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Flying Robert Records is an independent record label founded in Chicago, Illinois by psychedelic rock advocate Robert Pretty. Robert Pretty is the CEO and lead recording engineer of the studio which was built in late 1997. Flying Robert Records has been known to record independent musicians and bands that play 'garage rock', experimental, psychedelic, avant-garde, and other 'underground' forms of rock music. Bands and musicians are known to be welcomed via private invite only, Robert Pretty does not externally advertise or operate a web site for his studio. Word of mouth by musicians in the know of his work is said to be Pretty's 'preferred method' of finding artists to record with.
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Studio layout
The studio building which is nicknamed 'Warehouse 13' was founded in an era which saw an increased popularity for the recording of independent musicians in Chicago. Robert Pretty and company designed the studio building to accommodate the unusual acts that would record there. The live room of the studio is very large, with space for bands to set up expanded drum sets, percussion sections, multiple guitar and bass amps, keyboards/synthesizers, and DIY-homemade instruments which are sometimes seen in the studio. One side of the live room wall is covered with custom made foil encrusted foam sound dampeners designed and shipped by an engineer from NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA. These foil sound dampeners were designed to both bounce sound waves across the room in a stereo pattern, and to absorb certain frequencies for noise control.
Recording methods
Pretty does not have any one preferred way of recording. Warehouse 13 is known to record with anything from high dollar vintage analog gear to modern digital compact workstations and low-fidelity, unorthodox gear. The studio frequently records musicians on an extended spectrum of diverse hardware: Digital computer interfaces running Pro Tools, Japanese made 80's cassette-tape decks, internal laptop speakers, field recording units, and a 48 channel Neotek console with 132 inputs are just some of the ways in which musicians have been recorded. According to Pretty, various recording machines and techniques are used to capture sounds for different, sometimes challenging atmospheres and moods.
Studio incidents
Warehouse 13 is often described as a 'noise pollution nest'. Despite the space-age NASA soundproofing, local authorities, businesses and tenants are aware of the sheer volume produced by the studio during recording and playing sessions. There are numerous documented incidents of hate mail, vandalism, and noise complaint violations due to the extreme volume output of the studio.
One incident in particular was described in moderate detail by musician Dean London recording in the studio with Pretty. " After we recorded the guitar track and paused for a break, we just heard this giant knocking. It was really loud, even inside the mixing booth. For some reason, there was this giant replica medieval sword that Robert always had laying around in the corner. He grabbed the damn thing and stormed out the back door of the studio with the sword held over his head like some kind of enraged barbarian. I guess he thought it was some kids.... that he was going to run up and scare them so they would stop knocking and we could get back to recording. Needless to say, it wasn't the neighborhood youth, it was the police with a noise pollution violation. Let's just say Robert is lucky to still be alive."
Current Events
Flying Robert Records has recently released a career-spanning compilation by Experimental Rock band, Black Clover. He had mentioned on a local radio station KMTZ106 that he is currently collaborating with the band to produce a new album, slated to release in the summer of 2013.