Kholood Eid

David Beeman and Kit Hamon of Native Sound (and Old Lights).

There comes a time when growth for some musicians means giving back to the community. For David Beeman, Kit Hamon and John Joern -- bandmates in Old Lights -- this means helping their fellow St. Louis musicians find a recording haven in the form of Native Sound.

Native Sound is a cozy recording studio run by Beeman, Hamon and Joern. When they're not renting it out to musicians, Hamon's wife Beth Bombara (also a member of the band) and Beeman's girlfriend Kristin Dennis use the space for their screen printing (Native Prints).

"There are a lot of studios bands can go into and record and self-produce, but not a lot of people investing in the band and trying to help the band grow as musicians and as groups," says Hamon.

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Roy Kasten

Jason Hutto at Smokin' Baby

To call Smokin' Baby -- the studio owned and operated by Jason Hutto of the band Warm Jets USA -- a rock & roll kind of place is to somewhat understate the case. Located just north of Cherokee on Compton, the basement recording space is lean, mean and filthy. Cut the smoke with a knife and it will bleed PBR; follow the trail of cables around the ceiling and upstairs and you'll never come back; pass out on the couch and you won't have been the first; ride the faders on the old Mackie 24-track board and they'll let the music talk. It's dark, covered in grime and ash, and it sounds pretty good.More >>

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Local hip-hop collective The 12 to 6 Movement recently unveiled the video for its new song "Can't Be Done," which features legendary Brand Nubian rapper Sadat X. This is just one of many high-profile collaborations off of the group's upcoming, as yet untitled album that is due for release in October. Other national rappers confirmed for the record include Raekwon, Bubba Sparxxx, Planet Asia, and Keith Murray (a previously released song with Killah Priest might also be included). These verses didn't come cheap, but the group feels the investment is worth the money. "Talent is only going to get you so far," says Spark1duh?, who along with Ser Lesson of Forty 'til Five and JusTime of The Treez comprises The 12 to 6 Movement. "We relied on talent for so long without the effects that we desired. And now we've decided to step it up a notch, really dig deep and really put money behind what we're doing."

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Joanna Humphrey

There is a pretty brazen vacuum somewhere in the room next to where two members of Troubadour Dali are conducting a three-way phone interview. It would appear that the shoegaze-y psych-pop band is never far from its noise roots, though this time it's more obnoxious than it is dreamy. For three years now, the local quartet has incorporated that noise into a sound that betrays shallowly buried influences such as Ride, Primal Scream and the almost unavoidable My Bloody Valentine allusion. We tracked down the band's Ben Hinn and Kevin Bachmann to discuss the group's second album, one they co-wrote, and the creative gestation that went into its official release tomorrow night at Off Broadway.

When the interview ended, it was clear both that the band's dynamic can be as cacophonous as its music -- and that the guys really like dinosaurs. And when we finished asking them questions, they turned a rather strange interview back on us. Read on for the sentiments that inspired the darker, wiser new album, but before you do, feel free to answer their questions yourself:

1. What is your favorite dinosaur?
2. Now, your favorite cartoon character?
3. Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz?
4. Favorite flightless bird?

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So, you might have heard that the Urge, that ska goliath of local lore, is back together. You might not have heard, however, that it is with a vengeance. The decision to reunite for the first time since 2005 comes with a changed music scene, a more grown-up group of guys and a laundry list of things that must be accomplished in their near future: significant practicing, their Pointfest debut, a full album at some point. "We've had all kinds of offers to reform and play the old tunes, and we've always said no to that," says guitarist Jerry Jost. "We don't want to be a cover band of our own songs."

The pressure that comes with starting fresh is considerable, but frontman Steve Ewing has every intention of ignoring it. The band has always worked best, he says, when it's rooted in the present -- even if its dominant genre is not.

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Welcome to "In the Studio," an occasional feature wherein local bands tell us the status of new music. Are you recording? Let us know via email.

Who: Blood Pony
Where: The Sea is a Sound Studios
With Whom: Skip Johnston
When: August - November 2010
Release Date?: January 22, 2011 at Off Broadway with Pretty Little Empire & 3 Dollar Band (KC)
What recording: Says James Walker: "We're working on our first full-length record to follow up the six-song EP we released last December. The final record should have nine to ten songs and is currently in the mixing process."

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Jon Gitchoff

Beth Bombara at the 2010 RFT Music Awards Presentation Celebration.

Singer-songwriter Beth Bombara is nearly done recording her first full-length album in the home studio she shares with her husband/fellow local musician, Kit Hamon.

"There's pros and cons recording in your own home studio," she says. "For one, you don't have to pay anyone. This is good if you know how to use the equipment well. Kit and I both walked out of college with some decent studio recording knowledge that has allowed us to grow our experience even more since then. It's nice because I feel like we make a good team in the studio, and musically in general. Sometimes we have very different ideas, but that's what makes a recording interesting.

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US English
Who: The new band featuring Brea and James McAnally
Where: Bookermusic
With Whom: Brad Booker
When: Now!
What recording: "We are recording 3 EPs in serial format to comprise a full length," says James McAnally. "The first EP, What Frontier, will be released locally on September 3. The others will be released every three-four months over the next year."
News! by US English

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Steve Truesdell

​Who: LOGOS
Where: Sawhorse Studios
With: Jason McEntire
When: May 2010
What: Additional songs for their forthcoming album
When Due Out: TBA, although two new songs, "Mind's Eye" and "Everyday," are up now on MySpace
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(The Conformists, Spelling Bee and Cheer-Accident -- yes, the post-rockers from Chicago -- will be performing at the Schlafly Tap Room on Friday, April 16. More on that tomorrow. In the meantime, check out a studio progress report from the Conformists.)

courtesy of the Conformists

The Conformists
Where: Recording in Studio B at Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois
With whom: Steve Albini
When: March 26 and 27
What recording: None Hundred
When due out?: Summer 2010 on Sick Room Records (USA) and AFRICANTAPE (Europe)
Sounds like: "This one is a little less abstract than our two previous records (relatively speaking; my mom would still think it sounds like people dropping instruments on the floor)," says Chris Dee. "With the exception of one song, everything was written within the last year, which is a much faster songwriting pace for us. None Hundred will be released on vinyl, which will include a CD version."

Dee adds that the band "will be embarking on a two-week East coast tour in April/May with French band Passe Montagne" and the label AFRICANTAPE just re-released its second album, Three Hundred, in Europe.

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