Iacon Sound

San Diego local singer/ songwriter Shon “Yosh” Yoshida has been working on his debut full length record Back To Good at Iacon Sound Studios with engineer/producer Frank W. Torres. The album is a collection of catchy hooks, fantastic musicianship, and sincere lyrical content. Featured on the record thusfar are performances by drummer Carlton Overstreet and bassist Armando Cepeda along with Shon Yoshida himself on guitar and vocals. We’ll keep you posted but for now, keep your ears to the grindstone for Yosh‘s upcoming release from Iacon Sound Studios!

Date: March 14, 2013

Iacon Sound Studios Adds Director of Media & Communications

San Diego, CA — Iacon Sound Studios, the city’s premier mid-level, professional recording and rehearsal facility, has enlisted the talents of veteran media pro Lance Leslie to develop business and marketing strategies and create brand awareness.

Leslie, a former music journalist/editor and longtime regular of the local music scene, brings over twenty years of experience in print and Internet media, video and audio production, marketing and advertising, and business development. Leslie grew up in San Diego, where he and his brother, the late radio DJ John Leslie, were lifelong music fanatics. “I was just like that lead character in the Cameron Crowe movie ‘Almost Famous,’” he says. “I was the 14-year-old kid hanging around the loading ramp of the San Diego Sports Arena in ’71, hoping to get a glimpse of Humble Pie or the Faces through the window of their limo. That was a great period in rock music, and it definitely informs my musical tastes to this day; although, I’ve come to appreciate a broad spectrum of styles, from folk to jazz to pop. I absolutely love Burt Bacharach! You can’t deny a great pop hook, because that stuff is timeless.”

With Iacon Sound, Leslie will focus his efforts on expanding the studio’s clientele beyond the usual recording projects. “I’d like to see us develop relationships within the independent film industry, with local schools and colleges, the arts community, and just look outside the standard parameters of what recording studios generally do,” he says. “In this economy you have to be creative and carve some new paths to stay ahead of the game. This is a great facility with the best equipment available, and we have a big main room that can accommodate just about any type of setup, even full-scale photo and video shoots.

“Frank Torres, our chief engineer and producer, is a first-rate technician with tons of experience in both studio and live recording and sound, and as a musician himself he has that added awareness and sensitivity to the needs of our clients. That’s really important for the creative process, because the engineer is as much a part of the overall sound and vibe as the artists themselves. We also have another excellent in-house producer in Sulo King, whom I’ve known and worked with for many years, going back to his early days booking talent for the local venue Brick by Brick and then independently. He’s worked with many top artists over the years and knows the business inside-out. Plus he’s also a talented musician, has a great ear, so there you have that same level of knowledge that creates a sympathetic environment for everyone who comes in here. I think it’s these elements that make the real mojo you hear in the finished product.”

The San Diego based metal band KILL YOUR NAME has just released their newest single “When home is not a place.. but a person” along with a new music video for it.  The track was produced, engineered, and mixed by Frank W. Torres. (Owner and chief engineer at Iacon Sound Studios)

This line-up features ex-members of the band MEDIA LAB which was signed to Sunland record in the early 2000′s including Sean Nelson on vocals and Steve Moran on drums.  They are joined by ex-UNSET lead guitarist J. Marcos and newcomer Jennifer Donovan on keys.

www.facebook.com/KILLyourNAMEmusic

Official Music Video for “When Home is Not a Place… But A Person” by Kill Your Name:  http://youtu.be/ZTvgHeGOq-k

Chasing Norman is a young band from Carlsbad California with a sound reminiscent of Pink Floyd and Big Brother (and the Holding Company) among others.  They just recorded 5 songs at Iacon Sound with chief engineer Frank W. Torres at the helm.  The entire session was tracked to 2″ tape and bounced into Pro Tools for editing and mixing.  Chasing Norman brings a classic 70′s rock style with hard hitting powerful female vocals to the table.  Imagine Pink Floyd meets Adele and you’ve got Chasing Norman.

http://www.chasingnorman.com/

Enter Ray Goren. A 12 year old blues guitar virtuoso with a laundry list of live performance credits already. Ray came to Iacon Sound Studios to record a few songs live with several of San Diego’s local veteran musicians. The project was headed up by Jaysun Chall owner of Sik World Clothing & Larger Than Life Rockstar Supply and engineered by Iacon’s own Frank W. Torres.
The room was filled with good vibes and intense musical jams as the quartet improvised their own blues versions of great songs like Bobby Blue Band’s “Ain’t No Sunshine” and The Beatles “Let it Be”. Ray also recorded a few acoustic songs including an original track yet to be announced.
Keep your eye out for this up and coming blues rock powerhouse Ray Goren.

http://www.raygoren.com

http://www.largerthanliferockstar.com

http://www.sikworld.com

British indie rock quartet ALT-J  performed a private unplugged performance at Iacon Sound Studios presented by Tim Pyles, FM 94.9 & The Casbah.

The private engagement was put together for 20 lucky FM 94.9 call-in listeners who won the opportunity to witness this performance up close-and personal.  Two of the members of Alt-J were armed with simply a clean electric guitar, a small portable synthesizer, and their voices to set the mood for onlookers.  Tim Pyles (Host of “the local 94.9″ radio show) looks forward to bringing more acts and performances like this in the future to Iacon Sound.

Click the links below for a closer look at that performance and the band Alt-J.

Click for: The Alt-J Official Website

Click for:  Alt-J Live at Iacon Sound perfoming “Breezeblocks”

San Diego locals The Roman Watchdogs just recorded 2 songs here at Iacon Sound and the vibe was awesome to say the least.  We hammered this one out pretty quickly as well, tracking all musical parts, including vocals, to both songs in 9 hours.  Definitely look out for these guys out there in the scene and look out for their 2 new releases, Last Saturday and Soul Stealers, coming soon!   It was a pleasure to work with them all and I look forward to working with them again.

Special thanks to Joe Luciano, Jeff Merideth, Armando Cepeda, Michael Ross, Jimmy Fleck and all the guys in The Roman Watchdogs.

- Frank W. Torres

Owner / Chief Engineer at Iacon Sound

Since Iacon Sound’s inception I have been looking for a solid brick and mortar studio to call home and it looks like that place has been found!  Iacon Sound will soon occupy a space formerly known as Black Box Recording Studios located off 25th and Broadway right outside of downtown San Diego.

This facility provides 6 rehearsal rooms, a spacious live room, and tuned control room to accommodate just about anything related to audio production.  Cosmetic improvements will be made within the next month or so with a projected grand opening sometime in November.

We are really excited about this new facility and hope to see both new and familiar faces at the grand opening party!

Thanks to all who have supported and helped to make our dream possible!

-Frank W. Torres & Sulo King

Frank W Torres has been Producing / Engineering an up and coming talent named Gabriel DeCrocker.

Gabriel moved to San Diego from Colorado with dreams of music stardom.  He has been a contestant for America’s Got Talent and aspires to be a singer songwriter, but not in the traditional sense.  His music is an original blend of pop, hip hop, and hard rock rock  infused with a positive message and extremely catchy hooks.  His first single “Higher State of Mind” rose to the top of the Reverbnation charts in less than a week.  With 5 Songs recorded and released so far, Gabe is looking to complete a full length 12 song album very soon to be recorded in Iacon Sound’s brand new recording facility.

Frank W. Torres of Iacon Sound was running live sound at the Coors Light stage at the San Diego County fair during the month of June till July 4th mixing some of San Diego’s finest rock acts including: Metalachi, Wild Child (A Doors Tribute), Vagabond Junction, Talk Like June, Thunder Road (A Springsteen Tribute) and, Against The Grain.