| Watchmen Recording Studios | |
| Industry: | Music production |
| Genre: | Various (rock, shoegaze, dream pop, metal, goth, etc.) |
| Foundation: | Lockport, New York (1995) |
| Founder: | Doug White |
| Services: | Recording studio, music production |
Watchmen Recording Studios is a music recording facility owned and operated by Doug White, located in Lockport, New York, U.S. The studio opened to the public in 1995, and as of 2013 over 4,000 bands and artists have recorded at the location. These include regional and national acts such as Gym Class Heroes, Psyopus, The Bunny The Bear, and Brutal Truth, as well as labels such as Relapse Records, Victory Records, Metal Blade Records, Willowtip Records and Century Media Records.
Watchmen Studios was founded by musician and producer Doug White in 1989, after he returned home to Western New York from The Art Institute of Atlanta with an associate degree in Audio Engineering and Music Management.
The studio originated in White's parent's basement, where he and his band mates at the time built a small facility to do their own recording. White's band's name was the Watchmen, a reference to the Alan Moore comics. Because only his band was recording at the time, the studio itself inherited the name. A few years later the business went commercial as Watchmen Studios and the name stuck.
The Watchmen disbanded with some members going on to form Snapcase, while White stayed on with recording, building up a base of clients. In 1995 he moved the studio permanently into a commercial building in Lockport, creating a small eight room studio.
The band Lemuria recorded all their albums as of 2008 in the studio, including 2007's Get Better.
| "All of our records have been recorded at...Watchmen Studios, with the exception of the split 7” we did with Frame... I think our growing comfort with the studio and Doug White who runs the place is responsible for the quality of the recording and our performance on it. Doug even turns on some mood lighting while I drum." | |
| — Alex Kerns of Lemuria (2008) |
As of 2013, over 4000 bands and artists have recorded at the location. These include small regional acts and larger names such as Gym Class Heroes, Psyopus, The Bunny The Bear, Brutal Truth, as well as working with labels such as Relapse Records, Victory Records, Metal Blade Records, and Century Media Records. White notes: "Working with many different types of budgets has been the key for Watchmen Studios, big or small, turning out consistent product for many years."
Tearwave was Doug White's next band, and they've been associated with the label since their founding. They were signed to Projekt Records, which is owned by Sam Rosenthal. Tearwave released two albums under Projekt Records, the first (in 2007) was self-titled and the second release (2008) was titled A Different Shade of Beauty. Tearwave was disbanded in 2009.
In an interview with The Apparatus, Doug talks about Tearwave:
After Tearwave disintegrated Doug White assembled Makaras Pen, also signed to Projekt Records. In 2010 they released a self-titled debut album, followed in 2011 by A Petal Among Bricks. With a consistent shoegaze and dream pop sound, the band continues to record music and create music videos.
As of September 2013, the following equipment is in use at the studio:
The following photographs of the inside of the studio were taken in 2008.
| Year | Title | Artist | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Further Efforts | STEMM | |
| 2001 | ...For the Kids | Gym Class Heroes | |
| 2001 | Friday Night Knife Fight | Kid Gorgeous | |
| 2001 | Dead to Me | STEMM | |
| 2002 | Forever Scorned | It Dies Today | |
| 2006 | Sleepaway | Sleepaway | |
| 2006 | As Cruel as School Children | Gym Class Heroes | |
| 2007 | Our Puzzling Encounters Considered | Psyopus | |
| 2007 | Resplendent Locution | Gaylord | |
| 2009 | Odd Senses | Psyopus | |
| 2009 | Evolution Through Revolution | Brutal Truth | |
| 2015 | Polemic | Contrarian | |
| 2017 | To Perceive Is To Suffer | Contrarian |