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Author Topic: Pre-BBs history of Brother Studios Santa Monica location  (Read 9805 times)
astroray
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« Reply #25 on: September 09, 2019, 03:39:57 PM »

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CenturyDeprived
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« Reply #26 on: September 09, 2019, 04:08:06 PM »



That is SO cool. Fascinating on many levels. Was this a rate card you acquired there in person?

A few notes:

- Did those rates include an engineer? Was there a house engineer(s), and if so, who?
- How many people had keys to the place?
- Gotta love the days before area codes were obligatorily listed in phone numbers.
- Sundays are only a $5 surcharge over Saturdays! Gotta pay just a lil extra to drag the engineer away from that Sweet Sunday Kinda Love at home, I suppose  LOL
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Debbie KL
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« Reply #27 on: September 09, 2019, 04:10:29 PM »

Two things I can confirm. Kim Fowley definitely had a Rolls Royce. He had a driver. He came to my apartment in Century City in 1979 to inquire about my band The Point after he'd heard our demo tape. Came in a Rolls. He also produced Helen Reddy sessions at Brother and told me Dennis treated him wonderfully during that time.


I had been to Brother a few times starting in late '77. Soon after your run in with Kim he sought out my project, By that time his lifestyle was back to down and dirty. He lived off Hayworth, north of Sunset, in a regular 2 bedroom apt. He had no car.  Jo Jo Clark, a wanna be John Fogerty/Tony Joe White,  was his driver.
Kim was not good with money. At all. Ralph Peer II bailed him out regularly. I did, too, once, a few years later, by offering him my barren laundry room to stay in.  At the time you met him, he may have been riding high on Kiss money. The Helen Reddy advance wasn't too shabby, either.

The other project Kim & Earle did at Brother was The Quick (Great Buildings, Danny Wilde, The Rembrandts), for Mercury.

Kim told me Bruce stories. He also had stuff to say about Murry and Van Dyke Parks. None of it bad, really, it's just he had certain peculiar attitudes about people in his past.
For all I know the Rolls he arrived in when I met him could have been borrowed or rented. Just wanted to confirm that the one Debbie saw at Brother could have been his. Possible. In 79 Kim was working with Stiv Bators and recording his post Runaways girl group the Orchids. He had us come down to Kitchen Sync Studio and pitched us on writing songs for Stiv. Never worked out, but it was an interesting chapter in my life. I interviewed him in 99 for my Dennis book and he clearly remembered our band and the demo tape. He also shared about his history with Dennis , Bruce and the other Beach Boys. Liked Dennis a lot. Said this about Bruce "He knows how to join a Country Club."

John, my apologies for not suggesting you as someone who would know these things, and thanks for the info. Ironically, I wasn't especially involved at the time because I was very busy with, and loved my job at - yes - Bruce's country club - no kidding. I did house-sit at Dennis's home that he shared with Shawn at around that time near Zuma Beach in West Malibu. That was after he lived at Venice Beach (I think). I was never there. I was on Harmony once when Dennis caught me leaving an event where I had just left Brian because he had become impossible to deal with. Dennis yelled across the street to me, "Hey, Debbie, if I can get Brian to come with me to the boat, will you come take care of him?" As po'd as I obviously was, I said yes. Dennis gave me the directions to the boat where Brian had finally quieted down in the aft cabin. Dennis and friends were having a quiet party in the forward cabin while Brian and I just fell asleep - thank heavens. I got up the next morning and went to work. Such was life then.
Debbie thanks for sharing that story. Must have been so interesting being close to the Wilsons back then. I met Dennis in 78 and Brian in 79 and there were no other people like them. Child like spiritual souls. And Carl. It's almost like a holy trinity for me. Kim Fowley might be on the other end of that spectrum. But he was also really interesting. Hilarious that you worked at Bruce's Country Club. I almost fell over reading that!

The Wilson brothers did all have that quality - well-put, as usual, Jon. Yes, it was actually a local beach club where I worked which is a type of country club and part of the same organizations, similar fees and admissions requirements. No golf course, but they had paddle tennis, so I'm sure Bruce got to wear his tennis whites if he was in the mood.  Wink I have so many stories from there that I can never tell because of confidentiality. I had a great boss and it was a wonderful place to work.
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SBonilla
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« Reply #28 on: September 09, 2019, 05:06:05 PM »



That is SO cool. Fascinating on many levels. Was this a rate card you acquired there in person?

A few notes:

- Did those rates include an engineer? Was there a house engineer(s), and if so, who?
- How many people had keys to the place?
- Gotta love the days before area codes were obligatorily listed in phone numbers.
- Sundays are only a $5 surcharge over Saturdays! Gotta pay just a lil extra to drag the engineer away from that Sweet Sunday Kinda Love at home, I suppose  LOL

I can answer one or two of these questions. I posted a pic of my copy, in recent months on another board.

Yes, rates included an engineer. The primary engineers that were there in '77 were Earle Mankey, Tom Murphy, and John Hanlon
As for keys, Earle had them and it's likely Tom did, too. Can't say who else.

I acquired mine on the day I had a tiny l tape transfer job done there (Earle was the engineer). I still have the Brother Studios receipt. I'll post it if I find it.


« Last Edit: September 09, 2019, 07:35:03 PM by SBonilla » Logged
CenturyDeprived
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« Reply #29 on: September 09, 2019, 06:03:34 PM »

Not long after Brother Studios, it became Unicorn Recording Studio, and this 1982 classified ad namedrops The BBs in as small font size as possible:

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Vale
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« Reply #30 on: September 10, 2019, 02:48:38 AM »


Wow! Do you have it in hi-res quality?
I'm looking for a better quality Brother Studio logo
Thanks
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« Reply #31 on: September 10, 2019, 04:36:40 AM »

Those rates seem rather expensive for what is the late 70s/early 80s.
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SBonilla
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« Reply #32 on: September 10, 2019, 06:08:22 AM »

Those rates seem rather expensive for what is the late 70s/early 80s.

Those book rates were in line with what other respected Hollywood studios were charging. They were not there for demo projects or spec deals; they were seeking projects with major label budgets. I would think that their block rates were fair - and negotiable.

Brother Studios was also there for the band, well, the Wilsons. They had a 'home studio' again.

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