CPR gives Stevens students a chance to become part of an actual corporation, while they learn different social and musical skills that are necessary for the recording industry.  The Vice President for Institute Technology Initiatives at Stevens, Dr. Helena S. Wisniewski, encouraged CPR from the start saying, "This is what Stevens' learning environment is all about - students collaborating with faculty and professionals in industry to create new market-based initiatives that are self-sustaining, and that enrich the learning environment for current and future students."

When did you guys first get involved with Castle Point Records?

Steve Puig: Basically from its inception.  I pretty much responded the second that I heard about it.

Paul Rea: I started a week or two after Steve got involved.  I was in a music business class [at Stevens] and I got interested in Castle Point Records from that.

When was CPR founded?

SP: We started getting together mid-January of last year and then we started to get funding mid-February. 

What attracted you to the Record Company?

SP: I just have a love for music, to be honest with you.  I’m a musician myself and I’ve always wanted to get into the music business.  This was a perfect starting point to get into any facet of the industry, because we deal with every aspect. 

PR: That’s really the same reason I joined.  I’m a musician and I sort of had this idea that I wanted to start a record company down the line.  I thought that this would be a great stepping stone to show me what was needed and how much work was involved.  Since all of our jobs cross over each other, you’re able to see what each aspect entails.

SP: And since we have such a small group, we’re doing things that major labels take several departments to do.  As a result, we are giving everyone a chance to take part, which is really the coolest thing about it.  You could do what you’re interested in.

SP: A lot of people that I talk to have really loved the idea.  That’s something that means a lot.

PR: After all the work that we have done for it, it’s nice to know that everyone is supportive and really likes the idea, because it’s something new.  I mean every school has a record label, but the way we’re going this is completely different.

SP: Yeah, a lot of schools have record labels that basically do stuff pertaining only to their standard curriculum.

PR: We’re actually going outside of our school.  We’re dealing with real world bands, real world companies, gaining real world experience.  And with all of the video footage that we’ve been shooting, there are possibilities of doing documentaries down the road.

SP: It was very well thought out, a lot of that was on David Musial’s part.

PR: And the fact that we all see that final goal really helps.  We all see everywhere that we can go with [our resources].

How many other students are involved with CPR on average?

SP: The first semester it started, we had a small group of maybe eight people.  Today, we have roughly 27 people. 

PR: [Due to the heavy college course load], there are probably around 15 very active members, which is a good point to get a lot of work done and then have the other members to fill in when they are able to. 

Professor David Musial of Stevens has been the executive director of CPR.  How has he tied CPR in with classroom and real-life knowledge?

PR: That is what Professor Musial does.  He’s excellent at it.

SP: It took a lot of social engineering both on the part of David Musial and the students involved to really show the [college’s] administration that we were serious and that we were beneficial to have.  It’s really a different opportunity that schools of this type would generally not offer their students.

PR: Now that we’re offering the Music Technology major, it’s important that we have this business.

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SP:  Most music schools have a record label, we differed from that and needed something.

PR: That was one of the driving forces that Professor Musial had stressed to the students.  That’s how he got a lot of the students interested in this organization.  He said “we need this, look how this is going to benefit you and your resume.” From him saying that this would be really cool to the students and us saying that it really would be beneficial, let’s do it to getting all of the legal stuff, all the ideas, the business plans submitted to the school.  Then it just went from there.

So in February, you received funding for the first album.  When did production begin?

PR: Less than two or three weeks later.

SP: The bands were there for less than week and we were in the studio for a week and a half for polishing, etc. 

What have your positions been with the Record Company?

SP: I started out as a studio coordinator and worked with the bands and Rob Harari, the studio owner, to set up the times and equipment needed.  I basically took control of all the studio operations in that period.  I was also the unofficial spokesperson for CP for a while.  I did all the interviews.  My voice was pretty much everywhere [laughs].

PR: I was the Director of Technology, so I was working mainly on the website at the time just to get something working so we had a place to put some press releases.  Beyond that, we really were involved with everything. 

SP: We worked as our own A&R Department, for example.  The amount of work that went into that alone was unbelievable.  But you don’t realize how much work you’re doing when you’re having fun; that’s what it comes down to.

For CPR’s first album you had the chance to work with longtime Bowie guitarist Carlos Alomar.  What was that experience like?

SP: It was pretty damn cool. 

PR: Yeah, he has a great ear, great ideas, great musician and he’s a cool guy too.

SP: He’s an amazing person just to talk to.  Every time he talked, especially in the studio, you would get this nugget of wisdom that you would just want to like write down and run out of the door with [both laugh].

PR: It was just so unbelievable.  One day, I actually got to play his twelve-string in the studio, which was so cool.

SP: [Carlos Alomar’s presence] is something that you really can’t really put into words. 

PR: He liked the concept of the label a lot too.

Steve, I understand that Carlos Alomar is also your guitar teacher at Stevens.  What have your lessons been like?

SP: Carlos has really taken my knowledge and brings it to the next level of understanding.  He’ll apply a certain techniques based on what you want to get from your lesson that day.  It really won’t do him justice to say that he just does one style of teaching, because if I walk in the next day and say that ‘I want to do this,’ Carlos would help me achieve that no matter what.  It’s a tremendous gift.  He is the most amazing musician that I ever had a chance to sit down with and talk to.

Besides Carlos and David, you worked with New Jersey rock producer Rob Harari, who in fact let CPR record in his studios.  What was he like to work with?

PR: What he did in terms of production on the songs with the bands and how he dealt with the people was amazing. 

SP: Rob is a talent.  I actually had the pleasure spending the summer working with him as an intern.  He used amazing technique to get the right sound out of the available space, while doing it in a short amount of time. 

PR: Rob also has impeccable ears.  If something sounded good before, all of a sudden he would twist a knob and it would be boom, boom perfect, absolutely perfect.  He also knows how to work with people

SP: That’s something that people don’t realize about what it is to be a producer or a recording engineer.  When dealing with bands, it takes just as much psychology as anything else to get a good recording. 

PR: A band may do a really great job when they’re in front of a crowd, but when you walk them into a studio, it’s a different feeling.  To make them play as if they were playing to a million people, Rob could do it.  He’s top notch at that.

I understand that you worked with two bands in the studio; one was called Last Perfect Thing, and the other John Connor.  What were these groups like to work with?

SP: Last Perfect Thing was a really great band; they were a lot of fun to work with.  We came from the same area, so we gelled a little too much [laughs].  They’re very passionate about what they do and they enjoy what they do, you could tell.  You could feel the vibe through the music that they recorded and how magical that period of time was in the studio.

PR: They’re just really great guys and very confident musicians. They have great music; that’s the reason that we picked them.  The members of LPT were able to do things on a fly.  It was a dream to have them in the studio.  They loved the music, which really helps.   

SP: You could tell that they were all friends too, which is something that’s really amazing. 

SP: John Connor was a very good band to work with.  They knew where they wanted to take their music.  The lead singer had great ideas and was more than willing to share them with the rest of us.  And because of that, it went very smoothly because there were really no problems.

When is the first album expected to hit shelves?

SP: Mid-November.

What future plans do you have with CPR?

PR: Since I am a senior, I will be involved in the starting process for the next album.  From my point of view, the creative process for me will be to push CPR’s idea in a direction. 

SP: I’m hoping to make this company almost like something that will keep coexisting after I’m gone, so it could function and work as a business venture as well as an academic and fun venture after I’m long gone.

PR: It will be nice to be on the outside and see records come out from us and say “wow, I was a part of that.”  To keep the ball rolling is kind of cool.

-What points from CPR could you use for the rest of your lives?

PR: I would love to do this for a living and I learned a lot from being with CPR.  The production skills that I gained from watching Rob Harari alone, for example, really made me understand what the dynamic of producing should be.  

SP: I had a chance to see how the real world does this.  There are a lot of things that will mislead you on how this happens.  The reality of it is a completely different idea.  You really get to see how to carry yourself.  On another note, I’ve learned more than I could imagine in a span shorter than a year.  CPR has opened so many more opportunities that I never would have had the chance to have if this had not existed.  

Special thanks to Raymond Paul Perfetti for the photo

Check out CPR’s website at www.castlepointrecords.org

Ken Bachor is a student at Stevens, contact him at kbachor@stevens.edu