Shop Talk - The Bus (The making of The Blues Is In My Way) Written By Fred Hostetler Subscribing to the theory "nature will provide". I convinced Rick to make the mile round trip to Malibu where lurking behind a concrete wall at an abandoned house in Point Dume was a 24 track studio built into a 40 ft. 1950's GMC Coach. Through a complicated turn of events I had become caretaker of this dinosaur of the recording arts. I could tell Rick had his doubts as a I struggled to unlock the side door of the black and gray bus. The door swung open like the hatch of some warship. The boat like oak interior was warm and friendly. As I threw the breakers on, the machines sprang to life and the love/hate relationship with the bus was born. Working at the bus was not your typical recording studio experience. To bring the 500 series MCI board into service, required some special training in using a rubber hammer. None of the large faders worked, many of the EQ modules were out and to make the channels play back, we had to slam the snare drum signal at max through the respective input on the patch boy. Room behind the console was so limited that after a few hours of sitting bumping elbows and knees with each other, crashing into guitar necks, stumbling over chords and loosing the screw driver used for adjusting the level on the Studier 24 track machine, we were ready for the lunatic asylum. As the days went on our patience became almost saint-like as we endured 2 near arrests for noise offenses, threats by neighbors, earthquakes, disappearance of recorded tracks and a grueling period in February when we worked non-stop. Finally, in spite of all difficulties, even veteran engineer Niko Bolas was pleased with the immaculately recorded guitars and the wonderful home-grown vibe of the work at the bus. And so, we wrote it, played it, produced it, engineered it, and released it. As for the bus, the mystery owner emerged from a self-imposed isolation and began a loving restoration of this' mobile audio production facility' and we've been assured that our trusty rubber hammer will no longer be needed.