DOUG'S RECORDING STUDIO

 

IS THERE REALLY A RECORDING STUDIO IN WEST UNION?!

click above for a little background on Doug's recording method

I'VE HAD A FEW FOLKS comment about my studio being inducted into the Midwest All-Music Association Hall of Fame in October. And the most-common question I get is: "Is there really a Bird-On-FIre Recording Studio in West Union?" Well, there sure is; and it's right here in my home. The studio was built in the late '70s in the basement by Robert Traeger Jr.; Greg McGaffic; Kevin Conner and myself. It was officially up-and-running and ready for business by the first part of 1980.

the studio grand

the recording console in control room (c. 1982)

Kevin Conner mixing the Time and Distance album (c. 1983)

Larry Crandall recording vocals for Memory Brothers and Good Friends album (c. 1984)

Kevin Conner (on right) and me in studio waiting room (c. 1980)

Originally intended to be a project studio for the Memory Brothers, it soon became a commercial studio for outside bands and artists.

Brenda K. Russell

MY FIRST CLIENT was teenage phenom, Brenda Kowalke, from Nemaha, Iowa. She did early demos here of her original material and has since gone on to be the successful recording artist, Brenda K. Russell. She's a fixture in the Nashville music scene (click here.) Since Brenda's studio debut, I've recorded and produced rock bands, jazz pianists, polka bands, punk rockers, country bands, soul bands, solo artists, compilation CDs, soundscapes, corporate promotional media . . . you name it!  Besides Brenda, several other Bird-On-Fire's alumni have gone on to national prominence, such as Nora Gedgaudas, Emily West and Nikki Hassman. Click on their respective pictures for more info. And for a complete list of artists who have recorded at Bird-On-Fire Recording, click here.

Nora Gedgaudas

Emily West

Nikki Hassman Anders

ABOUT 15 YEARS ago after having recorded a five-piece, rock band in Cedar Falls, Iowa with just a laptop, portable audio interface and a few microphones, it dawned on me that I could do virtually everything with that laptop that I had been doing in the basement studio. So, long story short, I began selling off the old analog tape machines, huge monitor speakers and dozens of signal processors from the studio and moved everything upstairs to a more-open area - with windows! (see picture at top of article.) I went from a '70s-style, analog studio with soundproof isolation booths to a modern, computer-based digital operation. I also phased out doing bands and remote recordings as I wanted to concentrate more on solo artists and Memory Brothers' projects. This current Memory Brothers' CD, Sometime in September, was totally done in the new digital studio (along with our 2014 album, Feelin' Alright.) So, yes Virginia, there really is a Bird-On-Fire Recording Studio in little ol' West Union, Iowa!