Sonic Ranch
The first time I heard of Sonic Ranch was last June in the middle of our Texas tour. The first time Colby heard of it was from Sebastian, a friend of ours from the Moscow Beta house. Sebastian had been listening to a band named Midland and had watched the video of their recording session at Sonic Ranch.
He told Colby about it, so Colby made contact with the ranch and was surprised to receive a call from none other than the owner of Sonic Ranch, Tony (I should know his last name, but I’ve obviously been avoiding using last names in this blog). The story goes that Tony called Colby while he was attending a wedding and had had a few drinks. Nonetheless, Tony came away with a very good impression of Colby and really wanted him to make his next album at the ranch.
This is what pecans look like on the tree.
I know very little about Tony’s previous career in the recording industry or when he started building what has now become this sizable studio, but he did tell me that most of the buildings we are now living and working in had dirt floors when he started. Tony’s story would be a very interesting one. Maybe another time.
Evidently this is the largest board of its kind in the world, and Tony procured it from the Madonna organization.
This is the board from the other studio at the main house. I can only assume it’s called Studio B.
This is a 24 track tape reel. I really know very little about the tech at the ranch but the philosophy seems to be to put together the highest quality equipment from the 1970s and later to achieve the warmest capture of sound. They do achieve. Listen to this recording of Colby’s:
We had been operating this “business” on a shoestring budget for the last two years, having spent only around $2k on each of the last two albums. I have yet to write the blogs about the making of the previous two albums. We’ll talk more about Kyler and his recording studio in a basement at that time. I had been making projections on royalty income since the June Texas tour and those projections suggested a huge increase in revenue. Maybe we should spend more than $2k on the next one.
So, Colby and Tony came to an agreement and here we are at Sonic Ranch.
What is this place?
It is actually a large, commercial Pecan orchid that, as I understand, has been in Tony’s family for quite a while.
This is what pecans look like on the tree.
I know very little about Tony’s previous career in the recording industry or when he started building what has now become this sizable studio, but he did tell me that most of the buildings we are now living and working in had dirt floors when he started. Tony’s story would be a very interesting one. Maybe another time.
There are four studios at the Sonic Ranch. The big one is called studio A
Evidently this is the largest board of its kind in the world, and Tony procured it from the Madonna organization.
This is the board from the other studio at the main house. I can only assume it’s called Studio B.
This is a 24 track tape reel. I really know very little about the tech at the ranch but the philosophy seems to be to put together the highest quality equipment from the 1970s and later to achieve the warmest capture of sound. They do achieve. Listen to this recording of Colby’s:
Then listen to Cody Jinks, from his Adobe Sessions album:
That’s why we’re here.
The property is around 100 acres and lies in the narrow green swath next to the Rio Grande right in the very western tip of Texas near El Paso.
Two studios, the Adobe studio (above),
and the one they call “big blue” lie near the eastern end of the property.
The “ranch house” is a guest house for the artists. It’s right next to the above two studios.
Back view of the guest house.
The Mexican border is just a mile to the south of us. The story I got was that the border used to run between the ranch house and the Adobe studio, but by either treaty or diversion of the Rio Grande, the border is now a mile south if here. The ranch house itself was at one time the US port of entry. The iron grates on many of the ranch house doors attest to this.
The front door to the ranch house.
My room.
The door between the ranch house and my room. I’m sleeping in what used to be a prison cell. I can say that it’s very comfy.
Amazing tile work in this place.
The living room of the ranch house.
The first night here, Colby, Jack and I rearranged “The last Buffalo”. I think you’ll like the final result.
The first night here, Colby, Jack and I rearranged “The last Buffalo”. I think you’ll like the final result.
The Main House:
Pretty sure the main house is over a century old, as are the hand carved pillars you see here. The huge old tree shades the courtyard perfectly.
The arcade. Guest artist rooms are along the left side of the old Adobe structure.
One of two dining rooms at the main house. Fantastic meals are part of the deal here.
The kitchen. Serve yourself. Farm style.
I need to get one of these espresso machines. I’ve grown accustomed to my morning cappuccino.
The main house lies near the west end of the property, along with studios A and B. So we could either drive the mile from the ranch house for every meal, or. . .
Walk through the orchard. As you can see, the beauty of this place is its simplicity and almost complete lack of distractions. The mile walk to and from each meal gets me about six miles in what would otherwise be a very sedentary day.
Huevos Rancheros, made to order by the cook, Susannah. I’ll get a picture of the staff later. Suffice to say, “the ladies”, Betsa, Susannah and Celia, take very good care of us. None of them speak English so I’ve had to learn a few phases: “Buenos dias Betsa, Huevos Rancheros por favor”, and “Gracias Susannah, delicioso.” Yesterday’s tortilla soup was amazing.
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