JingleTown, Oakland, Calif.
Studio A Control Room at JingleTown
Reggae-rock band The Expendables worked on an upcoming album in Studio A with producer Gordon Brislawn and engineer Lee Bothwick, where all drums, bass and guitars were tracked live together. The main vocal and backup vocal were then overdubbed live together…The Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones project Foreverly was mixed by Chris Dugan in Studio A through the Neve 8068 with minimal processing: GML 8900 on the vocals and a Chandler Zener Limiter on bass and mono drums…Pop/electro band Midi Matilda worked on their debut album in Studio A to be released on Five Seven Music, with Reto Peter engineering and the band producing.
25th Street Recording, Oakland, Calif.
Dr. Dog live at 25th Street Recording
Renowned singer/drummer/percussionist Sheila E. worked on her album Icon, with engineers Raymond McKinley, Sir Mychael Davison, Peter Michael Escovedo and Scott Bergstrom. Sheila E. produced the project, with John Schimpf mastering…Experimental rockers Oxbow cut basics for their new release with producer Joe Chiccarelli, with Scott Bergstrom and Chiccarelli engineering…Rock band Dr. Dog recorded the Pandora Radio Live at 25th Street project with producers Mike Fink and Pandora Radio, and engineers David Lichtenstein, Schimpf, Bergstrom and John Smart.
Skywalker Sound, Marin County
The Del Sol String Quartet at Skywalker Sound
December was Bay Area String Quartet month at Skywalker Sound, with Del Sol and Kronos recording albums, produced by Judy Sherman and recorded by Leslie Ann Jones; and Cypress String Quartet, produced by Cecily Ward and recorded by Mark Willsher…The scores for two documentaries—The Case Against 8 and Marmato—were also recorded at Skywalker…Judy Kirschner recorded material for pianist Alexander Sung…Jones produced and mixed I Am Harvey Milk, a live recording with composer Andrew Lippa and the SF Gay Men’s Chorus.
Different Fur, San Francisco
STS9 at Different Fur Studios
Different Fur just wrapped up its third installment of the Converse Rubber Tracks Sessions Rubber Tracks Pop-Up. Each two-week Pop-Up gives 10 local artists a day of free studio time with the studio. The most recent Pop-Up has been host to a variety of local artists, including Doe Eye, Swiftumz, Afrolicious…Bob Mould worked on new material with engineer Beau Sorenson (assisted by Nic Pope). Mould also produced…Pope engineered the final mixdown using the studio’s Pro Tools HDX system and analog gear on new material for electronic/funk/jazz instrumental band STS9.
Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, Calif.
Photo: Kyle Hixson
Dancehall/reggae artist Sean Paul recorded vocals on the new SSL Duality SE in Studio A, with Adam Munoz engineering…Rock band Iggy & the Stooges recorded and mixed Ready to Die in Studio D with Jesse Nichols engineering…Funk/rock/soul band Sly & the Family Stone had a full band reunion video shoot and interview for their latest box set in Studio D, with Munoz engineering…Actor Patrick Stewart recorded multiple voiceover projects for TV shows and ads in Studio D, with Alberto Hernandez.
Decibelle, San Francisco
Matt Nathanson
Folk/rock singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson recorded new material with producers Jake Sinclair and Mike Viola, and engineers Chris Reynolds and JJ Wiesler. Basics were cut to 2-inch tape on a Studer 827 at 15 ips, then transferred to Pro Tools. The band recorded live in the room with Nathanson cutting scratch vocals in the large iso booth using a Neumann U 47 or a Shure SM7. Vocal chain was a Neve 1073 or API 212 into a Universal Audio 1176…Rock/soul/country band Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers were in the studio with producers Tim Bluhm and Wiesler (Wiesler also engineering).
