By Noe Gutierrez
Melrose Music takes pride in helping artists turn their music into exactly what they envision. Veteran recording, mixing and mastering guru, David Williams brings years of experience and a knack for the craft. He has worked with so many people in the music industry that the list would take days to write.
Melrose Music Studios offers two facilities in Southern California, which are both at the top of the list for most desirable recording and vacation meccas. Melrose Music Hollywood is located on Melrose Avenue on the prestigious Raleigh Studios movie lot. This facility has been a driving force over the last decade in the L.A. music production scene. Melrose Music Palm Springs, located on Palm Canyon Drive, directly in the heart of the desert oasis, caters to the massive So Cal desert community of musicians and those around the globe who know the vital life forces this area can bring to your music and spirit.
Melrose Music Studios is a solid creative environment designed for recording, mixing and mastering. They also offer an array of services to help artists get their music out to the world. These services include complete artist development and support.
Using world-class, top-line gear they help artists capture their vision to bring the music boldly to life.
Coachella Valley Weekly met up with Williams to talk about both locations and his tenure in the Coachella Valley.
On his background and the inception of Melrose Music Studios in Hollywood:
“I was a road musician for about ten years deep into playing. I come from a playing background. Through that, I grew to love to produce records, develop talent and work with people who are trying to express themselves. I was in the Los Angeles area in 1987 and I started recording. I opened my first studio in 1997. In 2006, I had the opportunity to go onto the Raleigh Studios Hollywood lot and I knew the president, so he brought me on and I’ve been there ever since. The studio has been there since 1915, actors like Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford have called it their home. I split my time between Palm Springs and L.A.”
On some of his favorite moments in Hollywood:
“I come from Michigan and have a Motown background. I’ve worked with many people from that era like The Pointer Sisters and Brian Holland from ‘Holland-Dozier-Holland’, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound. He was involved with hit records by Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers. I’ve also worked with Howard Leese, the guitarist, record producer, and musical director who played with Heart for 23 years and Vivian Campbell from Def Leppard and DIO. I’ve devoted time with Taylor Dayne and spent a whole summer with George Clinton.”
On what drew him to the Coachella Valley:
“I’ve traveled to Palm Springs every year since I’ve been in L.A. When I came out here, I loved the vibe. Finally, three years ago, I found a place here, one thing led to another and then I realized there’s such a great musical family out here with great artists. The immense amount of talent out here really excited me, so I decided I wanted to focus as much as I could on Palm Springs. I still go to L.A. every week but Palm Springs is my focus and I want to make this my ultimate destination. I feel it. There’s great players out here. There’s a great vibe out here because everyone is not so commercial. Everyone out here is trying to support the love for music, where back in L.A., there’s more commercialism. I feel out here there’s some undiscovered talent and that’s why I’m drawn to this area.”
On the Coachella Valley-based artists he has connected with so far:
“I’ve worked with and been impressed with Esjay Jones, Robert Poole, Courtney Chambers, Brad Mercer, Giselle Woo and Peter Sutter to name a few.”
On what he loves about being in the desert:
“I’ve played at Pappy and Harriet’s quite a few times and I love the vibe of that room. I’m excited about the songwriting and musicianship here in the desert. I feel like there’s a very special scene going on here and when I came here, I was very intrigued by it and happily surprised by the talent that’s out here.”
On Melrose Music Palm Springs and some highlights:
“It will be two years in May since the grand opening, which was amazing. Mayor Robert Moon came down; we had a ribbon cutting and a great party. Some of my memorable moments so far are cutting a single with Hollywoodlands Records artist Robert Poole and working with vocalist Dryden Mitchell of Alien Ant Farm along with South African born artist and super-producer Esjay Jones. That was a very inspiring session. Working with Grady James was also phenomenal. He’s a great rising Country artist.”
On Melrose Music’s plans hereafter:
“Continue the Hollywood tradition. In the desert, continue to work with the players out here and understand the vibe out here and try to bring the best out of the players, work with them on their vibe and their level. I’d like to shift more of my energy to the desert.”
On the recording studio equipment utilized at Melrose Music:
“I believe in using world-class gear to bring the sounds into the computer to create top hit records. I’m working with Neumann microphones, AMS Neve and Universal Audio preamps and compressors. Pro Tools HD is the format for recording and mixing. Some other notable gear used here for recording are; API Audio, Pearlman Microphones, A-Designs Audio, Aurora Audio GTQ2, Tube-Tech and much more. For mastering, we use Sonic Solutions Mixing and Mastering Software as our platform of choice. That, mixed with our analog outboard gear, (Manley Labs, Avalon, TC Electronic, Waves Audio, UA, and Genelec), will deliver an unmatched quality for your master. I believe in capturing the recorded signals by way of analog with classic gear and transferring that into the computer to produce contemporary, state-of-the-art records. At Melrose Music we mix, master and record final production masters.”
His message to potential clients at Melrose Music:
“If you come to any Melrose Music you will walk into a professional environment with an experienced producer that’s going to listen to you and cater to your songs and try to bring out the best from your songs and direct those songs to become mass-marketable records. I can work with any genre; Pop, Rock, Country, Hip-Hop, Rap, Big-Band, Jazz, Singer-Songwriter Acoustic. I’m happy with a hard-core rapper or a beautiful love song coming in. I don’t criticize or judge; I try to bring out the best in anyone who walks through the door no matter the genre.”
Two Locations:
Hollywood, CA- 5254 Melrose Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90038
Palm Springs, CA- 121 S. Palm Canyon Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92262
melrosemusicstudios.com
Phone: (818) 216-5409
Email: melrosemusic@mac.com
