The building was originally a US post office and later housed the Louisiana Center For Retarded Citizens. After a few short-term tenants, the building was purchased in 1999 by producer/engineer/musician
Mark Bingham and ex-REM manager
Jefferson Holt. In 2001 it was rebuilt as a 3-studio recording facility and christened Piety Street Recording. Other partners included artist and studio manager Shawn Hall and producer/engineer John Fishbach, with Wesley Fontenot serving as chief engineer. The studio's largest room, Studio A, utilized a 48-channel
SSL 4064 G+ loaded with 30 outboard microphone preamps. Acts who have recorded at Piety Street include:
Pretty Lights,
Dr. Michael White,
Dr. John,
Ryan Adams, Other artists who have used the Piety Street title on their CD's include
James Blood Ulmer,
Eric Lindell, and Christina Groth. In August 2013, owner Mark Bingham shuttered the studio after 12 years of operation. When asked about his decision to vacate the space, his response was,
"The spiritual intention of the city of New Orleans and its music scene is vastly different than it was 10 or 20 years ago," "It would have been fine to keep going, but I felt the world had changed.” Less than a year later, Alex Ebert, lead singer of the band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, bought the 4,865-square-foot studio for $750,000. == References ==