Recording Studios

Billy Lawson grew up close to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he formed a band while still a teenager. He became friends with many of the local studio musicians and songwriters including Carl Montgomery, who wrote several hit songs and who encouraged Billy to write. Over the years dozen of artists have recorded his songs including “I Left Something Turned On at Home” (Trace Adkins), “Learning As You Go” (Rick Trevino), “Irresistible You” (Ty England), and “He Ain’t Even Cold Yet (Gretchen Wilson). Billy purchased Wishbone Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals were he wears many hats inc

Kyle Lehning is a recording engineer and record producer who has worked with a string of artists in Nashville beginning in the late 1960s. As a result, he has worked with the likes of Kenny Rogers, Bobby Bare, Anne Murray, George Jones and Dan Seals. Kyle asked studio drummer Eddie Bayers to put together a group of top musicians in town in the fashion of Nashville’s “A Team.” Eddie called the group “The Players” and Kyle used them on thousands of recordings including nearly every recording of country giant Randy Travis, for which Kyle produced all but a few of his albums.

Brian Leshon began playing in his school jazz band when he was just thirteen years old. However, as early as his high school years, Brian had a strong interest in the recording process. He joined the Cherokee Studios team in 1975 and was on hand and participated in many historic recordings. He soon realized this was his dream job and he did all he could to learn more and develop related skills such as Mixing and Producing. Brian worked for Chateau Records and was on staff at A&M Studios before his famous return to Cherokee where he was the Chief Engineer on some of his favorit

Marie Lewey is a noted backup singer based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where she worked in all of the local recording studios as well as many in Nashville. Teaming with her dear friends Cindy Richardson Walker and the late Ava Aldridge, they were known as the Shoal Sisters and in great demand. Marie’s main goal when she arrives to sing backup is to “serve the song.” That attitude contributes to the reason why so many producers want to work with her. Marie can be heard on hundreds of recordings including those with Kris Kristofferson (“Why Me Lord”) and Ronnie Milsap (“Any Day Now”)

Carl Lieberman has a fascinating career as a piano technician. Not only does Carl tune and maintain the pianos for recording studios in Southern California, for over 50 years he has provided this service for the Princess Cruise line. His parents owned the first Yamaha piano store in the United States, where Carl had access not only playing the instruments but learning to tune and repair them. He tuned pianos for many of the clubs in Los Angeles including the Roxy Theater and the Troubadour. Working for The Village Studios in Santa Monica, Carl lent his skills to hundreds of record

Michael Lloyd is among the most prolific recording producers of the 1970s and 80s. His long list of successes include the Dirty Dancing movie soundtrack and Debbie Boone’s 70s mega hit “You Light Up My Life.” Michael has been equally innovative in the use in his recordings of electronic musical instruments such as synthesizers and the mellotron. In fact his own mellotron, which was originally owned by Karen Carpenter and used on several of Michael’s own recordings, is currently on display in the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California.

Leo Lyons became a professional musician early on in his life while playing with bands in London, England. He gravitated to the skiffle genre, playing first the banjo and then the guitar, but then took up the bass and joined the group The Jaybirds with guitarist Alvin Lee. The Jaybirds later changed their name to Ten Years After and put out their debut record on Deram Records. The band built up their European following, and soon started touring around the United States as well. This allowed them to participate in historical music festivals such as the Newport Jazz Festival, the Wo

Dave Malekpour recorded his band that he formed in high school thanks to the help of his stepfather who assisted him in building a four-track recorder. Once he discovered an SSL in a local recording studio, Dave was hooked, he knew he wanted to build audio gear. And he did! At the age of 26, he formed his own company, Anything Audio, for which he installed sound systems in studios and clubs, which led to Pro Audio Designs, which was established in 1993. Since then, Dave and his team have been on the cutting edge of new technology and innovative products and installations.

Rose Mann-Cherney had a passion for music since she was a little girl listening to records while her parents would dance around the house.  While in her native Chicago, Rose was hired by a booking agent to help arrange concerts with the likes of Curtis Mayfield before she decided to move to California.  With a job opening at the Record Plant, which was established only a few years earlier in 1968, Rose began her 35 year career with the famed studio.

Jono Manson is the owner of The Kitchen Sink Recording Studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As a record producer and engineer, he has collaborated on projects ranging from national advertising campaigns and motion pictures to working with a host of recording artists. Jono is also a performer and songwriter, a passion that goes back to when he received a Kent guitar when he was six years old. His mother was a modern dancer who performed with Martha Graham and during his NAMM interview, Jono made some interesting observations regarding the trends in modern dance and how they were echoed

Steve Marcantonio began working as an assistant engineer in the New York Record Plant in 1978. He worked on the Blues Brothers project as well as with John Lennon and Yoko. Sadly, Steve was in the studio with John just an hour before he was shot and killed on his way home from the studio. Steve later moved to Nashville and worked on several important projects and was hired to teach young engineers at the Blackbird Academy, which was established by his dear friend John McBride.

Robert Margouleff has pioneered many technologies in making records, including the use of surround sound, tapeless recordings, and employing electronic musical instruments.  He worked on several Grammy winning albums with Stevie Wonder, including those recorded with the synthesizer TONTO. TONTO, which was designed and created by Bob and Malcolm Cecil, created sounds never recorded before which added to the unique sound of those early 1970s albums.  Bob has engineered and produced a long list of successful acts including Minnie Riperton, Billy Preston and Devo.  

Michael Marquart established Windmark Recording Studio in Santa Monica, California in 1983. The studio was the location for countless landmark albums including several featuring Michael on drums. He toured with several bands over the years (including Flock of Seagulls) before coming off the road to focus on studio work. He sold the studio to The Neptunes ten years later, yet the studio is still a part of his legacy in music. With his home studio, Michael has recorded nine albums for his own band, A Bad Think, including Simple Rhymes in 2009, Medicine in 2012 and The Savior in 2019

Chris Marquez working as a sound engineer at San Francisco’s legendary Hyde St. Studios is more than being just a tech-head. Chris is a jack-of-all-trades who must know the many flavors and tastes, not only of singers, songwriters and producers, but of the many state-of-the-art and vintage gear that fill the cabinets and line the walls of the famous studio.  Sometimes a recording engineer, sometimes a mixer, and sometimes a producer of bands and musicians that range from old pros, to newbies. Chris describes the many challenges facing engineers in the uber competitive world of rec

Eddie Martinez has had an incredible career in music, and his guitar skills can be heard on hundreds of hit recordings. At the core of his playing is his passion for making music with others, a talent he developed while growing up in both New York and Puerto Rico. As our friend Thomas Claxton once said, “It might be easier to list the songs Eddie was not on.” Eddie's unique guitar playing was featured on recordings ranging from “Rock Box” by Run-DMC, “Just a Gigolo” by David Lee Roth, “Riptide” by Steve Winwood, and “Simply Irresistible” by Robert Palmer just to name a few.

George Massenburg has been the recording engineer on countless successful albums during his long and varied career, but may be best known for changing the way the music products industry looked at pro-audio gear with his 1972 paper on the parametric equalizer. Parametric equalizer, also known as EQ allows audio engineers to control the three primary parameters of an internal band-pass filter which are amplitude, center frequency and bandwidth. In 1982, Massenburg founded GML, Inc., which produces equipment for specific recording applications, with a strong focus on EQ products. 

Sylvia Massy has always been fascinated by art in all forms. She began painting at an early age and as a teenager had her own radio program. As a musical performer she first focused on learning the skills needed to record her own music but soon discovered many of her friends were requesting her help with their own projects. While working at Larrabee Studios in West Hollywood, Sylvia engineered Tool's smash album Undertow in 1993, subsequently causing a rush of heavy metal bands to seek her out. However, the music she engineered covered many musical genres and a diverse list of art

Jerry Masters grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he heard his mother playing piano in church as far back as he could remember. After serving in the US Army, Jerry formed his own rock band and recorded the hit "Let It All Hang Out" while in Houston. He later moved to Memphis where he befriended Bill Black, who had a small studio at the time. Jerry took an interest in engineering, while also developing his career as a studio musician playing bass. He was hired by Rick Hall at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, where he recorded on the Osmond's hit "One Bad Apple". Jerry later engin

Mac McAnally, inspired by his mother took piano lessons and then later switched to guitar. His mother played piano and organ in their church, and the hymns he heard also inspired him to pursue songwriting. After working as a studio musician in Muscle Shoals, Mac recorded several solo albums including his self-titled debut album 1977. He wrote his first song as a teenager and went on to write for Shenandoah, Jimmy Buffett, and Alabama, for which he penned their number-one hit song “Old Flame.” Mac and Walt Aldridge wrote the 1987 hit “Crime of Passion" for Ricky Van Shelton.

John McBride purchased the Creative Recording Studio in Nashville in 2002 and changed the name to Blackbird Studios. The now famous studio has recorded an amazing number of top performers such as Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, and John's wife Martina McBride. In 2013, John formed an engineering school named Blackbird Academy to provide hands on training for aspiring recording engineers. He is proud to point out so many of his former students are now making a living in the music industry.

Reggie McBride picked up the phone in 1973 only to hear the voice of Stevie Wonder inviting the young musician to join him at the Record Plant recording studio in New York City. The project was an album called Fulfillingness’ First Finale, which was the beginning of many projects with Stevie.

Charlie McCoy is one of the noted musicians known as the A Team, in the Nashville studios of the 1950s, 60s and 70s! Charlie’s harmonica can be heard on several popular recordings –countless in fact – including the lead solo on “Candy Man” by Roy Orbison. Charlie formed an early relationship with Hohner and he has worked with the company over the years on product design and promotions.

Will McFarlane has proudly traveled the world touring with some of the biggest names in music as a journeyman musician. He toured with Bonnie Raitt in the 1970s, which was a wonderful experience considering his love of the Blues and all of the great iconic players who would join her on stage. Will also has made his mark in the recording studios, serving as a studio musician at Muscle Shoals Sound for over 20 years. He recorded with the likes of Etta James, Little Milton, Johnny Taylor and Bobby “Blue” Bland who described the type of tasty guitar fills he wanted Will to play as “lo

Chris McGrew is the personification of today’s hybrid producer/engineer/artist/businessman.  The legendary Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district has several studios available. Chris leases Studio C, also known as “Wally’s Hideout”, which he runs as an independent business, but is still connected to the Hyde Street brand.  His vast experience as a musician and producer provides a hands-on experience for bands and artists who need to take their recordings to the next level. He not only helps you mold your sound with microphones, amps, and setups but uses his vas

Ron McMaster grew up in the Sacremento area and joined a rock band while still in school. The band went through a few name changes before settling on Public Nuisance. They released a single and later recorded a full album (Gotta Survive), which was not released at that time. Years later the album was released on CD and gained the attention of Jack White who at first covered some of their songs and later signed the band to his label, Third Man Records. While still in school Ron also taught drums at Andy Penn’s Drum Shop before moving to Los Angeles where he started a new career as

Jim Merod is the founder of BluePort Sound recording studio and BluePort Jazz, his record label. Since the early 1990s, Jim has recorded a long list of legendary jazz, blues, and latin musicians including Herbie Hancock, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Kenny Barron, Clark Terry, and Wayne Shorter, just to name a few.

Ron Mesh is a tour manager for some of the biggest names in Live Sound. Ron cut his teeth as an audio engineer for touring bands such as Uncle Sam and the Chesterfield Kings, a Punk Rock band that enabled Ron to tour Europe for the first time. Over the years he developed skills in logistics and fell into the role of Tour Manager, working with bands such as Guns N’ Roses, Tower of Power, and Billy Gibbons. Along the way, Ron also formed and ran his own audio equipment rental company for over 25 years called Advanced Audio Services.

Boo Mitchell was born in Memphis, TN to a very musical family. Hi father, Willie Mitchell, ran Royal Studios and was VP of Hi Records. He began working with his father at a very young age, and got to work along amazing artists such as Al Green, KC & the Sunshine Band, the Doobie Brothers, and so many more. He is now the owner of Royal Studios, and continues to produce and engineer records. 

Marco Moir, who studied at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, began playing guitar for area bands. Over the years he developed the skills as a guitar technician and learned the craft of recording engineer. His long list of performers he has worked with over the years include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Perry, Aerosmith, The Cult and Automatic 7. In 1986, he began working for the Robb brothers at Cherokee Studios, which introduced him to API technology.

Sergio Molho is a seasoned professional in the audio/video and recording industry, boasting a career spanning over four decades. As a named Partner/Director of Business Development for WSDG, a leading global architecture/acoustic design firm, Sergio has been instrumental in the firm's success since founding WSDG Latin America in 1994. With a background as a keyboard artist and vocalist for the popular Argentine funk band CASH, Sergio brings a unique blend of musical talent and technical expertise to his work.

Mike Moran is the noted recording engineer who helped put the sound on tape for several hits as well as historic albums.  While working for RCA, Mike engineered several sessions for Elvis Presley as well as for Perry Como, David Bowie and a long list of Broadway Cast albums including the original “Hair.”  Mike was hired by RCA after his years in the service and in fact joined the company in the shipping department.  He soon was told about educational classes the company offered and before long he had developed a real interest in sound recording and engineering.  He worked as an as

Joshua Morris is a versatile professional blending his passion for architecture, acoustics, and music. With dual degrees from the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, he possesses a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and a Bachelor of Architecture. His love for music fueled his interest in acoustic design, reflected in his thesis. Joshua's journey led him to join WSDG in 2005, where he quickly rose to a pivotal role as a project manager, designer, and now partner. His expertise spans managing diverse projects worldwide, from China to the United States to Germany.