Photos and text by Eric Heinz
Sometimes San Clemente’s musicians can find themselves as undertones to the amplified Los Angeles scene.
But Biff Cooper is trying to help budding and young musicians record their music and mix it for their own records.
Cooper, the owner of Power Plant Records and Beach Cities Rock Club, said about 80 to 100 students are currently participating in the music school. Most of them are interested in learning about rock, but Biff said there are a few EDM artists who frequent the school.
Cooper, a teacher for 10 years, said Power Plant Records has been in business for three years but the record label was launched about three months ago.
His family has been in San Clemente for three generations.
“I think the goal is to get students to the production phase, but at the end of the day if they just want to play around a campfire, that’s cool too,” Cooper said. “The production phase is, oddly enough, one of the most exciting parts because of how difficult it is and how exciting it is to help bands that don’t have any other way to do it.”
Cooper said having a more accessible way to record helps a lot of bands trying to get their label out.
“This helps a lot of people who don’t want to drive to L.A. because it’s far away and sometimes too expensive,” Cooper said. “We try to keep it pretty affordable.”
Artists aren’t typically signed to the label. Power Plant Records is more of a musician advocacy group, Cooper said.
“We’re trying to help bands learn how to record and then they let us mix and master them,” Cooper said. “We’ll find a band we like and we’ll either teach them how to record or they send us their rough recorded music and then I’ll mix it. We can redo vocals, and in return for us providing the service, they’re sort of sponsored by us. They have to wear our shirts and post on Instagram.”
Biff Cooper’s sister, Kristin, is in a notable band, The Flytraps, of Orange County. The brother-sister duo runs Power Plant Records and Beach Cities Rock Club together.
From 8-10 p.m. every Monday through Friday and Sunday, Biff hosts Reactor Radio, which is streamed live on the website.
For more information about Beach Cities Rock Club, visit www.beachcitiesrockclub.com. To listen to the radio show, visit www.powerplantrecords.com.
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