PRINTFour bands, one studio
Producer/musician Wil Reeves serves Columbia artists in a nonstop recording schedule
Michelle Peltier
Centro Cellar Studio, where Wil Reeves produces songs for local artists, can get hectic. Four Columbia-area bands currently seek out Reeves’ expertise in recording their albums.
June 3, 2009 | 12:00 p.m. CST
There are busy musicians, and then there is Wil Reeves. The Columbia musician plays in not one, not two, not even three, but four bands and operates the Centro Cellar Studio where he records and produces music from numerous acts. “I pretty much use every minute of my day to do stuff,” says Reeves, 31.
Such a demanding workload might prove too much for other musicians, but Reeves clearly enjoys making music his life. “I think writing and performing your own music is probably the most fulfilling thing you can do,” he says.
By this standard, Reeves lives quite a satisfying existence as he writes songs for three of his four bands. At the same time, Reeves is helping others craft songs and spread their music through his work at Centro Cellar Studio. He has proven himself not only a fixture of the local music scene but also a boon to it.
For a person with such a passion for music, Reeves started playing late in his life. He formed his first band, Bockman’s Euphio, in 1999 while attending MU. The group employed a big rock sound and grandiose arrangements in its long songs. After releasing two albums (2001’s Ladies and Gentlemen of the F.C.C. and 2004’s gorjus: fighting Bockman’s euphio), multi-instrumentalist Joe Cosas parted ways with the band, which continued as a quartet under the shortened name Bockman. The name change also signaled a slight shift in the group’s musical direction as they kept their arena-rock sound but reined in some of their songs’ expansive lengths. Touring around the Midwest and hosting campout music festivals put Bockman at the top of the local music scene and netted the group a slot at the first Wakarusa Festival in 2004.
At the same time, as Bockman was beginning to make its presence known, Reeves began his production career. It started when he was playing in a group with his friend Joe Stickley, and they tried to record at a St. Louis studio. The combo didn’t know how it wanted to approach Stickley’s songs and left the session unsatisfied with what it saw as a waste of time and money. “So instead of pumping a bunch of money into it, we decided to buy some equipment and try and do it on our own,” Reeves says. “As I got more into it, I realized it was really what I wanted to do. Not just be in bands, but to record and produce.”
Reeves’ initial investment is slowly paying off as Centro Cellar Studio is developing a reputation for quality. “He’s great at problem solving as far as how you’re explaining stuff and how you want it to sound like,” Steve Doerhoff says of Reeves. “He can make it translate.” Doerhoff recorded at Centro Cellar Studio as a member of local band Witch’s Hat. Reeves’ clients appreciate the attention to detail he gives to their work. “Wil went through a very painstaking process to mix and master my album,” says Shannon Diaz, who records as Shirrelle C. Limes and the Lemons. Even with this process, Reeves finds time to record many artists; Doerhoff notes that he must book a session at Centro Cellar a month in advance.
Reeves still makes time for his own musical endeavors. While playing in both Bockman and Joe Stickley’s Blueprint (Bockman serves as Stickley’s backing band), Reeves began a solo project in December 2007 called Penny Marvel. The endeavor is meant to showcase songs that don’t fit Bockman’s sound. “A lot of it’s real mellow; it’s a lot more stripped down,” Reeves says. “Bockman’s got this really big, almost overwhelming sound, and I wanted to do something that was more subtle.”
Although Penny Marvel is a solo project, Diaz says that Reeves is great at working with others. In March 2008, she invited Reeves and six other musicians to record one another’s songs in a secluded cabin. The resulting project was labeled The Cabin Sessions and ended up becoming Reeves’ fourth band.
Since the beginning of 2009, Reeves has devoted more time to Penny Marvel and Cabin Sessions. However, he has also recorded a Hooten Hallers album, a Malone EP and has worked with nine other artists from mid-December to mid-February. Reeves’ clients believe in his abilities both in front of and behind the boards. “What can’t he do?” Doerhoff says. “I have a crush on him.”
Wil Reeves’ home studio provides a cozy workspace for local band MoonRunner, who spent a ...
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