It's a mid-week escape from the 'windowless-environment' - aka 'the Studio' - it's The Star Chamber Audio Lunch Bunch.

Too many of us music and audio artisans spend w-a-y too much time in isolation... and bad air! This is a chance for our Tribe (recording engineers, record producers, gear manufacturers, tech wizards, studio managers, musicians) get a weekly chance to meet up and enjoy the food, adult beverages... and the camaraderie!

It all began with the crew from host, Pete Doell's, former stomping ground: Universal Mastering Studio, L.A....now closed. But the crew has expanded the Wednesday oasis to now have a weekly attendance of 30 - 50, with lotsa repeat-offenders in that figure!

What's so satisfying (besides the nourishment - both corporal AND spiritual) is the great number of my music-biz heroes (and who I am proud to say are friends) make it a point to have it circled on their calendars! We ALL need occasionally to remember what it's like to eat our lunch at the 'kool kid's table'!

E.G.: Jack Douglas this past Wednesday mentioned how busy HE is working bicoastally. He has one project going where Jay Messina (Record Plant, NYC) will be mixing a handful, Geoff Emerick (Beatles!) has got 5, and my pal and associate, Shelly Yakus (everybody else!) mixing another 5!

Check back for more - the weather outside's DELIGHTFUL! 

The Star Chamber Audio Lunch Bunch! — with EveAnna Manley, Mick Guzauski,  CJ Vanston, Jack Douglas, Shelly Yakus, Paul Wolff, Gary Myerberg, Bill Smith, Mike Wolf, Nicole Slater, Lenise Bent, Pete Doell and Eric Betelli at an undisclosed Mexican Restaurant in sunny Burbank, CA.

Well - today we had 50, just 1 shy of the record.

Mr. Bonzai (aka David Goggin) came for his innaugural visit - and I was jazzed that he had great time! Geoff Emerick held court for 2 hours, Jack Douglas had to bail at the last moment, but Mick Guzauski and wife - they're just REAL regulars now!

Here are three shots - it was almost 90º, but people hung out... we may need to convince the restaurant to get those 'misters' for us mad-dogs!

Bonzai brought a handful of copies of his book "The Other Side of The Tracks" (1984) to autograph & give away to some lucky diners.

Eric Betelli, editor/owner of Music Connection stopped by to schmooze AND drop off a dozen copies of the new issue for people to snap up! Another thing that I take as real validation of this thing.

Today's Star Chamber Lunch Bunch! — with Mr. Bonzai, Geoff Emerick, EveAnna Manley, Rob Goodchild, Gary Myerberg, Warren Sokol, Maor Applebaum, Bill Smith, Mike Wolf, CJ Vanston, Randy Aronson, Nick Dofflemyer with Pete Doell and Eric Betelli at an undisclosed location in sunny Burbank, CA..

Cloudy skies and a touch of spritz didn't dampen the spirits at Camp Starchamber today! We had a smaller crowd due to the near-arctic conditions - 69º at lunchtime on the patio...

Among today's newbies were studio owner and hitmaker Skip Saylor, and musician extraordinaire Robbie Buchanan. Producer Jack Douglas had just returned from NYC and was gonna be back on a plane tomorrow, he told me. He asked if Geoff Emerick (see Lunch Bunch Report #2) had told me about their raucous dinner at Ago last week with Warren Huart - which evidently was a scream!

Dear pal Bob Olive showed up with a VIRGIN copy of Brian Auger's "A Better Land" LP to give to me. He saw my post on Facebook some weeks ago when CJ Vanston, Nicole Slater & I saw Brian play at L.A. jazz club The Baked Potato - and thought I would dig it - and, boy, was he right!!! This began a discussion about vinyl among the few Mastering Engineers present: Warren Sokol, Maor Appelbaum and myself about the likelihood that vinyl is going to continue to grow. 

But we were all gassed to learn that Erin Alden's young son Ethan Michael Mora - of Cameron Crowe's 'Roadies' fame - who at age eleven (!) plays vinyl records every night at home!

Who are the people attending the Starchamber Audio Lunch?
Only some of the most esteemed music-industry heroes to grace planet earth.

• Recording Engineers
• Record Producers
• Gear Designers & Manufacturers
• Tech Wizards
• Studio Managers
• Session Musicians

Listen to the pre-release Podcast of Inside the Starchamber's pilot episode featuring EastWest Studios Candace Stewart and Breath of Life Records Tony Shepperd.

podcast: Inside the Starchamber

This week's gathering took place indoors (at an undisclosed space in normally sunny Burbank, CA) due a previously scheduled wedding reception upstaging our weekly event! And the numbers were trimmed, both intentionally and un-, when several people learned that they wouldn't be dining with Al (Fresco) this week. Paul Wolff was in town and on hand this week, and he brought along Jesse Honig and Erika Earl, both from Slate Digital... nice to see them! (http://slatedigital.com) Jeri Palumbo was likewise back on the 'scene', fresh from a trip to Denmark, and rife with fascinating stories. Mr. Bonzai was holding court and snapped some delightful MONOCHROME shots of the day's small group for posterity. Next week: the patio returneth!!!

Who are the people attending the Starchamber Audio Lunch?
Only some of the most esteemed music-industry heroes to grace planet earth.

• Recording Engineers
• Record Producers
• Gear Designers & Manufacturers
• Tech Wizards
• Studio Managers
• Session Musicians

teaser

You can also enjoy the Podcast of Inside the Starchamber's pilot episode featuring EastWest Studios Candace Stewart and Breath of Life Records Tony Shepperd.

podcast: Inside the Starchamber  

All is right again in the StarChamber Lunch world, as this week our old haunts (the PATIO) were made available to us again...and the weather was perfect (how often does one say THAT in SoCal?)! And the word that Al Fresco would be attending brought back some friends who stayed away last week.

While it's not part of the 'program' per se, I find it so interesting to sit next to different folks each week! You think you know something about someone, but really you don't...unless and until you've shared a taco and an adult beverage together. Today I sat with Mr. Bonzai who is totally worth the price of admission hisself (!) and hitmaker-mixer Mick Guzauski. Case in point, Mick and I graduated from the same friggin' High School - a year apart - and never met!

 

The good guys at United Recording showed up en masse today, and great to have them join in! Studio managers Rob Goodchild and Justin Fisher coerced archivist extraordinaire Dan Johnson to come see what all the fuss is about. Exciting times over there as the legendary studio gets reborn.

 

ANOTHER great first-time visitor: Moogie Canazio who was celebrating (Brazilians are always celebrating!) the birth of his grandson and spread the love all around. He left us with a story about how his nickname "Moogie" came to be. "They said I would go way too heavy on the bass in my mixes. 'Hey, Moogie - back off that Moog, man'!"

What a great group we had, including EveAnna Manley, Shannon Deane, Jeri Palumbo and her squeeze Erik "Zobe" Zobler, Maor Appelbaum, JJ Blair, Randy Aronson, Jane Scobie, Phil MacConnell, Jeff Bork, Mike Wolf, Eric Betelli (he of Music Connection magazine), Ann Vicari (LAFX), Peter Doell, and Bill Smith!

Who are the people attending the Starchamber Audio Lunch?
Only some of the most esteemed music-industry heroes to grace planet earth.

• Recording Engineers
• Record Producers
• Gear Designers & Manufacturers
• Tech Wizards
• Studio Managers
• Session Musicians

teaser

You can also enjoy the Podcast of Inside the Starchamber's pilot episode featuring EastWest Studios Candace Stewart and Breath of Life Records Tony Shepperd.

podcast: Inside the Starchamber