They all stayed at the hotel there which was called The Americana Inn then.”Īccording to Michael Wagener, a record producer for SkidRow, “The studio was very well equipped and the whole environment was just ideal for a creating a rock album.” He went on to say “They even had a stretched Rolls Royce limo for studio guests to use.” If you wanted a drink or food, it was right there and the even cooler part was its close proximity to the Alpine Valley concert venue… On any given night while doing my guitar tracks, I'd turn around and on the studio couch would be, The Beach Boys, Jefferson Starship, Mr. The vibe was perfect… The other cool part was that it was right in the hotel. The speakers were custom made Westlakes and the whole place was designed by Carl Yancher. With an infusion of over $500,000 in high end equipment, including a Neve 8-68 Console (supposedly the same one used by John Lennon to record Double Fantasy), the studio became world class.īands including Survivor, T’Pau, Cheap Trick, Guns and Roses, Bon Jovi, Adrian Belew, Robert Plant of Led Zeplin, Enuff Z’Nuff, Crash Test Dummies, Nine Inch Nails, Live, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and many more, began recording at this studio.īob Pucci, a bass guitarist from Chicago recalls “Royal rocked, I recorded there the whole summer of 1986 with my band The Ultraviolet, that Adrian Belew and Jim Bartz produced. Fajerstein is said to be the longest and most heavily invested owner.
After some of his California investors pulled their money, Bonanno aligned with diamond importer, Ron Fajerstein, who renamed the studio Royal Recorders. After Playboy sold the resort to The Americana, in 1981, the studio, although still intact, sat dormant until 1985, when it became the Sound Summit run by the late Phil Bonanno. It didn’t take long before top recording artists, including John Cougar Mellencamp, signed on.Īfter a few years, the economy took a turn, record labels began to slash budgets and the studio began to suffer financially. The studio measured 35x24 and a 21 x 20 control room. With it's tongue and groove ash paneling and Italian marble, according to String Station, it was esthetically pleasing to both the eyes and ears. Playboy reacted quickly and, within a few weeks, Shade Tree Recording Studio was up and running. He felt that since top artists frequently performed at the resort and with the hotel being a host to many performers from the nearby Alpine Valley Music Theater, there was a need for a recording studio in the area. It all began in 1978, when a local musician, Andy Waterman, presented the idea to the Playboy Executives, including Christie Hefner, Hugh’s daughter, who owned the hotel at that time. This highly respected studio made a big impact on the industry and pieces of its past are still used in music today. We pieced together the story with the help of the book “Grand Tale: History of the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa," SpringStation, as well as a forum for Mixing/Mastering Engineers where many shared their memories of the studio. The Best of Lake Geneva visited the site of the former Shade Tree Recording Studio, which is now an engineering office, and was shocked to see that relics from the early days can still be seen. The conditions Friday evening were terrible.No more visits to this place.And to the owner : FIX YOUR AIR CONDITIONING IDIOT.Lake Geneva was at the top of the music scene for over a decade and the state-of-the-art recording studio that was housed in the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, brought world class talent to our town. Attribute this too the fact the restaurant was about 80+ degrees.When the waitress asked if we needed anything else, we kindly asked for the apparent ceiling fans to be turned onâ¦they were all offâ¦.dahhh.She replied they donât work.What kind of establishment would not have working fans, decent air conditioningâ¦funny, all the tv.s weâre on, all the neon signs were lit, the outside facade seems updated.Appears the owner has the priorities screwed up.Itâs too bad because the food ( in past visits) was decent.
We asked of there was another cooler area and the waitress said the entire place was uncomfortably warm.We order our foodâ¦.the wait time was great, unfortunately that was overshadowed by the fact, the cole slaw was horrible, the pickle garnish was limp and the pulled pork was sub standard at best.I can only.
Unfortunately the sun was blazing through the window which had NO shade or pull down screen.
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