Press Releases

AVATAR STUDIOS HOSTS JOHN MAYER FOR NEXT ALBUM

Photo available for download at http://www.avatarstudios.net/aboutus/JohnMayer.html

New York, NY July 7, 2003 - For more than five weeks, AVATAR Studios hosted Grammy Award winner John Mayer as he worked on his next album. Looking to capture a "New York" sound, Mayer's producer Jack Joseph Puig felt AVATAR Studios was "the first and only choice" for recording in New York City.

Puig and Mayer settled into AVATAR's massive Studio A, bringing with them an elaborate set-up, including a PA system complete with a separate mixing board for the live room to recreate a "live" performance feel. "We had a wonderful experience here at AVATAR," stated an impressed Puig. "Since everything went so smoothly, we were able to really concentrate on the performance, worry-free," Mayer agreed. "The studio has a great vibe that allowed me to focus all my energies on creating my music. I'll be back again!"

For this special session Puig, who usually works in Los Angeles, brought in his gear via two trucks. AVATAR General Manager Tino Passante stated: "It was really an enormous set up, but our staff was all over it and they completed the job in a short period of time. The efforts and professionalism of the entire staff were noticeable from the minute the recording crew walked in. Ross Petersen, staff assistant engineer, was terrific throughout, handling every challenging curve thrown his way. The room and console sounded great together, making it easy for Jack to dial in sounds."

A rare collection of stomp boxes by Maestro, Electro Harmonix, and Univox were used in the sessions. Additionally, units such as Audio Design Recording, Scamp, Valley People, AMS, Fairchild, and Pultec were also utilized. With the complete absence of sophisticated digital processors, the session employed real musicians playing live captured by real microphones with vintage analog gear. The marriage of the digital world with the analog world occurred for this project where AVATAR's custom Neve 8068 fed signals into a Pro Tools HD3 system.

Puig fondly remembers the Studio A live room from his work on Eric Clapton's Journeyman album, recalling: "The room still sounds as great as it did then.." Passante later added, "It was a thrill to have Jack Joseph Puig and John Mayer here for this great recording. Jack is one of the busiest engineers on the planet and for good reason. The tracks sounded truly phenomenal. John is so enormously talented, he'll be making records for a very long time…hopefully here at AVATAR!"

Mayer won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance for his song, "Your Body is a Wonderland." The artist currently has two hit albums on the charts, Room for Squares and Any Given Thursday, both on the Sony label. This next, highly anticipated release is scheduled for Fall, 2003 release. The band has embarked on a North American tour that began July 7. The tour co-headlines Counting Crows in more than 35 cities over the next two months.

AVATAR Studios is a 33,000-square-foot multi-room facility on Manhattan's west side dedicated to achieving the highest possible caliber audio recording services in the recording industry. There are four premier recording rooms containing a Neve 8068, two SSL 9000Js and a Neve VRP. A Pro Tools editing suite is also available. If they choose, clients also have the option to track directly to the DSD format in multichannel surround sound.

Photo available for download at http://www.avatarstudios.net/aboutus/JohnMayer.html From Left to Right: Shown in Avatar's Studio A Control Room (taken 6/6/03) Jack Joseph Puig (Producer / Engineer) and Tino Passante (Avatar General Manager)

For Avatar booking information, please contact Studio Manager Tino Passante at Tel: 212.765.7500, Fax: 212.765.7450, or E-mail: Tino@AvatarStudios.net.