West Philly music producer seeks community help after home, recording studio destroyed in fire

Fire destroys recording studio, home of Philly music producer

Fire ripped through and destroyed the West Philly home and recording studio of a 15-year music producer and he is seeking help in rebuilding.

WEST PHILADELPHIA - A home and recording studio that helped launch the careers of many well-known Philly music artists was destroyed in a fire in early April. The owners of the home, including 15-year music producer Jay Dempsey, is seeking help in rebuilding the home and studio. 

What we know:

For 15 years, music producer Jay Dempsey made music out of his basement on 58th Street in West Philadelphia.

That’s until April 7th, when an early morning fire ripped through and destroyed the home. Jay was home with his brother, Stefan, and his 2-year-old daughter, along with their mother. Fortunately, everyone made it out safely.

"Low key traumatized," said Stefan. "I do get those thoughts of what if I wasn’t there to alarm my family but I’m also blessed we all made it out unharmed."

Dempsey says the fire started in the basement where the studio was and more than $10,000 of equipment was destroyed.

Dig deeper:

The studio served as a safe space for many Philly artists to begin their career, such as FAKEFREEKP, who also lost some of his music in the fire.

"Without this being here and Jay doing the things that he has been doing since we were teenagers, I don’t know how I might be as an artist," said KP.

What you can do:

To help rebuild a new studio, a GoFundMe campaign has begun. Anyone wishing to contribute can do so here: Fundraiser by Stefan Dempsey : Suzanne Harris & Sons House Fire.