SONIC-ROCKET
Our Story.

When I was young, music captivated me. Recording fascinated me even more. A high school friend owned a reel-to-reel tape recorder. We stacked part after part until everything blurred into glorious mush. Heavenly. That’s what started the Sonic-Rocket story.

I rented a small room in Alhambra to play guitar. My apartment neighbors complained if I spoke above a whisper. The room next door opened up, so I grabbed it. Then a bigger room across the hall became available. Then there were three. I started turning the place into a studio.

I found an eccentric partner named Jeff Mallory. He worked at Cal Tech and cooled his Dr. Peppers in liquid nitrogen. We named the place Roaring Silence Sound. By day I worked construction with my dad. By night I was a fledgling recording engineer.

Then came the day I decided studio ownership was a bad idea. A woman came in to record You Light Up My Life. She was awful. I put down my bass and asked her to leave. Getting paid for music was ruining my love of it.

Fast forward through a string of home studios. I decided to take another crack at it. This time I wanted fun, creativity, and something that fueled my passion. In 2016 I found the perfect spot. I learned one hard lesson from before — don’t spend big money improving someone else’s property. This time I bought a home with a 1,500 sq ft detached building and spent a year building myself a Rocket.

I owe serious gratitude to Shea Thompson and John Saccoman. I couldn’t have done it without them.  They are an important part of the Sonic-Rocket story.

Every time I walk through the front door I think — damn, this is a dream come true. Come join a community of artists using the Rocket to launch their creative dreams. That’s exactly what I built it for.