Reason i keep crapping on about festival studio

[rick]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc4qMjF8LDI



This is exactly what it looked like whenni learnt to make records
enjoy !

[Kurt]

Modest bunch eh?

[rick]

It was the same as when i got there in the studio the control had a different set up
custom awa console and ampex multitrack
that movie was shot in 1970
so it was probably 8 trk
but it may have still been 4 trk
2 awa limiters a pultec and a whole lot of skill

the mic selection was just about complete by 1970
notice the drum mic ( just the one)

Altec lipstick tube

i had it at my home for years as my 4 track cassette demo vocal mic

I guess the point was look at the size of the room the ceiling height
same english firm designed it as the guys that retrofitted the same era
abbey road room
who did abbey road ?
Lets get them

Festival was always owned by Murdoch
they spent big money on it at times

[Ben M]

I was going to ask about that drum mic rick. Beat me to it.

I visited Festival Studio's a couple of times in the early 90's. It sure was a nice big beautiful room.

Any ideas why they picked the name 'festival' rick? What is that space used for now?

[lonearranger]

Any ideas why they picked the name 'festival' rick? What is that space used for now?

If we are talking about the Festival Records building in Pyrmont, it has become an IGA supermarket in the last few years. It was a conversion rather than a tear down, so much of the old exterior remains.

There is a fair bit of history here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_Records

[David W]

it has become an IGA supermarket in the last few years.

Wow how sad.

Modesty obviously wasn't "IN" in 1970

[Chris H]

Modesty obviously wasn't "IN" in 1970

....more a reflection of the particular personalities than the 70's I think.
I was at a Thorpie show at Hamilton in 72 and after the show when most of the punters had left, Thorpie came on stage, picked up the amp head and just threw it full force onto the stage, tubes smashing every where etc,then walked back off stage. The amp tech walked over to it scratching his head and i walked up and offered to take it off his hands for a few dollars. "Don't worry mate" he said' "I'll have it going again by tomorrow nights show"
Thorpie was in many ways a "biger star" than the average Oz rocker of the day, being a bit of a child prodigy as a singer and performer, then hitting rock harder than almost anyone around and he was a great guitarist. Perhaps not the greatest though he certainly had the greatest ego. One show i recorded live at the Mercury Lounge for the Legends of Sunbury docco, Spectrum,Chain and Thorpie where on the bill......Thorps invited Phill Manning on stage for a few songs and they had this bit of a guitar play off. At one point Phill just took off and pulled something out of his bag of tricks that was just stunning...... no playing before or after could come close, and I hadn't heard Phil play like that for a while.

[Chinagraf]

It was in colour by the time you started though wasn't it Rick?

[rick]

nope when i started in 1985 it was the same
ie - totally monochrome from the 1960s till they cut the studio hall in half with a drum /live room in 1988 and knocked down the tiny control room and built a modern big one in 1990
only by then it was technicolour
lots of staff members were unhappy and the moderness of the renovations as it was happening
but all agreed it was fantastic when it was done.

well thats how I remember the colour scheme anyway - monochrome
as was the management and staff

[toddd]

that git player can say anything he likes! he has a ciggie in a jazzy, so good!

'that's the untruth scene man' one of the greatest lines ever.

[mylesgm]

the mic selection was just about complete by 1970
notice the drum mic ( just the one)

Altec lipstick tube

i had it at my home for years as my 4 track cassette demo vocal mic

Is that really the only mic on the drums in that session? was that common? I've been trying out a few oddball mic choices for drums of late but haven't done the mono overhead as the only mic yet. Omni or?

[Lee]

Festival's history was an interesting read on wiki, thanks Michael.

[rick]

the mic selection was just about complete by 1970
notice the drum mic ( just the one)

Altec lipstick tube

i had it at my home for years as my 4 track cassette demo vocal mic

Is that really the only mic on the drums in that session? was that common? I've been trying out a few oddball mic choices for drums of late but haven't done the mono overhead as the only mic yet. Omni or?

i dunno myles i have been thinking by the date that the stud was still 4 track so 1 track of drums was probably good
for that

i reckon the lipstick had two capsules and one was noisy so i presume it was cardiod and omni but i cannot remember
it had an external power supply but i dont know much about it - i was to afraid to pull things that small apart in those days
its on studio 301 byrons mic list ( as it should be.. in the festival kit ) so they might know more about it

[JulienG]

I actually ended up walking past it while apartment hunting tonight. Wasn't till I saw the rear half of the building I was sure, but it's a big IGA in Pyrmont sure enough.

I took a photo, but the board's not letting me embed it:
http://julien.studio442.com.au/images/festival-iga.jpg

[The Tasmanian]

I wish the Festival Neve was still in Sydney....

[rick]

you know i wish the guy that spent more time on it then anybody ... over 20 years on it daily

didnt hang himself - when the deal to close the place happened

Mark thomas (Rip)
in this business its Too easy to forget the whos and wheres sometimes
while we think about the "whats"

in that context the "whats" mean nothing to me

you can always buy another neve if you have the cash

[Sammas]

you know i wish the guy that spent more time on it then anybody ... over 20 years on it daily

didnt hang himself - when the deal to close the place happened

Mark thomas (Rip)
in this business its Too easy to forget the whos and wheres sometimes
while we think about the "whats"

in that context the "whats" mean nothing to me

you can always buy another neve if you have the cash

That takes "sound advice" to a whole new level, Rick. I should print it out and stick by my computer screen.

[Djembe]

I have fond memories of after-hours sessions at Festival as a muso in the late '70s/early 80's.
The Yamaha grand was legendary - apparently Elton John wanted to buy it after he did a session there.
Co-incidentally, in 1974 I also worked on the ABCTV show that video clip came from: "GTK".
Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

[rick]

i really learnt to play piano on that grand

dont want to ruin your urban myth... but elton didnt record at festival

he did show up a couple of times to get his multi platnium awards
the rumour may stem from him not liking the "baldwin" that as supplied on a tour
he stormed off stage in brisbane
and demended a yamaha for the rest of the tour

the tour company asked festival if he could have ours - the boss said no
i think they took the emi one i think - dunno before my time

it never happen again though
the other urban myth is
he went out and bought 20 grands and left a couple in each territory so he would have what he wanted whenever he wanted

certainly there was two with his name on it here in storage oz
i have been trying to get one of them for years ... still trying

[The Tasmanian]

Yeah Rick... I must say....
Mark was a very special individual - and I know you would have worked with him for years.
He was always in it for the absolute right reasons - something I find pretty rare these days....
A real dedicated gem of a man.

[blackfoot]

Good Ole Mark, How about his roadcase of effigy's & icons that adorned the desk. I had a hell of a time picking through the forest of trinkets to find the talkback button. There was at least half an hour used lighting candles & arranging knicknacks before we started mixing. It was always an adventure.

[The Tasmanian]

Its good to finally see the Murdoch's world wide corruption finally coming to light.
They deserve all they get.
Cruel and heartless, meddling criminals, plus an extreme right wing political organization in US AU UK.
They bought Festival so they could gut the building and turn it into units - and make a bit out of the publishing.....
All the bullshit they went on with for a few years about becoming a great Australian music company - it was all well thought out planned lies, just like all their newspapers - toilet paper at best - and a gospel for the the person who has no intelligence.
I watch with joy the destruction of "News"

[rick]

no love of murduch here

but they (news limited ) bought festival in the 1950s and rupurt was hands off he let one of his guys run it untouched for about 40 years


it was when his son needed "training"... it went pear shaped
they gave it to him as a working model they need updating and he fucked it

you just cannot through money at music and expect it to multiply
he spent 20-30 million dollars on it in 4 years !
which made it from a nice lil newscorp earner ...
to a great big money pit ( mistake of lachlans ) that had to go


so as a family they can be praised and demonised for the same
trip i guess

but the building as an asset had nothing to do with the demise of the company

[The Tasmanian]

20-30 million in that time?
What did they do?
Nothing to show for it.
Ive always suspected the boys above wanted it to fail - get a tax write off, and then demolish because of the "circumstances".
They are so cunning they even hack the phones of dead people.

[rick]

they hired a bunch of people who hired a bunch of mates and they threw money at the wall and out the window at the most alarming rate

you mentioned the "great australian record company "
well just getting you to remember that probably cost a million bucks !

when i worked for festival nobody except the 1500 people that worked for the major labels had even heard of the company

and even then most had no idea we had a studio ! or a history

the amount of money they spent and the people they spent it on can only be described as a free running gravy train
one of my friends worked there in A&R
for only two years in the last years then got a $120k retrenchment package !

I worked there for 10 years in the mastering / studio /A&R dept
and got payed up till the end of the month for my retrenchment !


still all those "gravy trainers" lost their jobs suddenly and felt betrayed in the end
go figure
so i guess the true murdoch spirit was at work