music: "Ain't
Nothing You Can Do" - Joe Matthews (Kool Kat ?a)
Things were going so well in Studio A that I
decided to expand into a building a couple of
doors along, on the same block.
Studio B, as it would soon be known, was just
the art deco building in the centre. It was
originally a bank, but must have also some kind
of retail history due to the large windows on
either side of the main door. I always thought
...what a great studio this would make...believe
me it was very big.
To the left was 'Goodfriend' plumbing. I don't
remember what was on the right.
Tera Shirma never owned the building. It was
leased through a real estate agent by the name
of Wolf. I almost lost the Studio B building to
a paint company, because I was already leasing
Studio A from him. In the end, Wolf gave me
first consideration on the Studio B building.
To the left of the plumbing company was studio
A, then, at the corner, was Household
Finance...a lending company...right where the
gas station is now.
The Studio A building looked like it was once
some sort of a retail store too. It had large
plate glass windows facing the street and large
plate glass windows facing the entryway. It
could have been a clothing store at one time.
When you entered Studio A, you were in a nice
sized lobby, but not overly large. To the right
was a waiting area with an orange leather couch
and coffee table and some chairs. On the left
side of the doorway was a soft drinks machine.
Pepsi. Just past the waiting area was the
receptionists desk, surrounded by a low
decorative wrought iron railing to separating
her from the waiting area.
Relative to Studio B it was a much smaller
building. I'm sure the studio area of B had to
be at least five times the size of studio A. The
control room of B was probably half the size of
the studio area of A.
For me, the winter of 1967 was emotionally
tough.
Ralph with building material in the background
Construction was moving along fairly well on
Studio B but my expenses were high. I had taken
out two rather large loans to cover the costs of
new equipment and construction. So now Studio A
had a further burden to bear in the paying of
these two additional notes.
The timbers were starting to shiver already, as
it was.
We had kind of set the first of the year for the
opening of the new studio. I suppose at times I
held high hopes, but I knew in reality it was
not likely to happen.
In spite of the pressure though, there was an
undercurrent of excitement.
I had great people working for me and we were
all working together as a team to get this new
studio running. To see each area of the building
start taking it's ultimate shape...the waiting
room...the control room (what a trip that
was)...the overdub/ separation
rooms...offices...the studio itself.
This excitement sustained me and would continue
to sustain me, even after the opening.
Continued
