HISTORY>>

Introduction

The Early Years
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The Next Step

Turnabout

Unusual Tastes

Stephen Barncard
Heider Staff 1969,1972

With sections written by
Jennifer Maxwell, Nicole Sanchez, Dan Levitin

Introduction to the History

In July 1969, after spending a lifetime spinning my wheels in the nonexistent Kansas City Music Scene, I left for San Francisco. I had no plan, no idea how I was going to accomplish it, but I wanted to not only make records in my favorite city by the bay.

I flew in on a red-eye from KC direct to SF, and the next morning I started walking around downtown. I walked up to the nearest phone booth and looked up 'Recording Studios' in the phone book. And there it was... the first listing I saw - Wally Heider Recording, on Hyde Street, only a few blocks away. I had no idea that Wally had created a studio up there - I of course knew about his studios in LA., but this was news.

I called and talked to Mel Tanner, General Manager, who gave me a nice tour of the place. He said indeed that they were looking for new assistants, but I should apply and write a letter to Wally directly. I did, and was hired to be the assistant on CSNY's Deja Vu a couple of months later. So I was there almost at the beginning, and will try to recount the first three years from my own experiences and a bit of research.