Nov 18, 2008 3:43 PM, By Barbara Schultz

Airshow Mastering's Studio C surround mastering suite

Glasser: It’s a long overdue step, and the folks he’s talked to out there are excited that there’s not only going to be a new mastering studio that will build on what he’s done over the years since I left Springfield, but also that there will be a really nice mid-sized recording studio.

What does it mean in Boulder for Charlie to open his new studio?
Glasser: It will mean a slightly different business structure.  What we love about the studio here in Boulder is that there are people coming and going all the time, sharing the lounge or lunch. There are different engineers to bounce ideas off of, and it’s a real community.

What gives you the courage to expand now, at a time when so many studios are going out of business?
Pilzer: They say you have to go forward or you’re going backward; you can’t stand still. I think even if the recording world changes, the need for a good facility to work in doesn’t change. Sure, people work at home, but you still have to have a good facility where you can track drums. We’ll have a Yamaha grand piano—an acoustic grand piano in a real space with wood and slate floors, where you can also get a good drum sound—you can’t do that at home! As good as some of the sampler packages are, there’s no substitute for the real thing, especially in acoustic music. What gives me the ambition or the courage is the fact that there’s always a need for a good facility like that.

Other than building a new studio, what are you guys doing to celebrate your silver anniversary?
Pilzer: We held an event out in Boulder: Mike Spitz from ATR Magnetics came out and ran one of his analog tape seminars. It was fun to spend the whole day delving into analog tape. A lot of studios aren’t maintaining tape. Still, we had a group of folks join us who wanted that valuable training.

Glasser: Afterward, we had a party with 100 people here. It was a lot of fun.

That’s a special group of people who party by taking a seminar about analog tape.
Pilzer: Well, it was special to us!

Glasser: That’s something we like about the audio community here – engineers take their craft seriously, and they enjoy sharing with each other. Charlie has a nonprofit record label, he’s very active in the regional music association, and he’s on the NARAS chapter Board of Governors. The new studio is really an extension of Charlie‘s long involvement in the music community.

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY

David Glasser

Grateful Dead, Rocking the Cradle: Egypt '78 (DVD)
Jorma Koukonen, River of Time
Tommy Emmanuel, Center Stage (CD & DVD)
Devotchka, A Mad & Faithful Telling
Tim Reynolds, TR3       
Adrian Belew & the Bears, Live at Club Café (DVD)       
The Waybacks, From the Pasture to the Future   
Charley Patton et al, Screamin’ & Hollerin’ the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton
Michael Franti & Spearhead, Power to the Peaceful (CD & DVD)       
Otis Taylor, Recapturing the Banjo   
Lucy Kaplansky, The Red Thread       
Radiators, Dreaming Out Loud
Beausoleil, Alligator Purse   
Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Crimes of Passion (Dual Disc)   
Various Artists, Smithsonian Folkways’ The Anthology of American Folk Music
   
Charlie Pilzer

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Come Darkness, Come Light
Sweet Honey in the Rock, Raise Your Voice   
Various Artists, I Heard It on NPR   
Mendelssohn Piano Trio, Goldmark Piano Trios   
The Kennedys, Half a Million Miles   
John McCutcheon, Welcome the Traveler Home   
Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Scat Like That   
Various Artists, Smithsonian Folkways’ The Anthology of American Folk Music   
Various Artists, The Heart of Cape Breton   
Various Artists, Raw Pre-War Gospel
Marian McPartland, Jazz Christmas   
Memphis Slim, The Folkways Years

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