“Dr. A - Circle of Fifths” ​

“Dr. A - Circle of Fifths” 
1979-80’ Studio Orchestra, Sound Smith Studios Portland, OR 
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Tracks
1. It Begins
2. Jack Johnson
3. Irwin Speaks
4. Venezuelan Waltz #3
5. Autumn Leaves
6. When You Wish Upon a Star
7. Cory #1
8. Bring Back Bop/Sadat
9. Cry Me a River
10. The Nearness of Disco
11. The Wolfman Talks About Dancin’
12. Knock on Wood (Cast Party)
13. Machines to put us to bed…
14. Machines Continuum
15. Millennium 
16. Jump Straight Up
17. Cory #2
18. South East Sector Tribesmen
19. Canadian Sunset
20. ’Round Midnight
21. Cory #3
22. Keep in Your Mind
23. Man
24. Snow Adventure

Personnel
Neal Grandstaff Guitars/Bass/Vocals/Composer
Mike Doran Drums/Vocals
Lloyd Jones Drums
Jimmy Solberg Bass/Vocals
Joe Millward Piano/Organ
Debbie Uusitalo Vocals
Linda Myers Vocals
Dick Burdell 1st Trumpet
Mark Miller 2nd Trumpet
Jeff Uusitalo Trombone
Gary Clinton Tenor Sax/Baritone Sax/Soprano Sax
Lee Wuthenow Tenor Sax
Peter Hensbeek Tenor Sax/Flute
Rob Thomas Strings/Violin-Dbl. Bass 
Maria Casale Orchestral Harp

Additional Studio Orchestra Members of the
​“Staff -O- Life” Co-Op
(Terry Lane Tenor Sax) Ad and ID Packages
(Tina Lane Vocals) Ad and ID Packages

​Produced at Sound Smith Studios Portland, OR

This project ran nearly two and a half years starting in Aloha, OR and culminating on NW Sixth St. near the Union Station in downtown Portland. It was the first city wide regional Co-Op studio group, utilizing musicians from all the other studios in town, Spectrum, Desitrek, Falcon Recording Studios, Recording Techniques, Recording Associates,…the list goes on. What was so special about Sound Smith is, that most of the time was “Trade Time” with the musicians and artists, an hour for hour trade out for services rendered, never before tried, in an otherwise highly competitive community. We all got along, no matter what studio we might be working at as a primary production house. It became a real producer’s studio and, lasted about 3 years, altogether.  
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This is just a little Portland musical community history. We set a vibe of co-operation and fair play within the entire community and it just grew exponentially from that time forward.

-1979- After finding a permanent residence in Portland Oregon, Neal Grandstaff created a Co-Op music production team at Sound Smith Studios and, a production company branded, Staff-O-Life Productions. He used members of the MHCC’s “Kicks Band” and blended the students with many other local professionals. These were the players that were the main “stable” of players that worked the Co-Op trade time sessions 1978-1980; Joe Millward, Rob Thomas, Thara Memory, Carlton Jackson, Lloyd Jones, Tom Grant, Jim Solberg, Jim Wallace, Gary Clinton, Terry Lane, Dick Burdell, Mike Murphy, Jeff Uusitalo, Glenn Holstrum, Lester McFarland, Lee Wuthenow, Peter Hensbeek, Tina Lane, Linda Myers, and Debbie Uusitalo, just to name a few. 

This studio group produced content for recording projects involving local artists, film, TV and radio advertising and Syndicated I.D. Packages. The players would do hours of recordings for the studio projects in return for, hour for hour, trade time. So each player can use his or her or their trade time to do their own personal projects at no additional charge. They just traded the hours on the schedule and, this crew expanded exponentially. This was the first of its’ kind in the Portland region and these productions did a lot for the musical community of that time. I know everyone involved remembers how good it felt to go to work with people who previously were fiercely loyal to only one studio, such as; Recording Associates, Desitrek, Falcon Recording Studios, Spectrum Recording, or Recording Techniques. The Co-Op included everyone in the Portland, no matter where they had been working in a more exclusive capacity. It allowed the exclusivity to be dropped while a new friendly musical family and community emerged, with a more open approach of mutual co-operation with each other. Even studio players from Ripcord (later renamed Wave studios) in Vancouver, Washington got involved and became part of the regular crew at the Sound Smith Co-Op.
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So here’s a fantastical variety of music, advertising, film score compositions, voice overs, sounds and SFX, as well as, orchestrations that have been recognized as audio recording art for hire.