House of Blues Recording Studio Makes a Move

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The House of Blues Recording Studio is moving to Music City, literally. The entire building is being picked up and carried along I-40.

You may not have ever been there, but the historic musical recordings produced there put the minds of listeners' right where they wanted to be when they heard it. Now with the departure of the House of Blues famed Studio D is another failing grade for the Memphis recording industry.

It was a wide-load truck almost ready for departure on Tuesday. The truck was transporting to Nashville precious cargo laden with Memphis musical history and the memories that go with it.

"I think one of the first acts to come through were the Bar-Kays. In the mid 90's we had a lot of rock and roll acts Collective Soul. Matchbox Twenty. We did a soundtrack for MTV, Beavis and Butthead," said Mike Paragone, Head of House of Blues Recording Studio.

Last week a Springfield, Tennessee structural moving company diligently worked to deconstruct the fabled House of Blues Studio D recording facility wit plans to be reassembled in the Music City.

The wooden structure, which once was a family home, had been separate from the recording company's three other studios located on desolate Rayner Street just off Spottswood. Its off-the-beaten path location figured into its eventual move due to "under utilization" by local artists in recent years.

"In Nashville we have three facilities there already. But, we're trying to break into a different market. Break into a different clientele that we haven't really touched," said Paragone.

The relocation sounds another sour note for the Memphis music scene. Since the rebirth of the studio in the '90's by original House of Blues nightclub franchise owner, Memphian Isaac Tigrett and former partner Gary Belz, efforts had been keyed toward bringing in top producers, writers and performers. Some like Ralph Sutton and Kirk Whalum were drawn in by the historical allure of making new music in Memphis.

"I believe that my effort along with others will help rebirth this region. Since there's a lot of strong musicianship down here and a lot of incredible writers," said music producer Ralph Sutton back in 2006.

"I kind of really focused on that one cause I felt like this is the one with the most kind of proactivity in terms of the Memphis music scene and rebuilding and Renaissance," said Kirk Whalum, famed saxophonist.

But, a stagnant economy and the equally "flat line" state of opportunities for Memphis musicians at home have combined to create the region's own state of the blues.

"At the end of the day it is about value and how we value this cultural asset. That needs nurturing, that needs developing so these musicians can work. If they're not working it's impossible for the studios to survive," said Johnnie Walker, Executive Director of Shelby County Music Commission.

Though Studio D may strike the right chords in Nashville, Whalum still believes Memphis' return as a mecca for modern music will come but not in time to stop this moving van.

"There's going to be that Renaissance and the timing is going to be right and there's going to be a lot of young kids stepping in the shoes of the folks who made this great music," said Whalum.