Coatbridge has produced many fine musicians and bands over the years and the owner of a town centre rehearsal studio is helping to ensure that rich heritage continues.
Brian Imrie runs Main Street Studios and they offer music lessons and rehearsal space for artists and bands, but there’s a difference in their approach to most other facilities.
Young people are encouraged to come along and learn under the watchful eye of Brian and his team, no matter their level. Once they reach a certain standard they are then put together with other young people to form a band.
And it doesn’t stop there, Main Street Studios also organise live gigs in a number of venues where the bands and artists can enjoy the often daunting task of performing in front of a live audience for the first time, with help of a professional set-up.
They also have a choir for young people from the ages of five to 16 years old that runs on a Tuesday afternoon at 5.30pm.
Brian said: “Most of the young people are local from Coatbridge and Airdrie, they come in for lessons and then we put them into our band programme.
“We offer lessons in guitar, drums, bass, ,ukulele, piano and keyboards, and vocals. We also guide them on songwriting and production.
“Then once they reach a level we get four or five of them and form a band, so they rehearse and we help them build a set and we get them gig ready. Then we run events for them and we had a showcase fairly recently in St Luke’s in Glasgow.
“We’ve another coming up in Gartlea Community Centre on November 23 with six bands, we did try to get Airdrie Town Hall. We do have solo artists too and hold a big showcase at the Eagle Inn in April. We had hundreds of people at that this year.”
Brian, who’s dad to an 18-month-old son and teenage daughters, has been running music studios for well over a decade, he and his brother Craig were behind Soundwave Studios in Dundyvan Industrial Estate.
The studio also hosted a number of live gigs before it changed hands and was renamed Cavewall. After time out he again took the reins at the Dundyvan studio before moving operations to the town centre.
“We have somewhere around 150 to 200 students coming in each week and on top of that we have bands coming in to rehearse,” Brian added. “We’re looking at moving back into the recording side of things again.
“Lessons run every evening and at weekends. We’ve got a good team of around 12 and they are here to help anyone improve, no matter their level.”
Main Street Studios has two fully equipped rehearsal rooms and is located at 5 Main Street, the entrance is from Baird Street car park at the rear of the building.
Tickets for the showcase gig in Gartlea, featuring The Marshalls, The Touchdowns, Half Life, Bliss, and Fin., are priced at £8.50 and can be picked up at the studio.
For more information see their Facebook page or visit: http://main-st-studios.co.uk
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