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Kiley Grimes knows the feeling of music swelling inside you and having nowhere to set it free.
Early in her time at the University of Missouri, Grimes made purposeful retreats to the piano room in her dorm basement, unburdening her creative energy and any lingering stress. After leaving dorm life, she would occasionally sneak back in to play a few bars, she admits.
Not having a place to make music hinders the creative spirit, and Grimes’ familiarity with that “pain point” spurred a. brainstorm that’s now a business. Soundcheck, which opened last month in the North Village Arts District, offers musicians of all experience levels a safe, inviting practice space that can be booked any hour of the day, much like a 24/7 gym.
“We know what it’s like to host band practice in your friend’s garage, play your favorite songs on the worst keyboard, or only be able to play the drums when nobody is home … you get the point,” the Soundcheck website notes.
The room(s) where music happens
Grimes grew up with a sort of surround sound. Her musician father has gigged around Springfield, Illinois for decades; now her brother, a drummer, plays in the same band. As a kid, she succumbed to the pull of the piano.
For years, her dad practiced in a “little dungeon downstairs,” which Grimes considered one of the coolest spaces anywhere. Still, the setup wasn’t completely rocksteady. Her mother would stomp on the kitchen floor when it was time for quiet, Grimes said with good humor.
Her father’s band lived out a common experience: migrating from practice space to practice space, eventually running out of members’ garages, she said. Today, they practice in a storage unit.
This progression — and her own searches for an available piano — came to mind as Grimes sifted startup ideas as part of MU’s Entrepreneurship Alliance, a spring intensive for business-minded students.
At the top of a notebook page, Grimes wrote “things that I love — arrow — things that I hate about these things that I love,” she said.
If businesses like gyms could charge customers to use their equipment in a clean, welcoming atmosphere, maybe a musical space could function similarly, Grimes thought.
As the idea crystallized, the empathy she had for fellow musicians met an ecosystem in which she’d been moving, she said; Grimes has interned for Redbud VC, a local venture capital firm, shadowed and met with as many business founders as she can, and moved through entrepreneur-forward spaces at MU.
Still a college senior, Grimes has found a certain harmony in this moment. To be a young founder meant dropping out of school, she initially thought. Rejecting a false choice, she moved to an online, largely asynchronous degree program and, to hear her tell it, feels no real tension between education and business. Each is serving the other well.
How Soundcheck works — and feels
Local musicians can book practice time through Soundcheck’s website; they receive an access code and instructions 15 minutes ahead of their reservation.
Upon entering the space, they will find drums, keyboards, guitars and basses, microphones, a sound mixer and more. The more includes atmosphere.
Grimes decorated the studio to her own aesthetic, which she describes as “moody … vibrant, comfortable.” More interesting and potentially generative than, say, a storage unit, the space is filled with plants, large rugs, well-considered lighting.
Early in the life of Soundcheck, Grimes notices a variety of artists availing themselves of the space. She expressed surprise at the number of private instructors who want to book time, and is excited to help them further their own businesses.
Looking around, Grimes sees only potential. The space could work for aspiring comics who want to watch and hone their own work at the microphone, she said; or for podcasters who want something better than a blank wall staring back from behind them.
Last month, Soundcheck hosted a concert for around 35 people, featuring touring artist Covenhoven and local duo The January Lanterns.
“It was really something out of a movie,” Grimes said, recalling the emotion shared by the musicians, the audience and her own crescendoing sense of what she’d done.
Grimes has designs on presenting more shows, and would love to hold more immersive musical experiences such as sound baths or other types of guided meditation.
A deeper experience of music
Grimes would not have initially considered her musical and entrepreneurial sides aligning in one business — “Never saw that in the stars — never, ever,” she said.
Now, she envisions her love of music deepening by the day. With the space available to other artists, and also to herself, she wants to play more often, maybe even start a band. And she’s excited to gain more awareness of what music does for us, learning the neuroscience behind its indelible impression on our lives.
Grimes also welcomes music’s unique ability to create community. She doesn’t want cash flow to hinder musicians, especially students, from utilizing Soundcheck’s services and encourages anyone feeling a price pinch to contact her directly.
After all, music is an art enjoyed as people engage with people.
“Definitely I want to break down the barrier of this business just being a business. This business is a person, and the person is me,” Grimes said.
Soundcheck is located at 110 Orr St. Suite 104. Learn more or explore booking a session at https://soundcheck.studio/.
Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He’s on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.
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