The Ballad of Janis Joplin

On October 1st, 1970, Janis Joplin, widely considered the world’s first female superstar of rock, stepped into Studio 1 at Sunset Sound studios in Hollywood to record the song “Mercedes Benz”. Stripped of instruments and using only her vocals, the song would become a hallmark of her career and personal rock star legend. Legendary Sunset Sound…

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THE GOLDEN GANGSTAS

It was a typical August day in LA. An extreme heat hung in the air, blanketed with a quilted smog, insulating the entire city in muggy warmth. Even the breeze was hot. Breath leaves your body warm, but comes back into your lungs feeling even hotter on the inhale. Walking down…

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Monsters In The Basement

That time I met an American Werewolf in Burbank Prologue: Somewhere deep in the suburbs of Burbank, CA is “Bob’s Basement”. A private home museum of priceless horror/sci-fi props curated by its owner; actor, writer, former FX artist, Mr. Bob Burns. The museum part of the house is not open to the public, and doesn’t…

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The Purple Rain at Sunset Sound

”Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life…” I was recently doing research at storied Sunset Sound Recorders studios in Hollywood for an article about Janis Joplin. In my research, I found out that Prince had recorded several tracks of “Purple Rain” in Studio 3, so I…

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