Company type | Recording studio |
---|---|
Industry | Music |
Founded | 1979 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
Founder | Steve and Debbie Lawson |
Successor | Steve Lawson Productions |
Website | www |
Studio X (formerly known as Bad Animals Studio and Kaye-Smith Studios [1] ) is a music and media recording studio on 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. Originally part of the Kaye-Smith Enterprises media conglomerate founded by Lester Smith and actor Danny Kaye, the studio was used to record commercials and musicians. The studio was re-launched as Steve Lawson Productions by Steve and Debbie Lawson in 1979. [1] The sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson of the band Heart owned the studio from 1991 until 1997, and named it Bad Animals after their 1987 album of the same name. Artists such as Heart, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Queensrÿche, Mad Season, Foo Fighters, Audioslave, Aerosmith, The Beach Boys, Jerry Cantrell, Eddie Vedder, Duff McKagan, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Radiohead, R.E.M., Deftones, Soulfly, Steve Vai, KMFDM, and Neil Young have recorded at the studio. [2]
In 1991, Nancy and Ann Wilson of the band Heart entered into a partnership with Steve Lawson, who owned Kaye-Smith Studios where many of their 1970s hits, as well as their 1980 album Bébé le Strange , had been recorded. [3] They upgraded the facility to the state-of-the-art, and renamed it Bad Animals Studio. The studio was named after Heart's 1987 album, Bad Animals . [4] Ann and Nancy sold the studio back to the Lawsons in 1997, and it was renamed Studio X. [5]
Several of the Humongous Entertainment games were also recorded by Bad Animals Studios.
In May 1993, Nirvana entered Bad Animals Studios to remix the songs "Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies" for their album In Utero . [6]
The music video for Soundgarden's 1994 single "Fell on Black Days" was filmed at the studio. [7]
In 1997, Steve Lawson sold Bad Animals to Mike McAuliffe, Dave Howe, Charlie Nordstrom and Tom McGurk. [8]
In 1998, the Spice Girls recorded vocals for the song "Boyfriend/Girlfriend", their contribution to the South Park soundtrack at the studio. [9]
In 2001, Bill Brown recorded all of the music for Microsoft's Windows XP operating system with a live orchestra at the studio. [10]
On September 1, 2003, Seattle radio station KNDD 107.7 The End hosted a solo acoustic performance by Thom Yorke at Studio X. [11]
In October 2017, the studio was purchased for $21.6 million by Skanska, which plans to build a 346-unit multifamily tower with ground-floor retail in the building. [12]
On October 31, 2018, Studio X, now managed by Reed Ruddy, moved its location from Belltown to Capitol Hill. [12] Alice in Chains' 2018 album Rainier Fog was the last album recorded at the original studio. [12]
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Partial list.
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially by Scott Sundquist, and later by Matt Cameron in 1986. Yamamoto left in 1989 and was replaced initially by Jason Everman and shortly thereafter by Ben Shepherd. The band dissolved in 1997 and reformed in 2010. Following Cornell's death in 2017 and a year of uncertainty regarding the band's future, Thayil declared in October 2018 that Soundgarden had disbanded once again, though they did reunite in January 2019 for a one-off concert in tribute to Cornell.
Eddie Jerome Vedder is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a guest vocalist for supergroup Temple of the Dog, a tribute band dedicated to the late singer Andrew Wood.
Layne Thomas Staley was an American singer and songwriter who was the original lead vocalist of Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part of Seattle's grunge movement. He was known for his distinctive vocal style as well as his harmonizing with bandmate Jerry Cantrell. Prior to his success with Alice in Chains, Staley was also a member of the glam metal bands Sleze and Alice N' Chains. He was also a part of the supergroups Mad Season and Class of '99.
Christopher John Cornell was an American musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a solo career and contributed to numerous movie soundtracks. Cornell was the founder and frontman of Temple of the Dog, a one-off tribute band dedicated to his late friend, musician Andrew Wood. Several music journalists, fan polls and fellow musicians have regarded Cornell as one of the greatest rock singers of all time.
Superunknown is the fourth studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on March 8, 1994, through A&M Records. Produced by Michael Beinhorn and the band themselves, Soundgarden began work on the album after touring in support of their previous album, Badmotorfinger (1991). Superunknown retained the heaviness of the band's earlier releases while displaying a more diverse range of influences.
Temple of the Dog was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. It was conceived by vocalist Chris Cornell of Soundgarden as a tribute to his friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of the bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. The lineup included Stone Gossard on rhythm guitar, Jeff Ament on bass guitar, Mike McCready on lead guitar, and Matt Cameron on drums. Eddie Vedder appeared as a guest to provide some lead and backing vocals and later became lead vocalist of Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten, was released four months after Temple of the Dog's only studio album.
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to international fame in the early 1990s during Seattle's grunge movement and is known for its distinctive vocal style and the harmonized vocals between Cantrell and Layne Staley. Cantrell started to sing lead vocals on Alice in Chains' 1992 EP Sap. After Staley's death in 2002, Cantrell took the role of Alice in Chains' lead singer on most of the songs from the band's post-Staley albums, Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013), and Rainier Fog (2018), with DuVall harmonizing with him in the new songs and singing Staley's vocals in the old songs in live concerts.
Mad Season was an American rock supergroup formed in 1994 as a side project of members of other bands in the Seattle grunge scene. The band's principal members included guitarist Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, lead singer Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, drummer Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and bassist John Baker Saunders. Mad Season released only one album, Above, in March 1995. Its first single, "River of Deceit", was a radio success, and Above was certified a gold record by the RIAA in June.
Singles is a 1992 American romantic comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe, and starring Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, and Matt Dillon. It features appearances from several musicians prominent in the early 1990s grunge movement in Seattle.
Jeffrey Allen Ament is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, including "Jeremy", "Oceans", "Dissident", "Nothingman" and "Nothing as It Seems".
Matthew David Cameron is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986. He appeared on each of the band's studio albums until its break-up in 1997. In 1998, Cameron was invited to join Pearl Jam's U.S. Yield Tour and then became a permanent member of the band. In 2010, Cameron became simultaneously a member of Pearl Jam and the reunited Soundgarden. He remained with Soundgarden until its disbandment after the death of lead singer Chris Cornell in 2017. Cameron, along with guitarist Kim Thayil and Cornell, is one of three members to feature on every Soundgarden studio album.
Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician who serves as a guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band.
Singles is the soundtrack album of the 1992 film Singles, released on June 30, 1992, almost three months before the film. It is primarily focused on the ascendant Seattle grunge scene of the early 1990s, but also features contributions from past Seattle artists Jimi Hendrix and The Lovemongers, Chicago's The Smashing Pumpkins, and the first solo material from Minneapolis' Paul Westerberg after the breakup of The Replacements.
Sean Howard Kinney is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Alice in Chains. Kinney also founded the short-lived supergroup Spys4Darwin, and has collaborated with other artists such as Johnny Cash and Metallica. He played drums for his Alice in Chains bandmate, Jerry Cantrell's first solo album, Boggy Depot (1998). Since 2009, Kinney has been co-owner of The Crocodile club in Seattle. He was a guest drummer on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers in September 2018. Kinney has earned nine Grammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains.
"Fell on Black Days" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Fell on Black Days" was released as the final single from the band's fourth studio album, Superunknown (1994). The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was included on Soundgarden's 1997 greatest hits album, A-Sides and the 2010 compilation Telephantasm as the Superunknown version on the single disc version and the video version on the Deluxe Edition.
Adam Kasper is an American, Seattle area record producer and engineer, with platinum and gold awards, working with such bands as Aerosmith, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, The Tragically Hip, R.E.M., Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. He went to Capital High School in Olympia, Washington.
"Hunger Strike" is a song by the American rock band Temple of the Dog. Written by vocalist Chris Cornell, it was released in 1991 as the first single from the band's sole studio album, Temple of the Dog (1991). It was the band's most successful song, peaking at number four on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Matt Bayles is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician, based in Seattle, Washington. Bayles is known for his work with bands such as The Classic Crime, Isis, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Botch, Mastodon, Minus the Bear, Burnt by the Sun, and Norma Jean and as the keyboardist for American indie rock band, Minus the Bear.
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, as well as Matt Cameron (drums), who joined in 1998. Keyboardist Boom Gaspar has also been a touring/session member with the band since 2002. Jack Irons, Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain and Dave Abbruzzese are all former drummers for the band. Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, and is considered one of the most influential bands from that decade, dubbed "the most popular American rock and roll band of the '90s".
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