ADAM 'RED' LASUS HOT IN PHILADELPHIA

Adam Lasus and Joey Sweeney at Studio Red

In November of 1993 a 4' water main broke in the basement of Adam "Red" Lasus' downtown Philadelphia apartment destroying nearly 50% of his studio gear and tapes. When all seemed hopeless, several of the artists that Adam had worked with in the past including Versus, Madder Rose, Helium, and Gigolo Aunts stepped in and organized benefits in three different cities raising 10,000 dollars to help rebuild "Studio Red". He was back on his feet two month later in a new space, with a new studio where he still works today. With this, Adam realized how far he had come in the last few years from his first 4-track studio set up in his father's house.

When Adam was 18, he was approached by the band Dumptruck to record some demos. This session was such a success, that before too long word of mouth made Lazus the local producer du jour leading to a flood of regional bands hiring Adam to produce their demos.

Another turning point was when the Gigalo Aunts specifically requested Adam to co-produce their major label debut ŒFlipping Out' on Fire/RCA after doing the demos that got them signed. With the help of the artists he quickly graduated from demo-maker to co-producer/record-maker. In Adam's own words concerning the transition, "I winged it. I just pretended to know what was going on at the time. I really sweat through it, but it was fun." A re-occuring theme was developing as most of the bands that he worked with went directly on to bigger label deals. He had a reputation for having a magic touch, with his fees being still very competitive. Friend, fellow band member and client, Matt Keating got signed to Alias Records. The Barnabys (Joey Sweeney's previous band) got signed to SpinArt, Helium to Matador, Scarce to A&M, and Madder Rose to Seed/Atlantic.

As the momentum continued to build, he began to get much more work outside of his own studio. Gary Smith called from Fort Apache to ask Adam to do Juliana Hatfield's first solo record, Hey Baby, where at age 22 Adam found himself working alongside Gary, Evan Dando, Mike Watts, and Juliana on an breakthrough indie-pop record. A brief stint at Bearsville studios with Chris Harford (Elektra) was a big step in terms of recording budget, but also made it apparent that the sound and vibe he created in his own basement could not be recreated so easily in a larger, slicker studio.

Lately, he's been trying some new approaches to make his records sonically different. For example, they recorded each of the recent Space Needle and Varnaline sessions in The Crab™, a smaller sub-studio in a space similar to the original rooms that he started with at his father's house. They recorded live, with the guys literally was standing on top of each other. Adam recalls, "it was a relaxed and intimate atmosphere, but the tracks were intense. We were doing some strange things sonically, going back and forth between really loud and really quiet, but kind of in your face. The Crab™ is fast, cheap, and fun."

When asked about the importance of 7" vinyl in today's music environment, he replied, "almost all the bands I've worked with have released 7" records before a full-length. Band's careers are built on these releases. "He adds, "when a band comes in to do two songs in a day it's got high energy, its easy, fun, a snapshot of the band at the present moment. Vinyl is great, kids can buy a single for a couple of dollars and see what a band is all about."

 

Contact Adam via Dan Efram/Tractorbeam @ (212) 358-1252