I started out as a rock’n’roll sound engineer at Cavern Sound, Kansas City’s first 16-track recording studio (remember analog tape?). Some of the artists recorded were Danny Cox, Brewer and Shipley, James Brown and Groucho Marx. I also freelanced for the Record Plant-Sausalito 16-track truck, recording dozens of shows at the Cowtown Ballroom.
Denver Sound, Applewood Studios and Caribou Ranch were my next stops. While in Colorado, I worked with acts like Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Doug Kershaw, John Hartford and Jerry Jeff Walker’s band The Lost Gonzos.
From there, I moved on to Sound Recorders in Omaha. My engineering credits in Nebraska included the Kris Kristofferson / Ali McGraw movie “Convoy” with C.W.McCall, and “Fresh Aire” with Chip Davis. Omaha saw my first exposure to ad agency work. I learned that a VO was not a whiskey-drink, and that a needledrop was not hard-core drug related.
Dick Marx studios in Chicago was my next stop, recording ad music for accounts like United Airlines, Pillsbury, Kellogg’s and Oldsmobile. I also cut demos for 17-year-old Richard Marx, Dick’s son, before his pop music career began.
I returned to Kansas City in 1980 to build and manage Sound Recorders’ new studios on State Line, in the same building where Substation K is now located. After that gig ended in the mid eighties, I started my own studio across the street, Wheeler Audio Associates. That operation continues to this day, with a new crew and new facility. Gone are the days of working in dimly-lit studios with dungeon-like atmosphere -- or caves. It’s great to be in the daylight.
Hobbies include scuba diving, motorcycling and rock'n'roll in combination with digital photography (results at right).
I have mentored or employed several members of KC’s pro-audio community. Sound has been my passion for some time now, but never more strongly than today. Cool staff… cool digs… cool tools … life is good!
Here I am at my first studio gig: rock'n'roll recording engineer
Here's Denver Sound Studios...
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