Worrytime Studios offers tape-based, all-analog audio production, multi-format film photography, and comprehensive curation and communications services in collaboration with like-minded creatives everywhere.
Nestled in the heart of Acadiana, Worrytime Studios is first a cozy, all-analog recording studio near Downtown Lafayette, LA. Hosted and helmed by Ryan DeJean, this home away from home within a home can comfortably accommodate solo artists to large bands alike of all genres.
Gear-wise, the core of the studio is a Tascam 246 four-track console loaded with new-old-stock TDK and Maxell cassettes. It is perfectly paired with FMR channel compressors and a variety of microphones, including Cascade ribbons and quality preamps. The main effects unit is a museum-grade Roland RE-501 Chorus Echo equipped with fresh Echo Fix loops, though many other vintage effects are available. The studio also has an eclectic selection of electric and acoustic instruments on hand. A comprehensive gear list can be provided.
But Worrytime is so much more than the gear. These tools have been selected because of the beauty and character inherent in the challenges of making the most of limited-fidelity machines. The focus is not on the pursuit of perfection or style over substance but rather on presenting things as they are with warmth and intimacy. Ryan’s approach keeps things honest and immediate.
Since 2014, Ryan has worked with a diverse roster of artists, producing records by Dickie Landry, Louis Michot, Julie Odell, Sarah Burke, Tasche & The Angels, Christiaan Mader of Brass Bed, Carbon Poppies, Blayze Viator, Dustin Gaspard, Early Day Miners, Kleaner, and Renée Reed, just to name a few. He also has longstanding partnerships with an excellent hybrid studio and a world-class mastering studio, both of which complement our philosophy and are conveniently located nearby.
Booking options are flexible, ranging from single, one-and-done sessions to multiple days and overnight stays. Private accommodations are available. Rates include pre-production, tape, recording, mixing, and hospitality.
Hit Contact for more details on the whats and whys and to discuss how we can bring your four-track, tape-based dreams to life together.
Worrytime Studios is also a film-only, travel-friendly photo studio with an eye for documentary photography and portraiture.
Ryan uses hearty medium-format and super-fast 35mm SLR cameras, as well as a selection of excellent vintage point-and-shoots. The studio’s film fridge is a treasure trove of professional, experimental, and rare, expired film stocks.
However, it’s not this equipment that defines the Worrytime approach; using these tools requires everyone to be grounded and present, resulting in photos worth making. There is no forced posing, cut-and-paste processing, or “fixing things in post.” Like the tape and tape heads in the recording studio, the film and lenses in these cameras keep everything immediate and authentic. Whether you are being vulnerable, performing in character, or displaying all of your many multitudes at once, Ryan is able to connect with you as you are and capture your unique essence. He likewise excels at on-site documentation, capturing events as they unfold without intruding or projecting.
Since 2014, Ryan’s work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions in Lafayette, LA, New Orleans, Chicago, and San Francisco. He has also shot for the Southern Screen Film Festival, Lafayette Travel, various local, regional, and national artists, and a long list of private clients. Visit Worrytime Studios’ Instagram to see a selection of recent and occasional archival works.
Services are flexible, ranging from single-roll sessions to multiple- and mixed-roll shoots. Basic packages include planning, the film, the shoot, up to two hours of roundtrip travel, developing, high-resolution scans, a year of edits, and indefinite backup storage. Additional options for longer travel, prints, specialty film stocks, and other custom requests are available.
Contact Worrytime Studios for more details to discuss and plan your next shoot.
Last but certainly not least, Worrytime Studios is a boutique communications agency that is passionate about curation and community building.
Good curation goes beyond filling an event calendar, negotiating mutually beneficial terms, executing events on time, or even having great taste. It’s about understanding how to invest in relationships by creating meaningful opportunities for everyone involved. It means maximizing and leveraging available resources to nurture and grow your community. It involves creating a sense of genuine belonging beyond physical spaces, which in turn fosters a greater capacity for connection and engagement. And yes, impeccable taste, timeliness, great terms, and a full booking calendar are essential!
These nuanced principles, honed by Ryan over a decade-plus and more than 350 events, guide Worrytime Studios’ approach to all strategic and creative communications efforts.
Nothing about Worrytime Studios is one-size-fits-all. A specialized team is assembled per project, and we immerse ourselves in your world to design and deliver what you uniquely need, nothing more, nothing less. Visit Contact now to start the conversation.
Born in Opelousas and raised in Lafayette, aside from a three-year stint in Ville Platte, Ryan began attending and recording shows in the local DIY music scene at the tender age of 14. After high school, he spent several years living in Denver and Europe before earning his B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Louisiana, focusing on culture, linguistics, and folklore. Most wonderfully, his son arrived in the middle of his degree.
While at UL and embracing fatherhood, Ryan was also a member of several popular and distinctive bands. In the years that followed, Ryan founded efforts to nurture Lafayette’s “non-traditional” creative community while building bridges between it, local “traditional” arts, and the region at large, single-handedly curating over 300 events in less than five years. He also produced a series of studio and live recordings for a wide range of artists from south Louisiana, and had a celebrated, seven-year run producing a weekly radio show on Lafayette’s NPR-affiliated KRVS.
After more than a decade of working in creative and strategic communications, including a role as a civil servant at Lafayette Consolidated Government, Ryan launched Worrytime Studios. At the same time, he returned to UL to pursue a Master’s in English, concentrating in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. His research interests center on Cajun English, contemporary Cajunness, and comparative Cajun studies.
Ryan is a musician, recording engineer, photographer, curator, and communications professional. He travels regularly. He puts his heart into everything he does and looks for the heart in everything, too. Above all, Ryan loves his family and his friends and is a cheerleader for everything and everyone he cares for.
“I’ve spent over a decade helping people tell their stories. I specialize in creating and curating projects that bring people together through the warmth of analog recording and film photography and the power of creative collaboration. Whether working solo or with a project-specific team, my studio brings ideas to life in a meaningful and personal way. Currently earning my Master’s in Linguistics and TESOL, I’m always acquiring new ways to connect, create, and inspire. Let’s make something together that matters.”