Inside Rick Rubin’s haunted mansion
There’s a particular anomaly surrounding what Rick Rubin does as a producer. Without knowledge of music theory or the general mechanics of putting together sonic textures, Rubin’s inherent sense of song has pushed the greatest artists in the world to make their best work, with artists as diverse as Johnny Cash and Slayer on his resume. While other producers might be looking for the right performance, Rubin is just as concerned with the album’s environment.
When talking about his job, Rubin said that he tries to approach everything from the perspective of the listener, telling Sound City, “Everything that I do is from a fan’s perspective. I can look at songs and go ‘This part speaks to me, or this part doesn’t speak to me as much’”. Despite making nearly any working studio sound good in New York, Rubin moved to California to create his perfect studio.
Working with Red Hot Chili Peppers on Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Rubin suggested moving into the infamous Houdini Mansion, which he has since turned into one of his cornerstone studios. Although there has been debate in recent years about whether the famous magician lived in the house, there was undoubtedly a ghostly presence once the band set up shop.
Reminiscing on those times, Anthony Kiedis would talk about coming across various spirits on the grounds. Instead of being spooked by the ghosts, Kiedis recalled in that he found the haunting presence comforting. At the same time, guitarist John Frusciante claimed to have an erotic experience with a female apparition. The haunting atmosphere never did much for drummer Chad Smith, though, who would leave after recording every night and come back the next morning.
Despite the macabre slant to the studio, Red Hot Chili Peppers were able to knock out their most successful album yet, earning new fans with more subdued material like ‘Under the Bridge’. The band eventually returned to the studio during their second iteration with Frusciante, working on the songs ‘Save the Population’ and ‘Fortune Faded’ for their greatest hits record.
Over a decade after the funk rockers had their stay, the ghosts were still lurking when Slipknot arrived to record Vol III: The Subliminal Verses. Wanting to follow up their magnum opus Iowa with something more mainstream, Corey Taylor remembered seeing visions of different ghosts when living in the house.
As he detailed in the book A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To Heaven, Taylor had wrapped up recording one afternoon and was about to hop in the shower before heading out to the bars that night. After getting out of the shower, Taylor recalled a mysterious man in his bathroom, recalling, “I looked up and saw a man in a tuxedo staring right at me. I ran into my room, but when I looked back there was no one there. The more that I thought about it, Tuxedo Man would have had to walk through the door of our bedroom. Not open it and come in but through it”.
While each band that has recorded there has their own ghost story, it has never been a hindrance to the music. Wanting to get the most out of their performances, the presence of these spirits may as well be a second muse for artists as they try to tap into sounds that they had never tried before.
Those spiritual encounters aren’t just limited to artists, either. When speaking to Fader, one of Rubin’s publicists recalled going down to the studio for a business meeting and feeling a strange presence, remarking, “It wasn’t bad or anything, but it was obvious, and it grew to where it was so intense that I felt like something was standing right behind me”.
That hasn’t stopped a handful of curious artists from returning to the grounds from time to time. Throughout rock history, artists like Audioslave, Marilyn Manson, and Linkin Park have all travelled down to ‘The Mansion’ for their albums. The allure of the grounds has gotten more intriguing for non-rock musicians as well, with Jay-Z, Maroon 5 and most recently, Young Thug making their next projects with Rubin at the helm.
While most logical horror fans wouldn’t touch this studio with a ten-foot pole, Rubin’s haunted mansion has always been a haven for any musician looking to expand their craft. There may be a few unexpected visitors from time to time, but those spectral forces are practically sanctifying the songs before they even come out.
