A part of the Cleveland music scene for over 3 decades, first as a drummer in such seminal Cleveland bands as Wild Giraffes and Snafu, then as with the rhythm section for blues legends Glenn Schwartz and Robert Lockwood Jr. (and many more bands than he cares to list, thank you!)
John Walsh opened up Modern Recording Services, his own studio, in 1986.
Under the auspices of Modern Recording, John engineered and produced many local and national acts as well as the live WMMS Coffeebreak Concerts, working with such acts as Julian Lennon, Kenny Loggins, Los Lobos, Leon Russell, Love Hate, Psychedelic Furs, Kings X, Sarah McLachlin and at least 70 other national acts. (And yes, he still has all the masters from his live broadcast work.)
John joined the Buchanan Recording Complex's team in December of 1997 and stayed for 3 yrs. He was responsible for all the wiring (including the first SSL 4000G series console in Cleveland) in the new complex, as well as engineering and producing.
After leaving Buchanan, he worked as an independent producer and technical consultant, as well as continuing his career as drummer.
When Mike Brown and Billy Morris (Warrant, Quiet Riot) opened up the Lava Room Recording Studio in 2003, they called on John to bring in his expertise with all phases of studio work. Lava Room had a complete ProTools 96HD system, the state-of-the-art in digital recording, and John was enjoying the distinction of working at the top technology-driven studio in Northeast Ohio. John did mixing and mastering for 92 Xtreme Radio, who partnered with Lava Room to bring top national acts into the studio for mini-concerts for their listeners.
In 2008 Lava Room decided to move to a bigger facility, taking up residence next to the Cleveland Agora in the home of the original WHK Studios. This required a complete rewiring of the building. The mission John accepted was to wire 3 studios for audio and electric, install a phone system and tweak the alarm system, in 90 days. In 2009 John brought video production to LAVA Room Recording, making LAVA the first professional studio in Cleveland to have a dedicated video suite.
In 2011, John was approached by Criteria Productions to bring his video knowledge and technical savvy to their newly formed video group. Once there, he turned his attention to the audio end of their video production and was responsible for the complete rebuilding of the Criteria audio suites.
John was called on to rebuild Lava Room's studios twice more, first in Beachwood and most recently in Independence at the former Commercial Recording, where the studio now includes a 5.1 room, and multi-camera streaming/podcast room.
Whether behind a mixing board, producing a new talent, working in the video editing suite with state-of-the-art computers, using cutting edge digital mixing and mastering tools, or playing drums as a national-caliber studio musician, John Walsh brings his musical knowledge and drive to every musical project he is involved in.
He currently plays with The Analogia and The Nightwalkers, and he recently did editing and sound on Follow the Triptik, an award-winning documentary film.