Welcome to the Home of Alternative
Enterprises, located in New London, in northeast Wisconsin, just
30 miles west of Green Bay, and 25 miles northwest of Appleton
and the Fox Valley. The Alternative consists of a
recording studio specializing in songwriter demos, karaoke,
musicians, and bands; classes/training on learning how to use
your music equipment; instrument lessons on keyboard, guitar,
bass, and drums; and website design and web hosting tailored to
the music industry.
We invite you to take a look around the
site. You can click directly on the tabs above for general
information on that category, or choose from the drop-down menus
for more detailed info. We will be periodically adding new
content so check back often. Be sure to visit our
extensive and growing "Links" page. Please join
us on MySpace, FaceBook, and Twitter, found under the
"Home" tab. Many basic questions about the
studio and Alternative Enterprises in general are answered on
the "Frequently Asked Questions" or "F.A.Q."
page also under the "Home" tab above. Feel free
to contact us using the brief form below. We will answer
any questions within 24 hours, usually sooner. Check the
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Auto-Bio:
I have been involved in music ever since I
got my first keyboard in 1969. I was 7. It figures,
as my dad Ricky Leigh was a major guitarist in Wisconsin in the
50's and 60's, in fact, best in the state for 3 years running in
the '60's. He formed the first rock & roll band and
cut the first rock & roll record ever released in the state
of Wisconsin in the mid '50's. He played shows with Seals
and Crofts, and rehearsed with Toto before they started out in
California. He provided me with all kinds of audio
equipment, from when I was little, and encouraged me to pursue
greater things than he has done.
I eventually discovered synthesizers, which
quickly became my true calling. Although I picked up
guitar and bass in high school, and eventually drums a few years
ago, keyboards has always been my main instrument. I have
played in many bands through the years, and in 1986 I was hired
by Henri's Music as a synthesizer, MIDI, and music technology
specialist. Early in my 15-year tenure at Henri's, I
became a synthesizer teacher, which now has expanded to guitar,
bass and drums as well. I never took a lesson in my life,
but after 20 years of trial and error, I finally put the theory
puzzle together and found I was able to teach in a unique way,
stressing theory and playing by ear, rather than
note-reading. I still can't read sheet music!
During my time at Henri's, I also worked
with my co-worker, Jeff, at Bonzai Recording Studio at night
after work. We quickly graduated from 4-track cassette to
16-track 1" tape. This was when I learned a lot of my
fundamentals.
On January 1st, 2002 I opened the doors of
the Alternative Recording Studio in New London, WI, and 3 days
later, I became a proud dad-of-twins, Jeffrey and Emily. I
also started designing my own website, which is now a fair part
of what I do, culminating in what you are looking at here
today. In January 2004 we moved the studio out of the
"sardine can" upstairs in the house, to our new
facility next door, including 3 iso-booths for maximum reduction
of "bleed-over" from the other instruments.
One day, I got a call from a songwriter who
asked me if I could put all the instruments behind him singing,
as he wrote songs, but did not play an instrument. Now
songwriter services is 75% of what I do (although karaoke and
recording bands with the iso-booths is catching up). I
joined Songwriters Of Wisconsin International 4 years ago, and
now work with songwriters from all over the state. I
completely redid their website in the summer of 2008 www.SongwritersOfWisconsin.org.
I "retired" from the band thing about 5 years ago in
order to put more time into the studio.
I invite you to take a tour of the site,
fill out the contact form, and I look forward to working with
you.
Patrick Leigh
