Alan Hardwick's studio fills a niche in Edmonds

Posted Thursday, March 5, 2026 9:00 am

By Brian Soergel

How do you imagine a recording studio? The modest space tucked into Alan Hardwick’s home in Edmonds’ Esperance neighborhood is a tight fit. But it works, and it’s from here that Alan Hardwick Productions records and produces music to ensure that no local musician’s song goes unheard.

A recent afternoon brought John Pinetree to Studio Edmonds to record backing tracks for guitarist Harry Sills’ new record for Crazy Good Records. If you’ve seen Pinetree in concert – a perfect surname for a very tall human – you know he’s an energetic multi-instrumentalist who leads a popular collective called John Pinetree and the Yellin’ Degenerates.

He’s a top-notch harmonica player who packs a case of harps to suit a particular song, whether funk, soul, blues, or Americana. He’s a singer, songwriter, rowing coach-turned-contractor who has been making music, in one form or another, for nearly four decades. He moved to Edmonds in 2003 from Philadelphia, but the story starts much earlier – on a farm in Colorado, fixing things with his hands, and later coaching rowing at the collegiate and national team levels.

“I’ve always had a lot of energy,” he said from the studio. After a serious car accident in 2020 forced him to slow down physically – the last thing he wanted to do – he returned to his musical roots, practicing daily and hitting the road near and far, performing over 170 shows in 2021. That included opening for Diana Krall and Chris Isaak at Chateau St. Michelle’s summer concert series. “I need to move. Music has always been there, like a companion.”

Hardwick has helped Pinetree, Sills, and other local musicians push their music out to digital platforms. “He’s an incredibly supportive person,” Pinetree said. “He’s a great musician and a great human. He’s like an offensive lineman, like he’s a protector and he’s got his paws up, ready to fight for you. I get a real good sense about him, and everyone around him in his orbit speaks highly of him.”

Bringing music to town

You might have seen Alan Hardwick in Edmonds during his former life as an Edmonds Police sergeant. In 2001, he founded the Boise Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Unit before moving with his family to Edmonds, where he served as a detective sergeant and acting assistant chief of police.

The Beacon profiled him in 2019 after he wrote a book called “Never Been Too Close to Crazy” (the protagonist is a guitar-playing cop), the cover of which hangs in his studio. But his passion has to lie with music, which he studied at Washington State University. “It’s a top-notch music program,” he said. “The theory and composition I learned there was fabulous, even though I wasn’t that great of a performer.”

Now retired, Hardwick performs in the yacht rock band Point of Sail and was a founder of the band One Love Bridge), where he plays guitar and saxophone. Then he expanded his outlook: It was about six years ago that he founded Alan Hardwick Productions; since then, he’s been the force behind exposing local artists through recordings and featuring them at concerts at venues like Vinbero, Salish Boathouse, and the Old Opera House. He’s also been involved in sponsoring popular events such as the popular PorchFest Edmonds.

During the last couple of years, his production company created and produced a dance party at the Old Edmonds Opera House after the Mrs. Roper Pub Crawl and Roper Romp, where a sea of residents donned red wigs and caftans in honor of the flamboyant character portrayed by Audrey Lindley in the ’70s sitcom “Three’s Company.”

Hardwick started Studio Edmonds and Crazy Good Records because he needed to identify the players he was producing. The first artist he represented was Beclynn, formerly a member of The Band LeLe trio from Edmonds.

It was before the pandemic, and while One Love Bridge built its fan base with local shows, he spoke to other musicians who didn’t have a place to play or weren’t sure how to get their music recorded. It was partly because of those conversations that led him to create the record label.

“I want to support the artists. We’re fans first. I just want to do things so musicians and artists’ work can get produced, distributed, and put into the world. I firmly believe that’s necessary for humanity, frankly, and because there’s always been such a gatekeeping phenomenon in the music industry that very few people get to be heard, or very few people get to get into a studio to record. There are artists who have great music in them, but it never gets produced, and never gets extracted because they don’t have the tools or the support to make that happen.”

He’s come a long way from recording music from the radio and crafting mixtapes at age 9. Later, it was Apple’s GarageBand and with Ableton software. Today, his studio features the bells, whistles, and lights you’d expect, including a soundboard, mics, and much more. Somehow, it all fits in the studio, with a little room left over for musicians to create their masterpieces.

A success story

One day, Hardwick was out and about when he heard Richard Taylor Jr.’s voice. Taylor is a mental health advocate, motivational speaker, and author. He has a podcast, and now add singer to the list. “I’m like, dude, you should really do this. You’ve got a great voice, a great personality, and you’re driven.” Hardwick asked him what format his songs were. Phone recording? Is it in your head? This is where Hardwick laughs.

“Richard said, ‘Well, I kind of have a feeling how it goes. He had lyrics, and he had melodic ideas and vibe feelings. And so that’s what we had to work with. He would speak the lyrics out to me and get into this sort of … not a trance, but sort of this ethereal, repetitive motion with his voice. And from that, I would go, ‘OK! Is that making sense to you, is that kind of what you’re hearing in your head?’ He would say yes or no, and if it was no, we’d try something different. It wouldn’t take long to get to a defined melody, a defined chord structure. And then we would play with the words so that it made sense.”

Taylor’s sessions led to “An Edmonds Kind of Christmas,” which he performed at the town’s holiday tree lighting in 2024. He later performed it at a launch party for a five-song EP. “Richard drafted the lyrics to the song with an idea for a melody,” Hardwick said. “He brought that to me and asked me to put it to music, something with a vibe similar to a classic holiday song like those of Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, or Michael Bublé. I came up with several iterations in my studio, which we played around with for an hour or so, eventually landing on the version that became the song.”

Since that time, Richard continues to write fully developed songs and is recording them for a complete album release this year.

Most popular

Hardwick said his most popular and successful artist is E. Pruitt, a smooth jazz bassist who has performed in Edmonds at Vinbero, among other locations. He recorded the album “Bass Graffiti” at Crazy Good Studios. Three of the CD’s songs appeared on the SmoothJazz.com charts. Hardwick and Pruitt recently conducted a radio campaign through the influential website. Hardwick said he’s been in touch with (the team of) chart-topping saxophonist Dave Koz and said there are plans in the works, but he didn’t want to dish too much on that yet.

‘She’s happy’

Hardwick typically charges $85 an hour for studio time. Although most clients are established, Hardwick said some enter his studio to record music for themselves or their kids. Last year, he worked with a woman in her 60s who used to sing in Las Vegas. But she had trouble with her voice after 20 years of performing, and shut down. “She eventually wanted to prove that she could sing again, and now she’s auditioning for one of the national talent shows. We recorded some music, and she’s happy.”

The cost of live music: What are we willing to pay?

By Alan Hardwick

Seattle is a city with a rich history of cranking out world-class musicians. Most of them got their start at small and medium-sized music venues, coffee shops, and bars. Most school districts still support music education as an option, creating an entire subculture of well-educated creatives who dream of making it big.

But like many cities in the U.S., Seattle and its suburban neighbors – including Mukilteo, Edmonds, and Mill Creek – are at a crossroads when it comes to the business of live music. While many local establishments aim to support artists and boost their own profiles by showcasing live performances, the financial equation behind the music is often as complex as a jazz improv session. And, like jazz itself, it is at risk of becoming something pushed to the background of our existence.

The high notes of investment

Businesses that endeavor to host live music face a surprising reality when it comes to costs. Premium floor space must be configured to accommodate both performers and audiences comfortably. Overhead expenses such as sound equipment and staffing for events add layers of financial burden, not to mention hiring someone with the right skill set to operate the gear and keep it running.

Then comes the crucial act of vetting musicians – a time-consuming process that ensures the quality of the music and the musicians align with the venue’s brand and the audience’s expectations.

Each of these elements requires a level of knowledge, organization, and time – that one fleeting commodity most business owners need to protect. Unless the owner has these skills in-house, this leads to either doing the job poorly or hiring an outside service such as a booking agency, further whittling down profit for venues and pay for artists.

Many audiences love to hear their favorite songs performed live. But for a local artist to perform a song published by another artist, the venue has to pay three different performing rights organizations an annual fee of more than $350 each year for that to happen. These organizations pay songwriters for every reported public performance of their song at a rate set by Congress.

And while it’s only pennies for the songwriters, this fee can be a serious hurdle for a business that just wants to support local music in the community. Some venues avoid this fee by requiring artists to perform only original music, eliminating the acts and audiences who love those familiar cover songs.

The low notes of compensation

The going rates for live performances are surprisingly low. Restaurants and bars may offer $100-$200 for a couple of hours of music by a soloist or small ensemble. While that may sound like a nice hourly rate for the artist, it doesn’t account for the taxes, travel, gear, maintenance, and expenses the artist has to manage. Most musicians, driven either by a passion for music or pure madness, are happy just to break even with their costs, leaving them to rely on another full-time job just to fuel their obsession.

Establishments struggle with this reality, knowing they need to maintain a viable business model while also supporting the musical community. Many venues have grappled with whether to charge a cover fee or enforce a minimum purchase to offset these costs, leading to mixed feelings among patrons who wish to support the scene but face their own budget constraints.

And while many people are glad to toss $5 into a tip jar for a good song, few realize that may be the only money going home with the artist that night. There’s a serious downside to this: Artists who relinquish their art to hobby status are categorically prevented from fully engaging and developing their art.

When that happens, it directly impacts the number and quality of songs that are created, songs that each of us would have danced to, cried with, or put on repeat until we finally felt OK. Art, including music, is essential to make sense of our world. Especially the one in our own head.

A diminishing stage

The past decade has seen the closure of several iconic Seattle music venues, including Madame Lou’s, Tula’s, Here-After, and The Woods. Others, like Tim’s Tavern, The Angry Beaver, and even The Crocodile, have faced possible closures, often citing razor-thin operational margins that rely heavily on food and beverage sales to keep the doors open. In Edmonds, Vinbero hosted live music twice weekly, but the costs for a 26-seat house eventually outran the financial benefits, making it impossible to continue at that pace.

Musicians who are hoping to earn a living from their art have limited places to perform, while audiences experience a diminishing range of artists to hear. Despite the high number of artists available, venue owners who can keep the music coming must constantly innovate to keep their doors open while nurturing the local music scene.

The call to harmonize support

Despite these challenges, the spirit of Seattle’s music scene remains resilient. Venues that successfully integrate live music over time can see a boost in patron loyalty and community profile. They become cultural hubs where patrons not only come for the food and drinks but also for the irreplaceable ambiance that live music provides. This can elevate sales, but even when it doesn’t move the bottom line, it still makes us nod our heads, move our hips, shuffle our feet, and close our eyes while we soak it all in.

A call to action

This delicate balance between fostering artistic talent and running a profitable business calls for community support. Anyone can support live music by attending shows, participating in venue promotions, and spreading the word. Every ticket purchased or meal ordered during a performance not only contributes to a vibrant ecosystem that benefits artists and businesses. It also feeds the soul of anyone who participates in the experience. Live music is a critical element to a thriving community.

A future of harmony

As Seattle and Puget Sound continue to produce talented musicians, our hope is that both new and established venues find innovative ways to sustain and expand their live music offerings. Community support is what makes the difference, transforming financial burdens into investments in cultural enrichment. Let’s not allow the music to stop where it first began. Instead, let it play louder and reach further, echoing through the streets of our towns.

Seattle is a city synonymous with iconic music. Supporting live performances is more than preserving a cultural legacy – it’s about creating a thriving future. As we enjoy the rhythms and melodies woven into the fabric of our community, remember that each note played is a step toward sustaining the soul of Puget Sound. Support local music venues and keep the music alive for generations to come. n

– Alan Hardwick owns Crazy Good Records and Alan Hardwick Productions in Edmonds. He’s also a member of the local band One Love Bridge.