Renewed momentum

Even though Sonobeat owner Bill Josey Sr. was forced to hire out his services and the Sonobeat studios for custom work in 1971 and '72, he kept an ear out for artists he believed would be good candidates for the occasional Sonobeat release or to offer to the major national labels. Though '72 had been a difficult year, as '73 began, the future looked brighter.

In January '73, Bill Sr. began a string of recordings with promising artists: the first were Adobie Flatz, who recorded three songs, and Gary York & Evelyn, whose sessions produced just one track. In February, Bill Sr. recorded two songs with country singer Joyce Spence and mixed a mono demo tape that he shopped to Nashville-based country-western labels. Also in February, Bill Sr. recorded an extremely promising Latin-flavored rock group, Vita. When Bill Sr. sent the Vita demo tape to United Artists Records for consideration, he noted that the group had enough original material to record two albums. Unfortunately, nothing came of any of these recordings, which put more financial pressure on Bill Sr., so he began considering alternatives to an upcoming lease renewal of his studio space at the KVET building on North Lamar. In March, Bill Sr. recorded another country duo, Johnny and Janet Lyon; Johnny's band, the Country Nu-Notes, who Bill Sr. would record in early 1974, backed the sessions. Finally, in June, Bill Sr. reconstructed the studio band Base, this time with singer/songwriter Ernie Gammage as its headliner.

The beautiful country setting of the "Blue Hole Sounds" studio near Liberty Hill, Texas

Singer/songwriter Michele Murphy, who then was recording sessions for a potential Sonobeat release, suggested that Bill Sr. relocate the studio to Liberty Hill, a tiny community in the pretty Hill Country 35 miles northwest of Austin. Property was still inexpensive there. Murphy pointed Bill Sr. to a rarely-used stone church off Bagdad Road just outside Liberty Hill. The church property offered an idyllic and secluded setting and included enough acreage for Bill Sr. to bring in a mobile home for living quarters. The church itself, which Bill Sr. rented from the AME congregation that met there only two Sundays a month, was sprawling, with 1200 square feet of floor space and a ceiling peaking at almost 14 feet. Bill Sr. moved onto the property in August '73 and began outfitting the old church as Sonobeat's new recording studio, which he called "Blue Hole Sounds".

"Blue Hole Sounds" flyer

Refurbishing the old church into a recording studio -- which included not just wiring the building for sound but also soundproofing doors and window coverings -- took many months longer and cost more than Bill Sr. had anticipated. But during that long period, Bill Sr. made many friends in the Liberty Hill area, including Tom Penick, a country singer/songwriter who lived in nearby Leander. Tom offered to help around the studio in exchange for free studio time to record his own songs. Since Bill Sr. had plenty of "time" to trade, he accepted Penick's offer. And, since Bill Sr. still needed to offer out the recording studio facilities on an hourly fee basis, one of the first tasks he assigned to Penick when the studio was finished was publicity. Penick circulated hundreds of "Blue Hole Sounds" fliers around Austin and the Hill Country, alerting artists who'd recorded with Bill Sr. in the Western Hills Drive and KVET building eras to the studio's new location and attracting artists who had never recorded at Sonobeat before.

"Blue Hole Sounds" recording console and equipment rack

Bill Sr. gave Blue Hole Sounds a warm and welcome feel. He set up the recording console and equipment rack at the front of the former church, but instead of erecting a full height wall to separate the "control room" from the rest of the studio, he left the half-rail that had divided the pulpit, altar, and choir from the sanctuary. He sprinkled comfortable chairs and couches around the interior walls, hung loudspeakers in each corner, spread area rugs across the floor, and installed central air conditioning. Outside, he set up picnic tables under the live oak trees. In all, Blue Hole Sounds delivered on its promise as a unique environment.

The studio floor

Bill Sr. made almost no recordings at Blue Hole Sounds during '73 because conversion of the church took so long. Indeed, because the studio still was not "perfect", he began 1974 with a remote recording session with a young country band, the Country Nu-Notes, headed by Johnny Lyon. Bill Sr. hauled his equipment down to the Broken Spoke, a popular honky tonk dance hall on South Lamar that's now an Austin icon. The Nu-Notes, who still perform throughout Central Texas today, played good ol' traditional country music despite the hot new progressive, or "outlaw", country movement that began in Austin in the early '70s.

Also early in '74, folk artist Arma Harper began recording from time to time at the studio and finally, in 1975, Bill Sr. released a Harper single, Just One Too Many Times backed with Plea for Freedom (PF-121), which was mastered and pressed by Nashville Records. Suddenly, it seemed good fortunes were returning to Sonobeat and that the move to Liberty Hill and time spent refurbishing the old church would be worth it.

Next: Winding down