Poe Mill Music combines professional studio recording, intimate music venue (2025)

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Poe Mill Music combines professional studio recording, intimate music venue (1)

A state-of-the-art recording studio will soon open in one of Greenville’s historic mill communities.

Poe Mill Music, founded by Brice Smith and Jason Nodine, is expected to open in April at 904 Pinckney St. Smith is a businessman who moonlights as a part-time drummer in Pop a Cold One and the Tennessee Whiskeys. Nodine is semiretired after 24 years with BMW Manufacturing. Their decades-long friendship eventually resulted in the studio.

Smith founded InvestiNet in 2011, which is now located around the corner at 910 Pinckey St. He bought the building in 2018. The Poe Mill Music space was formerly a body shop. Smith did not have a need for the space and nearly demolished its garage bays. Seeing that the bones of the building were still sturdy, he decided to keep it.

Poe Mill Music combines professional studio recording, intimate music venue (2)

InvestiNet moved into the space in October 2019. Six months later, Smith found himself in an empty office in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.

“I remember sitting in office April 2020 by myself and actually had my drums set up in the office because I was just playing, because nobody was in there,” Smith said. “And I think that’s when the idea for the music studio happened.”

At the time, the idea was pretty simple: A do-it-yourself recording studio with an eight-track recorder and listening room for local musicians. Through the pandemic, Smith pondered the positive impact music had on his life.

“[I was] trying to build on that element for this community and really create a place for young and old to gather and good things happen,” Smith said.

As the idea began to sprout, Smith started to tell his friends of his tentative plans. Nodine had just retired and was looking for a project.

“After about two years, I could tell the wife wanted me to find something else to do,’” Nodine said. “So I texted Brice. I was like, ‘You still want to do that studio?’”

By fall 2022, the partners were discussing business plans. Shortly after, they began to contact studio designers. Despite a shared love of music, neither knew much about audio engineering.

They reached out to five designers and their top choice responded. Steve Durr has designed studios and venues all over the country. The three got to work on building a world-class studio.

Recording details

Poe Mill Music combines professional studio recording, intimate music venue (5)

After Durr joined the project, they purchased a mixing board from the keyboardist for the band Journey, who had acquired it from The Record Plant when the Salsulito, California, studio closed in 2008. The Record Plant, now 2200 Studios, recorded iconic artists such as Santana, Tracy Chapman and, of course, Journey.

Poe Mill Music is divided into two spaces: the recording studio and The Listening Room. The studio will come with five rooms, all of which are capable of recording. One room is fitted for a podcast studio while the remaining four are equipped for music.

All of the music studio rooms are connected with the capacity to record one artist at a time or as a group.

“I’m most excited about bringing in a bunch of really cool, like-minded, creative artists and seeing what happens,” Smith said.

Looking ahead

The partners are working with local businesses and nonprofits for upcoming events. Smith said they hope to be a resource to nonprofits and educational institutions in need of a creative space.

Smith and Nodine are in talks with A.J. Wright, president of Crafted Producers, to create a beat program that would function as an alternative to a summer sports league. Kids in the program would spend nine weeks learning how to produce music, with a final competition at the end held at The Listening Room.

Above all, the partners want to create a home for local artists of all mediums.

“I want to build a community, a musical community,” Nodine said. “Well, an artist community.”

Structural details

In addition to the sound board and custom plug-ins, building a music studio requires attention to detail during construction.

There are no right angles in the studio spaces to avoid sound reflections and flutter echoes.
Every wall has three layers of Sheetrock for sound insulation.
The doors are 2½- to 3-inches thick and made with solid wood.
Behind the fabric on the walls are bass traps to retain sound waves and limit reverberation back to the artist.
There are two doors in the recording studio that lead to nowhere but open and close. They are designed to redirect sound as needed.

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