NEW TIMES: What is Rippin Rehearsal?
GORTON: It’s a place for musicians to come and meet their requirements as a musician, you know? Rent a room, rent equipment, record, and not get bothered by your parents. We have nice rooms—soundproof—and we’ll help you out. We’re musicians’ friends, too. And if you don’t have your own equipment, we got $25,000 worth of stuff here for you to use.
NEW TIMES: Is it only for youngsters?
GORTON: Not at all. It’s for musicians of any age, of any skill level, beginner to top-notch. Come one, come all. I have one studio set up where you can use my P.A., my drums, everything. And it’s top-dollar stuff that will make you sound good. If you come in with your band to rehearse, we can record your rehearsal on C.D. or video. And it’s always good to record yourself because you never know what you’ll miss when you’re caught up in the moment. And we want every genre of music. That’s what we’re here for—to show off the talent of the Central Coast.
NEW TIMES: Only music?
GORTON: I’m sure I’d be open with just about anything performance-related where you could use a sound-proof room for rehearsal.
NEW TIMES: How did the business start?
GORTON: I’ve been playing since I was 4 years old. I was in a few good bands on the L.A. circuit, and this is something I’ve wanted to do for years. God has blessed me to be able to do it now. We opened the doors [Nov.14] and we had a grand opening bash with about 70 people.
NEW TIMES: What are your plans for the future? Any upcoming events?
GORTON: We’re going to start doing a battle of the bands and, of course, there’ll be prizes and a trophy. For New Years we’re going to give away a guitar and an amp in a raffle.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 3, 2009.