Monday, August 18, 2008

Music Row Photos From Above


Next to the UA Tower
Vibe 56 sits one property away from the 'Artists Building'.
What is most commonly referred to as the UA Tower, the nine-story hexagonal building on Nashville's Music Row, has served as a landmark for us when explaining the location of Vibe 56. There is only one property between the studio and the iconic building.

The building itself was erected in 1973, the same year I was born. I love hearing the stories from folks who worked in one of the many recording studios, radio stations and publishing offices that once occupied the tower.

Newly renamed as the 'Artists Building', it has sat vacant since a 2005 fire that occurred a few weeks before Vibe 56 was born. The building has since been completely gutted from the inside and work is currently underway to transform it's interior as a mix of residential and commercial spaces.

I recently had the opportunity to take some photos of the studio and the rest of music row from the top floor of the tower. Borrowing from an often-used phrase here on Music Row, the view from the top is amazing.

The studio from above:
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Looking North:
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The GAC building and some Curb buildings, located West and East (respectively) from the tower:
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Finally, a couple of photos facing South:
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One bonus photo with "Secret Sound" in the foreground, but don't tell anybody:
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Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Engineer By Fire


Engineer By Fire
...figuring it all out.
The Music Industry Glossary defines an intern as this:
Intern
An intern is usually a student studying to eventually become employed in the music industry. In the recording field, they are usually allowed to sit in, and observe recording sessions for the sake of learning the trade. Their responsibilities include anything that nobody else cares to do, including, but not limited to, making and serving coffee, answering doors and phones, scrubbing toilets and cleaning up barf from a highly toxic lead singer.

Tim Brennan, currently one of Vibe 56's interns, has already been "thrown into the fire" a couple of times. Lucky for us that Tim appears to be fire retarded, but sincerely capable with audio related subjects.