Plugging into Phoenix: Chaton Studios closes

If you're a Facebook friend of award-winning producer/engineer/songwriter Otto D'Agnolo (and really, with those credits, why wouldn't you be?), you may have noticed some vaguely open-ended posts celebrating his 15 years as owner of Chaton Studios and 25 years working with the Chaton name and thought he was just celebrating some sort of anniversary.

But the posts beneath that post asking if anyone wants to buy a grand piano for five grand belie the sad truth that the Chaton recording facility on Brill Street has already shut its doors after 15 years of business.

At this location, Chaton birthed records from the likes of Jordin Sparks, Billy Preston, Sam Moore, Soulfly, Kenny Rogers, Neil Diamond, Glen Campbell, Brian McKnight, Jessi Colter, DMX, Waylon Jennings, Nils Lofgren, Deana Carter, Paul Carrack, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Sanborn, Tower of Power, Ce Ce Peniston, Phil Ramone and Lou Rawls just to name a few.

This past Monday night, D'Agnolo held a private party at the studio where friends gathered to say goodbye to the memories contained within these walls and musicians like Brian Chartrand, Ce Ce Peniston and Todd Chuba played well into the wee hours of the morning. Having recorded there on three occasions myself and having watched dozens of sessions via Otto's "The Recording Artist" webcast, I can attest that the music community is losing a cherished and integral industry hub.

At this time there are rumblings that another facility or maybe two will carry on the name elsewhere but there's nothing more concrete than that to be said. But D'Agnolo is hardly resting on his laurels. On Monday , March 2, at 7 p.m. Arizona time, he debuts a live Internet radio show called "The Record Industry with Otto D" on www.MusicStarWorldwide.com, also home of Dave Pratt's Doublewide Network. The show will feature interviews with artists and industry movers and shakers and discussions about modern recording techniques.

The show will be available on demand 24/7 worldwide and even doable on a free mobile app you can download from Doublewide Network.

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Austin's annual South by Southwest (SXSW ) festival doesn't begin until March 12 but you can enjoy the fourth annual South by South Roosevelt (SXSR) Music Festival this Friday night starting at 6 p.m. (at 10th Street and Mitchell in Tempe) and Saturday night starting at 2 p.m. (at 3rd Street and Roosevelt) . The appropriating of the name isn't just an attempt to ride on the established Austin festival's coattails, as the local organizers are trying to raise funds to host an annual, unofficial SXSW showcase in Austin, TX for Tempe-based artists starting in 2016.

The event is free but donations would be the right neighborly thing to do.

Here are just some of the artists who will be appearing Friday and Saturday night you might ask for by name, another right neighborly thing to do.

Jeff Gonzales (9 p.m. Friday)

Most times when someone is referred to a songwriter's songwriter, it's almost a backhanded compliment, almost like implying that his work is so complex that only people who understand how difficult it is to write a good song can appreciate how finely crafted the material in question is. In the case of Jeff Gonzales, regular lay people can identify as much with a line like "I'll stop drinking I swear when it stops raining in my kidneys and my livers" and "While my conscience smashes dishes and she don't wanna play no more" from "Trickster." And songwriters, well they will likely stand in the back with their arms crossed when Jeff plays, grudgingly admitting, "Yeah, these songs are real good."

Carol Pacey & The Honey Shakers (4:30 p.m. Saturday)

The Honey Shakers play tirelessly anywhere anytime and have plugged their debut album "Yeah Yeah Yeah" for over a year now so I expect most of you have it. For those of you who don't, this week, our good friends at Onus Records of which I am a C.E.S.P, have put "Epic Love Fail," easiy the best track on that album, on their site as a free digital download for the few holdouts who haven;t heard it as a way of announcing its alt-country offshoot label Ca-Ho-Nus. But come out in the daylight and see them because they've also been working on new material that puts the first record to shame.

The Lonesome Wilderness (7 p.m. Saturday)

Whoever posted this video is in clear violation of the "If you play it SAY IT!" code. How about "If you post it, BOAST IT!" This atmospheric ballad about a lonesome man seems like a more alt-country, less operatic channeling of Roy Orbison while a lot of the Lonesome Wilderness'other songs give credence to the notion that even alt-country bands gotta have a garage too as you can hear traces of punk, surf and psychedelia also mixed in their heady brew. They just finished recording an EP at Audioconfusion Studios in Mesa you best be on the lookout for.

DeadFoxx (9 p.m. Saturday)

See the above about "If you post it, BOAST IT!" tirade for accompanying video. Believe me, I come to praise DeadFoxx not bury them when I use the words "prog rock" in the description. Bassist Matthew Busch and guitarist Miles Tippett have more chops than an overstimulated pork butcher and aren't afraid to show 'em and in the context of chewing-gum-and-walking at the same time. And you've got to admire drummer Adam Newton for playing complex time signatures and singing. That's like doing crazy multiplication in your head and asking your baby not to leave you at the same time. They create a crazy quilt of mood changes too, so deftly that not even the sound of a drunkard yelling out "Does anyone wanna buy me a pumpkin porter?" at 4:37 can't destroy the mood. Well, it sorta does. But then someone must have bought him one to shut him up super quick.

Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold (10 p.m. Saturday)

It takes Ernie Ball strings of steel to name your duo after an enigmatic story song by songwriter's songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Not to mention the inevitable "Which one of you is Gold" queries. But Tyler Matock & Jesse Gray acquit themselves nicely with a traditional stomp like "Goodbye Mama." Stay tuned past the song where the guys get interviewed and say smart stuff like "Our musical tastes go beyond 'old time." If we were to call ourselves anything, it's a garage country band that has some meat behind it. It can go in any direction."