Number 9 Audio Group
Number 9 Audio Group is a recording studio located in the Cabbagetown area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at 222 Gerrard Street East. Number 9 produced the World Jazz For Haiti charity album in 2010, appeared on Much Music's Disband TV show in 2008, and recorded Canadian acts Barenaked Ladies and Amanda Marshall in the 1990s, while they were still emerging artists.
History
Number 9 Audio Group was founded in 1981 by George Rondina, who continues to operate the studio to this day. The title of the studio is a nod towards the Beatles' Revolution 9. The recording studio is currently housed with a renovated Victorian building, featuring two live rooms, a single control room and small production lab. In 2010, Number 9 Audio Group was profiled by Canadian Musician magazine due to its long history in the Canadian music industry.Beginnings (Number 9 Sound Studios)
After touring extensively as a keyboardist during the 1970s, George Rondina decided to make a career change to producer/engineer. He took $500 of his savings and opened up the first incarnation of Number 9 Sound Studios in the back of a local record shop. The studio grew quickly and took on a variety of clients from the Toronto area.As business picked up, George formed a partnership with Jim Zolis to further grow the studio. They switched locations to a basement studio on Jarvis street in Toronto, in order to better serve their increasingly metropolitan clients. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Number 9 welcomed artists such as Jane Siberry, Amanda Marshall, the Nylons, the Waltons, Barenaked Ladies and Jeff Healey through their doors.
Number 9 Audio Group
Although the studio had gained great popularity by the mid 1990s - earning multiple Juno Awards and Gold Records - the two partners decided to go their separate ways in 1996. George went on to build the business that is now known as Number 9 Audio Group, while Jim founded his own company entitled Zolis Audio Productions.The business continued to flourish throughout the 1990s and 2000s, working with an eclectic mix of clients including Van Morrison, Duran Duran and the Rolling Stones. In 2006 the studio moved into a new location; a renovated Victorian home in the core of downtown Toronto, which it occupies to this day.