Eastern Recording Studio in Richmond, Virginia

It must have been around 1971 and I was all of 18 when I first met Tom Williams, the owner of Eastern Recording Studio in Richmond, Virginia. Tom turned out to be a big influence in my life. He not only lit the fuse for the writing and recording bug, but Tom was also a great musician and was kind enough to spend time with me and show me a thing or two musically. He was a jazzman…played tenor sax. At this time I was playing three chord rock ‘n roll, but he was sitting me down and making me listen to Denny Zeitlen records. I’ve still got old reels of him playing through changes for me.

Pictured above is a shot of the control room with Michael Stavrou seated at the console. Mike is an extremely gifted engineer and is the author of Mixing With Your Mind, a highly regarded book and a must read for people in this profession. Mike went on to have the career that he deserved and is responsible for so many great records.

Tom bought that console from Criteria Studios around ’71. This was the console that sat in Studio B there during the ’60’s. You can only imagine what passed through it during that time and whose hands have been on it. It’s legendary. This is a sacred piece of gear, no doubt. Below is a photo of the band I was in at the time. We practically lived there at Eastern and we called ourselves Studio B. That’s me in the front on the left, Mike Deep (RIP) in the bottom right, Guthrie Kennard is sitting in his lap, in the back right in the shades is Southside Johnny, to the left is Jim Langlois, and in the back left corner is Mike Parker. I look back on this time and these guys with such joy and with great respect for their talents. I’m so grateful that our paths crossed and for all the music we made together.

Here’s another shot of the console as it sat in Studio B at Criteria in 1970.