Started by musician-turned-engineer Chris Julian in 1984, Calliope Studios became a hot bed of hip hop activity in the late 80s and early 90s. De La Soul recorded 3 Feet High and Rising here in 1989. A Tribe Called Quest recorded People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm here in 1990. Other albums produced at Calliope include the 3rd Bass album Derelicts Of Dialect (1991), Dee-Lite's World Clique (1990) and Black Sheep's A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing (1991).

Before Calliope was a hit factory, in the early days they just tried to stay afloat. As Julian recalls, "My first ad ran for $24 an hour. And I think the lowest competitor that I saw at that time in 1984, was $40 an hour. So I started by offering time for just about half of what the nearest competitor was." (source: frank151.org.

view full location details...

Before the Wu-Tang Clan was signed by Loud Records (then a subsidiary of RCA Records), the many-membered crew would cycle through RZA's place, as he laid down beats behind each artist's rhymes.

The Wu put out their first single with "Protect Your Neck" on the A side, and first "Tearz" and then "Method Man" on the B side. They printed 5,000 cassettes and vinyls of the single to distribute, and continued to self-promote until they were signed. The address on the single was listed as this location.

view full location details...

After Jimi Hendrix saw how much it cost to rent studio time for Electric Ladyland, he and his manager Michael Jeffrery decided to turn the Generation Club they had recently invested in into a studio. After several construction upgrades and expenses, Electric Lady Studios had their opening party on August 26, 1970.

Although Jimi Hendrix only recorded there for four weeks before he died, numerous landmark albums have been recorded there since: Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy (1973) and Physical Graffiti (1975), The Clash’s Combat Rock (1982), Weezer's first two albums, Run-DMC's Tougher than Leather (1988) and the White Stripes’ De Stijl (2000) are just some of the more noteworthy creations.

view full location details...

This court in Manhattan handles more than 100,000 arrests a year, and averages about 70 to 90 cases during the 5 pm-1 am night shift.

Operating since 1967, the court has been an inspiration for the tv series Night Court and various scenes from Law & Order.

Interestingly, the court has become something of a bizarre tourist attraction, and was even listed in a Lonely Planet guide as a destination.

Notwithstanding recent arraignments of celebrities like rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs and French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn, there is a compelling interest in the American judicial system that underpins much of the tourism. And the obvious hope to see Bull Shannon lay down the law.

Source: AP

view full location details...

This is the former location of Fountains of Wayne, the lawn ornament store in Wayne, New Jersey where the New York band got its name. It closed in 2009.

view full location details...