Wide-eyed confusion and general bewilderment are the most common reactions after laying eyes upon Las Vegas act Spiritworld for the first time. Slayer in Stetsons is usually the next. Yes, the unlikely looking Nevadans might look like the founder members of a Billy Ray Cyrus and Garth Brooks cosplay fan club but their music is a very different beast indeed.
Shiloh and Bill Elkins founded Alley Music Studios in 1973. Since opening its doors the famed rehearsal studio has been a magnet in Los Angeles’ NOHO Arts District for a who’s who of music legends. Now that Alley Music Studios is going to be the subject of a documentary film in 2016, we thought it was a good time to check in with co-owner Shiloh Elkins. In an interview with Melina Dellamarggio for Ghost Cult, Shiloh filled us in on the back story of this underrated L.A. music mecca, a namecheck of all the artists who led to its rise to prominence, the basis for the film and her dreams for the future of the business and much more. You can view the interview at this link or below:
INTERVIEW, VIDEO, AND PHOTO SET BY MELLINA DELLAMARGGIO
The creators of the project are still seeking production partners, directors, and contributors to the film of artists with memories of Alley Music Studios to share. You can contact them here:
The Alley Music Studios online
The Alley Music Studios on Facebook
Executive Producer Todd Bellina
415-450-7176
Photo credit: Alley Music Studios
Legendary Los Angeles music studio and rehearsal space Alley Music Studios will be the focus of a documentary film, planned for release in 2016. Executive producer Todd Bellina and his team have been collecting footage, interviews with artists, and archival photos from the owners Bill and Shiloh Elkins, who have built and run the venerable studio used by a who’s who of headline acts for forty years, since opening its doors in 1973. The location continues to be a favorite of modern artists as well, as an alternative to the typical Hollywood studio experience.
The producers of the film have shared their synopsis of the film:
In the NoHo district of North Hollywood, California, quietly hidden behind a small burger joint, is a very unique and very special musical venue known as “The All3y”, a music rehearsal studio that has attracted some of the finest musical talent of the last four decades. From David Crosby to The Red Hot Chili Peppers to Jackson Brown and many more.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers, photo credit: Alley Music Studios
Photo credit: Alley Music Studios
Among the plans for the run up to the films’ release includes up to a 12-part mini series of episodes and live streaming. A partial past client list of the studio can be found on Alley Music Studios website, and some of these artists will be involved with the documentary:
David Lindley
Kiss
Deftones
The 4 Seasons
Ziggy Marley
Julian Casablancas And The Voidz
Lita Ford
Aimee Allen
The Black Crowes
John Bonham
Terry Bozzio
Jackson Browne
Lindsey Buckingham
Rosanne Cash
Stanley Clarke
Vinnie Colaiuta
Michael Des Barres Band
The Doobie Brothers
The Eagles
Melissa Etheridge
Little Feat
Bryan Ferry
Mick Fleetwood
Rayford Griffin
Joey Heredia
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Billy Idol
Etta James
Jim Keltner
Robby Krieger
Russ Kunkel
Jean Luc Ponty
Steve Lukather
The Meters
Rod Morgenstein
Steve Morse
Michael Mcdonald
Leo Nocentelli
System Of A Down
Nigel Olsson
Ozzy Osbourne
Gram Parsons
Missing Persons
Simon Phillips
Iggy Pop
Jeff Porcaro
Smashing Pumpkins
Bonnie Raitt
Billy Ray Cyrus
Chris Robinson Band
Linda Ronstadt
Katey Sagal
Carly Simon
Steve Smith
Steve Stevens
Mike Stinson
The Stooges
James Taylor
Stone Temple Pilots
Toto
Eddie Van Halen
Jack White
Lucinda Williams
Gary Wright
The Young Royals
Dweezil Zappa
Warren Zevon
The creators of the project are still seeking production partners, directors and contributors to the film of artists with memories of Alley Music Studios to share. You can contact them here:
The Alley Music Studios online
The Alley Music Studios on Facebook
Executive Producer Todd Bellina
415-450-7176
(L-R): Robin Meade, Matt Sorum, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Ssgt. Mark Plummer (Ret.) on “Morning Express with Robin Meade.”
Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, Matt Sorum (Guns N Roses, The Cult, Velvet Revolver), and Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) teamed up with SSgt. Mark Plummer (ret.), a Wounded Warrior and US veteran with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to create a video for the song “Do What I Do” (view here).
Plummer initially wrote the song about his on-going battle with PTSD after serving three combat deployments in Iraq. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder continues to take the lives of 22 US veterans daily via suicide.
Cyrus comments on being part of “Do What I Do”:
“When Matt (Sorum) sent me the song and told me about the project, it was clear to see, hear and feel the potential for healing the mind and spirit that only music can bring. Mark Plummer is a talented artist, who also happens to be an American Hero. He’s lived the words of his message and that realism translates and can help many other veterans suffering from PTSD.”
L-R: Matt Sorum, Ssgt. Mark Plummer and Billy Ray Cyrus at CNN Los Angeles, November 11, 2014.
Ssgt. Mark Plummer, Nicolette Plummer and Billy Ray Cyrus at Los Angeles National Cemetery, November 11, 2014.
Sorum began to use music as therapy for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after teaming up to help the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, CA. He founded the Global Sound Lodge, a charity that provides a music for healing program and Global Sound Lodge organization donates instruments to orphanages, shelters and veterans programs around the world: www.globalsoundlodge.org. Proceeds from the sale of “Do What I Do” will be donated to Global Sound Lodge.
