There's a yellow rose in Texas

For the 3 people who have wondered why no posts this week, here's why:



This is an in-progress pic of the custom console holding part of the Digidesign DControl/Icon control surface in my friend's brand new studio in Houston.

Here is the link for all the pics, all done before I started the technical installation (read" all the cabling, connectors, patching, etc.)

Here is the studio link: Lucky Run Studio.

While this is a residential studio, keep this in perspective: It's a brand new, well constructed facility on a 120 acre cattle/horse ranch west of Houston. No costs were spared, no shortcuts were taken. This is meant to be a first rate overdub/mix facility for my friend's productions. And if he needs larger recording spaces for basic tracking, there are several larger rooms in Houston where he can do initial tracks, and then move to his own studio for the rest of the project.

As I have written many times before, the whole recording scene is changing, and not for the first time. Labels are cutting budgets, and have proven clearly unable to really address the whole downloading deal. As their revenues drop, stupidity increases, and they expect producers to deliver more for less. And at the bottom of the food chain is the studio.

Michael was in a position after selling his Southern California studio to go any of several ways. He chose owning his own studio again. He was financially able to pay for everything outright, so no bank holds any paper. Thus, he hasn't the typical pressure of 'making the nut.' Instead, he can carefully select the projects he produces, and the clients he lets in, and thus hopes to maximize the quality of the music.

I know him really well, he's one of my oldest and dearest friends. And based on that, I think he'll be succesfull.

Mazel Tov, ya'all.


Note: To pull cables through conduits we used a piece of yellow nylon rope I dubbed The Yellow Rope Of Texas. There are a total of around 2500' of all cable types: multi and single channel analog & digital audio, video, Cat5, cue, speaker, instrument, etc.

For the true story of the Yellow Rose, please go here and read. Also here for more info and original lyrics. It's not what you think.