Here is a look at some of the people who have helped make Pieholden Suite Sound an amazing studio and a very special place to make great music.
Jay Bennett was the founder of Pieholden Suite Sound. For Jay, Pieholden was wherever he had some recording gear setup. So the studio has had many homes over the years. After decades of writing, recording, producing and performing music he had collected an impressive amount of recording gear and instruments. Although Jay never consciously decided to be a studio “owner”, it happened naturally between realizing his enjoyment of recording on his own and his frustration with most commercial studios not facilitating the appropriate vibe and workflow from a musician’s perspective. Between that and Jay’s good nature of sharing his talents with others, he opened the doors of his musical playground to friends and peers. Jay always compared recording gear and instruments to an old car (both of which he was very good at fixing), “gear is like a car sitting in the garage all winter, if you don’t go out there and start it up it’s not gonna work come spring time. Instruments want to be played, tube based gear likes to be on, it’s keeps them happy. If I’m not using my gear I want people I know and respect to keep it working and happy for me.” This philosophy combined with Jay’s willingness to share his good fortune with others has given hundreds of musicians the opportunity to make music in a creative space that they would not normally have access to. Jay passed away in May of 2009; he spent his life creating music and he will be deeply missed everyday.
Matt DeWine started producing, recording, and mastering music in his parent’s basement in the mid 90s and never stopped. With a BA in Audio Arts and Acoustics from Columbia College Chicago, Matt has operated studios in Cleveland, Columbus, Champaign and currently Chicago. He spent most of his 20s recording friends and playing bass in the heavy psychedelic Chicago rock band Where The Moon Came From . Besides producing music, Matt does live sound at The Empty Bottle, Beauty Bar and Fireside Bowl. He enjoys fixing guitars and occasionally jumping in the tour van with good friends for a rock n roll weekend.
David Vandervelde spent his early 20s living at Pieholden Suite Sound when the studio was at its old warehouse location in Chicago. Hunched over his pile of gear working relentlessly, Dave slowly evolved his sound utilizing the endless instruments and recording gear found in the studio. With Jay in one room and Dave in another the two close friends pushed each others songwriting and recording potential. It’s considered very prolific years for both artists. Happily married and living in Nashville, Dave travels up often to work on music at Pieholden.
Casey Meehan: Recording under the artist name Jitney, Casey has been a long time friend of the studio. Equally good at building recording studios and websites, he is a man of many talents. Happily married and living in Chicago, Casey operates net label www.rockproper.com and chicagomixtape.com. When he has free time he can be found at Pieholden writing and recording on some of his favorite instruments including the pump organ, the Hammond B-3 and a 1940s Gibson acoustic guitar.
Ben Clarke started recording an “album” at Pieholden in 2003. That “album” is still being worked on. Beyond the “album” Ben just enjoys being in the studio, exploring the sonic potential, digging up instruments no one knew were there, and pushing Matt for sounds, production styles and mixes that test the foundation of their friendship. Someday that “album” might be done, and sometimes in life it’s more about the journey than the final destination.
Johnny Caluya helped design Pieholden Suite Sound and was master carpenter during construction of the studio. He has played psychedelic riff guitar for Where The Moon Came From, David Vandervelde, Jay Bennett, Psychic Friends, Verma and many others. He currently lives in Chicago and works for Vertex Graphics. Johnny enjoys designing things on paper and then building them.
Robbie Hamilton: A celebrated Chicago drummer, Robbie has been seen hitting the skins for Where The Moon Came From, David Vandervelde, Jay Bennett, Notes and Scratches and many others. He also plays front man for his own project KIN KON. A long time friend of Pieholden, Robbie has amazing studio construction skills and OCD like attention to detail when it comes to organization and design. He always seems to improve the functionality, design and workflow of the studio every time he stops by, which is why he has always been welcome here.
Emily Freeh grew up in Cleveland with Matt DeWine. She has grown accustom to Matt requesting very random favors, unload a PA, paint a room, fix a guitar amp, move 20 Hammond organs, cut a steel I-beam and redo the foundation of a brick wall. Emily stopped asking the logistics of Matt’s requests years ago. The two have had endless adventures together. Emily currently lives in East Lansing MI and enjoys working at the bike co-op, making wood picture frames, photography, painting incredibly small paintings, and working on organic farms.
Fergus Kasier has been our rock n roll brother for a long time. He played guitar for Lying In States and David Vandervelde. He helped build Pieholden for pizza and beer. Then one day he decided to move to NYC, get married and go to law school. Soon he’ll be a lawyer, and we plan to let him work long enough to pay off his student loans. Then we’ll pull up in the tour van, throw him in and return him to the life he was meant for.
Josh Dumas is a good guy to have around. He almost seems to enjoy horrible thankless jobs. If you need to move a studio, wire up a thousand pieces of gear, start a record label, or head up an art collective where everyone has their own agenda, Josh is your man. He shows up with a coffee and a shit eating grin that lets you know it’s go time. Josh currently lives in Chicago and is always working on something musical/artistic/creative/thankless. Keep up the good work old friend.
Chris Kralik is like a gunslinger from the Wild West but with a soldering gun. He understands audio and electronics which is a deadly combination. He has wired thousands of things at Pieholden. Currently Chris shreds guitar with Chicago dirt rockers Gorgeous Little Girls. In his spare time he is usually building/ rewiring some piece of vintage audio gear.
Jonathan Pines Private Studios: Jonathan runs an amazing studio in Urbana IL. He has worked with Jay off and on since the beginning of Jay’s career. We call Jonathan to eat noodles and talk gear with, he also helps keep our Sony MCI JH 24 running smoothly.
Ben Juday Analog Outfitters: Ben was a huge help when Pieholden was in the Champaign area. A large part of his business seems to be “taking care of studios”, which is an open ended idea. Fix stuff, move stuff, buy stuff, sell stuff. Ben takes care of stuff. If you’re thinking about buying/selling/moving a Hammond organ, talk to Ben. He is the Hammond guy, and always has a large collection of organs for sale. He is also great at bringing old guitar tube amps back to life. www.analogoutfitters.com
Soren Wittsup CS Electronics: Soren fixes gear and he does it well. Some of the things he has fixed for Pieholden over the years are: Complete rebuild of our Sony MCI JH24, rebuilt 5 Altec 1567a tube preamps, blue stripe 1176 compressor, Urei la 4, and many other pieces of vintage analog recording gear. www.cselectronics.net
