LA Session Heroes

Being surrounded by good business neighbors who support each other like Mates, who’ve been at their location for 40 years and counting, who the owner Bob I have known going back since I was a teenager and is a close friend of mine and another good friend and tenant, Dave Friedman who I’ve known for over 25 years, did guitar rig setups at all the studios for the same session players many years prior to me setting up the same rigs, was a tenant in the tech room starting his rack systems business at the Brauer Studio Rental Shop on Weddington St. in Noho during my 12 years straight working there from 1998-2010 going back to my cartage days working for Andy Brauer Studio Rentals setting up guitar rigs in studios for A-list recording session guys like Dean Parks, Michael Landau, Michael Thompson, Steve Lukather, Tim Pierce, Rusty Anderson, Nathan East, Neil Stubenhaus, Paul Bushnell and others. These musicians for decades starting in the 1970’s and 80’s, still even working today doing recording sessions and/or venturing to other musical mediums, have played on thousands of recordings, including some of the most recognizable records, film scores and TV shows ever produced and have played live and recorded with many of the most successful recording artists of all time. It was the golden era of the recording session industry.

Though much of their work is credited on records and feature films, a huge significant portion of their work never got recognized, for various reasons, especially on some very recognizable known signature guitar-bass riffs and melodies. I always wanted to write a book on the LA local session history of these, and other incredibly gifted and talented musicians, but it’s heartwarming to know that musicians in all facets in this business, especially the newer younger generations, have the knowledge and immense deep respect towards these legacy session musicians. They are the true unsung hero’s in the musical universe. Working with our session guys, there were continuous working relationships for decades with major bands and record producers, from David Foster to John Shanks, to working production award shows, film scores (James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, etc). So for those 12 years, I’ve been to all the recording studios and scoring stages in town literally hundreds of times over. The ABSR shop was also in the NOHO district for 30 plus years.

Dave custom builds and wires guitar rigs (effects racks) and pedalboards, and mods amps for many of the most successful legendary touring rock (and session) guitarists. Dave also has developed his brand of amps, speaker cabs, effect pedals, accessories and recent line of Friedman amplifiers collection plug-in’s. Watching his Friedman Amplification business grow to become what it is today is awesome.

Mates has most of the upper tier successful touring bands and high profile artists in the world as clients who rehearses and stores gear at their nearby multiple facilities. Some of my tenants, past and present, does business with Mates and Dave Friedman, but there are many Mates and Friedman’s clients who both have the same clients who does business with each other right across the street from one another, making it a very desirable and convenient location.

Updated 2024.