Page 14 - MidWeek - Oct 19, 2022

14 MIDWEEK OCTOBER 19, 2022
MIDWEEK COVER STORY
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It’s always music forward for Pierre Grill, who remains one of Hawai‘i’s best sound engineers and producers after 40 years.
STORY BY
Bill Mossman
T ucked away in the arboreal landscape of Mānoa Valley is a fertile atelier that’s billed as the longest-running
guests with avocado for their taste buds, eclectic artwork for their eyes and a musical smorgasbord for their ears.
inspirational wall-hanging masks, tapa coverings, old concert fliers, and giclée and original paintings. The latter are positioned through- out his workplace and range from a reggae-colored print with the encouraging words “Music Forward!” on it to a dissonant depiction of an individual (a gift from his brother) that Grill titled Schizophrenia and once used it for an album cover.
cess to a bevy of his choic- est instruments. Among his collection are Toca congas to bang on, Fender Telecast- er and Michael Kelly electric guitars to riff on, Kamaka and Kala ‘ukulele to strum on, and a vintage Hammond B3 organ and 7-foot Bald- win grand piano — which rests comfortably in a loft overlooking the studio — to plink on.
who initially opened his re- cording business on Kona Street in Honolulu before relocating to Mānoa in the early 2000s.
enough mic stands,” lamentson Grill, pausing to scan the number of freestandingin mounts in front of him beforeva letting out a heavy sigh. “I feelKr like an idiot. I now have moreCa than I need — too much.” fa
PHOTOS BY
music studio in the islands. Rendez-Vous Record- ing is rooted near the end of Beaumont Woods Place, a winding road that leads visitors ever upward along Wa‘ahila Ridge. Those who enter its doors are treated to a c’ est magnifique experi- ence and feast of the senses, courtesy of an owner with an adorably thick French accent who showers
For more than four de- cades, Pierre Grill has been all about the sound, serving as producer and engineer ex- traordinaire for a number of Hawai‘i’s finest musicians as well as its lesser-known tal- ent. In making magic within the confines of a spacious studio that features vaulted ceilings and bamboo ac- cents, Grill puts recording artists at their creative best through an assortment of
“All that was not even a dream 40 years ago.”
Not that any recordington artist has ever complainedhis about the surplus of equip-co ment at Rendez-Vous. Ifear anything, the abundance isin just one of the reasons whylai musicians from near and farm have flocked to his studioin over the decades. In recent months, they have includedba
More appreciably, Grill offers his clientele the latest in recording software and equipment, as well as ac-
“My setup is by now the best ever, combining very classic instruments and vintage gear with the latest software,” explains Grill,
A lifetime spent accu- mulating just about every electronic device and mu- sical part imaginable has compelled him to squirrel them away in drawers and around every corner. Even microphone stands have become ubiquitous in his studio.
SEE PAGE 15ma
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