Pure Sonic Alchemy

Anthony J. Resta is an exception to the rule in the music business.  He is an artist's artist.  A true collaborator and coach.  A muse for meaning and individual voice.  Rather than always going after the obvious "hits-based" artists and hitching his wagon to the money-train, Anthony meets the "everyman" artist on the same footing as his well-documented work with pop stars.  Anthony met me when I made my very first album, long ago, not because he thought I was going to be a pop star (far from it!) but because my song, "American Night" touched his heart.  It was not until many years and six albums later that I started working with Anthony as a producer-- it was not until then that I was really ready to find my voice.  I had already made some money through master use licensing, so I could have continued to make my own records "successfully."  But I was not hearing the "sound in my head"  doing it myself.  Many amateur and semi-pro artists (and even pros) never think to look for their own voice because they think it's not important or because they're getting by using influences-- and that's OK for some.  For me, I knew I wanted to hear "what was in my head" and Anthony&Karyadi made that an aural reality at Studio Bopnique.  I was hesitant at first because Studio Bopnique is not the $50/hr studio I was used to, and things took longer.  But I had a personal artistic mission- and I was experienced enough to know that cheap is not always good-- and I also knew I could not do what I wanted to do by myself or with my bandmates-- I'd tried already.  I needed a producer-- and I needed experience.  I got so much more.  I now write differently.  I sing differently.  I think about my music differently, and I think about the creative process differently.  I am now an individual artist because Anthony proved to me that my "voice" was legitimate-- by bringing it out in me and creating the sound around my own individuality-- the sound that was in my head.   This is what's so beautiful about Studio Bopnique- now the "everyman" artist has access to what pop stars get-- and maybe because of this, some of us will become pop stars-- but at Studio Bopnique we all get to realize our artistic vision, which is ultimately why (or should be why) we're doing this.  I'm just completing my second full length with Anthony- and I did a "self-made" record in between- and I'm growing even more as an artist this time as I did on my first project.  At this stage in my career, this kind of growth is unbelievable-- it's exciting, invigorating and fulfilling-- and this transformation translates live at gigs- the audience reaction is 10 times what it used to be-- at least.  Thank you Anthony and Karyadi for making it possible for me to become my own artist-- me! 

John Cate ( published songwriter and client for 10+ years)