David Gold (left) with the late Stan Ross at Gold Star Studios, Hollywood in 1984.
In the late 1970’s our building’s owner, Lou Mattazaro, got together with his old friend and mentor, David Gold, to plan and build a premier recording facility in San Diego. Record sales were booming–so–why not? Lou had a large warehouse space in Santee, California and that’s where they’d design and build their dream studio, two and a half hours south from the hustle and bustle of LA.
Lou goes way back with David Gold, working as an engineer in Hollywood’s famed Gold Star Studios in the 1950’s through the early 60’s. It was the golden age of recording and David Gold and Stan Ross had built what was considered one of the best sounding and beautifully equipped studios in the country–Gold Star. Its signature sound attracted everyone from a young Phil Spector, The Beach Boys and Buffalo Springfield to Sonny & Cher. Lou Mattarazo–also a terrific singer–recorded there and saw the hopes and dreams of many talented people take shape during this amazing time in the recording industry’s history.
Borrowing from the success of Gold Star, Lou and David’s new studio, originally called Natural Sound, was completed in 1979. David Gold designed the live room as a hybrid of Gold Star Studios’ A and B rooms by capitalizing on the strengths of each and perfecting what he’d learned through the years. The live room is actually a bit larger than the old Gold Star Studio A (and the smaller B room) and was acoustically engineered to be a live, yet controlled sounding space, ideal for tracking ensembles altogether while retaining the isolation needed for proper mixing.
Many of the biggest selling hits of all time were recorded at Gold Star Recording Studios in Hollywood. Some of their recordings include Ritchie Valens‘s “La Bamba,” the Champs’ “Tequila,” Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues,” Iron Butterfly’s “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,” Sonny and Cher‘s “I Got You Babe,” portions of the Beach Boys’ classic 1966 album “Pet Sounds” and the single, “Good Vibrations.” Phil Spector first learned and then perfected his “Wall-of-sound” technique working under Stan Ross at Gold Star. It was epitomized in the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” which went on to be named by BMI as the most played record of the 20th century.
From the Gold Star Studios website: “Unencumbered by major record label restrictions, Gold Star’s freewheeling “recording-is-art’ approach ultimately changed the course of modern music and modern recording studio design while wrestling America’s recording capital crown from New York, Nashville and Memphis. Featured in hundreds of books, hit films, documentaries, accredited college courses and magazine
Gold Star Studios pioneered the single most important innovation in 20th Century music: what Sir George Martin called “the recording-studio-as-instrument” concept…” “…Gold Star Studios provided safe creative harbor, an opportunity to revitalize flagging careers, explore new sonic territories free of ‘bean-counter’ constraints…” — Kent Crowley
“…and for established artists like Bobby Darin, The Who, The Monkees, The Band, The Go Go’s, The Ramones, The Association, Art Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Tommy Boyce and others; Gold Star Studios provided safe creative harbor, an opportunity to revitalize flagging careers, explore new sonic territories free of ‘bean-counter’ constraints or to pay homage to Gold Star’s rich heritage still reverberating in the walls of Gold Star’s ‘perfect’ echo chambers–the walls in “The Wall of Sound.”
Sadly, Gold Star Studios closed their doors in 1984. Shortly after, the structure came to an untimely end when a fire destroyed the building. HOWEVER the legacy lives on in their timeless recordings captured for ever more. And it’s our goal that their creative spirit and generosity live on at Analog Chew, the last standing vestige of David Gold’s brilliant acoustical engineering.
…Analog Chew is the last standing vestige of David Gold’s brilliant acoustical engineering.” — Jerry Sisti
Since Lou sold Natural Sound, the studio has gone through a few different owners, yet has nevertheless withstood the test of time. During the years it was Brian Strate’s and Alan Sanderson’s Strate Sound, Alan pioneered the “Pyles Sessions” with San Diego DJ and local music hero–Tim Pyles. Featuring name artists like Switchfoot, Death Cab for Cutie, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Silversun Pickups, The Hold Steady, Franz Ferdinand, Swing Kids, Bloc Party, Cage the Elephant, Eagles of Death Metal and the Manchester Orchestra–to name more than a few. These sessions continued on for a short while when the studio later became Secret Cedar Studios. Some incredible recordings were made for these broadcasts and some went on to be strong sellers for the bands that released them.
Now under new ownership as Analog Chew, the studio plans to continue the rich legacy preceding it. It is equipped far better than it’s ever been and great care and expense have gone into the maintenance and upgrading of the control room, console and monitoring. But most of all, Analog Chew will always strive to embody the same spirit born in the walls by David Gold himself–safe creative harbor free of ‘bean-counter’ constraints. All in one of the best sounding live rooms and control rooms on the west coast–and dare we say–the country. That’s not bragging. That’s David Gold’s legacy. And he deserves the credit.
— Jerry Sisti
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