Auburn University Department of Music opens ‘transformational’ Lucky Man Studio in style

The power of music was on display as the Auburn University Department of Music officially dedicated its state-of-the-art Lucky Man Studio at Goodwin Hall on Saturday night.

Approximately 50 dignitaries, Auburn students, faculty and special guests gathered for the ceremony, which featured prepared remarks, musical performances by students, a formal recording session and jam sessions in a festive atmosphere. Named for a song by 1975 music education graduate Don Clayton, the Don and Alexandra Clayton “Lucky Man” Studio is a premier facility that will not only transform the department’s curriculum potential, but also the recording industry in the Southeast.

“I’m humbled by all of this, and I’m truly a lucky man,” said Clayton, a Newton, Alabama, native. “This is so special, it’s beyond words. When you have music in your heart and music in your soul, it’s so magical.”

Housed in the College of Liberal Arts, it is the university’s first commercial recording studio that will be in great demand among musicians looking for a top-notch facility to record their music. The studio includes a drum station, keyboards and synthesizers, guitars, state-of-the-art computer software, microphones and hardware, as well as a Dolby Atmos recording system, and its leaders plan to roll out more phases of development in the future.

The project was the brainchild of former Department of Music Chair Rick Good and funded by a gift from Clayton, a longtime musician who operated a successful business in the hospitality industry. The two became friends years ago and developed the concept for the studio during multiple conversations.

“Don is just a great and special man,” said Good, who serves as director of bands at Auburn. “We are all lucky to know him, and Auburn is lucky [to have him as an alumni.] This vision takes many people, and to look around here and see what we’ve accomplished is amazing.”

Four Auburn students – Karsen Betzold, Walter Lloyd, Anna Colson and Harry Downes – gave rousing performances at the ceremony, ones that stirred emotions in the music-loving Clayton.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Clayton said. “These students — you see the passion in their eyes, that intensity, that enthusiasm. This is why I’ve decided to put my name on [this project], it’s because of these students.”

Doug Rosener, director of the Department of Music, spoke at the ceremony and said the studio has had an immediate impact on students.

“This facility has already been transformational,” Rosener said. “It has spawned three new academic programs — composition technology, commercial music and a minor in music business — and the fact that they didn’t exist before means we were a very different department back then.

“None of this would be happening without our previous department chair, Rick Good. He had a vision to try to transform a department to something that is modern and current and something that people would seek out and want to come and be a part of.”

The studio is a difference-maker for students, who believe it will become a recruiting tool for a department that has seen immense recent expansion to more than 200 students.

“I think this is a big game-changer, and I think students will flock to it,” said Lloyd, who has a single releasing on Nov. 1. “When I got here, we didn’t even have a studio, and now I’m able to have access to a professional recording studio where I can finish this album I’ve been working on. This is a huge opportunity to learn what studios are like, not just for commercial instrumentalists, but for the comp tech majors and people that just want to be in the industry.

“It makes everything much more accessible in Auburn, and there’s not many places like this in this area. I think people want the opportunity to be in a professional recording studio, and this is a really nice one.”

Jason Hicks, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, also spoke at the special occasion.

“The work we’re doing in this studio really dovetails into what the university is doing in its strategic planning,” Hicks said. “Our obligation as deans, chairs, faculty and staff is to make sure we’re supporting our students as best as possible, and this studio is one great example of how we do that even better than we have in the past. We’re hopeful this will be a great way for students to leap forward in their preparation for the world of work, the world of music, the world of business, the world of performance, wherever that may be.”

Trammell Starks will serve as the studio’s director, and he described numerous plans for future collaboration between the studio and a host of programs, organizations and individuals.

“We have a lot of outreach opportunities, and we already have a number of commercial projects booked,” said Starks, a renowned recording artist who has toured with Peabo Bryson and worked with the London Symphony. “This is Phase 1, and there’s a long list of things we’re working toward. We have high hopes and big goals for the future to make this truly a world-class facility. Our mission and our goals are to record everything from orchestras, choirs, rock bands, pop bands, country bands and everything under the sun.”

Clayton also has big plans and dreams for the studio and the department in the future.

“My goal is, in the next five years, I’d like to have No. 1 song writer come out of here with a No. 1 hit,” Clayton said after demonstrating the studio’s capabilities during a recording session with his band. “I’d like to get a Grammy, or at the very least, a Grammy nomination. We can do it.”