Musical guru opens studio and music venue in Vermilion

VERMILION — It's been more than 30 years since Scott Adkins first chucked it all to chase music. Granted, there wasn't much to chuck at the age of 12, when he first left on tour to stage manage an Ohio metal band, family friends, with his mom's blessing. He's been in the business and around it ever since, from on stage as a drummer to running an online music network, touring with national acts and catering at venues. "This is all I know how to do. I know people look at me at almost 50 and think "you're the old guy,' but I can still make it happen," Adkins said, laughing. He's hoping to make it happen again with a recording studio and live performance venue in Vermilion, his adopted hometown. Strum Around Studios has set up shop in a former bikers clubhouse and tattoo parlor on Vermilion's eastern edge. Adkins plans to use it as a studio to lay down tracks and an open spot for area bands to play and livestream performances. It started as an idea he and a musician friend had to find a place big enough to "put all our equipment in and jam." A few months ago he stopped into a restaurant across the street to pick up food and noticed the small building with a "for rent" sign. He called, the landlord met him the next day and a dream started to become a reality. This might be considered "Strum Around 2.0" after Adkins tried out another space in downtown Sandusky for a little more than a year. Building issues and a pandemic closed the doors, but Adkins thought the idea still had legs in a revamped way. This time around the focus is more squarely on the music rather than serving as an ad hoc art studio as well. Adkins isn't pushing the space for live music venues with crowds in attendance, but rather as a performance space where bands will livestream. "I'm taking all the mistakes and fixing those, focusing on the studio and fixing our recording issues," he said. Bands are given their recordings and a portion of ticket sales from fans "attending" online. "Society is changing and people don't go out like they used to. We'd book bands from all over the country and we couldn't get people in the door," he said. "Our livestreamed shows would have up to 200 viewers, but you'd be lucky to have five people show up." Then the pandemic came, turning his attention more and more to the possibilities of online music, something he's been working with since 2010. His new building didn't have the space to accommodate crowds and social distancing was hurting the business, keeping workers on all levels from keeping money, he said. He wanted it to have the feel of the old VH1 "Storyteller" series, focusing on intimate performances of well-known bands. He considered it for a while before pursuing it, "and the first day I announced we would reopen, more than 50 bands contacted me." "I like the fact that when bands come and see how small and relaxed it is, they feel it in the show. They put more effort into it. It's better than a studio. It's not just you stuck behind the glass in a sound room with three or four people staring at you, this is like you playing in your living room," he said. "Small groups of fans or family members can attend and there's still some crowd participation going on for the videos. It helps promote the bands more for themselves — if there's something you want to do in your show, do it." He envisions Strum Around — which was named after his former stage name, Scott Strum — as a place where unknown musicians can learn more about their craft and afford it. "When I do recording packages, I want to make it so anybody can do it, like a kid who wants to play his guitar. It gives him something to build off of. These are the things I wish we had growing up. I grew up a punk metal kid in the '90s. We could do these cool house shows but we couldn't play in bars and there was nowhere else to play. But here, they can play a show. They can get involved. I'm more than happy to give them my knowledge of 30-plus years." Adkins, a dad of five, wants to hold family-friendly events like outdoor movie nights or jam nights and drum circles in the future. The family relocated to Vermilion from Columbus in part to raise their kids in a smaller, less-frenzied pace and Adkins has long wanted to offer an arts venue in Vermilion. "I just wanted to bring more positivity and express more arts and music, and Vermilion is a great town for that," Adkins said. Strum Around Studios is at 465 Overlook Road. For information or to listen to its previously recorded shows, visit strumaround.com or facebook.com/strumaround or email strumaround@gmail.com. Contact Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com.