A "Fly On The Wall"

When I started working in Los Angeles in the mid 70’s I was lucky enough to score a job at the Record Plant Studios on 3rd Street. I was blown away by the size of the complex. Not only did they have four rooms in LA, they owned several remote trucks and a three-room studio in Sausalito a few miles north of San Francisco. For a kid from the Midwest it didn’t get any better. I’ve had the pleasure of working at some of the great multi-room studios in California such as Conway and Rumbo Recorders, but the Record Plant holds a special place in my heart because it’s where I got my start.

What appealed to me about working in one of these large studio complexes were the increased opportunities to advance and learn due to the number of sessions that were taking place. In those days I was often working two sessions a day, and on occasion three. Though the workload was grueling, I met a great deal of individuals that would eventually end up as my friends and business associates.

When I was off the clock I would hang out in the lounge surrounded by pinball machines and the enormous fish tank. There, I would listen and gather information as everyone converged to decompress from the days work. As a second engineer the knowledge I gained as a “fly on the wall” would help to shape the way I would eventually make records. You could almost consider the lounge a satellite studio or classroom where musicians, producers and engineers would share ideas and talk about performances from each other’s tracks. I overheard a lot of great stories and gossip as well but was smart enough to use discretion before repeating anything.

Lockouts were rare in those days and infringement on someone’s privacy was a very serious matter that in a worst-case scenario could lead to possible dismissal. I must confess that on more than one occasion I sneaked a peak in the studios locked out by one of the “heavy hitters” that were recording at the Record Plant. There was something exciting about walking into the dark room before anyone arrived or after they exited from a long recording session. Turning up the lights careful not to get caught or disturb anything, I felt butterflies in my stomach as I looked around the room hoping to learn a secret or two from Bill Szymczyk, Geoff Emerick or Bill Halverson. I was usually more interested in microphone placement and instrument set up than eq’s that would have nothing to do with anything other than the audio that was passed through the board at that moment.

Today it’s become more difficult to enjoy these types of experiences. Unless you’ve been given a decent budget, chances are you’ve not had the luxury to settle into one of these unique establishments. It’s become necessary to reach beyond the recording studio to learn from our peers and networking has become a vital tool. Events put on by the Producers and Engineers Wing of The Recording Academy, ASCAP, BMI, Billboard Magazine and others educate and advise participants on a variety of subjects. They are a great way to stay in touch, meet new people and exchange ideas. You can take part in seminars on songwriting, music production, tour promotion and almost anything else related to music and digest it just I did sitting in the lounge of the Record Plant. So put yourself out there, have a great time and see what you can achieve.