HISTORY
1929
The Teatro is a streamline moderne theater in downtown Oxnard, California, United States. Originally called the Boulevard Theater, the building was constructed in 1929 at the height of the movie palace area when hundreds of movie houses were being built across the country. It is the oldest standing theater in Oxnard. By the 1960s the Boulevard began screening popular Spanish language films. In recognition of this the name was officially changed to Teatro Boulevard.
1995
After a long period of vacancy new life was breathed into the theater when producer and recording engineer Mark Howard discovered it while driving down from San Fransisco to Los Angeles. Mark Howard and record producer Daniel Lanois converted the Teatro into a recording studio where music legends Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2 would play.
1997
Time Out of Mind is the 30th studio album by the American musician Bob Dylan, released on September 30, 1997, by Columbia Records. The album won three grammy awards. While Time Out of Mind was recorded in Miami, the early demos playing over recorded loops at the Teatro created the inspiration for the albums sound:
That idea was explored during demo sessions at Lanois’ studio in Oxnard, California, called the Teatro and built in a former theater. Dylan’s Point Dume house in Malibu was about 45 minutes south, and throughout September and October he’d drive up whenever he wanted to work out the songs. (Joe Levy, “Inside Bob Dylan’s ‘Time Out of Mind’ Sessions” Rolling Stone 30, Sept. 2017)
1998
Teatro is the forty-fifth studio album by Willie Nelson, released in September 1998 via Island Records. Recorded inside the Teatro with backing vocals by Emmylou Harris, the album was produced by Daniel Lanois and mixed by Mark Howard. German filmmaker Wim Wenders created a one hour performance documentary as a companion piece to the album (IMDB). Teatro: The Complete Sessions was re-issued in 2017 on Light In The Attic Records. Previously only available on VHS, the reissue includes Wim Wender’s documentary on DVD.
2007
In 2007 The Teatro was purchased by Paul Sangster founder of Future Lighting, a company that provides large scale projection and projection mapping services. Plans are under way to bring the building up to code, resurface and repaint exterior marquee and repair the neon signage.
Photo: VC Reporter, June 24, 2010
2010
After photo showing the fully renovated exterior marquee with working neon signage.
2014 - 2015
In 2014 Neil Young and Promise of the Real moved into the Teatro to record The Monsanto Years. Promise of the Real is headed by Lukas Nelson, Willie Nelsons Son. The Teatro provided the perfect setting to the bands spontaneous garage rock sound:
Working off demos Young had made, Micah recalled to Rolling Stone Hanlon’s instructions: “Don’t learn the songs too well… You want to be able to make all the right f*ck-ups.”
When Young arrived, the sessions were similarly spontaneous, with the band setting up as if they were onstage, rather than in a studio. “That gave it this immediacy that kept it really fun and flowing and constantly inspiring,” Micah said. “There wasn’t a lot of sitting around and figuring out what to do. It was kind of like, ‘Go, go, go’ and capture it.'”Rolling Stone Magazine, MAY 26, 2015
2020
Producer/engineer/mixer and music industry veteran, Mark Howard publishes book: Listen Up!: Recording Music with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, U2, R.E.M., The Tragically Hip, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Waits. With several chapters devoted to his time spent at the Teatro, Mark Howard tells the story of discovering the theater while driving down to Los Angeles from San Francisco. Listen Up! is available on Amazon.
GALLERY
VIDEOS
RENTAL
The Teatro is available for Studio Rental
HIGHLIGHTS:
7500 sq feet
Large stage
A/C
200 amps power
100 amps power
Loft 2,000 sq feet for green room
Shower
Ample free parking
Contact Paul Sangster at: 310.312.9772
CONTACT
El Teatro Theater
626 S Oxnard Blvd, Oxnard, CA 93030
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