Madison's Smart Studios closing, engineer confirms
Confirming some Internet rumor chatter that's been brewing today, an engineer at Smart Studios—the near-East Side recording studio co-founded by producer Butch Vig, and the site where many notable albums were recorded and/or mixed, perhaps most famously some demo sessions for Nirvana's Nevermind, as well as records from Sparklehorse and Fall Out Boy—has told us that the place is closing up shop. "We kind of came to this decision a couple days ago" for financial reasons, engineer Beau Sorenson told The A.V. Club this afternoon. Smart hasn't set an official closing date yet, Sorenson added, but might shut down for good around March 1. The studio still has recording and/or mixing sessions in the works with such artists as Freedy Johnston, Mr. Gnome, and Chris Walla. In addition to the many well-known national acts who've used the studio since it opened in the early '80s, Smart has also been the studio of choice for lots of local bands, from The Gomers to Pale Young Gentlemen. Vig and co-founder Steve Marker still own the studio, Sorenson says.
Sorenson isn't sure yet what he and fellow Smart Engineer Mike Zirkel will go on to do after the closing, but says that making records is "kind of really all I know how to do." We'll follow up with more details as we get them, but for now, we're officially bummed to hear about it.
UPDATE: Zirkel says the studio will put out a call soon to artists who've worked at the studio so that they can pick up master tapes. To answer a question he's been getting a lot, the studio might sell off much of its highly enviable gear through a third party. But "we've got a fantastic grand piano that I'd love to sell locally," and maybe a couple of plate reverb units, Zirkel says.
