Let the music play.

Alexander Recording Kompany, 327 Main St. below Rieman Music, opened its doors, allowing local musicians the chance to record their music at a cheap rate.

Dennis Haislip, owner of Alexander Recording Kompany and employee of Reiman Music, said Ames has been devoid of a high quality music studio at an affordable price.

“A lot of kids around here play good music and can’t afford $100 an hour for a studio,” Haislip said. Instead, he offers an hourly price of  $35.

The studio cost under $50,000 to build, but has provided ample opportunities for artists on the rise in the Ames area.

“We’ve got a pretty long list of clients since we opened,” Haislip said.

Nearby bands including Chasing Amira, fronted mostly by ISU students; The Workshy; and The Wire Frames all have recorded in the studio. Fast-rising band Bombardier played at the studio’s March 26 opening, and the list keeps growing.

The studio’s main purpose will be music. However, they have also had the chance to use the space for advertising purposes, such as writing jingles for businesses. Haislip hopes eventually that advertising is something he can fully integrate into the studio, but he will need more staffers to help balance the work load.

“My schedule is such that I don’t really have time to [work on advertising pieces],” he said. “I wouldn’t mind the studio itself taking care of some of those things. If the studio can find somebody who can go out and seek those jobs, then we’d be glad to do it.”

While Rieman Music may benefit from the recording studio, Haislip said the biggest advantage will be for the musicians using Alexander Recording Kompany.

“I think the benefit for Reiman’s is that people who are recording sometimes begin a recording project with equipment that doesn’t really fit their means, and then they can go upstairs and can experiment with equipment that might work for them. They can buy what fits for them,” he said.

Haislip added that if it’s 3:00 a.m. at the recording studio, and they break a string, there’s a music store upstairs, so they can add a pack of strings to their bill.

Haislip had previously worked in a music studio outside of Ames before he decided to open his own space.

“I loved being in the studio,” he said. “I feel like I’m productive and good at engineering the studio.”

The initial design and layout process took nearly a month to formulate. With the help of some friends, Haislip only had to do construction for another month before everything was completed.

“Just about every night we had 3 or 4 in the morning nights where we went until we couldn’t go anymore,” he said.

The goal was to have a comfortable environment in which an artist of any kind could come in and feel at home.

Not only can recording artists use the studio for musical purposes, but Alexander Recording Kompany also will take any vinyl recording and make it into a CD.

The only thing Haislip won’t allow is any recording of hate music. He said if it can’t be put on the radio with a few minor edits, and if it adds to the problems already present in society, he won’t record it.

Overall, Dennis Haislip is grateful for the store’s existence but knows it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of his friends and family.

“I’ve touched every piece of lumber in the place, every piece of drywall, every color of paint, but none of this did I do myself,” he said.

His son, Alexander, is the store’s namesake.

“We went through name after name, but I think I like this one the best,” he said smiling.

Visit Alexander Recording Kompany’s Facebook page for continuous updates.

Bands recording at Alexander Recording Kompany

• Chasing Amira – (http://www.myspace.com/chasingamira )
• The Workshy – (http://www.myspace.com/theworkshy2 )
• The Wire Frames – (http://www.thewireframes.com)
• Bombardier – (http://www.myspace.com/bombardier1)