Block Party

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to produce good music, but it doesn’t hurt to have one on hand when your rack-mounted EQ goes on the fritz.

“I’m a geek,” says Neighborhood Studios co-owner Jerry Johnson, who helped NASA create hardware (including a Coke machine) for shuttle missions before applying his skills to rock circuitry.

“How many studios do you know that have their own rocket scientist?” asks Keith Loneker, Johnson’s Neighborhood business partner. “He’s my pride and joy. Now if we could just get him to build us a Coke machine.”

“My wife says that to me all the time,” Johnson says, laughing. “‘Honey, the VCR’s broken.’ I’m like, ‘Throw it in the trash and buy a new one.’ She’s like, ‘You’re a rocket scientist; crack that thing open and fix it.'”

Since leaving NASA, Johnson has used his engineering skills to craft amplifiers for his six-year-old company, Fredric, used by locals such as Ultimate Fakebook/Creature Comforts guitarist J.D. Warnock and former Stick axeman Mike Tobin. Looking to expand his music-related ventures, Johnson recently entered the recording world, purchasing Z’Gwon,th Studios from longtime local producer Colin Mahoney. For years, Z’Gwon,th has been the sonic stomping ground of groups such as Brent Berry & the Roots Crew and the Band That Saved the World, and just about everyone else — from Filthy Jim to the Daybirds to the Get Up Kids — has recorded there at some point. Those who spent time in Z’Gwon,th during the past year probably noticed the trunk-thumping beats slamming out of the studio next door.

The noise comes courtesy of 5150 Mental Productions, a production team composed of Loneker, Will “The Weirdo” Wilson and Anthony “Tone” Wisdom. 5150 has made a name for itself by formulating the thundering soundtracks heard behind a host of local and national rap acts (Tech N9ne, Yukmouth) as well as providing background music for sports-radio jocks Jason Whitlock and Jim Rome.

The connection between 5150 and sports runs deeper than the airwaves. Loneker, a KU graduate, was a pro baller for the Rams and the Falcons during the ’90s. After his NFL career ended, he moved onto the big screen. Loneker’s most famous celluloid role to date found him acting opposite J-Lo and George Clooney in 1998’s Out of Sight. Last year, Loneker cropped up briefly in Rock Star and was all over cable TV in 2002’s Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie. But Loneker’s real passion has always been music, and he continues to reside in Lawrence while striving for platinum status. Loneker’s Lock ‘N’ Load Records issued 2001’s regional hit from Bombsquad, and releases from Cassanova, X-Dash and others are in the works.

When 5150 set up shop next door to Z’Gwon,th last year, the pairing had potential for conflict — a crew grounded in urban street styles down the hall from a studio with a reputation for rocking. But spontaneous collaborations began taking place, and when Johnson came on board a few months back, the two decided to make it official. Neighborhood Studios now houses both Z’Gwon,th and 5150, making it Lawrence’s only pro recording studio.

“It’s less us-and-them now,” Johnson explains. “We’re just hanging out here brainstorming all the time. If something comes our way that’s more electronic-based, we can send them to 5150, or if they need some kind of acoustic or electric guitar, we can do that.”

“It’s beautiful, because if we’re working on a track and I need a nice-sounding acoustic guitar, I just call Jerry,” Loneker says. “Before, we didn’t have access to that kind of stuff. Now we get an opportunity to do more things. The rappers always want more live instruments in their stuff, but the rock and roll guys always want that drum line off the MPC and samples in their stuff. So we switch gear, we swap gear.”

That gear includes everything from Pro Tools rigs to reel-to-reel tape decks, from vintage snare drums to top-of-the-line drum machines. Manhoney and the rest of the Z’Gwon,th production staff have stayed on to help smooth the transition. With the state of Lawrence-area studios in flux (Mercy closed its doors in recent months, and Eudora’s Red House is being purchased by the Get Up Kids), Neighborhood is hoping to carve a king-size niche in the recording biz.

“Lawrence is known for being a music town,” Johnson says. “While we do rely a lot on local artists, and cater to them quite a bit, people are starting to come from other places because of what we’ve got going on here.”

“I like this space. I like being on Mass. I like the vibe,” Loneker agrees. “There’s bigger studios out there, where you walk in and there’s full wood panels, and they’re just beautiful-looking,” Loneker says. “But they don’t always provide a vibe where you feel like you can do your thing. Here, as soon as you hit the door, it’s not so uptight. The Mass Street vibe was just dumped into the studio.”

And attaining that perfect vibe is exactly the goal for Loneker and Johnson. Though home-recording devices have become popular, inexpensive means for garage bands trying to get something on tape, the pair insist that there’s still no comparison when it comes to stepping inside a real studio.

“It’s the difference between playing your John Madden video game by yourself or going to your friend’s house with five people and a case of beer and playing the same game,” Loneker says with a laugh. “All of a sudden, it becomes a hundred times better. If you’re just sitting in your house doing your own stuff, all you have is your idea of what it’s supposed to sound like, which is cool for some people, but you don’t get the collaboration and the feedback. Plus, there aren’t a lot of platinum albums that get done at home.”