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The Southeast Portland recording studio and creative space Burn Money Music was lost in a fire that started in an adjacent creative space on Wednesday, Aug. 13, damaging two other neighboring businesses. Though some of the studio’s more costly equipment like musical instruments was salvaged, Burn Money Music’s building was also looted following the fire, as were smoke-damaged cars left in the area, according to people Willamette Week spoke with who regularly used the space in their careers.
While the fire is still under investigation, equipment like storage for Burn Money Music’s recording library is still being tested, and according to an official fundraiser page, early denials of fire insurance claims are under appeal.
Rap, electronic and pop artists frequented Burn Money Music over its near-decade in business after it was founded in 2016 by Jason Navarrete, half of the production duo Yellow Trash Can. Some of Burn Money Music’s most visible clients are pitching in to get the recording studio and its staff back on their feet.
On Tuesday, Aug. 26, the rapper Bocha will dedicate his birthday to a fundraising party at Little Griddle to help support a GoFundMe campaign that has reached just over half of its $10,000 goal during the first week since it was launched.
“The space became like my home; it’s what I would call HQ if any of my friends from out of town came to town. That would be the place I’d say, let’s go to ‘the studio,’ and that would be Burn Money,” Bocha says. “It just became a hub, especially if you were a DIY type of artist or you’re not super mainstream and trying to feel like you’re part of a community. We’re all open arms in there.”
Bocha has recorded four projects at Burn Money Music during his career, including his album Hooligan, the compilation album Soggy, and an unreleased album still in the works, though he’s released multiple singles this year. He and Little Griddle co-owner Judd Harris wanted to do their parts to support Burn Money Music. Harris was a session drummer for different artists, and both musicians appreciated the community atmosphere cultivated by other creatives associated with the studio.
“It’s so sudden, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Harris says. “To be honest, the actual amount we would need to really rebuild the studio and replace everything that’s going to need replacing is much more than $10,000, but it seems like $10,000 is a goal that we can probably realistically get to, and if we surpass that, that’s amazing.”
Logan Lynn finished recording his new album, The Pain and the Power, on Aug. 12, and is donating proceeds from his new single “Too Hard” to Burn Money Music’s recovery efforts. Lynn has recorded since 2022 at Burn Money Music, where he recorded projects such as his EP Distracted. Like Bocha and Harris, the queer singer-songwriter appreciated the atmosphere around Burn Money Music cultivated by its multitalented creatives.
“It’s always been a place that’s felt like home to me, like I belonged there every time I arrived, no matter who was there,” Lynn says. “I think that’s the magic that Jason and all of them have been cultivating out of the studio for years, so that’s the part that feels really sad but also really portable. That magic is not limited to a building. That can happen wherever they rebuild, and I’m certainly down to help with that.”
Of all the spaces he’s recorded in, iLoveMakonnen (aka Makonnen Sheran) echoed his peers’ sentiments in praising the community found at Burn Money Music. The rapper—known for his Grammy-nominated 2014 song, “Tuesday,” and his associations with artists like Drake, Mike WiLL Made-It and the late Lil Peep—retired from the music industry last fall, but now works on a visual art practice characterized by a thick use of paint, intentionally messy linework, and bright, vivid colors (he’s had two exhibitions already, including one in Portland back in January).
“I like to express my human flaw, my human error, my human imperfectness, and just try to revisit things and make things that I wish I could have done earlier in life but maybe didn’t have the confidence or time to, and now I feel fearless in expressing myself in such ways,” he says.
Sheran, who creates art and stylized paint-stained clothing under Makoregon503, says he lost paintings and clothing to the fire. He will need time to recover before rebuilding the body of work he built over a year, but Sheran seems to have found healing in the art practice he honed at Burn Money Music.
“I really enjoyed the people and skill set that they have, where the engineers and producers can play anything—we’re very multigenre and genre-bending, and very open to trying new things and being supportive,” he says. “That was a rare thing that I enjoyed about [Burn Money Music] that was different from other places, and it became a good place to meet other artists on the same page and the same wave. It felt natural.”
SEE IT: Bocha Birthday Burn Money Fundraiser at Little Griddle, 3566 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 503-236-6001, littlegriddlecafe.com. 4 pm Tuesday, Aug. 26. Pay what you can.
