Los Angeles, CA (January 28, 2017) The Hollywood Press Corps was in the heart of the Hollywood music scene on Saturday night for Warren Huart’s birthday party at Sunset Sound. Warren was surrounded by friends and family for this special night. The event was sponsored by BAE Audio, Genelec, Lewitt, Vintage King, McDSP, and Trinnov with drinks provided by Jack Daniels.
Warren is a producer, engineer and youtube celebrity. Many noted musicians came out to Sunset Sound for this special evening. Sunset Sound was created by Tutti Camarotta. Tutti convinced Walt Disney that he need a studio to do orchestral arrangements. Disney reluctantly allowed Tutti to open a studio in an old auto maintenance garage. Tutti arranged all of the classic Disney soundtracks at the early Sunset Sound. Still family owned, Paul Camarotta was on hand with his wife at the event.
Alex Kluft was running the red carpet at the front door of Sunset Sound.
Just being in the building gives me chills. Walking from studio to studio, it’s amazing to be in the same room where Led Zeppelin recorded “Stairway to Heaven.” Studio One is the room where the Doors recorded “Light My Fire” and the Rolling Stones recorded “Sympathy for the Devil.”
Warren Huart was such a generous host and so gracious with all his guests. I saw him rubbing elbows with Jerry Jemmott, Brandino, and Tony Franklin. Everybody wanted a moment of Warren’s time. There were really so many people that Warren has touched. Young Kaedyn Kashmir, who is 16 years old, came to say happy birthday to Warren and watch him blow out his candles. Jerry Jemmott, Brandino, Tony Franklin, Paul Ill, Tanya O’Callaghan, Erik Eldenius, Pete Thorn, Cameron Webb, Ross Hogarth and Matt Starr all came to the party and had a great time.
The first luminary to arrive was Jerry Jemmott. Jerry is known as “the Groovemaster”. He is one the most famous bass players form the 1960s and 1970s. Jerry played with the top soul, blues and jazz artists form that time. He was Jaco Pastoriuos’ favorite bass player. He played the bass line on BB King’s “The Thrill Is Gone.”
The Groovemaster is also known for having played the bass line on the original recording of Mr Bojangles with Bob Dylan. The list of players is enormous. Jerry played with Ray Charles, Freddie King, Aretha Franklin and King Curtis. Jerry is also a very positive and happy guy. He had a minute to talk to me and describe what it was like growing up back east. “I did a tap dance routine at Carnegie Hall when I was five years old,” Jerry said. “I started working as a professional musician at 12 years old.” Jerry is such a delight to be around and a positive presence. He’s working on a jazz project and writing new songs.
There were so many legends of recording world at Warren Huart’s birthday mixer. Not only musician’s like Jerry Jemmott and Tony Franklin from The Firm and Kenny Wayne Shepard, but legendary producers like Cameron Webb, who produced the last six Motörhead albums with Lemmy.
I got a chance to speak with Craig Hubler who is the general manager at Sunset Sound. I asked him what one of his fondest memories of working at Sunset Sound for over thirty years and he said, “Playing ping-pong with Prince and Sheila E.”
Tony Franklin was hanging out with everybody and taking phone calls and being a generally grateful, fun guy to be around. Tony is known for playing bass with Jimmy Page, playing with Whitesake, and most recently, performs with Kenny Wayne Shepard.
When I finally got into Studio One, I met Steffenee Copley from Genelec who had a CD playing of the songs that were recorded in Studio One. The Doors recorded “Light My Fire” in August of 1966 at Sunset Sound. The Rolling Stones, Van Halen and Prince also created many famous recordings here. She gave me a technical overview of the monitors in Studio One. She showed me the difference between the famous Augsburger active monitors and the next generation active monitors that use the computer to balance their sound depending on the size of the room. Steffenee is such a pro. She also knows the history of each studio at Sunset Sound. She pointed out that Prince had recorded the original recording of “1999” in Studio Two.
Legendary producer and jazz bass player, Brandino, was at the Warren Huart birthday party. Brandino is known for being a top jazz stand up bass player. He’s played with Aretha Franklin and many others. Brandino and I chatted about Robbie Krieger who was in the Doors and recorded with Jim Morrison and the Doors in Studio One where we were sitting. I happened to catch Robbie perform one of the songs that Brandino played bass on back in 2011. The song is called “Event Horizon”. Brandino is currently working with Alicia Keys and Ty Dolla $ign. He also has a project in the works called Bass Conspiracy. I can’t wait to hear it.
Famous Motörhead producer, Cameron Webb was at the birthday celebration as well. Cameron spoke to me about the time he spent with Lemmy recording the last six Motörhead albums. He said that Lemmy had told him about living in London in the late 1970s during the beginnings of punk rock. Lemmy told Cameron that he had lived with Syd Vicious, bass player for the Sex Pistols, in a mansion they were squatting . Lemmy insisted that he taught Syd how to play bass. Cameron also said that Lemmy was a true poet who lived life with an incredible intensity.
Cameron said that while they were recording, Lemmy would earnestly write lyrics that were poetic and brilliant. Cameron said that so many songwriters don’t take song writing seriously and it shows in the final product. I asked Cameron if he listened to Motörhead on iTunes. “You bet,” he said. “It’s like having a diary of the time I spent with Lemmy. I hear one song and think about the day we recorded it and what we were trying for.” Cameron continues to produce and engineer in his studio and looks for bands that he’s passionate about recording.
Warren received a great rendition of “Happy Birthday to You” from the finest musicians in the world. His cake featured Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and many of his heroes. Warren is such a warm and generous host. Check out his YouTube show called “Produce Like A Pro.” It features tips on how for the beginning recordist can make quality recordings on a budget.
The Hollywood Press Corps looks forward to the next party and social mixer at Sunset Sound.
