Fantasy Studios was a music recording studio in Berkeley, California, at the Zaentz Media Center, known for its recording of award-winning albums including Journey's ''Escape'' and

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

's '' Dookie''. Built as a private recording studio for artists on the Fantasy Records label in 1971, it was opened to the public in 1980 for recording, mixing and mastering. It was permanently closed on September 15, 2018.

History

Fantasy Records

Fantasy Records and its subsidiary, Galaxy, were established in San Francisco, California, in 1949 by Max and Sol Weiss. The first artist on the label was

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

.Johnson 2006, p. 37 With help from profits earned from his records the label went on to record Gerry Mulligan,

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

, Cal Tjader and Vince Guaraldi.Gilbert, Andrew
"Fantasy is No Mirage."
The Monthly. April 2009 In addition to musical acts, the label recorded beat poets Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg and comic

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

Creedence Clearwater Revival and expansion

Saul Zaentz, who joined Fantasy Records as a salesman in 1955, assembled a group of investors in 1967 and purchased the label from the Weiss brothers.Tate, Brian
"Digital media in fantasyland."
''San Francisco Business Times'',. February 1, 2008 In 1968 Fantasy Records signed

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...

(CCR), who soon became extremely profitable for the label. Within eighteen months, twenty of CCR's singles made ''Billboard'' Hot 100 list and nine were consecutive Top 10 singles in the US. The band also earned 21 RIAA-certified gold or platinum records with total sales of over 100 million worldwide. These successes for CCR made Fantasy the most profitable independent record company in the U.S. and directly resulted in the expansion of Fantasy Records.Poet, j. (August 6, 2008)
"Fantasy Studios: Alive and Well in Berkeley."
''Crawdaddy!'' In 1971 Fantasy Records relocated to Berkeley, California. In addition to a lobby area, the building included a sauna, an exercise room and a lunch room, which until 1981 was catered daily by Narsai's Restaurant in Kensington. The sauna and exercise room were later rebuilt for other purposes. In the early 1970s, under the leadership of label president Ralph Kaffel, Fantasy Records purchased the catalogs of three independent jazz labels: Prestige,

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

(established in 1953 by Bill Grauer and Orrin Keepnews) and Milestone, which Keepnews started in 1966 after the demise of Riverside. After the acquisitions the company became known as "Fantasy Inc."

Recording studios

Fantasy Records built Fantasy Studios to accommodate its growing roster, which remained primarily jazz artists but included some in rock, soul and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

. The building went up at 10th and Parker Streets in the western industrial area of Berkeley. Because of the source of funding, it was nicknamed "The House That Creedence Built."Johnson 2006, p. 126 Fantasy was the most profitable independent record company in the U.S. Jim Stern, who had served as producer for the Sons of Champlin and Van Morrison, was chief engineer from 1974 until 1981. Jesse Osborn was another early engineer along with Eddie Bill Harris and Don Cody.

Studio expansion

In 1980, Fantasy Records hired a new Studio Director, Roy Segal. One of Segal's first initiatives was to the addition of Studio D, as well as upgrading the acoustical treatment and equipment in the existing studios. Such upgrades included removing carpet from the studio floors and installing bass traps and tiling for the walls in an effort to acoustically tune the rooms. Equipment upgrades included replacing the original consoles in Studios A and C with Neve 8108s and a Trident in Studio B. In 1982, Segal was asked to manage the three-year-old Saul Zaentz Film Center, at which point he brought in Nina Bombardier to manage the studios. Bombardier started with Fantasy in 1973 as a receptionist, then moved to manage the

Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

in Sausalito. She served as the director of Fantasy Studios from 1982 to 2007. In addition to recording music, Fantasy Studios saw clients in the film, television, gaming and audio book industries for additional dialog recording sessions. All studios were ISDN-compatible, providing full-frequency audio and real-time connectivity to other recording studios around the world. There were two full-time mastering engineers on site: George Horn and Joe Tarantino. Over his career, Horn remixed or remastered albums by artists such as

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

, The Grateful Dead,

and Santana. Joe Tarantino mastered albums by artists such as

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis.

Ownership changes and closure

Concord Records acquired Fantasy in late 2004 and the two labels merged to form

Concord Music Group Concord Music Group was an American independent music company based in Beverly Hills, California, with worldwide (including the U.S.) distribution through Universal Music Group. The company specialized in recordings ( Fearless Records, Concord R ...

. Concord Music Group owned the studios through 2007, at which point the new owners of the Saul Zaentz Media Center, Wareham Property Group, purchased the studios. The role of Studio Director was filled by music producer Jeffrey Wood upon Bombardier's departure. Staff engineers at the time were Adam Muñoz, Jesse Nichols and Alberto Hernandez. In 2018 Wareham Property Group decided to permanently close the studios.

Facilities

Each of Fantasy Studios' three studios were built to serve a specific purpose. There were five working natural echo chambers of varying sizes and tones, accessible from all three control rooms.

Studio A

At 1,344 square feet, Studio A could accommodate a big band, and included a DeMedio console.Johnson 2006, p. 228 Small audiences could be brought in to give a recording date the feel of a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, as Keepnews did for a 1973

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...

session, resulting in the album ''Inside Straight''. Studio A also had a

projection booth A projection booth (US English), projection box (British English) or Bio box ( Australian English) is a room or enclosure for the machinery required for the display of movies on a reflective screen, located high on the back wall of the presentation ...

, pull-down screen and portable mixing console that was built for film mixes. During those early years Fantasy also had a film unit and its films (mostly promotional pieces for the label's artists) were mixed in Studio A. The film unit was headed up by Irving Saraf and

Robert N. Zagone Robert N. Zagone is an independent filmmaker and television director who is best known for his independent feature films ''Read You Like a Book'' (starring Karen Black, Tony Amendola and Danny Glover) and ''The Stand-In'' (starring Danny Glover) ...

, two Bay Area documentary filmmakers. Feature films were mixed in Studio A as well, including Academy Award winners ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'', '' Apocalypse Now'', ''Amadeus'' and ''The English Patient''. In 1980, bass traps and wall tiling were installed to improve acoustics. Studio A's mixing console was replaced with a Neve 8108, which was eventually replaced with an

SSL SSL may refer to: Entertainment * RoboCup Small Size League, robotics football competition * ''Sesame Street Live'', a touring version of the children's television show * StarCraft II StarLeague, a Korean league in the video game Natural language ...

Duality SE.

Studio B

Studio B, at 546 square feet, was used mostly for smaller acts and comedy records, and was typically used for overdub sessions. Like Studio A, it too used a DeMedio console. In 1980, bass traps and wall tiling were installed to improve acoustics. Studio B's mixing consoles replaced with a Trident, which was eventually updated to a Digidesign C24. Studio B is where Journey's Faithfully, from their Frontiers album was recorded.

Studio C

Studio C was built expressly for CCR, with a separate entrance. Parts of their albums ''Mardi Gras'' and ''Pendulum'' were recorded there, and the ''Live in Europe'' album was mixed there.

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American mu ...

recorded ''

The Blue Ridge Rangers ''The Blue Ridge Rangers'' is the first solo studio album by John Fogerty, the former lead singer and lead guitarist of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Upon its initial release by Fantasy Records in 1973, the album was credited to "The Blue Ridge ...

'' in Studio C and was in residence there until he left Fantasy in 1974. At 888 square feet, Studio C was also the site of a film soundstage and Foley pits. Studio C was the only studio at Fantasy which used an API console. Studio C was closed to the public in 2008 with the space taken over by another Zaentz Media Center tenant.

Studio D

From the profits of the 1975 Zaentz-produced film ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'', Fantasy Studios expanded further in 1980 with the addition of an adjoining seven-story building which included a fourth recording room, Studio D. It also marked the point at which all rooms became open for use by the public for recording, mastering and film scoring. The new Studio D was designed by

Tom Hidley Tom Hidley (born 27 May 1931) is an American recording studio designer and audio engineer whose companies have been responsible for the design of hundreds of professional studios worldwide since 1965. Hidley coined the term "bass trap", and is cr ...

and constructed by Sierra Audio. The control room featured an automated Neve 8108 board, Hidley monitors, Ampex 16- and 24-track recorders and a Studer 24-track recorder. At 1,500 square feet, the live room was built with multiple interior surfaces (unlike the other three rooms): one side of the room featured bass traps, cork and rock on the walls for a "dead" sound; the other featured hardwood floors and ceiling, and mirrored walls for a more "live" sound. Studio D's mixing console was later updated to an SSL SL 4000 E. One of first albums to be recorded and mixed in its entirety in the newly opened Studio D was Journey's ''Escape'', which reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 Chart. The album contained such hits as "Open Arms" (which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 List), " Who's Crying Now" (reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 List) and " Don't Stop Believin'" (reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 List). Fantasy Studios' staff engineer Wally Buck worked as Assistant Engineer on the album. In November 2011, Studio D's original half-wood, half-carpet floors were updated to hardwood cherry flooring.

Selected major releases by year

* Jack Nitzsche - ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Original Soundtrack)'', 1975 * Journey - ''Escape'', 1981 * Journey - ''Frontiers'', 1983 * Y&T - ''

In Rock We Trust ''In Rock We Trust'' is the sixth studio album by American hard rock/ heavy metal band Y&T, released in 1984 through A&M Records. The album became the band's highest charting album at the time, reaching No. 46 on the ''Billboard'' 200 charts. ...

'', 1984 * Europe - ''The Final Countdown'', 1986 * Soda Stereo - ''

Signos ''Signos'' (Spanish for ''Signs'') is the third studio album recorded by Argentine rock band Soda Stereo, released on 10 November 1986. It was remastered in 2007 at Sterling Sound Studios in New York. In 2007, the Argentine edition of ''Rolli ...

'', 1986 * Too Short - ''Life Is… Too Short'', 1988 * Bobby McFerrin - '' Simple Pleasures'', 1988 * Chris Isaak - ''Heart Shaped World'', 1989 * Primus - '' Sailing the Seas of Cheese'', 1991 * En Vogue - '' Funky Divas'', 1992 *

- '' Dookie'', 1994 *

Blues Traveler Blues Traveler (formerly known as "The Establishment" or "The Black Cat Jam" or "The Establishment Blues Band") is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. They are known for extensive use of segues in live performance ...

- ''Four'', 1994 * Rancid - ''

…And Out Come the Wolves ''...And Out Come the Wolves'' is the third studio album by American punk rock band Rancid. It was released on August 22, 1995, through Epitaph Records. Rancid's popularity and catchy songs made them the subject of a major label bidding war (hen ...

'', 1995 *

Jawbreaker Jawbreaker may refer to: * Gobstopper, a hard candy with multiple layers Arts and entertainment * ''Jawbreakers'' (album), an album by Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Harry "Sweets" Edison * Jawbreaker (band), an American rock band * Jawbreakers (duo) ...

- '' Dear You'', 1995 * Santana - ''Supernatural'', 1999 * Santana - ''Shaman'', 2002 * Richard Thompson - ''Grizzly Man (Original Soundtrack)'', 2005 *

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francisc ...

- ''Have One on Me'', 2010 * Bill Frisell - ''

All We Are Saying ''All We Are Saying...'' is an album by American guitarist and composer Bill Frisell that was released in September 2011. It consists of songs written by John Lennon, both as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist, arranged and performed in ...

'', 2011 *

Iggy & the Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dav ...

- '' Ready to Die'', 2013

Recording artists

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

* Tori Amos * Joan Baez * Joshua Bell * Tony Bennett *

* David Bowie * Chanticleer * Tracy Chapman *

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

* Nels Cline *

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

* Counting Crows * Andraé Crouch * Death Angel * Francesco De Gregori * Plácido Domingo * Doobie Brothers * Dr. John *

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

Sheila E. Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

* En Vogue *

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

* Bill Frisell * Forbidden *

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

* Cee-Lo Green *

* Buddy Guy * Sammy Hagar * MC Hammer *

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

* Ben Harper *

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

* Lauryn Hill *

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempora ...

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part o ...

INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...

* Chris Isaak * Wyclef Jean * Journey * B.B. King * Lil Wayne * Los Lonely Boys * Taj Mahal * Dave Matthews * Bobby McFerrin * Sarah McLachlan *

* Mos Def *

* Noemi *

Laura Pausini Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with her debut single "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an internat ...

* Pavement *

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

* The Pretenders * Primus * Rancid *

* Santana * Joe Satriani * Homayoun Shajarian and

Tahmoures Pournazeri Tahmoures Pournazeri ( fa, تهمورس پورناظری; born 8 February 1977) is an Iranian multi-instrumentalist and Iranian traditional musician. He is a member of Shamss Ensemble since 1989, along with his father Kaykhosro Pournazeri and hi ...

* Tears for Fears *

Testament A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller nov ...

* The Temptations * Richard Thompson * Too Short * Train * McCoy Tyner * U2 * The White Stripes * Wilco * Soda Stereo *

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

* Neil Young *

Virginia Wolf Virginia Wolf were a British rock band from Manchester, England. Their two albums were ''Virginia Wolf'' (1986) and ''Push'' (1987). The band existed from 1977 until 1988 and featured Nick Bold on lead guitar, Chris Ousey on vocals, Jason Bonha ...

* Y&T

Producers and engineers

* Tom Allom, Producer * Jim Anderson, Engineer * Michael "Mike" Anderson, Engineer * Wally Buck, Engineer * T-Bone Burnett, Producer * Ozzie Cadena, Producer * Jason Carmer, Engineer * Don Cody, Engineer * Ben Conrad, Engineer * Richie Corsello, Engineer * T.J. Dougherty, Producer * Joe Ferla, Producer * Steve Fontano, Engineer * Mike Fraser, Engineer * Jim Gaines, Engineer * Eddie Harris, Engineer * Stephen Hart, Engineer * Joe Henry, Producer * Mike Herbick, Engineer * Alberto Hernandez, Engineer * Phil Kaffel, Engineer * Orrin Keepnews, Producer * Glenn Kolotkin, Engineer * Danny Kopelson, Engineer * Dave Luke, Engineer * George Martin, Producer * James McCullagh, Engineer * Adam Muñoz, Engineer * Jesse Nichols, Engineer * Jesse Osborn, Engineer *

Alex Perialas Alex Perialas is an American audio engineer, mixer, and record producer, best known for his extensive work during the "golden age" of thrash metal in the mid–1980s to early–1990s. Having worked with many of the genre's top acts, including Ove ...

, Producer * Bob Porter, Producer * Frank Rinella, Engineer * Michael Rosen, Engineer * Michael Semanick, Engineer * Kevin Shirley, Producer * Jake Sinclair, Engineer * Tom Size, Engineer * Tone Def, Producer * Jim Stern, Engineer * Lee Townsend, Producer * Butch Walker, Producer * will.i.am, Producer * Eric Thompson, Engineer

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fantasy Studios Recording studios in California Companies based in Berkeley, California Music of the San Francisco Bay Area Mass media companies established in 1974 Privately held companies based in California 1971 establishments in California 2018 disestablishments in California History of the San Francisco Bay Area Mass media companies disestablished in 2018