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So much music is created in this world, and most of it never has its chance to be heard. Liz Vasko, co-founder of Dog House Music Studios and executive director of Colorado nonprofit Rock for the People, both based in Lafayette, knew she had to find a way to help artists jump through the hurdles of professional music recording so they can share their work with the world.
Vasko said the goal of Rock for the People, which hosts the annual Lafayette Music Festival every October, is to create more diversity and equity among the local music scene in eastern Boulder County.
In 2018, Vasko and her husband Kenny Vasko took ownership of Dog House Music Studios, 525 Courtney Way, Lafayette, a recording and rehearsal studio that offers recording sessions, songwriting workshops, open mics and women’s rock jams. It also doubles as a popular venue dubbed The End Lafayette — a cozy 70-person live music venue that lives inside Dog House Music.
Dog House was established in 2003 in Lafayette, then the wife-and-husband duo took over the studios and updated them 15 years later.
Vasko said listening to music, especially music created by neighbors, is a great way to learn about the community. However, she said when they’ve rented out the studio in the past, she’s been surprised by the lack of diversity among the local performers.
“I definitely knew other people were making music in the area, and there’s a lot more going on than we’re getting here,” Vasko said. “Why is that happening and what can we do to change it?”
Music is integral to the human experience, Vasko said. Therefore, she believes that finances, lack of recording opportunities and other obstacles should not stand in the way of musicians making their art.
To help close that gap, Rock for the People now offers both a recording scholarship and a rehearsal scholarship for musicians who are part of historically underrepresented groups. With free recording, mixing, mastering and producing songs — along with free monthly rehearsing memberships — the nonprofit hopes to build a more diverse profile of musicians in the area. The nonprofit also provides a paid internship.
“I wanted to make sure that we could be offering space for anyone who wants to create music,” Vasko said. “Especially people who have been historically left out of having their voices and their music heard.”
Vasko believes every musician deserves an audience. Since music is a vulnerable way to express oneself, Vasko said that gatekeeping who gets to share their art is like dictating whose voices matter.
Haven Slay, a recording scholarship recipient, said having the opportunity to record her music professionally saved her life.
Slay heard about Rock for the People through a friend who recorded music at Dog House Studios. She said she spent a month with a producer in Nashville in 2024 to create her debut album, then the producer attempted to buy the legal rights to her name and her songs.
After running from that situation, she said she had all the songs ready for an album — but no money left to produce them.
“(Dog House Studios), sort of, in a sense, saved my life,” Slay said.
Slay, who is inspired by Dolly Parton, already has some studio time under her belt at Dog House and is preparing to release her EP “Land of the Free.” Without the scholarship, she estimated it would have cost $4,000 to produce her EP, at minimum.
After playing live shows, Slay often has audience members asking her where they can listen to her music.Now, with the opportunity to professionally record, she can expand her audience worldwide by putting her music online for everyone to hear.
Breta Jensen, another recording scholarship recipient, was attending the women’s jam nights at Dog House for a while before she applied for the scholarship. Now she said she’s set to start recording her three original songs this month.
Before attending the jam sessions, Jensen said she was looking for a place to reintroduce herself to music. She took a 10-year hiatus from songwriting after high school when she decided she wanted to reconnect with her songwriting passion. After a songwriting session at Dog House, she said she was hooked and kept going. She feels the group is a great and safe way to talk about music, jam together and get the creative juices flowing.
“Creating music, to me, it feels like the universe is speaking through me,” Jensen said. “I am just a vessel for things that should be said through music.”
She said that though the cost to professionally record a song depends on the production and studio time — on the lower end, recording one song can cost $800 to $1,000. She said having the scholarship opens up so many doors when it comes to recording her music — and not just for herself, but for others in the community.
More information about the scholarship is available at rockforthepeople.org.
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