DETROIT – There's a lesser-known spot in the heart of Detroit that is just waiting to make music with the next up and coming artist.
"It's the best kept secret in the city," said Loren Harper, a member of the A.R.C singers.
Harper and the other A.R.C. singers, Charles Champion and Guy Tchwanto, are recording in the studio that is tucked inside the Salvation Army's downtown Detroit facility, which overlooks the riverfront.
"We do gospel music. We do inspirational gospel music. We do contemporary gospel. We will lean a little R&B as long as it's clean," Champion said.
A.R.C. is short for Adults Returning to Christ, and clean isn't just referring to the group's music, but their new-found lifestyle as well.
"Most of us came through rehabilitation in some form or another," Champion said. "I was 14 years old when I first started using any kind of drug or alcohol. I started out drinking wine, tried marijuana didn't like it and quickly moved on to amphetamines and that was ...I thought that was heaven."
Harper has a similar story. He used to smoke crack and couldn't hold a job.
But the singers were brought together through a six-month rehabilitation program at the Salvation Army.
"I stayed here three years. I needed help. You know, six months wasn't going to do it for me," Harper said.
And now, they not only record music in the Salvation Army studio, but they sing every week at the Salvation Army church in the same building.
"Every Sunday we are on fire," Harper said.
And they have the three albums to prove it, all recorded right in the studio inside of the place where they turned their life around.
"We have a unique sound and we have a vast array of equipment over here and what we don't have we can provide for any artist," said Tchwanto, who is also a studio engineer.
For more information on booking a recording session, please contact Charles Champion, The Salvation Army Southeast Michigan ARC director of music ministries, at 313-965-7760 ext. 211 or visit www.salarmythift.com.
Proceeds from the ARC recording studio benefit The Salvation Army Southeast Michigan Adult Rehabilitation Centers' independently funded, 180-day residential rehabilitation programs for men and women. For more information, visit www.salarmythrift.com.