Roar Shack RIP

They tore down the Roar Shack. It's gone, and that is a fucking shame. Not only did Starcrossed and Wasted record everything there lots of other bands got their best sound in that room. Most of what you have heard about it is bullshit, or exaggerated, but still it was a great place to rock out with your cock out let me tell you. Beautiful Corpse did a few early demos there, but we have worked all over the place but I have never really felt at home in another studio. 

Roar Shack: Facts and Fictions

- It was not built on an "ancient indian burial ground", just an old cemetary where they unceremoniously buried many natives who died of infectious diseases brought to them by the first missionaries. 

- It was a catholic church turned orphanage. And there are reports that the priests there took full advantage of their exclusive access to the young boys. The whole "possessed by evil" thing started with them actually, back in the late 1800s they dug a well right where the cemetary was and the putrified bodies leaked untold biological horrors into the water table and poisoned it. But the church said it was an ancient pagan evil striking out against men of God. I guess it kind of was, depending on how you look at it. Either way they shut it down and the assholes of several young boys rejoiced.

- It was never a whorehouse, although that was a rumor started by the local right-wingnuts to justify their storming the place in 1934 and starting a fire that killed everyone inside. It was a supposed to be a "raid" on an illegal still, but since prohibition was officially over at that point, and there didn't turn out to be any alcohol on the premises, the organizers needed to spin the fiasco to avoid prosecution. So they cried "house of ill-repute" with allegations of all sorts of depraved goings on, dead people, animals, you name it. Kinda makes you wonder where they get these ideas at the drop of a hat, like they were already thinking them....hmmm. That fire is why the studio was a huge cavernous room. The gutted building was only partially restored, and what had been two floors and several rooms became one massive open concept. It made for a huge sound. 

- Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Carlos Santana NEVER recorded there. I don't know why these names are always linked to the place. It was the home of lots a great acts, but not really any big names. Jim Morrison hung out there for a while when he was laying low in early 70's. He was on a Starcrossed and Wasted track we recorded there in 1974 Not playing, just slamming the bathroom and it got caught on an otherwise perfect take so we kept it. You can hear it during the big solo on Sticky Ichor. If anyone is paying attention to the dates, yeah well, nobody gets out alive right? 

- Speaking of laying low, ZZTop hung out at the Roar Shack when they were on hiatus before Eliminator. They were aggressively jamming and growing facial hair. Good times. It was always a great play to not get noticed, juts look at my career...lol....sigh.....fuck.

- Young Patty Carroll, what's-her-face and I did record together there, but none of what we did was ever in anything I heard her do as Buckethead. I guess some of the Deli Creeps stuff is similar but I think she really grew into her own animal when she donned the bucket. As far as I know she never went back with Bob Maximum, or Praxis or any of her other Bucketheaded projects.

What have you heard about the Roar Shack?