Hipposonic Studios on the move
Vancouver music landmark too expensive to operate, owners say
VANCOUVER — For close to 50 years, the address 1234 W. 6th Avenue has been an integral part of Vancouver’s music scene.
Some mighty famous songs and albums were recorded there, including Bachman- Turner Overdrive’s Takin’ Care of Business, Heart’s Dreamboat Annie, and Ringo Starr’s Bad Boy.
Sarah McLachlan went through those doors, and rumours abound that Led Zeppelin may have done overdubs for Bring It On Home there. In recent years, it was where rising stars like Mother Mother and Carly Rae Jepsen cut their teeth working with the likes of Dave Ogilvie.
But the building that once housed the legendary Mushroom Studios and more recently had been home to Hipposonic Studios may soon be just another part of history.
Citing rising expenses and a steady decrease in bookings over the past few years, especially for the bigger of its two studios used for tracking, studio manager Robert Darch said they had little choice but to look at making a move to somewhere smaller.
“We just don’t get the business in there any more,” Darch said in a phone interview. “It’s tough. Given the nature of where Vancouver sits in the world now, it’s to be expected locations like this get premium property tax costs. I’m not blaming the city but that definitely factors into the equation.”
Darch took over the space seven years ago from John Wozniak ( of altrock band Marcy Playground), who has since reopened Mushroom Studios in Toronto. Darch renamed the space Hipposonic Studios and the hallmark MUSHROOM lettering adorning the front of the building came down and moved east soon after.
Darch said that Wozniak taking the studio’s name and its vintage gear with him to Toronto had little impact on the steady decline in bookings the studio experienced over the years.
“I’m sure you’ll find if you ask other studios that the days of people using the big rooms are winding down. People don’t have the budget to stay in the big tracking rooms for long periods of time. For a studio of this size to survive, you need bookings that are sometimes weeks if not months at a time.”
Darch said Hipposonic Studios should be operational at its new location in 2014 and that it will continue to book studio time and operate at its current address as long as possible. He added nothing would make him happier than for someone within the music community to make him an offer and take it over.
“I’m really hoping we pass the baton to someone else who will come on and keep this room going,” he said. “I’m not sure who can do that. I feel like we’ve done a lot of service to this building. We’ve replaced both roofs and we’ve really improved the site. It’s a beautiful location.”