Nathan writes from experience. She is the co-headmaster of the Boston Arts Academy, an arts-centered high school that focuses on urban students who are rarely exposed to the arts.

In the 11 years since organizing, Carolina Studios has seen the impact of arts education through our programs for at-risk students in the Charleston area, and we have come to similar conclusions. Newly-found confidence, emerging creativity, and educational improvement are very palpable results that we see each day at the Shaw Center, and aboard the Mobile Studio as it makes its way from school to school, exposing over 90 students a week to the wonderful world of music. We help them “get their hands in the dirt,” and we see wonderful results.

But we are not alone in our efforts in the Charleston area. Yo Art has a similar focus, and, according to its website, was “founded in order to teach children media arts which will better enable them to handle both their academic studies and life’s challenges.” Carolina Studios will team up with Yo Art for the Stuff the Music Bus Art Supply Drive this April. Part of the Charleston International Film Festival, the event will feature our Mobile Studio – a customized recording studio housed aboard a full-size school bus – onsite at the Sottile Theatre in downtown Charleston and Cinebarre in Mount Pleasant to collect donated art supplies for Yo Art.

Carolina Studios and Yo Art are just two organizations working to introduce students to arts programs that aren’t provided in their public schools. As Nathan writes, “All students are artists, whether they go to an arts school or not. Students crave opportunities to figure things out—things that matter. In the arts, you have to argue. You have to determine why. The arts are about judgment. As my students say, ‘Art makes my head hurt because there isn’t one right answer.’”

Supporting Carolina Studios and Yo Art means giving Charleston-area students opportunities to tap into their creative side, question the answers, and gain tools and experience they need to develop as young people.

Visit Carolina Studios and Yo Art during Stuff the Music Bus Art Supply Drive at the following times and locations:

Sottile Theatre – 44 George Street, downtown Charleston
Wednesday, April 11 and Friday, April 13 from 5-7 p.m.
Saturday, April 14, from 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Cinebarre – 963 Houston-Northcutt Blvd., Mount Pleasant*
Thursday, April 12 from 5-7 p.m.
Sunday, April 15 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

*Bring an Art Supply and receive a ticket for $5

References

Linda Nathan. “All Students Are Artists.” Educational Leadership. February 2012. 27 March 2012 .

I remember as a kid in school looking forward to my arts classes more than anything else in the school day . . . and I am sure you do too. Those classes made some of the more difficult studies worth engaging in. So doesn’t it follow that the incentive of music would prevent absenteeism? At Carolina Studios we certainly encourage that. Students aren’t allowed to participate in our program if they haven’t been in class that day. Music and arts education is particularly important to the at-risk youth. These are the students that are most likely to end up in prison or worse. Music helps to develop better communication skills that can prevent altercations that lead to violence. Music also promotes creative thinking and problem solving skills. Think about it; when you are trying to write a song or play an instrument, particularly to an audience, you have to come up with words that rhyme or a way to improvise if you mess up or something doesn’t work.

Music is a part of any well-rounded education. We have heard that over and over and it is so true. I would guarantee that there are very few, if any, people running any of the fortune 500 companies that didn’t have music in their education. Music connects the left and right sides of the brain. And its been proven that students involved in the arts score higher on standardized tests, including the SAT; which gives them a greater chance of getting into college.

I could talk about the benefits of music education for hours, but the bottom line is its important. And as music lovers it is our job to advocate the education of our youth and make sure music continues to be a part of our children’s education. So get out there and tell everyone you know why music education is important and be an advocate for our youth and MUSIC!

First of all, it has a music player on it so you can listen to our students’ songs while you surf the site. This player is a pop-up player allowing you to have complete control of the music. It does not automatically play when you arrive on any page of this site. Next, there is the Facebook feed in the right sidebar so you can see the latest posts and people who “like” Carolina Studios. On the bottom of each page, you will notice a “Share” icon that gives you a multitude of ways to share that page with virtually every social networking site out there. Also incorporated into the site are videos, which are Youtube videos embedded into the site. For blogging, the site has the ability for multiple people to make posts, as long as they have an assigned password.

The site now features an area for our new and exciting Mobile Studio, including a real-time schedule and interactive calendar that displays where it will be next and gives you the option to get a map, times, and other info. As we continue to develop this awesome concept, I will be adding much more to this section of the site for everybody to see!

One of my favorite things about Carolina Studios is being one of the first people to hear the freshest songs that come out of our studios. It makes me proud to announce that we now have an official “Song of the Month” page on the new site…in fact, it is the easiest way for visitors to find out about these students, partly because they literally sing about all of the things going on in their lives!

Make sure to check out some of the picture galleries in the media section…they are sorted out so you can view them in an intuitive manner using lightboxes, similar to Facebook. The site also features no Flash content which makes it APPLE friendly. As it turns out, Flash is a dying breed, quickly being replaced by css3 and html5 code languages, which are just as capable, and readabale by Apple machines.

As for the design of the site, you will notice a recording studio mixing console background, a vivid color scheme to portray the awesomeness of our program, a skinny left sidebar that contains fading partial images of our mobile studio, and a strong focus on buttons that get people interact with the site.

Other features include an e-commerce store (coming soon), a press room for the latest news and articles about Carolina Studios, a media relations area, a sponsor area, and some other pages that provide some great information on our program.

Please do not hesitate to contact us through the contact page if you would like to comment on the site or if you have suggestions or see errors. Thanks and Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Dan Logan
Advisory Board
Carolina Studios

Thanks!

Pecha Kucha

The mobile studio is monumental, and we can’t thank Denis Gallagher and STA enough for making it a reality. There it was, a converted school bus parked right by the stage. Kids going in and out of it all evening. I can’t wait to get it rolling around our beautiful Holy City, and see the reaction from kids all over town who will now be able to drop beats, write, sing and rap their own songs, and burn a CD to prove it. This bus will not run on enthusiasm alone. Your help is still needed. Currently, we are offering fourteen unique annual sponsorships through our “Get On The Bus” campaign. Interested parties should contact our Community Liaison, Alexis Gist at (803) 622-4294, or by email at alexis.gist@carolinastudios.net.

To our sponsors: We are forever indebted to you for your generosity. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for you. A giant thank you to all of the celebrities who took the time to help turn this inaugural event into a grand debut. Also high marks go to the folks at Daniel Island, and the Nationwide tour who just flat out do it right. The Carolina Studios Board, and advisory board are full of talented, clever, enthusiastic folks who all worked hard to pull this off. A special thanks to Frank and Alexa at Empire Sports as well for amazing event coordination.

Come check out the bus when we roll into your part of town, and let’s do it again next year.

Joyously,

Mark Bryan

Some kids are involved with sports in their after school time, but what about all the rest who might not have athletic ability, or are just more apt to choose a creative outlet. There are many children who don’t have another option and will end up making bad choices in those crucial after school hours when their parents are still at work. The original idea for Carolina Studios came from a social worker in the school system who found that music was the best way to relate to kids who were struggling with grades and behavioral issues.

When a young person learns how to use a computer to make their own song, then burn their own CD to play for their parents and friends, they are thrilled, and feel a sense of accomplishment and completion. In the process they pick up valuable computer skills, and learn universal commands that translate to many software programs. They also get to tap into their creative side, and it becomes a healthy outlet for whatever they may be going through in their lives. Ultimately they are learning skills that can create opportunities for career paths when they get older: musicians, songwriters, engineers, producers, and even studio owners.

I know it works because I have been watching it work for close to ten years now. I see the smiles when they figure out the process, and the unbridled joy when they first play their creation for someone. There have been some excellent opportunities for some of the kids to perform live over the tracks they’ve created, and we are going to do it again at Daniel Island on Oct. 25. Please come join us as the kids will be opening for me, and my band The Occasional Milkshake, and we will back Darius for some songs, Pat Green, Branford Marsalis, Colt Ford, Johnny Lee (“Lookin For Love”) and some other surprise guests.  See you there!

Assuredly,

Mark Bryan

I just got back from New Orleans where I attended the dedication of the Ellis Marsalis Center, in the Musician’s Village of the Ninth Ward. Local superstars Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr., teamed with Habitat For Humanity after Hurricane Katrina, to make sure the legendary musicians from that neighborhood were able to maintain their roots, and sustain the cultural phenomenon that we know as New Orleans music.

The center, named for the world renown pianist, and father of saxophonist Branford, boasts a state of the art theater for performances, and several studio rooms for rehearsals and recording. I learned that Ellis Marsalis was Harry Connick Jr.’s piano teacher from a very young age. I couldn’t help but aspire to building something like this in Charleston. Hopefully it won’t take an act of God for it to come to fruition someday.

After the dedication, there was a show at the House of Blues – N.O. I took the stage for a couple of numbers, before joining Branford, Harry, and an amazing lineup of virtuoso musicians, through a two hour, jam-filled set. Charleston favorite Paul Sanchez (formerly of Cowboy Mouth) joined us as well.

It wasn’t the first time I had been to the Ninth Ward. In the Fall of 2006, we ended a Hootie tour in New Orleans, and spent a week gutting houses with the Araby Wrecking Crew (featuring members of the band Bonerama), and constructing one of the homes with the Habitat folks. It was very fulfilling to be there five years later, and see the whole thing come full-circle.

Please don’t forget to join us on October 25 out at the Daniel Island Golf Club, for the Celebrity / Pro-Am Jam to benefit our own Carolina Studios. Branford Marsalis will be there, as will Texas troubador Pat Green, and many others to be announced.

Thanks for your time,

Mark Bryan

August Update

Well if Rory McIlroy’s near perfect US open didn’t get you fired up about golf this past weekend, maybe the Tuesday Pro/Celeb-Am of the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island, brought to you by Carolina Studio’s will. That’s right, if you buy a team, you and two others will play with a touring pro, and a celebrity (TBA). That evening will feature a live concert on the grounds, with me and my friends, that you won’t want to miss.

Last weekend, on behalf of Carolina Studios, I played at the Piccolo Spoleto Finale in Hampton Park, after a rousing introduction by our fine Mayor, Joe Riley. I performed songs from my solo albums, and Hootie, and played excerpts from the wonderful tracks our Carolina Studio’s kids made this Spring. You can hear them on our Song of the Month page to the left on Facebook.

This Summer we are working hard on writing grants, and to expand our program, including potential involvement in the school day, as well as after school, and the possibility of a mobile recording studio…..more to come.

Stay cool,

Mark Bryan

We are getting ready for a big Summer at Carolina Studios. Our West Ashley location will be open starting very soon, and even through tough times at the Boys and Girls Club downtown, our program will continue at that location, as one of the featured activities for the kids.

We are announcing our first annual fundraiser. On Tuesday, October 25, we will host a pro / celeb. / am. golf tournament in conjunction with the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island. The event will also feature a concert that evening. It is inspired by the great success we’ve had with the Hootie and the Blowfish, Monday After the Masters. Here are some of the details: FUNDRAISER .

Josh Smoak (Site Manager) and I went to West Ashley High School the other day and set up a Carolina Studios work station with a microphone. We wanted to let those kids know about our Playground Rd. location, right in their neighborhood this Summer. Josh showed one student how to drop a beat, and it just took off from there. They just started taking turns laying down one track after another. One of the guitar players played a piano melody. We had a trombone player put together a nice string patch. Live bongos were played, and it all culminated in a one verse rap. Enjoy the song of the Month. Click on the “Song Of The Month” link to the left here on Facebook.

Stay tuned for more, and please support creative expression for our youth,

Explicitly,

Mark Bryan