Gimme Shelter

Local recording history is being made at The Shelter Rehearsal Rooms. Founders, friends and technical experts Morgan Lawless, Paul Handel and Andrew Gelao have come together to create a space for musicians to meet and make music together. With The Shelter’s classy, high end equipment and the founder’s exacting, technical expertise, musicians at the rehearsal rooms are able to finesse their vision and are able to flourish musically; a most wonderful result for our local music scene!

Morgan, Paul and Andrew are passionate about music and the creative arts. They realised that the Blue Mountains is home to many amazing creative people, but that there was no commercial space offering professional facilities for rehearsing, recording, video production and multimedia integration. “We love working with other creative people, and the facility we designed allows us to work with musicians, artists, and creative businesses to see projects grow from rehearsal stage through to release and broadcast”. All three often work in Sydney, and are pleased to offer the same quality technical services to the local Blue Mountains community.

The Shelter provides a flash cafe-grade coffee machine, and these hospitable fellows encourage musicians and creators to drop by and chat about their ideas over a coffee. It’s a comfortable space and ideas seem to snowball. “The Mountains are blessed with a wealth of charming characters,” says Andrew, adding that he relishes the opportunity for collaboration, “when people come to you with a project that they think is impossible, or highly improbable, we can shape that into a reality by drawing on our technical knowledge.”

This is a place where the creative and technical worlds merge. “In many cases creative people can struggle with technology, and technical people show little creativity, although in the modern world much great art requires the use of technology to be created.’ The Shelter’s aim to have both the creative and technical realm working in harmony, their focus is to facilitate the technical side so that “the creative people, the musicians can focus on being creative.” But don’t think for a minute that these boys aren’t just as talented themselves, often creating their own productions and events based upon client briefs or the community’s needs.

Having recently celebrated their second anniversary, and huge congratulations to all involved; 2012 is shaping up to be an exciting year for The Shelter. With numerous film, video and live event projects on the agenda, The Shelter Rehearsal Rooms are partnering with local radio station BluFM to present some of the Blue Mountains’ best young bands playing live on Radio. As Andrew enthusiastically states, “The Blue Mountains are renowned for producing great bands, and we have an excellent selection of up and comers lined up for the first series, including previous band comp winners Red Bee and the Trobes, finalists Egg Malt’s First Word and Picture Perfect, plus Giraffe Season. The performances will all be filmed and videos will be released over the internet to help grow the profile of the amazing musicians we have in our region.”

The Shelter is also home to Fourstring productions and KFM media who perform and entire range of multi media services.To check it all out visit bluemountainsrehearsals.com.au

On behalf of the Cloudscape, I recently caught up with Andrew Gelao and chatted about his background and passion for the music business, and his love for life in the Mountains.

When were The Shelter Rehearsal Rooms set up?

KFM Media began its life as a company in July 2009. In October 2009, the interior design of the studio rooms was completed, and after untangling ourselves from the usual red tape, we were able to open doors to the public. The studio space was dubbed “the Shelter” because of its similarity to a 1940′s Bomb Shelter, thanks to the special soundproof bricks used for the music rooms.

Why did you guys decide to work together?

We share similar passion for blending creative flair with technical problem solving. We are all musicians who have pursued professional careers in the technical production field. To do something new in a place that we all love was an exciting concept, and we can still see so much opportunity and possibility for growth in the future.

What drives your creative direction?

Creative people! From a business point of view, we are driven by our clients wants and needs. It’s the excitement of finding the right technical strategy to allow the creative process to flow. Every project has different requirements, and what works for some won’t for others. By having creative people on our team, I’m always confident we can find the right methods to get great results, even if we have to try something completely different!

What is exciting you right now?

I have recently started work editing a feature film made by a local writer and producer. Movies are amazing works of art, and I am excited at the challenge of weaving a suspenseful and engaging film from the footage that has been shot.

Also the great feast of live music on offer over festival season in our little town of Katoomba. Not only are we blessed to have amazing venues like the Clarendon and the Hotel Gearin supporting original live music, we have a run of festivals coming like the Roaring 20′s, Lady Luck and the Ukulele festival culminating in the awesome Festival of Folk Roots and Blues in March.

What advice would you give others wanting to work with sound & multimedia?

Its a complex and difficult field to make a real career in, but with the risk comes reward, because its a truly exciting industry to be a part of. Be persistent, and be prepared to work hard and unusual hours to start with. Study is still not entirely necessary, but experience is! See if you can get some work experience and ask questions, questions, questions!

Why do you live in the mountains?

It’s a great place to live with a young family, and has an amazing community filled with creative and intelligent people. Plus every time I return from a job in Sydney and I drive over the top of the hill in Katoomba town and see the vast cliff faces parading into the distance, it simply takes my breath away. Is there a more beautiful place in Australia?

How do you escape from your work?

I like to play music myself, especially free jamming (improvising) with friends. I also love bush walking, bike riding and rock climbing with my family, as the Mountains has so many beautiful spots to escape to and allow my children to explore the delights of the great outdoors.

The only thing we don’t have is a beach, but the South Coast has plenty!

Favourite mountains food treat?

Coffee at the Elephant Bean; Sushi at Hana.

Great place to see live music?

The Clarendon or the Gearin. Or at a local festival.

Best ever mountains festival experience?

I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad one. There are simply too many good ones to choose just one.

A perfect mountains weekend?

The sun shines and you can do anything you want. At night you go see a band and meet more of the charming locals, and entertain the tourists with a few tall tales.

Can you tell us a mountains secret?

There’s a great place in the middle of Katoomba town centre where you can always get a park. But if I told you where, it wouldn’t be secret any more!

The Shelter Rehearsal Rooms are open between 10am and 6pm, Monday to Friday,

The space is also available for use 9am – 9pm, 7 days by appointment.

79 Barton St, North Katoomba, nearby the public school.

There is plentiful parking and a flat load in for bands with lots of gear.