< Previous%Locally SourcedLocally Sourced For many people, the passing of a loved one can be one of the most difficult experiences they will ever have to face. For those with loved ones who passed without life insurance, or who failed to pre-plan for their funeral, it can be even worse. Funeral expenses can be significant, and so can the costs associated with interment. That was what was behind a recent decision by St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Moon Township to construct a new columbarium and garden on the church property that would be open to the general public. The columbarium and garden provides families with a cost-effective means by which to entomb crematory remains or scatter ashes. The columbarium and garden are located at the side of the church between the worship area and the hillside, not far from Beaver Grade Road. It is obscured by the church building, pine trees and landscaping. The garden is named the J. Edward Lilja Memorial Garden, after The Rev. J. Edward Lilja, who died in a car accident one year after beginning his ministry with St. Andrew in 1962. “Our purpose is to provide a space where people can have loved ones interred at a reasonable cost, and in some cases no cost if in financial need,” says Rev. Larry Mort, pastor at St. Andrew. “It is a sacred and safe space for this purpose. It is to be a ministry of our congregation and an outreach to our community.” Mort says that the COVID-19 pandemic impressed upon him the need for such a place. “I presided at many funerals during the months of the pandemic when most churches were closed and almost all clergy were quarantining,” he says. “While presiding at so many funerals I became keenly aware of the cost of interments in cemeteries in our area.” Between the price of a cemetery plot, the opening of a grave, a vault, a marker, and a casket, the interment of a body can run a family more than $10,000. Mort says the cost for interment in the proposed columbarium at St. Andrew would be $1,250, or $2,500 for a niche. The church is also offering an option to scatter ashes at the site for $500. The fee includes engraving of the name, date of birth, and date of death of the person on the side of the columbarium, and contributes to the care of the garden area. A permanent record of those interred in the garden will also be kept in the church office. If deemed necessary, waiving some or all of the fees associated with scattering ashes in the Memorial Garden is possible. A minimum fee of $250 provides the cost for engraving but, in some cases, even this fee can be waived. “The Memorial Garden brings to all a message of assurance and peace,” says Mort. “It is natural that the church should be a site for committal of ashes and the last rites of comfort.” St. Andrew Lutheran Church establishing memorial garden for affordable interments Diane Cleaners again donates coats to West Hills Food Pantry For the 21st consecutive year, Diane Cleaners in Moon Township collected and cleaned coats for the West Hills Food Pantry this past October. The business once again solicited and received hundreds of coat donations from community members throughout the month and donated them to the pantry just in time for winter weather. After collecting and cleaning the coats, the business then stored them until they could be donated in early November. The coats were made available to food pantry clients at its Nov. 9 distribution. Diane Cleaners owner Charlie Budavich says the collection has become an annual tradition for the business, one that Moon Area community members have shown an overwhelming willingness to support each year. The business also solicits coat donations on its marquee at the busy three-way intersection of Beaver Grade Road, Sharon Road and Grace Center Way. “After all these years we have a great system,” says Budavich. “The community has just been so overwhelmingly supportive of it.” Pantry director Sandra Hershberger says that, with this year’s donation, Diane Cleaners has donated approximately 14,000 new and used coats over the years. “To me it’s so heartwarming, the overwhelming response not just from our own community but beyond,” say Hershberger. “There are just so many caring people out there.” Budavich says Diane Cleaners has been in business since 1964 and has remained in the family that entire time. It was started by Budavich’s grandfather and then taken over by his father and uncle. He took it over from them. He and his cousin are now the third generation to operate the business. Budavich says he first started the coat drive while looking to do some community outreach. “We’ve been doing it for over 20 years and we’ll continue doing it for well into the future,” he says. Coat donations can be dropped off during the month of October at Diane Cleaners, which is located at 844 Beaver Grade Road. Diane Cleaners can be reached at (412) 264-5261. CONTENT SUBMITTEDCONTENT SUBMITTED These coats were among the latest donated by Diane Cleaners in Moon Township to the West Hills Food Pantry. The J. Edward Lilja Memorial Garden is currently being constructed at St. Andrew Lutheran Church. 10 • Allegheny West Magazine • January/February 2022CONTENT SUBMITTED Project Linus has delivered over eight million blankets to people all over the nation since its origin in 1995. Recently, clients of West Hills Meals on Wheels, which services communities across western Allegheny County, became the latest recipients of Project Linus’ homemade blankets. Project Linus is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide handmade blankets to children and adults, but especially children in need, from newborns to 18-years-olds. With chapters in all 50 states, Project Linus distributes to children in hospitals, shelters, social service agencies, or anyone who may just need a blanket and a hug. People are able to donate materials, create blankets and donate money to the organization. The 55 blankets that West Hills Meals on Wheels received came from a Project Linus chapter in Greenville run by Linda Hajtol, who is the organization’s coordinator for Mercer County. “We have a wonderful group of women that Project Linus calls ‘blanketeers’ who make all of the blankets by hand,” said Linda. “We are so grateful for them and their efforts.” Hajtol plans to keep helping as many people as possible through Project Linus and is excited to help out clients of Meals on Wheels. “My goal for Mercer County is to keep growing in numbers of ‘blanketeers’ and being able to help more children in our county. This year I’ve donated over 700 blankets! I could not do this if I didn’t have the help and support of these women.” All West Hills Meals on Wheels clients received a blanket as a present for the holidays. Each client was grateful and appreciative for a handmade blanket to keep them warm this winter. Karen Bates (left) coordinates Project Linus’ efforts in Mercer County. She’s pictured here with Barb Hess (right) of the West Hills Meals on Wheels. Bates donated blankets to the kitchen for its clients this past holiday season. Project Linus teams up with West Hills Meals on Wheels Read and share content at awmagazine.com January/February 2022 • www.awmagazine.com • 11%Locally SourcedLocally Sourced Chasing the holiday blues away and getting a greatly deserved reprieve from the COVID scare, almost one-half of the residents at Berringer Court in Moon Township partied Dec. 12 at the Sonoma Ridge Clubhouse. Colorful holiday decorations abounded the hall while attendees were greeted with healthful appetizers, holiday music and plenty of neighborly chat. There was even a chance to win big with the traditional 50/50 raffle. All were impressed with the numerous decorations, which turned the normally staid meeting room into a seasonal celebration arena. Even the weather cooperated as the daytime high winds diminished to provide a star-lit night to complement attendees’ spirits. After all were seated, the real fun began, gastronomically speaking. Dinner was prepared by the locally renowned Cooked Goose Catering Company and served to perfection by Berringer Court family volunteers. Seconds were available all night long, but the combination of hors d’oeuvres, dinner, and a wide and scrumptious variety of deserts left no unsatisfied palates throughout the night. The denouement of the fabulous evening was the full-audience participation by singing (sort of) of the “Twelve Days of Christmas,” with a stand-up line and full stage-like props to identify each victim. Yes, there were partridges, pears, French hens, turtledoves, pipers piping, and all the rest of the holiday frivolity. Special thanks to the Berringer Court Condominium Association Social Committee: Patti Sostaric, Bobbie Dowd, Margie Ticich, and numerous participating family and neighborhood residents for the organization and execution of the Christmas holiday event. Lastly, Happy New Year 2022! Berringer Court holds festive holiday party CONTENT SUBMITTED Residents at Berringer Court in Moon Township gather Dec. 12 for a holiday party at the Sonoma Ridge Clubhouse. 12 • Allegheny West Magazine • January/February 2022%Locally SourcedLocally Sourced Locals recognized with Difference Maker Awards Allegheny County Councilman Tom Baker once again recognized individuals throughout District 1 with Difference Maker awards this past September. The awards annually recognize individuals who have made an impact on their community. Among the 19 individuals chosen, two were people who have made differences in the Moon Township community. They were Moon Access Television volunteer Sandra Islas and Jim Vitale, who was recognized for his advocacy of the Mooncrest neighborhood. The two were recognized at an awards ceremony held at The Hangar in Moon Township on Sept. 21. The awards ceremony marked the last for Baker, who did not run for reelection. Last year was Baker’s eighth on Allegheny County Council. “It has been an amazing honor over the last eight years getting to know so many amazing community champions through serving on county council,” said Baker. “Hosting our Annual District 1 Town Halls and honoring our District 1 Difference Makers has been such a wonderful experience. I am so proud to have played a small role in recognizing people that are making such a big difference in our communities in District 1.” Allegheny County Councilman Tom Baker presents Sandra Islas and Jim Vitale with Difference Maker Awards on Sept. 21. CONTENT SUBMITTED “I saw it in Allegheny West Magazine!” Let advertisers know you saw their advertisement here! Read and share content online at awmagazine.com January/February 2022 • www.awmagazine.com • 1314 • Allegheny West Magazine • January/February 2022y > Learning Curves Learning Curves One of the first calls a family usually makes after a loved one passes is to their attorney, at which point we begin to explain the process of settling the estate. And the response is unanimous - it costs how much?!? Among the ever-increasing funeral expenses is the cost to settle the estate, which ranges from 1% to 7%, between the court costs and attorney fees. Then, you need to factor in a reasonable executor fee, which can be another 5% of the estate’s value. On top of that, depending on the beneficiary’s relationship to the decedent, Pennsylvania’s inheritance tax can be as high as 15%: Whoa … it costs a lot to die BY MICHELE P. CONTI Spouse Children/Grandchildren Siblings Everyone Else 0% 4.5% 12% 15% We also must take into consideration other possible tax consequences, such as income tax and federal estate tax, plus any debts the decedent owed upon their passing or expenses incurred because of their passing. In addition to the above-listed expenses, if the decedent received governmental benefits from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (i.e. Medicaid) they must be reimbursed for benefits paid. Pennsylvania has a priority of creditors list which the executor must be aware of so that the correct creditors get paid in the correct order. Settling an estate is time consuming and can be very complicated. The executor is a fiduciary under the law who must act in the best interest of the estate and who owes the utmost care while acting. Without a professional walking him/her through the process, there is not only the stress of missing a key step but, more importantly, paying more than what is legally required. Also, if the fiduciary breaches his/her duty, they may face personal financial liability. Add to that the complexities and sometimes strained dynamics of a blended family, second marriage and discord amongst siblings. Ornery beneficiaries don’t help matters, either. We often receive inquiries asking when they’ll receive their share. But probate can be lengthy, averaging over a year. And, if there are creditors, we must factor in an additional court process concerning the audit of the estate. If a beneficiary contests, the estate faces the time and cost associated with defending the claim, too. As estate and tax professionals, we assist our clients with all the necessary administrative steps and tax returns, helping them reduce their stress and the applicable tax due with our expertise. What costs are permitted deductions? Which creditors get paid before others? Does an executor pay tax on their commission? All of these are factors in reducing the tax owed by the estate. And if we are proactive, the estate may receive an additional five percent discount if the return is filed within a timely manner. The passing of a loved one is hard enough without having to worry about the settlement of their estate. We would rather family members rejoice in the memory of their loved one than struggle with locating documents, fumbling through files or dealing with family turmoil. The proper plan can allow those family members time to grieve and reduce the likelihood that family relationships will be fractured due to procrastination. Contact us today to help you develop your estate plan or administer your loved one’s estate. Michele P. Conti is an estate planning and elder law attorney. Conti attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Oxford University and Duquesne University School of Law. She received her LL.M. in taxation from Villanova University. January/February 2022 • www.awmagazine.com • 15CAround Your Town Around Your Town On the morning of Oct. 6, 2021, the parking lot outside of the freight forwarding company DTGruelle Company in Moon Township looked a lot like a field hospital. Dozens of wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, toilet chairs and various other types of medical equipment sat stacked and organized in one section of the lot. Throughout the morning, volunteers bustled about in an effort to pack as much of that equipment as possible into a large shipping container bound for Beirut, Lebanon. There, the supplies were to be distributed to the elderly and infirmed, including many people still recovering from a devastating blast that ripped apart the city last year. That blast, caused by impounded fertilizer chemicals that had been improperly stored, killed thousands and devastated a country already struggling from economic hardships. The sight outside the company’s warehouse along Moon-Clinton Road wasn’t exactly unusual, however. A handful of times each year, volunteers gather at the warehouse to help pack shipping containers bound for either Beirut or Panama. Each shipment is different, and filled with supplies needed at that particular location. The effort operates under the nonprofit wing of DTGruelle and is called DTCare. Marco Gruelle, who serves as president of DTCare - and whose family owns DTGruelle - says the company has long moved goods to dangerous and difficult locations around the world. That was what convinced him to start a nonprofit wing of his family’s company dedicated to sending aid abroad. “Over the years we’ve developed a good dossier of people to help transport into austere locations,” says Gruelle. “I figured I could also apply these skill sets to doing nonprofit work.” He says DTCare gets much of its medical equipment from hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Some is medical surplus. They also get some from nonprofits and drives. DTCare’s work doesn’t end with donating medical supplies, however. Natasha Thompson, DTCare program engineer, says the nonprofit also sponsors children’s education programs in South Africa and Zimbabwe. As well, the nonprofit sponsors beekeeping programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the western Balkans. In Beirut, DTCare maintains a relief and medical aid distribution facility. “It’s expanding,” she says about the nonprofit’s work. “There’s so much going on.” When it comes to loading supplies onto shipping containers, the nonprofit relies on volunteers, some of whom work for DTGruelle. Others started volunteering after hearing about the effort through their church or from friends. Many, however, have been volunteering for years thanks to the husband- and-wife team of Tom and Linda McCormack. In 2007, the pair established the Tom and Linda McCormack Foundation with the goal of sending aid to Panama. To ship supplies, the couple gathered a small army of volunteers and worked with DTGruelle. Recently, the couple merged their foundation with DTCare. These days, the McCormacks and a handful volunteers assist DTCare on days like the one that took place in October. This local effort is helping those in need around the globe STORY BY DOUG HUGHEY Volunteers help load supplies bound for Beirut, Lebanon outside DTGruelle in Moon Township last October. ABOVE PHOTO BY NATASHA THOMPSON BELOW PHOTO BY DOUG HUGHEY 16 • Allegheny West Magazine • January/February 2022CAround Your Town Around Your Town A Vietnam veteran, Tom says he first visited Panama in 1994 in order to teach beekeeping and honey production through a program run by USAID. He returned to the country four more times and, during those visits, noticed a particular need among amputees for prosthetics. “My son was an amputee at 13,” he says. “And I saw a need for people walking around with crutches. And there were no prosthetics in that interior of Panama. The closest prosthetic shop was seven hours by bus away in Panama City. We’re in David, Panama, about an hour from the Costa Rican border.” That experience prompted Tom to start sourcing donated prosthetics from organizations like Global Links and Limbs for Life. He even established a workshop in Panama, where he says he has fitted well over 1,000 Panamanians with various types of prosthetic limbs. For the past two decades, he’s been living in Panama for half of the year. “I’ve put on about 1,360 new legs, more than 50 hands, and seven complete arms,” he says. “That’s my passion, working in the prosthetic shop.” He says DTGruelle shipped 27 containers of supplies for his foundation over the years before it merged with DTCare. Given how much that aid means to the people who are meant to receive it, and how expensive containers are to ship, he has a saying for how he likes to see everything packed. “I always tell them, they have air in Panama,” he says. “Pack it solid.” Thompson says that October shipment to Beirut included 37 pairs of crutches, four large boxes of bandages, 111 wheelchairs, 215 walkers, a large box of hygiene kits, six large boxes of baby formula, seven large boxes of baby diapers, 11 boxes of clothing, notepads and more. It was one of three containers that DTCare shipped last year, the third of which was loaded in December and should be arriving in Panama soon. In 2020, DTCare shipped two containers and, this year, they’re hoping to send four to five containers. For more on DTCare, visit www.dtcare.org. Those interested in volunteering are encouraged to fill out the contact form on the website or to contact Marco Gruelle at (412) 478-9379. They can also email Courtney Robson, DTCare project manager, at courtney.robson@dtcare.org. Volunteers with DTCare pause for a picture after successfully loading a container with medical supplies. PHOTO BY JAMES THOMPSON January/February 2022 • www.awmagazine.com • 17CAround Your Town Around Your Town For much of his life, Bob McCutcheon has harbored a passion for music. During his teen years, he played in rock bands and developed an interest in recording. Then, while in college at Robert Morris University, he took things to the next level, convincing his mom to let him convert part of her house into a recording studio. “God bless my mother, but she let me take over the basement, the garage, built out the rooms, the windows,” he says. In college, McCutcheon didn’t study music. Instead, he majored in business and finance. After graduation, he joined the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and went on to have a successful 25-year career with the company. Music, though, continued to be a passion for McCutcheon, even while he was raising his two sons with his wife, Dana, and rising through the ranks of his firm. Then, in 2013, he purchased a nondescript commercial building on Neville Island that had once been home to a PNC branch and a water treatment company. His goal was to convert it into what he’d always wanted: his own professional recording studio. Today, Bob can hardly believe where that decision has taken him. After hiring an architect out of Los Angeles who specializes in designing sound studios, Bob spent several years designing, gutting and building out the space. The result is a professional sound recording studio outfitted with some of the most sought- after equipment in the industry. Bob has also teamed up with six-time Grammy Award-winning producer and engineer Jimmy Hoyson - whose resume includes working with the likes of Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, Green Day, Paul McCartney and many others - to run it. Producers, engineers and artists who have worked with talent like Kiss, Guns and Roses, Bon Jovi, David Bowie and others have also found their way to the studio in the past few years. Smokey Robinson even participated in a fundraising event held there in 2019 to benefit The Rhythm 19 Fund, a nonprofit wing of the business. “It’s pretty crazy,” Bob says, looking back on the past nine years. “It’s been a blast.” These days, Bob, who is now retired from his accounting career, spends many of his days in the studio working under his label, The Vault Records. He and Hoyson just wrapped up a project with Eddie Manion, a saxophonist who has performed with the E Street Band. One of the first artists Bob signed was Chris Jamison, the Pittsburgh native who became famous after appearing on NBC’s “The Voice” in 2014. Before COVID-19 shut down the country, Bob and Dana were also working to bring students from local schools into the studio to expose them to the industry. Students from North Allegheny, Knoch Area, Moon Area, Sto-Rox, Hampton, the Neighborhood Academy, Nazareth Prep and Holy Family had all visited the studio on field trips. Bob says they’re hoping to get those schools and others back into the studio just as soon as COVID-19 allows. “We’ll bring in engineers, producers, artists, all in to spend time with the students and get them to learn a little more about this part of the business,” he says. Through The Rhythm 19 Fund, the couple has also funded music and art programs at various area schools. It’s a nonprofit Bob and Dana established in memory of their son Ryan who passed away in 2017 in a car accident. Like his dad, Ryan had been an avid musician and student at Robert Morris. Bob says Ryan was returning to campus after working with a high school drum line when he fell asleep at the wheel. He was just 19. The couple’s youngest son, Brett, is an avid musician as well and majoring in music education at Slippery Rock University. Bob says Brett produces and arranges at the studio, and uses it for his own projects. “It’s definitely a family affair,” says Bob. While Bob says the studio has been a way for he and his family to realize their passions, he says it’s also a way to raise the game of the music scene in Pittsburgh. The way he sees it, the investments they’ve made are prompting other studios in the area to invest as well, thereby helping to raise the overall profile of the industry. He compares the situation to investments made by Carnegie Mellon University, Google and others in Pittsburgh’s technology industry in recent decades. “I grew up in the consulting world, so the analogy I always use is take a look at the technology in Pittsburgh,” says Bob. “We had all this great talent but that talent didn’t feel like they could succeed here, so they went where they felt there was an ecosystem for success…My concept was if we can just play a small part and make a small investment in this city and upgrade the talent that’s here, we can also attract talent outside of the city.” In The Vault’s case, that didn’t mean just building out a studio and buying some fancy new equipment. It meant searching out some of the most sought-after pieces in the industry. For example, at the heart of The Vault’s setup is one such piece that’s a rarity outside of places like Nashville, Tennessee and Los Angeles, California: a vintage 1970s Neve console. It’s an iconic piece of equipment in the industry, the likes of which are typically only found at major studios, says Hoyson, who has worked on them throughout his career. Vintage Neves have been used to produce much of the era-defining rock music most people know today. “Early blue-faced Neves like the one at the vault are the most famous and most coveted,” says Hoyson. “It’s what you will find at places like Sunset Sound and Capital Records.” The one The Vault owns, however, has a particularly famous history. Bob says he first went looking for a vintage Neve after Hoyson suggested it, though the idea had also been planted in his mind by the documentary “Sound City.” Produced by David Groll, the documentary tells the story of the studio of the same name, which is where Meet the RMU alumnus who wants to up Pittsburgh’s music game STORY BY DOUG HUGHEY Bob McCutcheon is pictured at his Neville Island recording studio, The Vault. The studio is outfitted with some highly sought- after industry equipment, including this restored 1970s Neve 8058 console that once belonged to George Harrison. PHOTO BY DOUG HUGHEY 18 • Allegheny West Magazine • January/February 2022CAround Your Town Around Your Town Nirvana’s “Nevermind” was recorded, along with tracks by Tom Petty, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Red Hot Chili Peppers and others - all on a Neve 8028 console. Bob says he figured it would take years to find one, let alone one that was restored. Within weeks, however, Hoyson tracked down a 1970s Neve 8058 that had just gone through restoration at Vintage King Audio in Detroit, Michigan. He and Bob drove there to check it out and Bob acquired it. The pair then found out that Vintage King had purchased it from music producer Scott Litt, whose resume includes producing albums for REM and working with the likes of Nirvana, The Replacements and others. When Bob and Hoyson reached out to Litt, they found out that he had originally purchased the console from George Harrison of The Beatles. Harrison and Pete Drake, the famous steel pedal guitar player who invented the talk box - had both used the console before Litt acquired it. Hoyson says he only knows of one other studio in Pittsburgh that has a vintage Neve, but none like The Vault’s. “It totally changed the game,” says Bob. “It’s what producers will look for.” Bob says that after the studio acquired the Neve, they started attracting bigger names. Among them was sound engineer and producer Dave Hillis, who had settled in Pittsburgh after a career of working in places like Seattle, Washington; New York, New York; and London, England. During the 1990s in Seattle, Hillis had worked at London Bridge studios, where he recorded grunge acts like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Sound Garden. That studio, too, was equipped with a vintage Neve, so when Hillis heard about a studio in Pittsburgh getting one, he was a little taken aback. “I was pretty spoiled be able to find studios that have a Neve or an SSL,” he says. “But when I moved here I couldn’t find one so I figured I wouldn’t be working in Pittsburgh.” Hillis reached out to Bob for a tour and teamed up with the studio. By chance, Hillis had also lugged some of his own equipment back from Seattle, including a Marshall half stack amp that had been used by Dave Navarro and a Studer A800 MK III two-inch, 24-track machine that had been used to record Pearl Jam’s “Ten” album. At the time, that equipment was sitting in Hillis’ garage, so he lent it to the studio. The Studer has been placed alongside the Neve console in The Vault’s control room. “It’s like they were meant to go together,” says Bob. “So, now we have George Harrison’s board and the 24-track machine used to record Pearl Jam’s ‘Ten.’” The Vault’s outfitting doesn’t stop there. It has multiple isolation booths, one of which is occupied by a Yamaha GC baby grand piano, high-end microphones, vintage Wurlitzer keyboards, guitars and even a few organs. In 2020, they continued the expansion when Rob Deaner of v6 Music + Post joined the team. He now works out of a studio upstairs. Downstairs, they’ve converted the old bank vault into an echo chamber that feeds back up into the main studio. Also downstairs is a stage and performance area. Bob says they utilized it during the fundraiser they held for Rhythm 19 and that it’s also a good warm-up space. Bob says the studio is continuing to attract professionals who have been coming out of the woodwork to check out the studio. “There’s a common theme with a lot of highly credentialed engineers, producers, artists that are actually living in Pittsburgh but you wouldn’t even know they’re living here,” he says. “But they’ve been making their way back. A lot of it is cost of living.” Where things go from here is anyone’s guess, but Bob hopes the studio will continue to be an incubator for talent and drive the music profile of the region. “I think having Smokey here made me realize that a lot of my concept here is similar to the old Motown thing,” he says. “We have a building, we have a label, we’ve got a lot of people walking around. It’s a team of people who are doing all different things. That’s what Motown was. Motown wasn’t just a record label. It was a community of artists, producers, engineers, writers.” He says the studio has become as much that, a community, as anything. “Over the past few years it’s been amazing to watch how that has grown,” he says. “It keeps attracting more people, different people into this group. But it started off with me sitting in this chair.” Bob McCutcheon and his son, Brett (far left), and wife, Dana (far right), are pictured with Smokey Robinson during a fundraiser at The Vault in 2019. PHOTO SUBMITTED BELOW: The studio’s performance space has an excellent vibe, with blue walls, drum sets, a baby grand piano in an isolation booth, high-end microphones and more. BOTTOM: Jimmy Hoyson, the studio’s sound engineer, has used the ledge between the control room and performance space to display his Grammy Awards. PHOTOS BY DOUG HUGHEY January/February 2022 • www.awmagazine.com • 19Next >