Recording studio in Seattle, Washington
Studio X
Company type Recording studio Industry Music Founded 1979; 45 years ago (1979 )
Seattle, Washington , U.S. Founder Steve and Debbie Lawson Successor Steve Lawson Productions Website
www .badanimals .com
Studio X (formerly known as Bad Animals Studio and Kaye-Smith Studios
[1] ) is a music and media
recording studio on 4th Avenue in
downtown
Seattle, Washington , United States. Originally part of the
Kaye-Smith Enterprises media conglomerate founded by Lester Smith and actor
Danny Kaye , the studio was used to record commercials and musicians. The studio was re-launched as Steve Lawson Productions by Steve and Debbie Lawson in 1979.
[1] The sisters
Ann and
Nancy Wilson of the band
Heart owned the studio from 1991 until 1997, and named it Bad Animals after their 1987 album
of the same name . Artists such as
Heart ,
Alice in Chains ,
Pearl Jam ,
Soundgarden ,
Nirvana ,
Queensrÿche ,
Mad Season ,
Foo Fighters ,
Audioslave ,
Aerosmith ,
The Beach Boys ,
Jerry Cantrell ,
Eddie Vedder ,
Duff McKagan ,
Johnny Cash ,
B.B. King ,
Radiohead ,
R.E.M. ,
Deftones ,
Soulfly ,
Steve Vai ,
KMFDM , and
Neil Young have recorded at the studio.
[2]
History
In 1991,
Nancy and
Ann Wilson of the band
Heart entered into a partnership with Steve Lawson, who owned Kaye-Smith Studios where many of their 1970s hits, as well as their 1980 album
Bébé le Strange , had been recorded.
[3] They upgraded the facility to the state-of-the-art, and renamed it Bad Animals Studio. The studio was named after Heart's 1987 album,
Bad Animals .
[4] Ann and Nancy sold the studio back to the Lawsons in 1997, and it was renamed Studio X.
[5]
Several of the
Humongous Entertainment games were also recorded by Bad Animals Studios.
In May 1993,
Nirvana entered Bad Animals Studios to remix the songs "
Heart-Shaped Box " and "
All Apologies " for their album
In Utero .
[6]
The music video for
Soundgarden 's 1994 single "
Fell on Black Days " was filmed at the studio.
[7]
In 1997, Steve Lawson sold Bad Animals to Mike McAuliffe, Dave Howe, Charlie Nordstrom and Tom McGurk.
[8]
In 1998, the
Spice Girls recorded vocals for the song "Boyfriend/Girlfriend", their contribution to the
South Park soundtrack at the studio.
[9]
In 2001,
Bill Brown recorded all of the music for
Microsoft 's
Windows XP operating system with a live orchestra at the studio.
[10]
On September 1, 2003, Seattle radio station
KNDD 107.7 The End hosted a solo acoustic performance by
Thom Yorke at Studio X.
[11]
In October 2017, the studio was purchased for $21.6 million by
Skanska , which plans to build a 346-unit multifamily tower with ground-floor retail in the building.
[12]
On October 31, 2018, Studio X, now managed by Reed Ruddy, moved its location from
Belltown to
Capitol Hill .
[12]
Alice in Chains ' 2018 album
Rainier Fog was the last album recorded at the original studio.
[12]
Albums recorded at Bad Animals/Studio X
This section
needs expansion . You can help by
adding to it .
(October 2018 )
Partial list.
Film scores recorded at Bad Animals/Studio X
Video game scores recorded at Bad Animals/Studio X
References
^
a
b Phalen, Tom (November 25, 1995).
"Seattle's history as studio Mecca predates grunge" . Billboard . Vol. 107, no. 47. p. 69.
ISSN
0006-2510 .
Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018 . .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
"Clients - Studio X" . studioxinc.com .
^ "Heart".
Mix . 22 (1–6). Mix Publications: 169.
ISSN
0164-9957 .
^ Updike, Robin (October 7, 1991).
"Recording Studio Just A 'Heart' Beat Away" . The Seattle Times .
^
"Bad Animals, Inc" . Moby Games .
^ Azerrad, 1994. p. 337–38
^
"SOUNDGARDEN were working hard on the SUPERUNKNOWN album at Bad Animals studios in Seattle in the autumn of 1993" . Instagram . June 23, 2018.
^ Kelly, Brian (June 17, 1999).
"Hear, Hear: Sound Effects Win Emmys -- 'Nye The Science Guy' Team Go To Great Lengths" . The Seattle Times .
^
"Studio Action" . Billboard . Vol. 110, no. 37 (published September 12, 1998). September 12, 1998. p. 66.
^ Brown, Bill (July 4, 2013).
"Almost 14 years ago I wrote the music for Windows XP…" . Retrieved July 21, 2023 – via
Facebook .
^
"Studio X - Seattle, WA USA September 1, 2003" . greenplastic.com .
^
a
b
c Brodeur, Nicole (August 24, 2018).
"Belltown's Studio X, witness to some of Seattle's greatest music milestones, makes way for the wrecking ball" . The Seattle Times .
^
"Bette Midler – Bette Midler" . Radio.Video.Music . November 16, 2021.
^
"Dionne Warwick – Track Of The Cat" . Discogs .
^
"Little Queen – Heart" . AllMusic .
^
"M.I.U. Album" . albumlinernotes.com .
^
"Bébé le Strange – Heart" . AllMusic .
^
"Heart – Greatest Hits / Live" . Discogs .
^
"Private Audition – Heart" . AllMusic .
^ Metal Church (LP sleeve).
Metal Church .
Elektra Records . 1985. 60471-1.{{
cite AV media notes }}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link )
^
"R.E.M. – Automatic For The People" . Discogs .
^
"Tad – Inhaler" . Discogs .
^
"Four classics recorded at Seattle's Studio X, aka Bad Animal" . Metal Hammer . July 19, 2018.
^
"The Oral History of Soundgarden's 'Superunknown' " . Spin . June 5, 2014.
^
"Hole – Live Through This" . Discogs .
^
"23 Years Ago: Pearl Jam Overcome Internal Strife on 'Vitalogy' " . Loudwire . December 6, 2017.
^
"Above – Mad Season" . AllMusic .
^
"Mirror Ball – Neil Young" . AllMusic .
^
"Heart – The Road Home" . Discogs .
^
"Adrenaline – Deftones" . AllMusic .
^
"Candlebox – Lucy" . Discogs .
^
"Alice in Chains – Alice in Chains" . AllMusic .
^
"Down on the Upside – Soundgarden" . AllMusic .
^
"New Adventures in Hi-Fi – R.E.M." AllMusic .
^
"Yield – Pearl Jam" . AllMusic .
^
"Boggy Depot – Jerry Cantrell" . AllMusic .
^
"Heart Presents A Lovemongers' Christmas" . AllMusic .
^
"13 Ways to Bleed on Stage – Cold" . AllMusic .
^
"Riot Act – Pearl Jam" . AllMusic .
^
"Audioslave – Audioslave" . AllMusic .
^
"Deftones – Deftones" . AllMusic .
^
"Savages – Soulfly" . AllMusic .
^
"Transatlanticism – Death Cab for Cutie" . AllMusic .
^
"Catch Without Arms – Dredg" . AllMusic .
^
"Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam" . AllMusic .
^
a
b
"Into the Wild [Original Soundtrack] – Eddie Vedder" . AllMusic .
^
"Ukulele Songs – Eddie Vedder" . AllMusic .
^
"Fanatic – Heart" . AllMusic .
^
"The Heist – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis" . AllMusic .
^
"King Animal – Soundgarden" . AllMusic .
^
"Lightning Bolt – Pearl Jam" . AllMusic .
^
"Satyricon – Satyricon" . AllMusic .
^ Beaudoin, Jedd (August 27, 2018).
"Destroy Or Be Destroyed: Alice in Chains Confronts Ghosts, Past on 'Rainier Fog' " . PopMatters .
^
"Big Fish [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] – Danny Elfman" . AllMusic .
^ Dietrich, Heidi (May 5, 2005).
"Seattle scores in Hollywood" . Pudget Sound Business Journal .
^
"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]" . AllMusic .
^
"Orphan [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]" . AllMusic .
^
"Carter Burwell - The Blind Side" . carterburwell.com .
^
"Eat Pray Love [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]" . AllMusic .
^
"Carter Burwell - Carol" . carterburwell.com .
^
"Carter Burwell - The Founder" . carterburwell.com .
^ G., Andrew (July 30, 2016).
"An Oral History of the Halo 2 E3 2003 Demo" . Medium .
^ Staff (September 20, 2007).
"Interview with Halo 3 Composer Marty O'Donnell" .
Music4Games . Archived from
the original on April 8, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2018 .
^ Van Zelfden, Alex (June 6, 2008).
"The Music of The Incredible Hulk " .
IGN . IGN Entertainment. Archived from
the original on October 3, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2022 .
^ Usher, William (September 12, 2010).
"Halo: Reach Soundtrack Available For Musically Inclined Gamers" . Cinema Blend .
^
"Making the secret symphony of Peggle 2" . Polygon . December 11, 2013.
External links
47°36′54″N 122°20′35″W / 47.615023°N 122.343072°W / 47.615023; -122.343072