Eulogy For A Recording Studio
Saying Goodbye to Metrosync

Cleveland's Metrosync Studios has closed after 13 years. It was a great place to record. Superior recording demands a great-sounding studio where the required trust, patience, and focus between musician and engineer can be melded, and excellence brought to the fore. On May 29, 2009, Metrosync Studios ended its run at 5000 Euclid Avenue. With the studio's closing goes a great resource not just for Cleveland but for a much broader musical community. Frank Vale and Greg Zydyk began Metrosync in the same space that had been a venue for recording plus live and recorded broadcast performances, beginning over 60 years ago.

It was once the home of the WHK Radio Studio. 1940's big bands live programs were broadcast from there, as well as an interview with The Beatles. In the sixties, WHK was the top pop music station in town. Frank and Greg took over the studio in 1996 and improved on the already great "live room" that would be the recording studio's flexible recording space. . One hand-hauled bucket at a time, Greg, Frank and his partner Debbie filled the 18-foot sound-baffled walls with 15 tons of sand for better sound insulation.

The large room's sonic size could be reduced using moveable wooden wall segments. Metrosync's owners and audio engineers, Frank and Greg, have what is known in the industry as "big ears". They were highly sensitive audio overseers that insured perfect-sounding final products for their diverse and appreciative clients.

Metrosync always utilized the best technology that the ever-evolving recording studio field had to offer. Their vision was to provide "a creative atmosphere, a great place for musicians to perform at the best of their ability, resulting in a high quality final product". Frank said that they never compromised on that goal. The Drew Carey Show theme song was recorded in the Metrosync live room by the fifty-piece Cleveland Pops Orchestra. Frank and Greg installed wiring to the building's adjacent Agora Theater stage and recorded Crosby Stills and Nash during a Rock Hall induction concert.

Musicians from all genres, and ensembles of all sizes,found their way to Metrosync. A classical composer from The Czech Republic, a top salsa band from Brazil, German labels and jazz musicians from both coasts, along with countless local and regional musicians chose Metrosync Studios as the place to record their albums.

I have had the pleasure of recording 15 projects with Frank most recently Wind On The Water, a song I wrote supporting the efforts of Windustrious Cleveland, promoting the development of fresh water wind energy on Lake Erie. Frank began his life in music as a performing musician. He played keyboards for Exotic Birds (which launched the careers of Trent Reznor and Andy Kubiszewski) and when they served as the opening act for a Boy George world tour.

Frank took a versatile and broad role, beyond stellar sound engineer, on half of the projects he recorded at Metrosync, including all of my own. Frank produced, wrote, arranged and could play virtually any keyboard and keyboard style expertly.

Frank served as my producer and arranger and is the only other musician on most of my recorded catalog. Frank brought in female vocalists to my projects as needed, including Sherena Wynn and Sacha Bloxin. Sacha recorded three duets on We're People First, shortly after ending a tour as one of the back-up singers for Mick Jagger.

But despite Metrosync's years of solidly-booked sessions, the changing music industry, and the financial body blow absorbed by musicians in recent years made the market for their quality services thin. Frank said that the advent of home recording systems, MP3 single song music purchasing and the splintering of music audiences into narrower and tighter niches have limited the number of full CD projects that are being produced.

Artists who recorded at Metrosync and whom Frank and Greg have not been able to reach can contact them at fv3456@windstream.net to arrange to obtain the archived masters of their projects. Frank and Greg will continue to freelance as recording engineers, and can be reached at the same email address. For those of us who produced work at Metrosync Studios, a rare and remarkable place of recording alchemy is gone. But the recordings we made there have a life of their own that will continue to celebrate the wonder of their creation, and the place of their capture and preservation.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Jeff Moyer moyerATjeffmoyer.com

Jeff Moyer is a 21st century renaissance man who works as songwriter, author, producer, public speaker, historian and advocate for human rights. He was recently profiled by Cool Cleveland here. Check out Moyer at http://www.JeffMoyer.com.

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