In the former home of Gallery Bohemia in Mid City, The Legendary Noise Floor has opened its doors, becoming an arts and music co-op for Capital City talents.
To date, the Government Street cultural hub has hosted art and photography shows with Joshua Hall and Kelly Floyd, as well as recording sessions for Ryan Harris and The Chambers.
What began as a recording space for local sound engineers and producers, John Tulley and Ryan Farris grew into a partnership with likeminded Capital City personalities. Musicians Jodi James, Drew Varnado and Ray Hudson jumped on board, helping Tulley and Farris craft something more than just a music studio.
“We wanted to have art and extend on the idea of developing your craft,” Tulley says. “We’re not coming from this idea that we want to change Baton Rouge. We just think this is a cool spot where creation can happen.”
On a hot July afternoon, Molly Taylor and her band are doing just that. They pack into the small space to record “Goodbye,” a single off her forthcoming sophomore album Butterfly Woman, out later this year.
Taylor has just wrapped up tracking main electric guitars, and lead guitarist Joshua Magee is setting up for his solo. During playback, Taylor hums a few lines and melodies. Co-producer J.T. O’Neal sits, nods and critiques the performance to himself before telling Tulley that one section is a little out of tune. This is Taylor’s first time at the new space and her second day of tracking.
“We’re getting this done,” she says. “We were going to release this album in the winter, but the way we’re moving, it might be sooner.”
O’Neal, a sound engineer for The Spanish Moon, says he’s grown comfortable working in the space. “We like what [Tulley’s] doing and the sounds we’re getting,” he says.
As O’Neal sits out of the way of the musicians, flipping through a book he brought to pass the time, Tulley hovers over amps and guitar pedals, helping Magee craft the right sound. To the outsider, the recording process might seem monotonous and anything but energetic. However, true to The Legendary Noise Floor’s mission, the atmosphere is conducive to the meticulous process of creation.
Blue lights pulse above Magee’s amp. To the left, a makeshift control room contains a computer monitor, compressors, volume equalizers and speakers. A detuned piano stands near the middle of the room; paintings from friends hang on a few of the walls. A hopscotch game is painted on the floor. Tulley chuckles as he walks over another floor painting, this one of an outline of a person holding a balloon—a remnant of the space’s previous life.
