They had been talking about opening a recording studio since before the lockdown, but now two local artists have finally done it.
Located on the East Side, Blackstone is the brainchild of Arenda Light frontman Nick Tittle and Mark Randall, who ran sound at the recently shuttered MASS. Since opening in January, they’ve been booked solid.
“It feels incredible,” Tittle said. “It’s been my biggest dream for the better half of my life to do a studio full time, and it’s finally happening. It’s an extraordinary blessing.”
Sitting on an acre, the studio occupies 2,000 square feet with a 1,000-square-foot sound room. Walking into the home-like building, you’re greeted by Swedish wood lining the walls with studio lighting, vocal booths, and lots of other luxury accommodations. There is a 1960s Hammond organ, a baby grand, and a “period-correct” Ringo Starr house drumkit. Blackstone offers analog recording in addition to digital. Some of the equipment came from the recently shuttered local studios Eagle Audio and Cloudland.
Photo by Juan R. Govea
The building formerly housed a restaurant, and Blackstone’s owners spent nearly a year remodeling it with Randall’s father, Chris Randall, and Dallas contractor Pedro Segura Construction. Some of the artists who have recorded at Blackstone include Cotinga, Jakob Robertson, the Trash Puppies, and the Cut Throat Finches’ Sean Russell with The Nancys.
Randall said artists do not necessarily need to bring a whole bunch of gear to record.
“We have options for that,” he said. “We are trying to build a Blackstone brand with me as the engineer and Tittle as the general producer and studio musician. We aren’t necessarily wanting to open a commercial studio. It’s our own baby.”
Security is solid. The building is gated. Randall said Blackstone is not a tourist attraction.
The two owners say they’re giving local musicians a reason to stay in Fort Worth to record rather than traveling to Dallas or even Austin or Los Angeles.
“To be able to achieve that,” Randall said, “and having a facility to help Fort Worth and the music scene and having a place that we have now, is exciting.”
Contact or visit BlackstoneFW.com.
