Sasquatch?... Recording Music in Bingen, of course
The acoustics at the Bingen Theater enticed a couple of Pigs on the Wing to start mixing it up with bands at the site. Jason Baker and Dave Lindenbaum are operating Sasquatch? Recordings at the Theater where they can get ‘Led Zepplin’ sound. And what about that name? Sasquatch? It’s real. Don’t kid yourself.
By Jim Drake
For years the Bingen Theater has been home to live music concerts and rehearsed theater productions - bringing the sparks of nightlife to the tiny Washington town just across the Columbia River from its larger neighbors in The Gorge.
Although the Pandemic has put a temporary pause on public gatherings, the historic building has slowly been transformed and renovated - both by its building owners and by concerned volunteers - into a much-loved venue. I can attest to seeing the likes of the cast of Big Britches Productions with paintbrushes in hand giving a much-needed facelift to the front of the building a few summers ago.
It seems that those efforts have been successful in attracting even more folks to invest in the future of the high ceilings and storied atmospheric acoustics of the 1940s movie theater.
Jason Baker turns a few dials while recording at Sasquatch? Recording studio at the Bingen Theater
In 2018, two gentlemen from the well-known Portland-based Pink Floyd cover band “Pigs on the Wing” opened Sasquatch? Recording, which provides clients access to digital and analog options for mixing and recording individual tracks or full live-band situations.
If there’s any doubt about how recording in a large theater space can enhance the ambiance of the sound, sit back and listen to the band’s version of “Have a Cigar,” recorded as a live, socially-distanced rehearsal project - that included video - just over the 2020 summer. Click here: https://sasquatchnw.net/playlist/the-2020-session/
Both studio owners, guitarists Jason Baker and Dave Lindenbaum, recall playing the Bingen Theater five or six years ago and being impressed with the venue.
“I saw it was a pretty under-utilized space, and at the time we thought this would be cool to have this be a killer recording space. Dave had a studio at home in Portland, but there wasn’t really enough space there to really do anything. We thought it would be nice to finally open up a space together,” Baker said.
The theater has even more history with the band, one of the live tracks from their latest tour-compilation album was recorded here.
The acoustics at the Bingen Theater begged for a recording studio.
“Yes, we’ve done a few shows here over the years, and a while back we recorded off the board, and it had nice acoustics. We actually did 20 or 30 shows that year and we picked the best cuts. The Bingen Theater really stood out,” Baker said.
According to Baker, even the name Sasquatch? Recording has been standing out and generating a lot of interest in the Northwest recording scene.
What’s up with the question Mark?
“(Laughs) Yeah, it’s funny - we kinda talked about the question mark, and people ask and will remember that it’s kind of confusing. Years back, an album I did with a solo project called Ox Cart had an album called “Sasquatch” with a question mark, so the name stuck,” Baker explains.
Oxcart used to play at the River City Saloon in Hood River and Baker says that the Pigs On the Wing band grew out of that project.
32-channel mixer in the reformatted control room at the Bingen Theater.
Baker says that his 32 channel mixer in the reformatted control room is great for everything from solo artists to full bands, and on the afternoon I met him he was working with some friends on his own solo project, a grunge-rock effort he calls “Citizen vs Narwhal.” But a lot of the warm sounds he seeks comes from the use of an old two-track reel to reel tape machine - something he says is better than any modern interface.
Citizen Vs. Narwhal: https://youtu.be/MZao-eYZ6WE
“We’ve totally redone this control room, and we run everything through the board, which is the front end. We go through LogicPro digital to track everything, and the tape machine is for final mixing. It’s a two-track mastering machine, which we use quite a bit. In fact, all the projects we’ve done the last year used it,” Baker said.
“I do think this tape machine gives a warmer sound. We’ve tried emulator plug-ins that mimic tape machines, and to me, I think it does sound better. Dave is a great engineer, and he uses it for drums, bass and guitar.
As of now, most of Sasquatch?’s clients have been artists from around the Northwest, but Baker says they want to be a local partner for The Gorge, and they look forward to meeting more local bands as COVID restrictions ease.
“We’ve had some people come in and say they’re interested, and we’ve talked to them, but our calendar has been booked with a lot of regional contacts I’ve made from being in a touring band,” Baker said.
Besides Baker’s own 90s style grunge rock, the studio has worked with a psychedelic folk-rock band out of Aberdeen, a Portland folk-rocker named Erik and an old-school rock band, Dawn of Life, from Spokane, a band that already is working on its second album at Sasquatch?.
On June 9 of 2019, Sasquatch Recording? had its first open house event and Baker said local people were super supportive.
“We had an opening party here a few weeks ago, and a lot of local folks here were really interested in what we are doing here. I want to be a good partner to the local community, and if there are ways to support that, I really want to. Hopefully, we get bands out here that are supporting the local economy, so we can keep the money here,” Baker said.
Even in a pre-pandemic setting, scheduling studio time at Sasquatch? was by appointment only, and Baker said that the studio is more interested in quality rather than quantity.
“At this point, I'm really more interested in doing quality work than turning a lot of products out. I am not going to take on something that I don't think I can do justice to, and already I've kind of had to say no to a couple of things because of the limited time I have. I want to devote myself to doing quality work and spend lots of time mixing,” Baker said.
But he says the sound quality of the Bingen Theater is worth it.
“It's beautiful man, it really is, and that's the crux of all of this. I don't think we would have wanted to come in here if we didn't think the acoustics were good enough. We know that from playing shows here and from what we've heard in the recording so far. The drums sound huge and big and beautiful. It sounds like Led Zeppelin in here,” Baker said.
David Lindenbaum and Jason Baker of Pigs on the Wing are behind the recordings of Sasquatch? The pair have been working together for a decade .
Jason grew up in Florida and went to college there in the 90s. In high school he started playing banjo and, he moved to Portland in 2000. His bandmate Dave Lindenbaum was instrumental in recording Jason’s old band, Oxcart. And in his spare time, Dave completed a degree in professional mental health counseling.
“This building has a great vibe, it’s a neat space. It felt like “Live at Pompeii for a song or two…,” referring to an old Pink Floyd album, Lindenbaum said.
The two studio owners have been working together for 10 years, and their experiences touring and working on stages are really helping out the recording process at Sasquatch?.
“Dave has a lot of the technical skills - he's got the whole technical side of things, and I want to focus on making a comfortable space for people to play in,” Baker said.
“We are definitely trying, when you come out to The Gorge, it feels like you’re on vacation. People tell us this is the most beautiful spot in the world, and that’s a huge draw.”
Although the theater is currently closed to live music performance, Baker says that “careful socially-distanced work” on a range of projects continues at the studio, as well as mixing sessions.
“We have conversations about more projects in the works, but like everything, they are subject to how things unfold in the coming weeks and months,” Baker said.
For more information on Sasquatch? visit: https://sasquatchnw.net/
Pigs on the Wing video: https://youtu.be/kRqUcSZRSZY
