setting, characters, back story:
New Monkey Studio is located in Van Nuys, CA. You know, The Valley. Good restaurants and great old-man bars are just around the corner. It's under the radar. Our friend Troy described recording there as being "like living on some beautiful Los Angeles moon." He has a way with words. We're told that the room was built and designed as a recording studio in the 80's. It's current incarnation was thoughtfully assembled by a sweet gentleman named Elliott. Two guys named Joel and Robert look after the place while Elliott is away. They're lucky to know an engineer named Mike Terry, because he's put his heart into helping them get the studio running. The three have spent the last year or so at the studio cleaning, organizing, and fixing anything that wasn't working just right. A nice older man named Don owns the building. He tells great stories. He loved Elliott, so the guys love him. The place doesn't look like much from the outside. But inside, it's comfy and cozy. There's a good-sized control room with lotsa switches and knobs and faders and speakers and tubes and analog tape and wires. There is a live tracking room for drums or piano or leslied organ or harmonium or singing or just about anything. There's a small lounge where you can sleep, watch tv, smoke cigarettes, drink cold beverages, make coffee, or heat up TV dinners. There's a bathroom to read magazines in. There's an isolation room to keep the noise in, or out. There's a mic locker/machine room with every mic we've ever wanted. And a hallway that can be used as an isolation booth for singing or guitaring or whatever. There is also free wireless internet throughout the studio, so you can play around on the web when you're not busy making sonic documentaries. Some nice folks have recorded here through the years. Of course there was our hero of this tale, Elliott Smith.
The Watson Twins.
Lion of Panjshir.
Mike Brown.
Tim Jones.
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
The Elected.
Troy von Balthazar.
Peter Walker.
Michael Runion.
Everest*.
Earlimart.
Chairlift.
Dappled Cities Fly.
Terri Ann Lipiro.
The Section Quartet.
All Smiles.
Sally Jaye.
Meiko.
Lissie.
Simon Moore.
Hello Menno.
Eddie Cane.
Foster Timms.
Devendra Banhart.
Last Campfire.
Krister Axel.
Michael Miller.
Icebird.
Whispertown 2000.
The Big Believers.
Jeremy Toback.
Very Big Things.
NoMas.
Foreign Born.
Lauten Audio.
Leap Year.
Infantree.
Kelly DeMartino.
Ernst.
Ben Lee.
The support of all these folks (and more) has kept the studio open... and the list is growing. Please check out our friends below who have worked here and helped us keep it going. Also, if you'd like to spend some time inside these walls, or even if you'd just like to discuss vintage recording techniques, you can send us an email through our real website (www.newmonkeystudio.com).
