{"id":3925,"date":"2013-04-29T19:57:49","date_gmt":"2013-04-29T19:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/secret-hill-studios-closes-its-doors-as-engineer-readies-for-l-a-move\/"},"modified":"2013-04-29T19:57:49","modified_gmt":"2013-04-29T19:57:49","slug":"secret-hill-studios-closes-its-doors-as-engineer-readies-for-l-a-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/secret-hill-studios-closes-its-doors-as-engineer-readies-for-l-a-move","title":{"rendered":"Secret Hill Studios Closes Its Doors as Engineer Readies for L.A. Move"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hJCe3q9xOQk?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>When Brian Frederick opens an industrial door outside a large warehouse, a grey staircase reveals itself, leading to a labyrinth of white-walled hallways.<\/p>\n<p>The maze, dotted with dilapidated pieces of wood and sheet metal, continues to a basement where Frederick hosts and records local Long Beach bands at what he calls Secret Hill Studios.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hate this building,\u201d Frederick, the engineer for Secret Hill Studios, says. \u201cTo me, this room is Sound City. It shouldn\u2019t sound good, but it does. And I don\u2019t want to leave it, because I feel insanely creative here. I\u2019ve written a lot of great music here, I\u2019ve produced a lot of great records with a lot of great bands. It has a great rich history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Frederick announced in March that he is leaving the studio, which is located in a residential area of Signal Hill, and will make the move to Los Angeles on May 1 where he will work at Serenity West Studios\u2014a $3 million facility that hosts acts like Adele, DJ Quick, Snoop Dogg (aka Snoop Lion), Regina Spector and Wiz Khalifa.<\/p>\n<p>His decision to leave, Frederick explained, comes out of financial need and limited studio time in Secret Hill.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-24084\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Brian_Frederick_Portrait.JPG\" alt=\"Brian Frederick Portrait\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Brian Frederick inside Secret Hill Studios. Photos by Angela Ratzlaff. &nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no bitterness over the move, but I was kicked out of [Secret Hill],\u201d he says. \u201cI advertise this as a commercial spot, and my buddy uses it as his own personal recording studio. I\u2019m basically like politely getting the boot. I\u2019m the only one here where this is my living.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Frederick started making music back in 2001 when he was a teenager. His first experience as an engineer took place in his neighbor\u2019s garage while making a recording of his band to submit for the campus talent show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had to figure out how to set up the mics and how to record everything, and my neighbor, who taught me how to play drums, was at the same time trying to figure out how to record the ideas for his band,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>After finding a passion from the need of making the recording, Frederick said his drive to grow his skill sets as an engineer grew. It wasn\u2019t until after leaving the Army in 2005, however, that he decided to make music as his initial source of income.<\/p>\n<p>He first started a space in Whittier called Full Flux Studios, where he recorded Long Beach artists. Because all of his clients were located in Long Beach, Frederick decided to make the move to Secret Hill, working out of the basement on the weekends.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the first artists recorded at the studio included harp songstress Joy Shannon, folk singer\/songwriter Alyssandra Nighswonger and now split-up group The Clouds, who later formed other bands like the orchestral rock group, Panther Heart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs soon as there\u2019s a computer and somebody pushes a red button, you feel constrained and you feel stuffy,\u201d former member of The Clouds and current guitarist for Panther Heart, Jose Serna, sayds. \u201cBrian does a good job of making people feel really relaxed. It feels like I\u2019m recording at home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Frederick offers the band water and beer as he sets up the mics for his last session, which happens to be with Panther Heart, in Secret Hill. The tapestry on the walls as well as the lighting from lamps and Chinese lanterns create a warm burgundy hue that allows artists to channel their creativity.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-24087\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Brian_Frederick_4.JPG\" alt=\"Brian Frederick 4\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was pretty much being used as storage for everybody,\u201d Frederick says. \u201cI pretty much came in here and pushed everything around, cleaned everything. I brought a vibe to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While working out of the studio, Frederick has recorded everything from folk music, with artists like Nighswonger, to gangster hip hop and acid rock \u2018n\u2019 roll. Working with a spectrum of genres, Frederick says, allows him to take on challenges and make every sound feel right for the music the artist is trying to achieve.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe day I get bored doing this is the day I\u2019m going to quit. Because, why bother, because it\u2019s not fun,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Even though Frederick\u2019s new home is more of a drive from Long Beach, he still hopes to continue working with bands from Long Beach out of Serenity West and visit his hometown as much as possible.<\/p>\n<p>For Frederick, the move to Los Angeles is bittersweet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a bummer that I\u2019m having to move to L.A. and work at that studio and missing out on watching and helping so many artists grow down here,\u201d Frederick says, \u201cbut at the end of the day, if I can make a living up there and support myself and bring bands up there when they are ready, it\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>{FG_GEOMAP [33.798011,-118.17885999999999] FG_GEOMAP}<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-24082\" src=\"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Brian_Frederick_crop.jpg\" alt=\"Brian Frederick crop\" width=\"620\" height=\"250\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Brian Frederick is closing Secret Hill Studios and will make the move to Los Angeles on May 1 where he will work at a $3 million facility that hosts acts like Adele, DJ Quick, Snoop Dogg (aka Snoop Lion), Regina Spector and Wiz Khalifa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":69144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-3925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3925"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=3925"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}