What People Are Saying
(Really Important People, Too!)
"If These Halls Could Talk" | "Born In A Small Town" COMING SOON!
"If These Halls Could Talk..."
Really
a special book that traces the golden years of music (in other
words - recording studios in the San Francisco Bay Area) during the
1960s and 70s and beyond. If you want to know where the Dead recorded
"American Beauty" or where Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
recorded "Deja Vu" - this is the book for you. But besides
these hippie classics - you get behind the scenes stories of SF punk
bands recording their LPs as well. The book does mention what kind of
equipment was used in certain studios or on certain records - but
it's MORE about the people, the music, and the building/locations of
the studios themselves. Very well researched and written. The
author interviewed alot of the people involved firsthand.
Reviewer:
Pat Thomas (San Francisco/Oakland) from the Amazon.com website.
---------------
Heather
Johnson, a well-known writer for Mix Magazine and many other
recording media related publications, has produced an extensively
researched, factual account of the history of the recording studios
and the creative people involved in the creation of the San Francisco
recording scene.
Starting in the post world war II era, San Francisco has inspired a
plethora of musical innovators of many genres: jazz and blues by Dave
Brubeck, Herbie Hancock and Lowell Fulsom, the “San Francisco
Sound” of the Grateful Dead, the Beau Brummels, and Creedence
Clearwater, the funk of Tower of Power, Sly and The Family Stone and
rock by Metallica, Dead Kennedys and Joe Satriani to name just a few.
Presently, the impact of contemporary bay area musicians continues unabated.
Without the local recording studios, much of this music would
have gone unheard by the world at large. From the top drawer
studios like CBS (later the Automatt), The Record Plant and Wally Heider's
(later Hyde Street), to mid level studios like Different Fur and Coast
Recorders, on down to “street level” studios like Funky
Jacks and Tewksbury, the recording scene was (and is) alive with personalities
and recording projects. Ms. Johnson has done an admirable job of illuminating
the struggles and triumphs of the many studio facilities, their founders,
and the engineers who have contributed so much to this rich musical
fabric.
Illustrated with dozens of photographs, Johnson presents an entertaining,
educational, and historic tribute to the studios and the people who
shaped them. Although the San Francisco recording scene was never as
big as New York or Los Angeles, this book provides an insight and historical
perspective that validates and preserves their history.
Hopefully, she will continue to write similar histories for other recording
scenes. Chicago, Nashville, Detroit, and of course New York and L.A.
all seem like fertile ground for such an endeavor.
A well written, highly recommended, and thoroughly enjoyable
book for anyone interested in recording, and the creative process
of music making in general.
Dan
Alexander [www.danalexanderaudio.com]
Producer, engineer, former studio owner, and longstanding
vintage equipment and guitar authority.
---------------
Heather
Johnson's IF THESE HALLS COULD TALK: A HISTORICAL TOUR THROUGH SAN
FRANCISCO RECORDING STUDIOS (1598631411 $29.99) examines
the city's music recording history, covering studios which fostered
all kinds of local music from blues and rock to soul and hip-hop. More
than just another review of music trends and evolving styles,
it focuses on the studios themselves and their roles in fostering such
styles, creating a multifaceted survey of the San Francisco music scene
as a whole.
–
Midwest Book Review
