrowded, and he needed to bring his dreams of his own studio to life. His family owned some farmland in Goderich, Ontario on the shores of Lake Huron, and he began building what is now Beach Road Studios. He then discussed the various steps involved in building the studio.
