Memphis: What A Music Town!

Yours truly, Adrianna Marie and guitarist LA Jones

I spent a few days in Memphis last week and if you're a musician, that's one place you have to put on your bucket list. The town is filled with music history, and the best part is that, unlike many other bastions of musicality, so much of it is preserved for the world to enjoy.

I was actually in town for the Blues Music Awards and to give a clinic at the Visible Music College (thank you Tommy Lozure for your hospitality), mostly at the behest of Best New Artist Nominee Adrianna Marie and her Groovecutters. Adrianna is a terrific singer and interpreter of 40's style blues, and I was lucky enough to work on her album last year.

The Groovecutters on the big screen at the Blues Awards show

  First of all, if you're into the blues, the Blues Music Awards is one show that you must attend at least once. It truly is the blues at it's best. I agree that blues can be boring sometimes unless an artist is really great, but this show was 5 hours of greatness and excitement. 

To me, some of the best performances of the evening came from the solo performers like the great Rory Block, Doug MacLeod and Beth Hart. This was not your typical 12 bar blues but something on a completely other level. Of course, Adrianna and her Groovecutters opened the show with the power that only a horn section can bring, and also not your typical 12 bar.

Big Star drummer Jody Stephens and Bobby O at Ardent

But back to Memphis - I can't believe how much there is to see there. My first stop was at the famous Ardent Studios where general manager Jody Stephens showed me around. Jody is music royalty in that he's the drummer and an original member of Big Star, one of the most influential bands to ever come out of that part of the country.

Ardent Studio A = Magic!

Ardent is a magic place. When I walked into the tracking room of Studio A, it just felt like home. I'm doing my best to have a project to go back to record there. I want some of it to rub off.

The control room of Studio A featured a 60 input Neve VR.

Ardent Studio C

Studio C at Ardent was interesting in that it felt more like a room in LA from the 80s, which actually made sense since it was built around that time. That said, studio still had that vintage Ardent feel. This room was equipped with an SSL Duality.

Ardent Vintage Outboard Gear

Both rooms had plenty of interesting old outboard gear. It was nice to see real working versions of an Eventide 949, Lexicon Prime Time, ADR scamp rack, Marshall Time Modulator, Fairchild 660 and 670 and lots more.

When was the last time you saw a Scamp Rack?

Former Stax mastering engineer Larry Nix and Bobby O

Another treat was getting to hang with Larry Nix, the mastering engineer who did all of the Stax material that we know and love, as well as 78 gold and platinum records, 14 Grammy winners and 2 Oscars (and ZZ Top too). Larry's vintage Neumann V72 lathe is cutting records every day.

Tomorrow, much more Memphis, including the Stax Museum and Beale Street.

----------------------------------

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

10 More Must-See Studios Before You Die

Quite a number of readers liked my "10 Must-See Studios Before You Die" post, of which I had to leave a good many great studios off the list. It's true that a list of 10 is way too short, so here are 10 more studios that every musician, artist, engineer and producer might want to put on that bucket list.

The Woodshed

The Woodshed - Malibu, CA
The Woodshed is a private studio built by my buddy composer Richard Gibbs for his private use, but later opened up to the elite artists of the world like U2, Sting, Barbra Streisand, Lenny Kravits and many more. It's located overlooking Zuma Beach in Malibu, but it's probably the most intelligently designed recording facility that I've ever seen. The room is large enough for a 30 piece string orchestra, but can be split in halves or thirds with custom built moveable walls (a wonder in themselves) that provide the same isolation as regular built walls. The console bay/listening area can also be moved to multiple places around the room. And both the studio and setting are drop-dead gorgeous.

Motown Hitsville - Detroit
There's nothing like going to see where so many of the great hits that made up the soundtracks of our lives were made in the 60s and 70s. Now a museum, the home of the former Motown records will shock you with how small it is, and how many people managed to sound so good at the same time.

The Elvis Cabinet at RCA Studio B

RCA Studio B - Nashville
Now also a museum, there's nothing better than seeing the old gear, instruments, setup and studio where an amazing number of country classics were born in the 50s through the 70s. I especially liked the cabinet that Elvis kicked and broke. The studio said they wouldn't fix it until he paid for it. It's still broken.

Fame Sound - Muscle Shoals, Alabama
So much great music came out of this studio, from Wilson Picket to Aretha Franklin to even "Brown Sugar" by the The Rolling Stones. Of course, the great rhythm Muscle Shoals rhythm section had a lot to do with it.

Ocean Way Nashville

Ocean Way Nashville
Formerly a church, few large studios can compare with Ocean Way Nashville. It's a big complex, but the main large room is one of a kind. Now owned by Belmont College but still available for hire.

Ardent Studios - Memphis
Sam & Dave, Booker T and the MGs, ZZ Top, Freddie King and about a thousand other major and influential artists have called Ardent their home over time. The studio continues to book sessions, with two of the three studios still in their original form.

Sun Studios - Memphis
The home of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, and arguably the true birthplace of rock n' roll. Sun is now a museum and available for tours, so all you have to do is get yourself to Memphis. I once met owner Sam Phillips and he was so gracious it was unbelievable. No wonder he was such a success.

Real World Studios - Box, Wiltshire, England
Peter Gabriel's UK laboratory is much admired around the world (like its owner). This studio might have set the standard for the new wave of open, natural sunlight studios that have taken over from the closed rooms we were used to for so long.

Criteria Studios (Hit Factory)

Criteria (Hit Factory) - Miami
In the 70s, Criteria was the place to be for making hits. Home to The Bee Gees, great records were made there by Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, The Eagles, Bob Marley and hundreds more. It's still open for business, but now owned by The Hit Factory.

Air Studios

Air Studios - Hampstead, England
Producer George Martin's studio after he went independent from EMI, this facility is still a major force in the UK, with a huge live room in Lyndhurst Hall as well as a number of smaller studios.

Once again, I'm sure I've left many worthy facilities out, but if you get to see the ones listed above (as well as the first 10 from the previous article), you'll find at least a little slice of studio nirvana.

----------------------------------

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter and Facebook for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.