LIVING IN HARMONY — North Delaware Avenue complex tenants (left to right) Michael Marquardt of R.P.M., Peter Humphreys of Masterwork, Joe Tarsia of Alpha International, and Richard Feld of Tekcom. (Photo by Gregg Kirk)

By GREGG KIRK
Big Shout Magazine, July 1990

“We’d like to have this block as a principal moving force in the music community in Philadelphia.”

So says R.P.M. co-owner Michael Marquardt, one half of the business team that has been actively seeking music-oriented business to rent and inhabit space in the former Jack Frost Sugar warehouse located on N. Delaware Ave. in the city. To those who know nothing of the complex of businesses now residing in this almost desolate warehouse district, Marquardt’s statement may seem outrageous. But over the past four years, Marquardt and partner Al Powell have collected enough important businesses in the music industry to make this statement very close to being true today.

In how many cities in the country can a musician find a hive of rehearsal spaces, a world-class 24-track recording studio, a national record label, a mastering lab, and a major musical equipment supplier all within the same confines of a single city block? Even this brief description of the businesses on N. Delaware Ave. does not do the complex justice. There is a veritable world of musical activity going on there every day — so much so that the area has already attracted the attention of most major and minor bands in the city as well as artist and entertainment companies from outside the area.

How did this come about, and who are these businesses? What follows in a brief overview of the history and tenants of this most unique part of the city.

R.P.M.
N. Delaware Ave., (3rd & 4th Floors)

When talking about how the businesses on N. Delaware Ave. came to be there, discussion must start with the original tenants and cornerstone of the entertainment complex — R.P.M. Begun in 1986 as a continuation of the spirit of the now-defunct nightclub the Main Point in Bryn Mawr, where Marquardt (who was a doorman) and Al Powell (who was a sound technician) first met, the idea for the business sprang to life after the two partners saw the various problems musicians encountered at the club. The two also met and worked with most of the major national acts who traveled through the club and thereby set up a network of invaluable connections.

They put their ideas together and devised a business that has proved to be everything from a simple rehearsal space to a management company for certain bands. R.P.M. inhabits the third and fourth floors of the 1020 building where bands may practice in rehearsal studios, record music videos, or rent musical equipment. The business also provides a graphic design package for band logos, photography consultation and shooting, an eight-track recording facility for demo tapes, and promotion/marketing consultation.

More than 5,000 bands have used the services of R.P.M. which includes “everybody from the Beach Boys to the Dead Milkmen,” smiles Marquardt. Recent clients have included Bobby Brown and Cinderella, who were rehearsing last month for an upcoming album.

When R.P.M. signed the lease for their space with landlord Seymour Rubin in 1986, they suggested that he not fill the adjoining spaces with ordinary businesses. After a few months of hustling, Marquardt and Powell were able to land two music-oriented businesses who coincidentally needed space — Tekcom and Masterwork. From this initial idea, the two decided to capitalize upon it and try to develop a veritable music community.

Tekcom Corporation
1020 N. Delaware Ave. (first floor)

The second in the line of music-oriented tenants to reside in the N. Delaware Ave. complex was Tekcom, who settled into their first-floor location three years ago. This audio equipment supplier began business 10 years ago when Richard Feld and Loue Maresca became partners after working for other sound companies. Maresca had a background in multi-track recording from working at Barclay Recording & Electronics, and Feld developed a background in sound reinforcement from working at Dimension Five Sound, a national tour sound company.

After noticing each other’s strengths as competitors of sorts, the two decided to combine their knowledge and become partners in the fall of 1980. The business now offers four separate departments of supply and service — a synthesizer and MIDI department, a sound reinforcement and P.A. department, a service department which handles electronic and loud speaker repairs, and a multi-track recording department. Each of these departments is equipped to handle the business needs of the novice to Spectrum-sized concerts. In fact, Tekcom regularly does hand sound for Spectrum performances.

In 1987, Marquardt and Powell coaxed Feld and Maresca to move their place of business to the N. Delaware Ave. address.

“They came over and made us aware of the space,” remembers Maresca. “They really persuaded us to relocate here because they felt there was a mutual benefit to be gained by association. It has worked out to our benefit. We were, prior to moving here, a well-kept secret, but moving into this location near R.P.M., Masterwork, and the Warehouse has given people a chance to walk by our door and peek in and see our equipment in the showrooms. People used to walk by and say, ‘What do you guys do here?’ Now some of the confusion has been removed. It has put us in touch with many more musicians in the area than we would have ordinarily encountered.”

Masterwork
1020 N. Delware Ave. (second floor)

On the heels of Tekcom moving in, Masterwork, a mastering lab formerly known as Frankford Wayne, took residence in the second floor of the 1020 building more than two years ago. Owned and operated by Peter Humphreys, Albter Ooon, and Nimitir Sarikananda, the business was bought by these three from Frankford Wayne owner Tom Steele three years ago. Humphreys had worked at Sigma Sound Recording for 14 years and had a hand in recording such acts as the O’Jays, the Sinners, the Stylistics, and Teddy Pendergrast. His path crossed with Sarikananda, who was the original employee of Frankford Wayne mastering labs. After logging several years in the business working for others, Humphreys, Sarikananda, and Oon, presented Steele with a proposal to buy him out.

This took place roughly three years ago, and the three soon began looking for an ideal place to set up shop.

“We were looking to go near center city,” says Humphreys. “We were looking for a high-profile business suite kind of place, but the dollar signs weren’t in place. Indirectly, I found out that R.P.M. was looking for music-oriented businesses for rental space. We also found out that Tekcom had moved here, and that kind of helped the decision.”

Soon after they moved Humphreys relates that because of its proximity to R.P.M., 30 to 40 bands were coming by per week, and several of them wanted real-time tape duplication.

“At first we turned that business away, but now we do it and we find that it ultimately turns into larger orders like mastering for CDs, records, and cassettes. It’s kind of a follow-through business.”

Besides this, how has their location helped their business?

“Everyday you see people in the music business here,” says Humphreys. “I have nothing but positive things to say about the people in the building. We work together very cooperatively. I think we have a pretty unique thing, and it’s a very healthy circumstance.”

Alpha International Records
1080 N. Delaware Ave. (eighth floor)

In November of last year, yet another business moved into the N. Delaware Ave. complex. This time it wasn’t in the 1020 building but in the 1080 building next to the Warehouse Recording Studios. During a meeting with Tony Bongiovi at the Power Station in New York, Marquardt met and persuaded Philly recording expert Joe Tarsia to transplant his new record label to the site.

Begun in 1987 as a joint project by Tarsia and Pete Pelullo of Alpha Studios, the idea for Alpha International was presented to Tarsia by Pelullo around September of that year. Based on Tarsia’s 30 years in the business at Sigma Sound, where he became known as the father of the “Philly Sound,” and based upon Pelullo’s marketing experience he received while running Philly World Records out of Alpha Studios, the two decided to join forces. Pelullo sold his interests to a partner, and they have been “methodically putting together an entertainment package” ever since, according to Tarsia.

Tarsia and Pelullo recently signed on rock legend Don Kirshner as a third member of the board of directors, and Alpha International is actively signing bands and distributing product nationally through CEMA, a division of Capitol and EMI Records. The label is currently pushing artist Robbie Mychals, whose album One Mile From Paradise broke the Top 40 on the urban contemporary charts last month.

Why did Tarsia ultimately decided to move his base of operations to N. Delware Ave.?

“The clincher was the fact that what we saw growing here is a little music community,” says Tarsia “We saw a traffic pattern developing that we wanted to be a part of. We do business with R.P.M. and Tekcom, and we have some dealings with producer Lance Quinn at the Warehouse. The traffic that they generate is such that if they have something (artists) that they think is noteworthy, they are just down the street.”

Warehouse Recording Studios/JEM Sound
1030 N. Delaware Ave.

One of the original businesses located at the N. Delaware Ave. complex is the Warehouse Studios located in the 1030 building in between 1020 and the 1080 buildings on the same block. Formerly owned by producers Lance Quinn and Obie O’Brien, the studio first opened its doors more than six years ago and recorded the likes of Bon Jovi and Nils Lofgren.

The 24-track facility was recently sold to owners John Moyer and Michele Niceler, and the two have brought in a while new slew of clients as well as making structural changes to the building. The downstairs now houses the studio’s “B Room,” a second 24-track room where DJ Jazzy Jeff has recently been doing work on a new album. The studio’s main recording room is well known for its drum sounds.