Music on the third floor
Musicians record ‘The Woolworth’s Sessions’ inside historic building
Can an inanimate building have personality, character or even a kind of magic? The historic Woolworth’s building in downtown Bakersfield is currently undergoing preparation for its future life as business offices, retail space, a basement nightclub and more.
But the empty — and some say, magical — third floor of the 73-year-old building seemed to be calling. And a whole bunch of local musicians and recording artists listened.
“I proposed ... that we create a project, asking local musicians of all genres and styles to come and record one of their songs right here in the building,” said singersongwriter Emily Waite, whose husband, Sherod Waite, and his business partner, David Anderson, purchased the mid-century modern last fall.
Over the years, David and Emily would occasionally sing together on family vacations or around a fire pit.
“A few months into the pandemic, David asked me if I wanted to actually start a band,” she said.
Without hesitation she agreed and their band, Bakersfield Cactus, was born.
“We’ve been writing, playing and creating together ever since,” she said.
It was during a rehearsal for Bakersfield Cactus inside the Woolworth’s building that the idea came to her.
“The reverb on the empty top floor was special,” she said, “and we felt it. It was a magical experience to play and sing music there and I knew others would feel the same.”
Over the past several weeks, multiple local artists have been invited to record their songs in this place where natural reverb and the building’s history came together to create something new.
That something will be called “The Woolworth’s Sessions.”
“I originally got involved in the project during a recording session in my studio with David and Emily,” said Brian Boozer, the owner and recording engineer at Aum Studio Productions in Bakersfield.
“We began spit-balling,” he said, “and the idea grew into what it is today, a professionally recorded, multigenre album with many various Bakersfield artists that is also being professional filmed as well.”
They invited Kyle and Lauren Appleton, whose band, The Appletons, has been getting a lot of exposure lately, including opening at the Fox Theater last month for award-winning country singer and actor Josh Turner.
They brought in Crimson Skye and Lou Beauty. They invited John Ranger and ModernDayRome.
And each session was recorded by Boozer and videotaped by Bakersfield Sound Co.
“I was elated, ecstatic, to be part of this,” said ModernDayRome, who describes his songs as “love music.”
The experience of singing and playing inside that huge, wideopen room was unlike anything he’d experienced before.
“It was like singing in a closed-in Grand Canyon,” he said, “like a cathedral.”
For Waite, music has always been more than a passive experience, she said. It is the language through which she processes and experiences the world.
“Through the process of our own band’s evolution, it became clear to me what a wealth of talented musical artists there are in Bakersfield,” she said. “Not only that, but these musicians are incredibly supportive and encouraging of one another.”
It’s a culture she hopes will be strengthened and encouraged by the project.
“David and I are using our own personal money to create this project,” Waite said. “Any proceeds that may or may not come from this will be going directly back to the participating artists and music scene here in town.”
It’s that music scene and music culture she’d like to nurture.
Boozer, who worked as a drummer before founding Aum, is soaking up the experience of recording local music in the old Woolworth’s.
“As much as I revel in the progress and improvements to our downtown, there is a rich history and soul wrapped-up in the bones of these old buildings,” he said.
“It has been so fun to celebrate what once was, but also to embrace and look forward to what is to come.
“Just like the Woolworth’s building itself, the Bakersfield music scene is being reborn and everyone can feel it,” he said. “There is a palpable, new energy shared by both new and seasoned artists alike that is quickly spreading.”
The collaboration now happening in the old building on 19th Street, he said, “feels like it is setting a tone” for what is to come: “embracing music and art, repurposing a wonderful space into something that will be usable and frequented by the community at large for many years to come.”