Granny's House Recording Studio in Reno, was designed to allow musical bands to live on the premises and record around-the-clock. There were two, first-rate, fully loaded studios, a foley pit, 8 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a lobby. That should have been a viable business except it was in a terrible location and the investors who owned it didn't know anything about music or hotels. I was brought in to stop the bleeding, bring it out of bankruptcy, and ready it for sale. My first step was to ask the equipment salesman that called on Granny's to introduce me to some of the major studios in Southern California. He agreed and I flew to L.A. where we toured several of the finest studios available. I learned that managing a studio is no different than managing any other business. Start with what the customer wants - not what you want. After reviewing Granny's financial statements and the facilities, I recommended some staff changes, some legal help, some equipment updates, and some redecorating. We took out the lobby and made it a living room. We replaced the Victorian furniture (Granny's style) with modern, comfortable stuff. We installed cable tv's in every bedroom and the new living room. I took the engineers off payroll and put them on a lease/commission plan - they pay rent when they work - incentive to keep them from giving their time away. I swapped several "assistants" for one great cook and one great salesperson. Now all we needed was a way to get rock stars to want to use the studio without expensive advertising. Networking to spread the word, I met a music agent in Lake Tahoe. Several days later, I got a phone call from Sharon Osbourne wanting to book 2 weeks for her husband, Ozzy Osbourne, and his band. One of Bulbman's employees loved to write music and he was also one of Bulbman's best salespeople so I recruited him to market Granny's. Having impressed Ozzy, it was easier for this new salesman to bring in other names like Boys II Men, Herman's Hermits, Collective Soul, Bruce Dickinson, The Mud Sharks, The Glass Statues, and others. After revamping the studio, living areas and guest rooms, making the the personnel changes, revising the pricing structure, and cleaning up the balance sheet, the owners were able to sell it and move on. Bjorn Thorsrud, the engineer in the center of the picture above, was recruited by The Smashing Pumpkins. "Too Tall" Tom Gordon, another engineer, went on to work with Mike Love of The Beach Boys in Tahoe. The young man on the right in the picture above is Brad Harker, an intern from UNR. Now he is a United States Ambassador. The new owners changed the name to Sierra Sonics Recording Mansion and it's still going strong, today.