D.O.A. Studios A Brief History

D.O.A. was opened in October 2003 by Don Mccoll and Andy Dawson. The studios were born out of the ashes of Ionian Studios, which had just moved premises to Wordsworth Trading Estate, unfortunately, due to circumstances out of their control, Ionian closed earlier that year. With all the work and effort that had gone into the relocation of the studios, Don and Andy agreed that it would be a waste to let all the hard work fall by the wayside and they set out to find a way to keep the studios alive.

With the help and support of the old Ionian team, Graham (Optimum Business Solutions), friends and family the rehearsal room doors were open once more to the public.

After a few weeks word of mouth had started to run its natural course and many bands who were Ionian regulars were returning to rehearse at D.O.A.

Since then D.O.A has become a community of bands, who, closely linked with the Bolton Music Collective, are striving to open a dedicated music venue in the town center.

D.O.A has been involved in some way with most of the new music events that have been springing up in the town in recent years, and the B.M.C is well on the way to achiving its goal.

With his help with the BMC and surrounding Music Scenes Andy Dawson is now as one of the most respected Sound Engineers in the area. He has worked with bands such as:

Rancid, 999, T.V. Smith, Boy Kill Boy, Little Man Tate, North Side,
Mohair, Art Brut, Send More Paramedics and Hella, to name a few

He can also be seen in the spotlight playing with the Harcore Punk Band Billyclub, as well as Session work with many other Bands.

Since getting an acoustig guitar for his Birthday in 2005, Don Mccoll has been teaching himself guitar and now can be seen at most of the acoustic nights in the Bolton area. His favorite being Sunday nights at the D&P