Key Club Recording Company
Key Club Recording Company is a recording studio in Benton Harbor, Michigan founded by musicians and recording engineers Bill Skibbe and Jessica Ruffins in 2002. The studio has been host to such bands as The Kills, The Fiery Furnaces, The Sea and Cake, Tristeza, and others.[1]
History
[edit]After working for Steve Albini at Electrical Audio and John McEntire at Soma, Bill Skibbe alongside his spouse, Jessica Ruffins, opened Key Club Recording Company. They chose Benton Harbor because it was affordable and it allowed them the space and freedom to house artists and experiment during long sessions.[2]
The building that houses Key Club was a boarding house for sailors in the 1880s, a lumberyard in the 1920s, and a coffee house that hosted folk artists called Unicorn Key Club in the 1960s, which gave the recording studio its name.[1][3] It later housed a locksmith before being used for Key Club Recording Company.[2]
In January 2013, The Black Keys recorded tracks for their album Turn Blue at the studio after The Kills suggested using it.[4]
Console
[edit]Key Club's mixing console is a custom Flickinger N-32 Matrix originally built for Sly Stone.[5] The console was installed in Stone's Bel Air mansion in 1970, in time to record his hit record There's a Riot Goin' On. Later albums, Fresh and Small Talk, were also tracked on the console.[6] It was purchased by Skibbe from Paragon Studios in Chicago.[2]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Elhaj, Emily. "Studio Visit: Key Club Recording Company". Alarm Magazine. Alarm. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 Haines, Garrett. "Bill Skibbe & Jessica Ruffins: Behind the Gear with Key Club Recording Company". Tape Op. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
- ↑ "B.H. Permit To Remodel Is Issued". The News-Palladium. Jan 25, 1964. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
- ↑ Black Keys Return to the Studio. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2014-04-02.
- ↑ Sly Stone’s Sound Archived 2014-05-12 at the Wayback Machine. Artifact Shore. Retrieved on 2013-07-27.
- ↑ Miles Marshall Lewis (2006). There's a Riot Goin' On. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-1744-2.
External links
[edit]
- KeyClubRecording.com is The Key Club's home webpage.
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
|---|
42°06′56.9″N 86°27′26.9″W / 42.115806°N 86.457472°W
 | This article on a recording studio is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |