making music and memories A professional music studio for working musicians and everyone else who loves music, Two PM Junction is a labor love from Steve and Marsha Mason. STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN MILLER
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hen my granddaughter, Eloise, was about to turn five years old, I wanted to give her a gift that would last a lifetime, something that would never wear out or get lost at the bottom of the toy box. After much deliberation, I decided to write her a song that I named “Ol’ Floridy,” drawn from my love for the Florida wilderness. Because I don’t have a great singing voice, I turned to my musician friend, Stephen Mason, to come up with a melody and chord structure to match my lyrics. Steve’s home music studio, Two PM Junction, is capable of producing high quality recordings, as well as voice-overs, acoustic accompaniment, and many other services for musicians hoping to make demos, or “work tapes,” which can be submitted to record companies for their consideration. But he also offers music services to people like me who just want to record a song, or perhaps convert old tapes and 4-track analog music to digital files.
After I submitted my lyrics to Steve, he produced a broadcast-quality MP3 file that I was able to email to my daughter, Avery, which she played for Eloise on her birthday. “I thought it was a lovely song and a very sweet gift idea,” says Avery. “Eloise loved it and wanted to listen to it over and over!” Steve is a singer/songwriter specializing in country music, with overtones of folk/rock and blues. His eclectic style heralds from his days living in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he studied chord and scale theory under the instruction of Lewis McGhee, one of Tidewater Virginia’s finest musicians. Steve’s career in civil service brought him to Amelia Island in 1990, where he met his wife, Marsha, and the couple’s love for music grew as they became connected to local musicians. After his retirement, Steve’s dream of a professional home recording studio came to fruition. continued on page 61.
49 AMELIA ISLANDER MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2017
www.AmeliaIslander.com