Best OF L.A. L.A. WEEKLY September 30-October 6, 1994

BEST REHEARSAL STUDIO

Uncle Studios. It’s 9:15 pm at Uncle Studios, the Van Nuys rehearsal studio owned and operated for the past 15 years by brothers Mark and Scott Walton. Four bands are checking in, four checking out. As a bit of quick math would have it, that’s about 32 folks lugging kits, racks, combos, guitars, keyboards, gig bags and other assorted gizmos and pyrotechnics, and they all must squeeze through this one damn little passageway in the lobby. The room reeks of beer, pot and sweat as Eddie Veder kids pass by hairline-receded session guys who pass guitar chicks that pass R.E.M. geek rockes or tattooed toughies. Vocalist and harmonica players yeild right of way to dudes with Marshall stacks or drummers balancing an array toms, cymbals and hardware. There’s the occasional Neanderthal nose nod greeting or the "nice amp" grunt that makes the music world a better place. You can almost hear’em saying, "it’s a scene bro, all the bands dig each other." Meanwhile smart-mouthed counter guys settle bills with smart-mouthed band guys. Future rehearsals are scheduled. Gigs are pimped, and most important, rock & roll dreams continue to be dreamt. Better they’re dreamt here, because, unlike at the dozens of rehearsal factories churning our grunge clones (or whatever’s making bucks at this particular moment) on the "cool" side of the hill, individual bands at Uncle Studios actually have a sense of individuality, regardless of it’s location, smack dab in the middle of the Valley. 6028 Kester Ave. Van Nuys, CA (818) 989-5614 (Neal Weiss)