Former Location –
Once a baptist church, this was the location where The Rolling Stones recorded “Tattoo You.” Other artists that recorded here include Aerosmith and Lou Reed.
Notable Recordings Made At Media Sound:
Color In Your Life by Missing Persons
More Songs About Buildings And Food by Talking Heads
Scandal by Scandal
Electric Warrior by T. Rex
VU by Velvet Underground
Midnight To Midnight by Psychedelic Furs
Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble
Appetite For Destruction by Guns N’ Roses
Rocket To Russia by Ramones
The Edgar Winter Album by Edgar Winter
Inner Visions by Stevie Wonder
Big Beat by Sparks
Rebel Yell by Billy Idol
Media Sound
311 West 57th Street
New York NY 10019
My First Studio Job
I worked at Media Sound during the late 80’s – my first studio grunt job. What a blast – Mick, Luther, Yoko, Lou, and Jackie Gleason conducting. My favorite was getting the Jack for Keith.
I spend the first two years of High School hanging out at MediaSounds, after school my friend Douglas and I would ride the train to 57th Street from Brooklyn. Back in those days Sister Sledge was recording there and my friend Douglas had a crush on Kathy, I think Kim was the finest. His dad was a well known arranger, we met so many people there, Ron Woods stands out. I did not know who he was, he is the most down to Earth people you would ever want to meet, very cool and grounded. We hangout there around the mid seventy. I never met Stevie Wonder he was at MediaSounds one day and Douglas went alone that day, Mr wonder told Douglas he heard of my last name, come to found out years later my cousin Morris Broadnax co wrote music for Mr Wonder with his partner Clarance Paul, Oh did I mention Douglas Dad was the late great Super Chart Bert DeCoteaux…(Mr B) Small world…I will never forget my time at MediaSounds.
Back in the day my progrock band Andromeda recorded there for several weeks (alas the project got shelved in the midst of Great Music Industry Crash of 1978) Two fond memories stick out. The beautiful 32-track Neve in Room B, and the plaque next to the door, memorializing the fact that “the great Hungarian composer Bela Bartok” had lived in the building, which I gather had been converted to apartments, for the last two years of his life
I played in a small band called CADILLAC ALLEY back in the ’70s. We did some “after hours” recording sessions as guests of Trudie Schroeder ( hope I’m not getting anybody in trouble by saying that). It was great fun and we did some mighty good stuff (humble opinion). It never went anywhere, alas! I have no idea where or IF those tapes exist. Fond memories…
Billy Joel’s “The Nylon Curtain” album was also recorded here.. You can see the studio in Billy & the band’s 1981 remote Saturday Night Live appearance. They were in the early stages of recording the album at the time and played 2 songs live from “Songs In The Attic.”