(L-R) Boulevard owner/engineer Clay Blair, Bill Schnee, and moderator Mr. Bonzai.
Historic Boulevard Recording in Hollywood, where Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, and Fleetwood Mac recorded in the 70s, has been completely restored to its original glory. Award-winning recording engineer Bill Schnee recently returned to the studio where he worked on "Aja" and earned a Grammy for Best Engineered Album.
Schnee is special guest in the new podcast "The Last Studio on the Boulevard," produced by studio owner Clay Blair, who worked from old photos and documentation to restore everything at Boulevard to its original classic look and sound. The first episode of guest series "Bonzai Boulevard" is curated and moderated by award-winning photographer and author Mr. Bonzai. Bill Schnee recalls numerous detailed stories about recording Steely Dan, Ringo Starr, Carly Simon and many more.
Tune in here: https://rss.com/podcasts/laststudio/1636748/
The historic studio's former client list also included Ray Charles, Carly Simon, Alice Cooper, Liberace, and numerous other recording artists. Originally known as Producers Workshop, Pink Floyd finished and mixed "The Wall" at the studio, Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" was mixed there, and much of Steely Dan's "Aja" was tracked at the studio with Bill Schnee.
Located in Hollywood, close to famed East/West Studios and the currently shuttered Capitol and United Recording Studios, the new Boulevard Recording features a Sound Techniques ZR36 console alongside racks full of classic limiters, compressors and outboard gear, a comprehensive collection of vintage mics and mic-pre's, plus plate reverb and other effects processors.
Instruments include a Bechstein 1915 Studio Grand Piano, Hammond B3 with Leslie 122, Yamaha U3, Moog Voyager, and other vintage keys. Percussion available includes a 1959 Ludwig Black Oyster Kit, prized snare drums, tambourines, shakers, maracas and others. Also included is a collection of guitars and bass guitars with Fender, Ampeg, and other classic amps.
Blair comments on the new podcast series, "Working in this studio, now restored to it's unique acoustic glory, is bringing out incredibly vivid memories of how these records were made. Our plan is to resurrect an environment where that magic can happen again."
Check out some short video clips of Bill Schnee:
