Recording Engineer Sound Center Studios NYC

by Tom Muccio
(Winter Haven Florida )

FIRE AT THE ABBY VICTORIA HOTEL NYC

My name is Tom Muccio I took the two photos of Lenny working on our new custom console at Sound Center Studios, one photo has a picture of my dad Frank Muccio sleeping I became a recording engineer at Sound Center Studios NYC during the roaring 60s and 70s, Sound Center Studios was previously Stea Phillips Studio (Lenny Stea & Bill Phillips) Thier location was in the main ballroom at the Abby Victoria Hotel NYC, photos are in this web site. Lenny started Sound Center Studios and Gordon Clark the Chief Engineer followed, this is when I joined the staff. After we closed Sound Center I still kept in contact with Gordy and Lenny my close friends and mentors. Whenever Lenny and I talked we would drift back to Stea Phillips and Sound Center days. This time period was the greatest time for the recording industry in NYC.

Lenny told me a story about one of the Four Seasons recording sessions at Stea Phillips, Gordon Clark was the chief engineer. He called Lenny at home to let him know there was a fire at the Abby Victoria but not in the recording studio, the fire was a few floors above the studio which occupied the main ballroom at the hotel. Lenny let me know that Gordy always downplayed any problems that came up. Lenny knowing that Gordy did that he left his apt and headed to the studio to see how bad it was. Lenny arrived at the Abby Victoria and made his way to the ballroom where the studio was. To his surprise he heard a Four Seasons track playing from the control room. Not to make any noise he just cracked open the studio door, to his disbelief there was a circle of chairs in the middle of the studio with a waterproof tarp lining the chairs like a pool to catch the water dripping from the studio ceiling. there was about 4-6 inches of water in the pool, it gets better. As Lenny looked to one side of the pool, he saw a bunch of firemen still dressed in their protective gear, hats, coats, boots etc. They were around a Telefunken U47 microphone clapping their hands with the Four Seasons to one of the Four Seasons tracks, at this point Lenny closed the door and went home. He never let them know he was there.

Tom Muccio