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JULY 17, 2025 INTERVIEWS
Clay Blair: From the Producer’s Workshop to Boulevard Recording
I had heard, from contributor Alex Maiolo, that someone from North Carolina had moved out to L.A. and accidentally discovered and re-opened the famed Producer's Workshop studio in Hollywood. That someone is Clay Blair, so I dropped in on him to find out the story behind revitalizing this studio that had seen artists like Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Ringo Starr, Carly Simon, Ray Charles, Neil Diamond, and famously Pink Floyd wrapped up The Wall here in 1979. Later the place went under the name Westbeach Recorders, and a new era of bands like Blink 182, The Offspring, Bad Religion, MXPX, The Melvins, Rancid, Rocket from the Crypt, Concrete Blonde and Mazzy Star made use of the space. In the new era as Boulevard Recording, the studio has seen sessions with War on Drugs, Moby, Jim James, producer Frank Tetaz [Gotye], Joel Little (producer of Lorde's debut), Bob Rock and The Cult, and producer Eric Rosse.