Brain Fart Studio Story
I was supposed to go to dinner with an engineer I do work with next week. It might still happen, but I have this session with a big 90's artist next week and it might encroach on our time. In my note I said that "I'll be reliving the 90's and I'm not looking forward to it" and his reply was "Oh god, waiting 14 hours for the artist to show just to order Chinese food". And this is what it was like making records in the 90's; a huge waste of time and money, drugs, guns, hookers...Much like the 70's except, everyone was nicer back then. I was thinking about the last time I saw this artist and then I remembered the VAN.
At the studio, we had a van. It wasn't really a van, but a small airtight room that was shaped and equipped like a van. This was where everyone went to listen to their work to see if it would "translate" to where their fans listen; in their cars. Now, this wasn't a new idea, but a new way of doing it. There were studios (such as the Record Plant) that had a pirate AM transmitter. The band would pile into their cars on the street, the assistant would turn on the transmitter, hit play on the tape machine, and everyone is listening through their new mix through their crappy Craig coax speaker in the center of the dash.
Our van actually had a steering wheel and instead of a windshield, a widescreen TV. And in the dash was a full-blown stereo system. Captain chairs, big bench seats with subwoofers in the back and carpet on the ceiling. We all thought it was a crazy idea, but what did we know.
Well, this van saw a lot of use. This is where the posse's brought their hookers, where they took their naps and did their drugs, and at the end of the session they would rip the stereo out of the dash for their own little going away present. The assistants, of course, had to clean up after each of these sessions (thankfully, they didn't put in safety glass windows), go to the Sony store to get more electronics and install them into the dash. After about the dozenth time, they finally saw that this was a ridiculous idea and canned the van.
I've asked around and I don't believe the van was ever used for it's intended purpose.
I wish I had a picture because it was silly.
and
