Make Contact
For the best service, e-mail us for more information, or booking inquiries, at:
info@perfectsoundstudios.com
OR Reach Norm directly – norm@nkerner.com / 323.459.8708
MEET THE TEAM
JAKE RODENHOUSE
Owner/Producer
Producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist Jake Rodenhouse has played many roles through the years- whether in the studio or out touring America- including his creation of two successful recording studios, Hopewell Recording in the Finger Lakes region of New York, and Perfect Sound, in Los Angeles.
Hopewell Recording began as a small hobby studio near Canandaigua Lake in New York and grew into a virtual factory of great independent artists and bands, mostly centered around the vibrant local music scene in Western New York state. Open for only 4 years from 2000-2004, Hopewell produced hundreds of indie and punk records, every one of them produced and engineered by the dream-team of Jake Rodenhouse and Dave Drago.
With the close of Hopewell Recording, Jake moved to Los Angeles to pursue a greater career in the music business. In his early time in LA, he played in many different acts, whether as drummer, guitarist, or bassist, and toured much of the western United States with power-pop band, The City Drive.
After the dissolution of The City Drive, Jake began the hunt for a space and a team to create Perfect Sound. The studio was built in a stunning Hollywood Hills residential location in 2008 and made an immediate impact on the industry. The experience was designed as an “artist’s retreat,’ and in many ways parallels the experience of a world class luxury resort. Many of its clients are Grammy award winning/nominated artists that have not only recorded at the studio, but have also enjoyed living in luxury at the attached house. In only a few short years, Perfect Sound has been proud to be a part of some of the most important albums of this generation.
NORM KERNER
Guy in charge of…you know….everything
norm@nkerner.com / 323.459.8708
Norm Kerner was born in New York City, in 1955, where he attended public schools until 1972, when he enrolled at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. He was in the pre-med program majoring in Bio-Psychology and minoring in Music. Graduating in 1976, he moved to San Francisco and formed a rock band playing his own original material. The band gigged throughout Northern California and made several recordings with Norm on both guitar and bass as well as lead vocals.
In 1979, Norm and a friend designed, built and opened Starlight Sound, a state of the art recording studio in Richmond, CA. Norm began as an assistant engineer and reached the position of chief engineer at Starlight by 1983. There he began producing artists in ’85, primarily in the realm of Soul and Funk music. Starlight and Norm were responsible for some of the most important Hip-Hop, Soul & R&B records that came out of the Bay Area during the 80’s, including Digital Underground, Toni Tone Tony, Club Nouveau, En Vogue, Stanley Burrell (later MC Hammer), Surf MC’s and many others.
From 1987-1989, Norm produced independently at many studios in Northern and Southern California, and started a record label called Homebass Records, where he signed, co-produced, engineered, and mixed the 1st recording of the well known producer-DJ The Automator. Homebass’s initial release, “Music to be Murdered By”, won the 1988 Billboard Magazine Award for Dance Record of the Year.
In 1989, Norm designed, built and opened a studio designed completely to his personal specifications, which included a 5 bedroom apartment, where artists could come from all over the world to live and work in one environment. What he created was the now legendary Brilliant Studios in downtown San Francisco. Brilliant became the West Coast home for alternative rock in the 90’s, drawing artists from all over the world. By now, Norm was an in-demand producer/engineer/mixer with a client list of such groundbreaking artists as American Music Club, Spain, Sky Cries Mary, Imperial Teen, Sister Double Happiness, Kelly Willis, Faith No More, Jewel, and many others.Other artists who worked at Brilliant with Norm’s helping hand include The Breeder’s, Cracker, Grant Lee Buffalo, 7 Year Bitch, Mr. Bungle, The Melvins and Psychic TV.
Norm also composed, produced, engineered and mixed music for TV and film, for release in the US and the UK. During this same period, Norm was Musical Director for the artist Jewel, which led him to work on both the Saturday Night Live and MTV Unplugged, and to choose musicians, write arrangements, and rehearse Jewel’s band to prepare for her performances on Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Tour in 1998 and her singing of the National Anthem at Super Bowl XXXII.
In 2007, Norm met Jake Rodenhouse, and together they decided to build a residential studio that could meet the demands of the new music biz, while creating a special sanctuary for musicians, producers, engineers and artists alike: a studio that embodied the best of the past and the best of the future. That studio was named Perfect Sound.
SEAN KELLETT
Chief Engineer / Operations Manager
Originally hailing from sunny New Hampshire, Sean Kellett joined the team for the first time in 2010. After having attended Los Angeles’ Recording School in Hollywood, Sean was brought on as an assistant, with credits on Rob Zombie’s “Hellbilly Deluxe, Vol. 2” and Tallahassee’s “Jealous Hands,” as well as many uncredited roles on other projects.
He then went on to work with Steve Vai; at the Mothership and Harmony Hut studios, where he worked on Vai’s “The Story of Light,” and on the road, covering much of Europe and the US on his 2012 tour.
Sean re-joined Perfect in 2013 and picked up where he had left off, only this time as a full-fledged staff engineer, rounding out the team and continually working on new projects, including Juanes’ 2014 release, “Loco de Amor,” with legendary producer Steve Lillywhite.