The Studio: Springfield, MO recording home of Lou Whitney

The STUDIO
328 South Avenue
Springfield, MO 65806
417.862.0600
Lou Whitney: Producer, Enginner, Owner
WHITNEYLOU@aol.com

The Studio is located in the thriving downtown of Springfield, MO within walking distance from many restaurants, coffee shops and bars. The Studio features a very accurate control room and a spacious live room with 14' ceilings, one ISO booth and a comfortable lounge. The Studio is also tied into the Outland Bar for live recording.

Selected Clients include: Wilco, Bottle Rockets, Robbie Fulks, Blue Mountain, Exene Cervenka, Dexter Romwebber, Jonathan Richman, The Del-Lords, Eric Ambel, Joe Flood, Jono Manson, Domino Kings, Hadacol, Mary McBride, Syd Straw, Morrells, Skeletons, Redd Volkaert, Brian Capps, the Cowslingers, the Cropdusters, Bel-Airs, Big Smith

Recording Gear

Soundcraft TS 24 Recording Console
40 input 24 bus

KEF-103.2 Monitors (2 pair)
SLS-S8R Monitors with Ribbon Tweeters

Otari MTR 90 2" analog w 24 and 16 track heads
Studer A 80 1/2 analog
Studer B 67 1/4" analog
Mackie 24 bit 96k Hard Disc Recorder
Digidesign Pro Tools HD coming soon

Amek 9098 Mic Pre/EQ/Comp
Audio+design Compex Pre/EQ/Compressor
Audio+design Scamp S31 Compressor (6)
Audio+design Scamp SQ4 Parametric EQ (4)
Audio+design Scamp S30 Expander/Gate (2)
Audio+design Scamp S02 Pre-amp (2)
Audio+design Scamp S25 De-esser
BAE-API 312 Card Mic Pre (2)
Broadhurst Gardens/Decca dual Mic Pre
dbx 160 comp
dbx 163 comp (2)
dbx 166A comp
Demeter VTCL-2 stereo tube comp
Telefunken V627/2 Mic Pre
TL Audio Dual Valve EQ
TL Audio Dual Valve Pre-Amp/Compressor
TL Audio 5012 Dual Valve Compressor
Urie 1176 LN Compressor (4)
Urie LA-4 Opto Compressor (4)
Universal Audio 175 (Bill Putnam Tube Compressor)
Valley People Dyna-mite comp/gate (2)
WHR Studio 4 RE-312 API card Mic Pre (2)

Eventide Harmonizer
Eventide H3000
Lexicon pcm 41 (2)
Lexicon pcm 60
Lexicon 244 XL

AKG
414 (2)
451 (2)

Crown
PZM (2)

Electro Voice
RE-20 (2)

Neumann
U-47 FET (2)
U-87 (4)
KM-86 (2)

Sennheiser
421 (8)

Shure
SM 81 (2)
KSM 32 (2)
SM 58 (10)
SM 57 (5)

Ampeg
SVT
8 x 10" cabinet
B-3
B-15 Portaflex (2)
V4B

Fender
Deluxe Reverb '72
Vibrolux Reverb '65


Hammond C-3
Leslie 145
Kimball 6'7" Grand Piano
Wurlitzer B-200
RMI Electra Piano
Fender Rhodes

Studio Drum kit with many snare drums and cymbals
Ace Session Musicians Available

Bottle Rockets -Aug 11 Lean Forward

I'm pretty damned excited that today is August 11 and that marks the release of the new
Bottle Rockets record "Lean Forward". The Bottle Rockets are one of the best Band's I've
ever had the pleasure of working with as a producer. I've done 3 LP's and an EP with them over the
years. (Lean Forward makes it 4)
First was Brooklyn Side, recorded at the fondly remembered Coyote Studios on N 6th
Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Coyote is gone now due to the former meat market street turning
into a different type of Meat Market resulting in many bars and an American Apparel store.

Next was 24 Hours A Day which we tracked at the 'Coug's guitar player Mike Wanchic's joint in Bloomington,
Indiana. We all got our own rooms at the Motel 6 and we were greeted every morning by a young
girl who wanted badly to leave Bloomington for more hipster digs like NYC who we affectionately
refered to as "Eyebrows". We did some overdubs in NYC and mixed with the fabulously English Mr
Richard "Dick" Dodd in the Berry Hill section of Nashville.

We had some leftover tracks from 24 Hours A Day that became known, oddly enough, as "Leftovers"
Then we went to Lou's The Studio in Springfield, MO to record "Brand New Year" in 1999.

It had been quite a while since we worked together but we had always stayed in touch. I was
never as excited as I was the morning I opened up my e-mail to find that the Bottle Rockets
wanted to make a record with me again.

The record we made with Tim Hatfield engineering last summer at the old Cowboy Technical Services
basement location on Hope Street in Williamsburg is released today on Bloodshot Records.
You can get it through iTunes or from the Band's Webstore or Bloodshot's Webstore or your local record shop.
The record is available on CD and Limited Edition Vinyl.

I hope you'll dig it as much as I do.

E/Roscoe

Advise for the Steel Player

I always liked Buck Owens & His Buckeroos. One of my musical heros Lou Whitney used to tell me
a lot of stories about wild Buckeroos gigs that he went to in Arizona back in the '60's. Beehive hairdo havin' women swarming
the stage and all. Lou called it "Combo Country". The small self contained band as opposed to the lush Nashville productions of the time. Great stuff all of it.

One time I was down at Lou's recording studio in Springfield, MO to produce a record for artist Jono Manson and we were talking about putting pedal steel on one of the tunes.
Lou mentioned that original Buckaroos steel player Tom Brumley was living nearby and playing shows at his family's theater in Branson. Holy moly. Lets get Tom Brumley!

Lou got a hold of Tom and a few days later Tom shows up at the studio in a sharp little Mercedes with his pedal steel and a new reissue Fender Bassman that had been customized for him by the Fender folks with a JBL K-130 15" speaker ("the only speaker for pedal steel" said Tom).

Tom got set up and before we played him the song I went out there to talk to him about what we were looking for on the song.
I was kind of nervous about it and I think Tom could tell. I told him I really needed to let him know the direction for this part.
I hoped that it wouldn't offend him but I told him that I was just going to go ahead and tell him the same thing that I told
any guy who was gonna play pedal steel on a track that I was producing. Tom is giving me the "Ok, kid" look.
I'm still nervous about it and Tom prods me "Ok what do you need"?
And I'm still beating around the bush "Its just what I have to tell all the pedal steel players......"

Tom is still waiting...

"Well, I always tell 'em to play it like Tom Brumley"


Well Tom did a great job for us on Jono Manson's song "No Strings" from the record Little Big Man that features Will Rigby on drums.
Tom also told us some good Buckaroos tales about his first gig with them in Arizona where he flew down
to meet Buck who told him he "had a steel for him". Turns out it was in pieces in a box and Tom had to build it before the gig.

One of the best stories he told was about being in the studio with the Buckaroos. Usually Buck and his super guitar playing partner Don Rich would have the songs worked out and show them to the band in the studio. They'd usually cut a coupld songs at a session. This is at Capitol Records in Hollywood. On one day they had 2 down and had a little time left for one more. Buck and Don showed this song to the band then with only enough time left on the session for one take Buck leans over and tells Tom "play something you can get right the first time"

And that song became another of Buck's hits "Together Again" with a first take track from everyone including Tom's solo.


Tom played in Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band and Dwight Yokam and Pete Anderson had him play steel on most of Dwight's heavily Buck influenced stuff. A couple years later I brought Tom into the studio to play on the Backsliders "Southern Lines" record. I didn't have the 15" JBL with me and I heard about it from Tom. Went home and got one that we keep in the studio now. So steel players, play it like Tom Brumley!

Tom Brumley RIP