Recording - August 2021 - 61

Inside the
Studio
with Mark Hornsby
The tale of
Toy Matinee
I
have always believed we get better as engineers
by studying the great recordings that came before
us. This is a story about one of the greatest studio
band albums that no one has ever heard of.
Every now and then, groups of studio musicians
burn out from playing other peoples' music, or maybe
just want to have some fun, so they decide to form
a band or project of their own. Most of these side
projects are musically inspiring and outside the daily
grind. But, every once in a blue moon, some of them
strike artistic gold. They make a record so great and
so influential that... no one has ever heard of it.
Photo by Taylor King
Wait, what?
The first time I heard Toy Matinee was in the early 90s when
I was working in Nashville. Most studios in town had a stack of
reference CDs-hip, well-recorded music that always sounded
good in the control room; Steely Dan, Eagles, etc. I happened
to stumble across this disk. No one knew much about it, but
I didn't care. I was hooked. This album was the missing link
between 80s pop music and the retro organic rock scene of
the 90s. I went on to ask everyone I met over the next ten years
about Toy Matinee. For me, the people who knew it were 'in
the club'. Fast forward, and today I'm friends with and have
worked with some of the cats that were on this album-the
music business is such a small world...
Earlier this year, I stopped by my buddy Tim Pierce's YouTube
page. Tim was the guitar player in Toy Matinee, and
after a long career playing on hit records, he has a very
successful website focused on guitar education. Anyway, he
decided to do a video on 'the greatest band he ever joined'-
and here we are. I am here to expound on what a great
record this is and, once more, what a great-sounding record
this is. We all love great-sounding albums, right? So, welcome
to the Matinee...
58 RECORDING August 2021
The Cast
Once upon a time, there was a music producer in LA by the name
of Patrick Leonard. Pat was riding high in the 80s with a string of hits
from a young woman named Madonna. In 1989 he wanted to take
a break and do something original. He recruited bassist Guy Pratt,
who played on the Madonna records and moonlighted with a group
of Englishmen who went by the name of Pink Floyd. Pat also called in
his friend Bill Bottrell (engineer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist) to
help find the sound. They recruited Tim Pierce on guitar, drummer Brian
MacLeod, and then finally, Pat needed a singer. What better place
to find one than a talent show? Enter a young Kevin Gilbert on vocals.
The sum of the parts
To understand the sound of Toy Matinee, it's important to touch
on the makeup of the band and its effect on the songwriting and
direction. Pat is a keyboard player and pop producer. Kevin was a
young singer and multi-instrumentalist from a progressive pop-rock
band called Giraffe. Guy was playing with Pink Floyd, and Bill,
as an engineer, worked with Michael Jackson, Thomas Dolby and
Traveling Wilburys. They all loved Gentle Giant (Google them). If
you pitched this to any label in 1989 without the star power of Pat
Leonard, it would have responded with a resounding no.

Recording - August 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - August 2021

Fade In
Fast Forward
A Family of Microphones Compared: The Audio-Technica 40 Series
Tech 21: SansAmp Classic
The Continuing Adventures of Wolf and Elvis: Recording Mammoth WVH, and the tale of ‘Stone’
Reviewed and Revisited: Merging Technologies MERGING+ANUBIS Music Mission
Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Recording the Hybrid Band
Ocean Way Audio: RM1-B Ribbon Microphone
Recording Alicia Keys and the modern pop band with Brendan Morawski
Plugin Outlet: Overloud TH-U Premium
IK Multimedia: Uno Synth Pro
Session Log: The Angelheaded Hipster, Part 8: Studio Choice Matters  In Part 8 of our year-long look into the making
EastWest/Quantum Leap Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition
Roland: TR-6S Rhythm Performer
JZ Microphones: Signature BB29
Soundware Showcase: UVI Austrian Grand
Inside The Studio with Mark Hornsby: The tale of Toy Matinee
Readers' Tracks
Fade Out: Let’s get together...or not?
Recording - August 2021 - 1
Recording - August 2021 - 2
Recording - August 2021 - 3
Recording - August 2021 - 4
Recording - August 2021 - 5
Recording - August 2021 - 6
Recording - August 2021 - Fade In
Recording - August 2021 - 8
Recording - August 2021 - 9
Recording - August 2021 - 10
Recording - August 2021 - Fast Forward
Recording - August 2021 - 12
Recording - August 2021 - A Family of Microphones Compared: The Audio-Technica 40 Series
Recording - August 2021 - 14
Recording - August 2021 - 15
Recording - August 2021 - 16
Recording - August 2021 - 17
Recording - August 2021 - 18
Recording - August 2021 - 19
Recording - August 2021 - 20
Recording - August 2021 - 21
Recording - August 2021 - 22
Recording - August 2021 - Tech 21: SansAmp Classic
Recording - August 2021 - 24
Recording - August 2021 - The Continuing Adventures of Wolf and Elvis: Recording Mammoth WVH, and the tale of ‘Stone’
Recording - August 2021 - 26
Recording - August 2021 - 27
Recording - August 2021 - 28
Recording - August 2021 - 29
Recording - August 2021 - 30
Recording - August 2021 - 31
Recording - August 2021 - 32
Recording - August 2021 - Reviewed and Revisited: Merging Technologies MERGING+ANUBIS Music Mission
Recording - August 2021 - 34
Recording - August 2021 - 35
Recording - August 2021 - 36
Recording - August 2021 - Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Recording the Hybrid Band
Recording - August 2021 - 38
Recording - August 2021 - 39
Recording - August 2021 - 40
Recording - August 2021 - Ocean Way Audio: RM1-B Ribbon Microphone
Recording - August 2021 - 42
Recording - August 2021 - Recording Alicia Keys and the modern pop band with Brendan Morawski
Recording - August 2021 - 44
Recording - August 2021 - 45
Recording - August 2021 - 46
Recording - August 2021 - 47
Recording - August 2021 - 48
Recording - August 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Overloud TH-U Premium
Recording - August 2021 - 50
Recording - August 2021 - IK Multimedia: Uno Synth Pro
Recording - August 2021 - 52
Recording - August 2021 - Session Log: The Angelheaded Hipster, Part 8: Studio Choice Matters  In Part 8 of our year-long look into the making
Recording - August 2021 - 54
Recording - August 2021 - 55
Recording - August 2021 - 56
Recording - August 2021 - EastWest/Quantum Leap Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition
Recording - August 2021 - 58
Recording - August 2021 - Roland: TR-6S Rhythm Performer
Recording - August 2021 - 60
Recording - August 2021 - Inside The Studio with Mark Hornsby: The tale of Toy Matinee
Recording - August 2021 - 62
Recording - August 2021 - JZ Microphones: Signature BB29
Recording - August 2021 - 64
Recording - August 2021 - Soundware Showcase: UVI Austrian Grand
Recording - August 2021 - 66
Recording - August 2021 - Readers' Tracks
Recording - August 2021 - 68
Recording - August 2021 - 69
Recording - August 2021 - 70
Recording - August 2021 - 71
Recording - August 2021 - 72
Recording - August 2021 - 73
Recording - August 2021 - 74
Recording - August 2021 - Fade Out: Let’s get together...or not?
Recording - August 2021 - 76
Recording - August 2021 - 77
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