A Little Recording History

As a teenager I remember being on the porch swing listening to The Cure’s “Lovesong” on my Walkman.  I knew how many people were in the band and I realized I was hearing more parts in the song than there were band members to play them.  That was the moment I became interested in how records were made.

I’ve been making music however I could since my college days.  Before then I played in a band but never tried to record anything.  Analog equipment was scarce, but when I got to school in 1994 digital recording was gaining traction.  I got as far into the music program’s recording studio as I could.  I got to use a nice Soundcraft recording console and work with 2-inch tape, but I probably got more value working with early versions of ProTools and Digital Performer, learning sequencing and some digital recording.  I think it was in my second year that I was able to afford my own computer.  A PC, an Epiphone Casino, and an Alesis QS6 got me started.  

PCs and apartments came and went.  I got sick of software crashes, motherboard problems, and hard drives going down so I made the change to Macs in the early 2000’s and never looked back.  It still hurts a bit to think of the projects lost on dead drives.  I’ve never had hardware issues with Apple products in the last 20+ years.

In 2008 I bought a house and spent a good 9 months or so making my first real studio in the basement.  It was nothing great, but it was mine.  In 2009, Endless Studios opened.  Due to how the space was broken up and the location of the furnace, the control room was not adjacent to the live room.  The ceilings were also pretty low, but I made it work.  The live room was completely painted black with chalkboard paint, maybe not the friendliest option for non-goth folks, but friends could draw stuff and leave messages which was great.  It served proudly for about 13 years until I sold the house and moved on.  All my first releases through Remains were recorded there.  

Between selling one house and buying another, a year was spent in an apartment where a very large bedroom which was the second incarnation of Endless.  Most of my gear was left in storage, but a surprising amount of work got done there, including most of Ashes (A Homecoming).

It’s been two years now since moving into my second house.  Only a relatively small amount of work was needed to convert a family room into Endless Studios III.  It’s one room for tracking and mixing, which is just big enough to hold everything plus a small client couch (loveseat really).  It’s great to have everything out and at hand when working, and it gets nice natural light.  And so far no complaints from the neighbors!