Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Estok.
Michael, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I became interested in music at a very young age. At five years old, I was already playing the drums along to the Beach Boys record that my dad had. I got my first guitar as a teenager, and would oftentimes shut myself in my room for hours at a time trying to learn my favorite songs. My first introduction to music recording was with a 4 track Tascam PortaStudio. As the years went on, I slowly acquired more recording gear and instruments. After high school, I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in music production, so I attended The Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, and then went on to study at Full Sail University in Florida. Full Sail gave me the opportunity to intern at Sony ATV Music Publishing/Sony Tree Studios in Nashville, which is where I started out my Nashville career. In 2008, I opened my first studio out of my home, producing music for Nashville singer-songwriters who wanted a full band sound but didn’t actually have a band. They would have a work tape of the song, and I would record their vocals and produce around their vocal track, adding various instruments such as drums, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, mandolin, cello, lap steel, etc. In 2014, one of my clients signed a publishing deal with Sony ATV Music Publishing and I was brought on to not only produce all of her tracks but produce demos for most of their writers to pitch to mainstream artists. After my Father-in-law passed away unexpectedly in 2016, my wife and I decided to move back to the Youngstown area to raise our son near family. We always knew there was talent back home, but we’ve been blown away by the amount of support and business we’ve been able to maintain within our community. We are truly grateful for every artist that comes through our doors.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
While moving 600 miles and starting over is never easy, we were very fortunate with how all the pieces fell into place. We found our current home and studio space before we even left Nashville. We did a virtual showing over FaceTime and then made a trip up to see it in person. Our Nashville home sold in just a day, so we stayed with family back home until we closed on the new home. We had to go through zoning to get our conditional use permit for the business, but they were extremely supportive in our endeavors. After spending just a few months building out the new studio space, we opened for business and have been steadily booked ever since.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Court Street Recording is very different from a typical studio. We don’t consider ourself a traditional commercial studio, we’re really more of a production house. While we can, and have recorded bands, we’re really geared more for the singer-songwriter. There are so many talented writers who have amazing songs, but just don’t know what to do with them. I can provide all the extra instrumentation needed to make any song into a fully produced track. Whether it’s pop, indie-pop, rock, folk, or country, we have you covered. Several songs I’ve produced have been used for film and television sync, including an Apple TV commercial and several Netflix shows.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I owe a lot of my success to my mentor and friend, Lionel Cartwright. He was always such a fan and supporter of the work I was doing in Nashville. He’s also the one who introduced me to the client that ended up with a publishing deal at Sony, which ultimately launched my career. I also owe my success to my wife, Emily, who has been my biggest supporter and cheerleader over the last 15 years. Emily actually manages the studio now, which frees me up to just be creative.
Contact Info:
- Email: courtstreetrecording@gmail.com
- Website: www.courtstreetrecording.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/courtstreetproduction
- Twitter: @michaelestok
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbNl930zymlCp4FqURqGlwg
