The Tracking Room unceremoniously closed its doors yesterday after 25 years of hosting some of the finest sounding records in the world. Unfortunately we couldn’t give it the grand sendoff it deserved, but I’m glad I was able to nurture this facility during its final 5 years.
I spent the latter half of my 20’s fully immersed in this place, and in return learning tips from the greatest engineers and producers in the city. Most importantly, I’ve learned the way a record could and should sound. THANK YOU to the incredible clients and musicians we’ve hosted over the years. And a special thank you to my good friend, studio manager Matt Leigh, as well as every assistant who I had the pleasure of working with over the past 5 and a half years. I’m so proud of what we accomplished.
On a personal note, engineering records is literally the only professional skill I have. I’m too old to start my Major League Baseball career, and my Jeep is too old to drive for Lyft. So after being laid off from two historic studios which closed under the weight of “New Nashville”, I don’t plan on going anywhere. And I wouldn’t want to do anything else. Add me to the list of engineers eager to mix your tracks or pocket your drums or tune your vocals. And when COVID is behind us, I’ll be bugging many of you for tracking gigs. Sorry in advance. I’ve gotta get back on the frontlines of music production. Those who know me well know that I don’t have a salesman’s disposition, but here it goes. Eight years of working at studios like Tracking Room and Quad has given me invaluable experience that isn’t easy to come by for a young(ish) engineer. I’m lucky to be credited on 11 Grammy-nominated recordings (5 winning), mostly as a second engineer and once as a tracking engineer. Last year I was named Sound Engineer of the Year at Arkansas’ Country Music Awards. Please consider me for your projects!
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These are the final photos taken at The Tracking Room. I stood in these rooms for some time, taking in the dead silence and trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’ll never hear their perfect acoustics again. Thanks Tom Hidley, Masterfonics, Dale Morris, and everyone who helped keep this giant ship afloat for so long.
