A place to work and reflect
In late 2024, John bought 40 acres southwest of Durango.
Far enough out to make “town chores” a thing, close enough to not worry too much about going in to get groceries, it’s been a place for contemplation and work.
The land is the main feature, and no collection of instruments or equipment can eclipse the trees and sandstone cliffs, the bear and the mountain lion, the elks and the turkeys, the deer and the foxes. It’s that ecology which brought John here and that ecology which maintains the center of the music writing, practice, and recording that have been taking place.
The last year has seen a lot of remodeling to the hunting shacks on the property, with several rooms stolen back from the mice that had infested them during the 7 years they had been abandoned. It’s currently a rough spot, with an outhouse and no running water- yet. But the electricity is solid- a large solar array greets visitors and it’s got a serious battery bank to run sessions for days at a time even when the sun refuses to shine.
One of the larger rooms has become a recording studio- a single room equipped to get quality work done. While the long term plan of building a purpose-built facility is in the works, this room has been setup to allow for easy, high-quality recordings.
Because ultimately everything will move to a more bespoke recording suite, the current focus is on quality instruments and equipment.
A Hammond C3 and leslie, a DW Custom drum set, a ’73 Rhodes, piles of weird synths, old guitars (pedal steel and otherwise) and acoustic instruments- these are the real core of a functioning musical workspace. The mic cabinet is solid, featuring pairs of Coles, Schoeps, 414s, md421s as well as outboard from Neve, API, and Empirical Labs and Genelec monitoring.
The space has hosted 8 piece bands and can accommodate headphone monitors for all those players.
While it’s fully off grid using wood and propane to heat it, it’s a functional spot to get work done.