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Sound Haven Learning Center: A Place for Music, Learning, Gathering and Fun(NewMediaWire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) LAKE MILES, WIs. - (EINPresswire via NewMediaWire) - April 14, 2014 - The Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to raise $10,000 for the renovation of the 100-year old church where the Sound Haven Learning Center is located began on April 8 and concludes on May 8. The former St. Paul's Church in Lake Mills, Wisconsin was built in 1913 and boasts 11,000 square feet of space. Owners Laurie and Michael Allison have already invested thousands of dollars in the project, and are looking to Kickstarter for an infusion of money from donors to complete the renovations. The project has received approval and support from Wisconsin's Lake Mills Planning Commission and City Council, but the need for funding, combined with the amount of work to be done, risks delaying the planned late spring opening of the Learning Center. The campaign still needs to raise $9,650 if it's to reach its target of $10,000. The Allisons bought the old church with the dream of turning it into a place for music, gathering, and fun. The building had been vacant for years, leaving the Allisons with a great deal of repair work to accomplish in order to have the Sound Haven Learning Center open on schedule. The Allisons describe their project as "Replace the Boilers, Repair the Roof, and Revitalize the Space." The previous one-million BTU heating unit was not energy-efficient, so three new "green" boilers were installed. The building needs to replace numerous broken pipes which froze and burst during the cold winters. Now that spring has arrived, so has the thaw, which means that the leaky roof needs to be repaired. After that's accomplished, the plastering can get underway. There's general maintenance that's necessary so that the building is in compliance with both the required structural codes and the requisite atmosphere that a place of learning and entertainment needs to provide. If the Kickstarter campaign is a success and the $10,000 in funding is raised, Laurie and Michael Allison hope to create a place where Michael can lead classes that teach aspiring technicians how to work with live sound. It's a field that Michael knows well, thanks to nearly 30 years of providing sound for many of modern music's most popular acts, including George Michael, Bon Jovi, the Rolling Stones, Diana Ross, Alice Cooper, Alan Jackson, and The Beach Boys, and many others of note. Allison explains the scope of the sound technician's job by referencing his work for the Rolling Stones. When on tour, the Rolling Stones had 28 trucks, five of which contained sound equipment, for a total of 280,000 pounds of gear. Equipment had to be unloaded from the trucks, microphones had to be placed, equipment had to be repaired, and then everything had to be loaded back up for the next show. That's the kind of subject that the Sound Haven Learning Center intends to teach. It's not a typical curriculum, but sound technicians don't have a typical job. In addition to teaching how to go about unloading, placing, repairing, and packing up the aforementioned 280,000 pounds of gear, the students will learn the basics of audio engineering, the fundamentals of sound, and digital audio techniques. The audio training facility has great aspirations of providing a unique learning experience for students who are as atypical as the profession itself. Allison describes a conversation he had with the mother of a teenager who, in her words, marched to the beat of a different drummer. She couldn't see her 17-year old son as college materials, but she knew that his talent of being able to take apart the family stereo and reconfigure it indicated an ability that couldn't be taught in books. For Allison, this confirmed his strong belief that the Sound Haven Learning Center can evolve into an audio training facility that's both affordable for students and also unique in appealing to people whose talent won't be easily nurtured in a traditional learning environment. In order to serve the community through its facility, local organizations and churches will also have access to the Learning Center. Donors who pledge in support of the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign will receive thank you messages via email; names posted on the website, a tour of the facility or, for those who can't travel to Wisconsin, a link for a video tour, pens, tote bags, baseball caps, USB sticks with software included, tee-shirts, VIP passes for reserved seating at the facility's Grand Opening, advertising on the website, and a meet-and-greet with the band that's performing for the Grand Opening. About Sound Haven Learning Center Headquartered in Lake Miles, Wisconsin, Sound Haven Learning Center (www.soundhavenlearningcenter.com) is owned and operated by Michael and Laurie Allison. Classes that provide live sound engineering for aspiring audio technicians will begin in summer, 2014. The Allisons have a dream that will utilize Michael's 27 years of live sound expertise working with musical superstars like the Rolling Stones, Beyonce, and Alan Jackson to create a live sound training center, recording studio, and gathering place for the community.Michael Allison Sound Haven Learning Center 414-839-7311 c. NewMediaWire, LLC |