House of Blues Studio is a true work of art

" Worth checking out - if you can find it! "

By Norm Shaw

Of all the funky little streets in Midtown Memphis, Rayner is one of the more unique. For starters, you really have to look for it (for the record, it is off Lamar between Bellevue and McLean). To get to it, you have to swing up a hill off Lamar and round a left turn at the top. And that's when it gets real unusual.

Sitting on the east side of the street about a block south of Lamar is a building that looks vaguely familiar if you've ever been to a House of Blues club. And it should, because it is one of two House of Blues Studios in the United States, the other being in Encino, Calif. Ringed by a folk-art covered tin privacy fence, the House of Blues Studio is in contrast with the rest of the neighborhood. But in reality, the studio has been there longer than the cars on blocks that surround it.

"It was first owned by Sam the Sham," says Jay Allen, who does publicity for the studio. "Then the Bar-Kays bought it...In 1987, Gary Belz and Joe Walsh bought it and renamed it Kiva Studio." It was converted to a House of Blues Studio last year. Belz is a longtime friend of House of Blues co-founder Isaac Tigrett, and together they led the conversion. Walsh, who has had an extensive solo career as well as being a member of the Eagles, is no longer involved with the studio. During a walking tour of the new facility, it is hard to think you are not in the House of Blues in New Orleans. Folk art abounds, as it does at the Crescent City club. Bas-relief sculptures of the greats of rock and blues line the walls, as they do the ceiling and walls of the bar area of the club. Tin is everywhere, just like the clubs.

What is different is the equipment you find behind the doors of the individual studios. There are four studios in the compound, three in the main building, and a new free-standing one in an outbuilding that looks like it might fall over in a strong wind. Studio D, the separate one, is in fact the newest, and features a NEVE console and a host of state-of-the-art equipment. Even a partial list of equipment reads like an alphabet soup mix of letters and numbers. Suffice it to say, if you need it, they've got it.

"We've got everything you'd ever need, going from four tracks to 128," says Allen. "We even have the ED-Net system, so we can use phone lines to record remotely. You can link to anywhere."

A staff of 12 keeps the place running.

The studio keeps busy with a wide range of work, including blues, rock, R&B and movie soundtracks. Recent guests include Garrison Starr, who is making her major-label debut there, Chris Duarte and a host of others. Work was recently completed on the soundtrack to the new Oliver Stone film, as yet untitled.

Allen says big-name acts are more likely to use the studio over local performers because of the cost - about $1,500 a day.

"It's pricey, but it's worth it," he says. "We would like to see more local talent come in. That's one of the things I'm trying to do. There's an incredible amount of talent in Memphis. I always think it's amazing that you can call up Wayne (Jackson) and Andrew (Love of the Memphis Horns) to get them to play on your record, then they'll apologize for taking your money." The House of Blues, though, need not apologize to anyone for their studio. It is a work of art used to create works of art. Drive by and check it out - if you can find it.