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The Studio
Arts & Culture
Little Five Points recording studio has rich history
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Photos by Isadora Pennington
)amie Lake, holding son Phoenix,
and Michael Dean inside the
historic American Sushi Record
ing Studio in Little Five Points.
By Isadora Pennington
T ucked away on Seminole Avenue
in Little Five Points, American
Sushi Recording Studio has
played host to some of the
biggest names in music: Bob Dylan, Velvet
Underground, The B-52s, Wu Tang Clan,
Rage Against the Machine and Mick Jagger.
Stepping inside is a bit like going back
in time; there’s a classic Motown-era vibe
about the space. Flaking plaster reveals aged
brick underneath, while wood paneling
and well-worn furntiture harken back to
the studio’s opening in 1976. Then there’s
the wall that has been covered in signatures
from the musicians who have recorded there.
The studio somehow feels both old and
new simultaneously, and just as comfortable
as a den in your family home. But there is
musical history everywhere you look.
Back to Jagger for a minute. According
to legend, the Rolling Stones frontman
was in Little Five Points watching a band
perform, when someone told him there was
a recording studio nearby. Jagger dropped
by in the middle of someone else’s session
and asked to join in. The band obliged, and
Jagger performed in the space for several
hours. At the time, there was a hot tub on
the porch of the studio, so Jagger and the
musicians took time out for a soak as well.
American Sushi co-owner and head
engineer Jamie Lake immediately felt the
history on his first visit to the studio two
years ago.
“I was looking for a studio and thinking
about moving to the Goat Farm or West
End, when saw this place pop up in a listing
that it was for sale,” Lake said. “Before then
I had only been to Little Five Points once,
and I thought I needed to get a bigger space.
I had only worked in bigger studios around
the city, and after working everywhere at one
point or the other, I thought it would be
cool to have my own studio, something I can
have my own vision tied to.”
With the support of his wife, who urged
him to choose the modestly sized space,
Lake began working on developing the style,
aesthetics and concept for his incarnation
of the studio. During his time working in
the music industry, Lake increasingly saw
that musicians couldn’t afford to hire their
own producers, often operated without
management and didn’t have proper recording
space. In the past, Lake ran into trouble with
supervisors who thought he was helping
musicians too much without charging them.
Fie said the idea of opening his own studio
seemed like the perfect way to give assistance
to local bands from start to finish.
The look and feel of American Sushi
remains almost the same as it was when he
first saw it. “I decided to keep it original.
I could have upgraded and made it more
high tech, but it seemed like everybody
liked the aesthetic of it, so I kept it.”
Beyond offering recording services
to local bands, American Sushi has an
overarching commitment to being a
positive part of the local music scene.
“We actually want to be connected to
the community,” explained Michael
Dean, American Sushi’s creative director
who is also a recording artist as well as
activist for minorities and immigrants.
“We are a business that cares about the
neighborhood. Especially as Atlanta is
changing and growing, it’s important to
maintain culture and empower people.”
These days the space hosts a diverse array
of musical acts, both for private recording and
engineering and occasional live performances
as part of their Vibe Night series. These free
shows have grown in popularity and have
served as an introduction to the studio for
much of the community, many of whom may
not have had prior knowledge of the studio’s
existence and rich history.
“The creative community is almost like
a fan base for the studio,” Dean said. “All
of them are family, we consider everybody
to be family. We see them at every Vibe
Night and they know us and expect to
just come here and relax and really just get
revitalized to inspire themselves.”
Lake said the studio is fulfiling a need
for local musicians to reconnect with the
process of making music.
“Atlanta musicians needed some place
to come back and unwind and just enjoy
music again, instead of thinking about
‘what’s my brand like, what’s my image, I
have to sell tickets’,” Lake said. “It’s about
more than that.”
To learn more about American
Sushi Recording Studio, book it for
a recording session, or to find out
more about upcoming events, visit
americansushirecording.com. 03
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46 May 2018 | [E]
AtlantalNtownPaper.com