The first time I ever went in to a studio to record was in the summer of 1985. Our band, Vomit Launch, had been around for almost 6 months, and we decided it was time to hit the studio and make a "demo". Our drummer at the time, John, suggested a place that we always saw advertised in the local weekly, so we gave them a call. John, having done this a few times before, suggested we go to the place and check it out before committing to recording time. We found ourselves 30 miles from town in the middle of some olive orchards looking for the place. Eventually we came upon a small house sitting on a barren hill with a shack next to it. The shack was the studio. Inside was a Fostex 16 track 1/2", a small mixer, a few other pieces of gear and a live room the size of a small kitchen. The control room was like a closet and the studio owner looked like a troll. We played him some board tapes from recent gigs and he seemed to be into it, comparing one song to the Doors, which seemed weird to us. When we showed up to start our two days of recording there were goats and kids running around and it was pushing 100 degrees outside. We brought our motley collection of amps but he wouldn't let us use them, instead running everything direct with the option to overdub later.