slept on the floor. “That’s the model we were 20 years ago,” Stevenson said. “We really aren’t that now.” Indeed, The Blasting Room has four studios, all with different characteristics, including a mastering room so exact that it muffles your voice down to HAL’s eerie soft tenor from 2001: A Space Odyssey and more rooms so modern they still smell like a new car. The studio’s staff, Andrew Berlin, Chris Beeble and Jonathan Luginbill, along with Stevenson and Livermore (who became coowner in 2015 and has worked on 95 percent of the albums that
began calling, begging to book a spot. Stevenson had produced more than a dozen records for his own bands and others, so the interest wasn’t unwarranted, but it also was a knock at the way many other studios recorded punk. “Back then, there weren’t many engineers who understood punk rock,” Stevenson said. “You’d end up with effects on the vocals and something that didn’t sound like a raw snare drum, and it would suck. And then you’d find out they got all your money.” Stevenson and Livermore did
“I’m always going for something that’s honest. You want to feel the impact of the snare in your chest. It’s all about capturing what happens when you play that instrument. Part of it is recognizing what is coming from that person rather than what would be considered perfect.” left the studio) are all part of the package. They’ve rented out The Blasting Room maybe only a halfdozen times in the 25 years since it was built. That’s an unusual but vital part of their reputation.
understand it, of course, because they lived it. And if that first wave of bands to swarm the studio were just fans of the Descendants and Black Flag who simply wanted to work with Stevenson, that changed quickly. Livermore said bands who
“It’s funny how little of that [renting] we’ve actually done,” Stevenson said. “Honestly, though, our actual space isn’t the greatest. But it’s us, the people – that’s what they come for. That’s what makes it great.
wanted to work with engineers who knew how to put out a good record without losing the energy of
When the studio opened, Stevenson and Livermore continued to play, but it became clear that The Blasting Room would take up much of their time. Even before the paint dried, they said, punk bands
Stevenson and Livermore know they no longer hold a monopoly on three-chord rock, especially as punk - or more accurately - the palatable pop punk movement led by bands like Blink 182, The Offspring, Sum 41 (and the more classic Green Day, Bad Religion and Rancid) emerged from the underground and sold out arenas. But they still shoot for that mix of raw power and polish. “I’m always going for something that’s honest,” said Berlin, who has worked at The Blasting Room since 2001. “You want to feel the impact of the snare in your chest. It’s all about capturing what happens when you play that instrument. I feel like part of it is recognizing what is coming from that person rather than what would be considered perfect.” As a result of today’s pop music scene, the studio does not limit itself to guitar-bass-drum bands, although that is most likely still its specialty, Livermore said. Beeble, the youngest of the group who counts the other three as his biggest influences, probably does boast the widest range of expertise. He studied jazz bass and composition at the University of Denver and has experience in synth programming, string arranging and something called signal processor construction, so he has more of an argument as any for stretching the boundaries at The Blasting Room. Beeble, who wanted to work at The Blasting Room since he was in high school, is cozy with pop music’s emphasis on electronics, dub-step and instruments other than a loud guitar and nasty snare. “If I have to do something with a keyboard,” Livermore said, “I’m yelling at him, ‘GET IN HERE.’ He is
“We don’t let our egos get in the way of the work. We listen to each other. What we want is the best thing for the band.” a live show began to seek them out. “We knew how to straddle that vibe between not sounding amateurish but also not sounding too slick,” Stevenson said.
Photos By: Michael Olivier
really versed in that kind of thing.” Yet Beeble also wants to keep the roots grounded in the basics of rock and roll. “We have a great history here, and I think it’s