.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{box-sizing:border-box;width:100%;padding:5px;border:none;font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .hidden-title{font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .hidden-content{text-align:left}@media all and (max-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{width:auto!important;clear:none!important;float:none!important))You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (November 2016) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the German article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 9,093 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Utility Muffin Research Kitchen]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template ((Translated|de|Utility Muffin Research Kitchen)) to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

The Utility Muffin Research Kitchen (UMRK) is a recording studio built in 1979 by musician, composer, songwriter, and bandleader Frank Zappa at his home in Los Angeles, California. The home and recording studio was sold to Lady Gaga in 2016, and later purchased by Elizabeth Jagger in 2021.

History

Frank Zappa built the studio in his 6,759-square-foot home in Laurel Canyon, completing it on September 1, 1979. The studio was custom designed by Rudy Brewer with input from Zappa and his technical staff. The estimated construction costs ranged between $1.5 and $3.5 million.[1]

Soon after the studio was completed, Ken Scott engineered the four song debut EP by Missing Persons at UMRK.[2] In 1982 two tracks from the EP were re-issued on the band's debut studio album, Spring Session M.

In July, 1980, Zappa began recording at the UMRK several songs that were eventually released on the album You Are What You Is.[1] Zappa would utilize the studio regularly until his death in 1993.

In 2016, Lady Gaga purchased the Zappa homestead,[3] including the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen. It is one of the studios she used for the recording of her sixth album, Chromatica.[4] In 2021 the house was sold to Elizabeth Jagger.

UMRK Mobile

The UMRK Mobile Studio was a remote recording bus purchased from Mike Love of the Beach Boys. The studio bus needed extensive repairs and upgrades after years of sitting idle at Love's home.[1] The mobile studio was used in the first cable TV / FM "Simulcast" for Zappa's Halloween show on October 31, 1981. The show was broadcast live on MTV from the Palladium in New York City, with the audio-only portion broadcast over FM's new "Starfleet Radio" network. The broadcast was engineered from the UMRK bus by Zappa's longtime audio engineer Mark G. Pinske.

References in music

The first known mention of "Utility Muffin Research Kitchen" was in the 1975 song "Muffin Man" on the album Bongo Fury.

In the conclusion of Zappa's Joe's Garage, Joe, the protagonist, gives in to conformity and gets a job on the assembly line at the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen; the narration describing his job there is nearly identical to the opening narration from "Muffin Man".

References

  1. ^ a b c Michie, Chris (January 2003). "We are The Mothers ... and This Is What We Sound Like!". MixOnline.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  2. ^ Scott, Ken; Owsinski, Bobby (2013). Off the Record with the Beatles, Bowie, Elton & So Much More. United States: Alfred Music. pp. 305–6. ISBN 978-0-7390-7858-7.
  3. ^ Bacon, Tony. "Craig Parker Adams: Mixing Frank Zappa". Sound On Sound. Future Plc. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Lady Gaga on "Stupid Love"". New Music Daily with Zane Lowe. Apple Inc. February 27, 2020. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.

External links

34°07′22″N 118°22′05″W / 34.12267°N 118.36818°W / 34.12267; -118.36818


Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention
Lady Gaga
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