Grime Studios

Anyone active within the creative arts knows that creative inspiration tends to strike on its own schedule and anyone who has experience playing amplified music knows that without a place to rehearse - there is nothing to take to a stage or to record later. Additionally, finding a place to rehearse amplified music without disturbing neighbors can be quite challenging. Since 2012, Grime Studios has offered solutions for all of the above dilemmas to the creative community of Southern Maine by offering sound attenuated music rehearsal studios to musicians and bands on a 24/7 monthly lockout basis. Over the past 12 years, it is estimated that more than 300 different music projects and bands - of genres ranging from one end of the musical universe to the other - with everything in between - have utilized Grime Studios to help bring their creative visions to light.

In early 2015 after a massive search for a "new building," Grime Studios relocated from its old location on Thompsons Point in Portland to its current home across town on Presumpscot st, inside a large warehouse. While bands from the old building (which has since been torn down) were temporarily stuffed into existing offices at the new place, 26 sound attenuated music rehearsal studios of varying size were constructed in the warehouse section - which were completed in spring 2016. This entire facility was built to be 100% compliant with the City of Portland's life safety/fire code enforcement measures. In 2018, 5 more studios were build to the same specs, completing "the first floor."

The first floor studios were built with load bearing materials to eventually hold a second floor if demand should call for one. With the rare turnover and even rarer vacancies at Grime, throughout 2019, 2020 and 2021, the subfloor was slowly built as funds would allow and in 2022 construction began on the "Second Floor: Phase 1" project - consisting of 5 more studios - which was completed in 2023.

To build all of this has been extremely expensive. Some of it was paid for with grants, small pieces of it were paid for through community support (older GoFundMe pages, benefit concerts, etc) and some other bits were paid through private donations and sponsors. Most of it was paid for through loans which are still being paid back, not to mention the tens of thousands of hours in sweat equity from management and the small crew.

"But wait," many have been so inclined to ask, "with Grime renting over 30 studios a month, where does all that money go?"

Most of it goes to paying these loans back (on a good month AFTER operating expenses, but on bad months BEFORE). Hence, Grime runs on an incredibly bare bones budget and the inevitable "potholes" and “obstacles” which any small business must cross sooner or later tend to be huge hits to the books.

But it's slowly getting there....

Upon completion of each expansion project, Grime gets a little bit closer towards becoming a viable small business. With its longterm lease in place and excellent relationship with the building owner, the intent is for Grime Studios to continue serving the creative community of Southern Maine - particularly those playing amplified music - for many years to come.

Planning stages for the "Second Floor: Phase 2" project began shortly after the completion of "Phase 1" in mid 2023 and construction is currently underway. Upon completion, "Phase 2" will put Grime on much more stable ground to keep its loan payments in check, while increasing its capacity to better serve the community and not constantly be navigating such a tough and narrow road.

While all of these projects are expensive, this "Second Floor: Phase 2" is unique in that most of the larger pieces were by default completed for "Phase 1." The concrete slab which was poured during "Phase 1" for example, is actually the entire floor for all three phases of the 2nd floor ("Phase 3" is another project for a few years from now). While some of the building materials for the “Phase 2” rooms have been acquired and are already being put together, there is still a long ways to go. Some of the remaining funds are hopefully being acquired through grants but for the SPRINKLERS and FIRE ALARMS we are reaching out to the community, for the first time since 2016.

Sprinklers and fire alarms are both pieces of these studios which can not factor sweat equity to lower costs. Management can assemble a crew of volunteers to do insulation and sheetrock, but things like electrical, sprinklers, fire alarms - those are for folks within their respective trades to complete.

In previous construction projects at Grime, sprinklers and fire alarm work have each respectively cleared the $10k mark, but with so much work for "Phase 2" having been completed under prior phases, we are looking at about $3500 to take care of BOTH sprinklers AND fire alarms.

After these jobs, there is still a ton of work to do. The post-covid Environmental Reclamation Ventilator (ERV) code requirement makes for a story in itself, but that is a later chapter in this long book.

$50 gets you a Grime t-shirt and sticker. $100 gets you double that. $200 gets you a t-shirt with a bunch of stickers and a Grime hoodie. In the event this campaign exceeds its request for $3500, any additional funds will go towards finishing the electrical work.

Grime is currently in year TEN at the “new building on Presumscot st.” Lease renewals go to 2035 and there are talks with the building owner of extending beyond existing renewals even further. Your support is one more step towards helping Grime provide anyone playing amplified music within the creative community of Southern Maine, with a safe and affordable place to rehearse for many years to come.

Thanks!