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Bob Doidge remembers the day when the limo parked in front of the Grant Avenue Studio and the man-in-black stepped out.
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"We see the door open," Doidge recalls. "He stands in the doorway. He fills the doorway … and he says, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."
It was the mid-'80s. The great country music legend had been hired by Canada Trust to be the spokesman for their revolutionary new product — the ATM machine. It was to be known as the "Johnny Cash Money Machine."
"We had to do a track of "I Walk the Line" which he would talk over. He also played guitar on it," explains Doidge, owner of Grant Avenue. "He spent the day in here filming that commercial and telling stories. He was just a wonderful guy."
Doidge and longtime recording engineer Amy King are sitting in front of the studio's vintage MCI 500C console — it's the same model used by the Eagles' and the Bee Gees — reminiscing about the studio's storied history. Amy's rather large German shepherd named Windsor lies asleep on the floor.
This year marks Grant Avenue's 40th anniversary. Doidge and King are holding an open house on the night of Sunday, Oct. 23, to celebrate. They have reason to be proud.
Over those four decades, the modest two-storey Edwardian house just south of Main Street has played host to some of big names. Their pictures adorn the walls — U2, Gordon Lightfoot, Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno, Raffi, Downchild, Long John Baldry, Cowboy Junkies, Prairie Oyster, Parachute Club and Bruce Cockburn to name a few.
"The problem is we don't have enough wall space," says King, a Newfoundland native who has worked at the studio for 16 years. "We have an attic full of pictures we want to hang from back then to stuff that's happening now."
A visitor points to an autographed photograph of U2 frontman Bono.
"We also have a picture of him (Bono) sitting right where you're sitting now," King says.
Adds Doidge: "The whole band was here. They recorded the band tracks for 'Unforgettable Fire' at Slane Castle (in Ireland), then flew over here. They were here for a while doing vocals, overdubs and mixes." The sophisticated string section for U2's "One Tree Hill" was also recorded at Grant for the landmark 1987 "Joshua Tree" album.
Internationally known stars like U2 and Lightfoot enjoyed recording in Hamilton, because they could remain largely anonymous.
"When U2 were here, they would go over to Tim Hortons and people would say, 'Hey, look at that guy … he looks just like The Edge. But there's no way he'd be in Hamilton,' so they'd leave him alone," Doidge says.
The U2 connection came through producer, Daniel Lanois. He grew up with Doidge in Ancaster. Lanois, and his brother Bob, also built Grant Avenue Studio back in 1976.
Lanois and Doidge started playing in bands while at Ancaster Secondary School. Doidge quit school to perform in Ian Thomas's band Tranquility Base, while Lanois built a makeshift studio in the basement of their mother's Robina Road home.
Despite the egg-cartons covering the walls, the Lanois brothers developed a reputation recording Ontario folkies, including future children's megastar Raffi, offering high quality at a low cost.
By 1976, the brothers were ready to find their own place. Back then, recording studios tended to be large, warehouselike facilities, large enough to fit a symphony orchestra and a full choir. The idea of building one in an old inner-city house was revolutionary. Both Doidge and Lanois had some bad experiences working as backing musicians in large Toronto studios.
"Dan and I would be recording with Shirley Eikhard in these big places in Toronto, where you couldn't even see the producer. He was so far away behind the glass," Doidge says. "You couldn't see the facial expression of the person talking to you behind the glass. You didn't know whether they were laughing at you or sneering.
"We decided there's only five people max that are usually going to be recording together, sometimes it's two or three. So why are we going to heat and maintain this giant space that's meant for a symphony that records every five years. Let them go to Toronto."
The house and an adjoining lot were purchased with the help of a federal development loan. The Lanois brothers and Doidge did much of the work themselves. Grant Avenue started out as a 16-track facility and upgraded a couple of years later to 24-track with the purchase of the current board.
"I kept this board maintained all these years because, we only charge $90 per hour," Doidge says. "If I put a new board in, it would cost half a million dollars. We're real happy with it. Now people all over the world are trying to resurrect these boards. We've got one and it's running like a clock."
In the '80s, Lanois gained a reputation as one of the top record producers in the world, working with acts like U2, Peter Gabriel and Bob Dylan. He was spending much of his time working in places like Ireland, Los Angeles and New Orleans. So in 1985, the Lanois brothers decided to sell Grant Avenue to Doidge.
It was a natural progression. Doidge had worked at the studio from the start, first on renovations, then as a session bass player and a producer of radio jingles for local businesses like African Lion Safari (during the early days, those ads were key to keeping the business alive). In 1981, Doidge had become a staff sound engineer.
During the '90s, Grant Avenue became the studio of choice for Gordon Lightfoot. He recorded "Harmony" and "A Painter Passing Through" there, with Doidge getting credit as producer. Lightfoot's most recent album "All Live" was also mixed there.
Lightfoot remains a familiar face at Grant Avenue. When the studio needed to raise some funds for renovations last year, Lightfoot stepped up to the plate.
"He played a private concert here for 12 people who paid $2,000 each for the privilege," says Doidge. "It sold out quicker than you can blink an eye. They came from all over the United States to see Gordon Lightfoot play at Grant Avenue Studio."
In recent years, home computer recording programs have challenged the need for recording studios. Amateur musicians can now record themselves at home in their bedrooms, basically for the price of software.
Grant Avenue, however, has continued to maintain a steady stream of business. Much of the clientele is local, but it still draws musicians from the United States and across Canada. Doidge says they come for quality of sound that can only be gained with the best equipment and years of experience.
"It's an occupation, a passion, a learning curve that never stops," says Doidge. "When we talk about the past, it's all good fun, but we renovated (the building) for the future."
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