This Saturday at 7 PM, the Compound Studio is hosting a record release party at Fingerprints Music. The record, available as a digital download, features a cavalcade of local and international talent who stepped up to support the studio.
It has been 10 years since Anthony Arvizu stepped into the Compound Studio, located near PCH and Redondo, to team up with then partners Steve Cross and Heath Bennett. Fresh from an amazing gig at Capital Studios in Hollywood, he admitted that he had been reluctant to shoulder the responsibility of studio ownership.
“The business grew staedily between 2003 and 2008,” Anthony said, “then a slow 2009 had me re-thinking a lot of things here, including buying out my partners and going solo. 2010 was a bit of an improvement, but it was last year when the bills really started to catch up with me.
“I can’t really keep the place open on the local client base and small budgets. I certainly appreciate and enjoy all of the projects that come through , but we need the bigger budgets, that usually come from out of town acts, once every couple of months to keep the place in shape.”
I asked Anthony what he did once the ink began turning red.
“Same as always: I prayed for rain, until it seemed that a real change was necessary. I started talking to friends about closing the place. I think it was Marc Ford who I had the first real heart to heart about it with. He is one of my closest friends and a very spirit-driven man. We spoke of the great work we had done here over the years, and how it just may be time to move on. Maybe something better was on the horizon that I would never see if I stayed here.
“I had more conversations with different folks, similar but perhaps swayed this way or that, but it was talking with my 12 yr old daughter back in December which really turned me into the direction we are on now. I spoke of money being low and, with Christmas coming, how I was thinking about taking a day job. It was as though time stopped. she looked at me and said, ‘are you being serious? Dad, I’ve known you to have $5 in the bank and you never talked like this before.’
“She, Rosalyn, and my son Aiden love the studio and I really can’t imagine them growing up without it. They have also known me as a man of faith and, in their reality, we give thanks and the Creator provides. Ask and you will receive. At their age it really isn’t something you question. I remember being that age. It was beautiful, and it is beautiful to see it in their eyes.”
So, the idea of a compilation, featuring many of the artists who had recorded at the Compound over the years, came up. Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Marc Ford (The Black Crows, Ben Harper), Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE), Jay Buchanan (Rival Sons), Phantom Limb, Free Moral Agents… The list goes on and on. There are 25 tracks in all.
“The response was amazing. One of my most memorable responses came from my dear friend Chris Lizotte. When I had the time to speak with him in person about the compilation and the idea behind it he said, ‘I know it is difficult to humble yourself to the point of asking for help, and admit that things are rough but, if you don’t ask, it is as though you are ripping us off, not giving us the opportunity to be of service.'”
I asked if the compilation was made from archival tracks locked in a vault somewhere.
“Not at all,” Anthony said. “With a couple of exceptions, nearly every song was created on the spot specifically for this record. Regarding the actual sessions, they have been exceptional. There is something to this process, which goes beyond the usual record making process. The fact that these folks are stepping up to give freely and as part of a community to help see the very studio they are recording in survive. The sessions have been fun, light hearted and magical.”
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To learn more about the Compound Studio, visit CompoundStudio.com.
Preview and purchase the digital download.
To keep track of special events at Fingerprints, visit FingerprintsMusic.com.
Read my interview with Anthony from 2004.