Miner Street Recordings

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Miner Street Recordings Owned by producer Brian McTear (founder of Weathervane's Shaking Through) and musician, engineer and artist, Amy Morrissey.
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The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile, Sharon Van Etten, Waxahatchee, + In 1996, Miner Street made the move from McTear's college living room at 112 E. Miner Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania to 128 Krams Avenue in Philadelphia's Manayunk neighborhood. In 1999, there was another move - across the street to what was then "Cycle Sound Studios" with owner and live sound engineer, Gary Ferenchak. The "merger" put Miner Street's growing clientele together with Cycle Sound's much larger room and coveted vintage gear collection. It was a match made in heaven, and a partnership that lasts to this day. And at a time in which the entertainment industry underwent dramatic changes, when most studios did not survive, Miner Street Recordings actually thrived. (We are very proud of that little detail.) In September 2005, Miner Street Recordings moved to Norris Street in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood, just blocks away from McTear's and Morrissey's home. Long before the revitalization of Fishtown, Miner Street was one of the first creative enterprises to explore the neighborhood's potential. Over a decade has passed, and today we find ourselves thankfully located right in the middle of the best live music venues, restaurants, art galleries and more. Recording clients from out of town are welcome to enjoy recording in Fishtown, by taking advantage of Miner Street's simple but cozy apartment space (complete with bathroom, shower, kitchen) that comfortably sleeps 3 - 4 people for weeks at a time. Miner Street Recordings has long supported the music community that gives it life, and is perhaps best-recognized as the studio setting for the non-profit Weathervane Music's Shaking Through documentary recording series, from an organization and series that McTear co-created at the beginning of The Great Recession in early 2009. Weathervane's work has brought incredibly talented and enthusiastic artists to Miner Street Recordings, including members of The War on Drugs, Dr. Dog, Grizzly Bear, Wilco, Sufjan Stevens, Sharon Van Etten, Strand of Oaks, Waxahatchee, and many others.

Take a person that was once in their teens. That smart, cranky energy could only point in one direction: to be like Nick...
09/29/2026

Take a person that was once in their teens. That smart, cranky energy could only point in one direction: to be like Nick Lowe or Elvis Costello … or Alex Chilton or Robyn Hitchcock … or (...you get it). And so they did just that, and at times in surprisingly impressive fashion. We get to their twenties and thirties. Playing in bands* - whether leading up front or pushing from behind - it didn’t matter. That energy gained focus. 

Now let’s flip ahead a bit. Past marrying their lifelong love interest, past them having kids and getting themselves a great house in the woods outside of Philadelphia (where it’s a long drive to get anywhere). Let’s say this person is around 50 or so, now. The energy platform was abandoned for a good bit of time, enough let’s say for the offspring to get most of the way toward their own survivability. 

But now, with less time ahead than behind, they live a little more in their head. They contemplate terrifying thoughts about whether “it all could have happened differently”. Guilt-ridden and scared dense - Wondering if they’re happy (...they actually probably are), or if they’re needed (...yeah, probably still needed), or if they ended up the person that teenager imagined (...How could they? That kid didn’t know anything). 

And of course, there’s death… not to mention the news (... you get it). 

Bret played and recorded everything on this song. Amy Morrissey Amy Morrissey and Brian D. McTear mixed it at Miner Street Recordings. Brian shot this embarrassing low-fi attempt to say the above too.
 
*Bret was in the great Moped. The one from Philadelphia. and the maybe even “greater” Bigger Lovers (Yep Roc)

Scared Dense by Bret Tobias It’s so f’in excellent. Do listen at yr own peril. Link is in band’s Bio. ...
09/25/2026

Scared Dense by Bret Tobias
It’s so f’in excellent. Do listen at yr own peril. Link is in band’s Bio.

Bret Tobias - all music and recording
Mixing at Miner Street Recordings by Amy Morrissey Amy Morrissey and Brian D. McTear

Please share. For those who are new to Bret, he was a singer / co-frontmen for The Bigger Lovers at the turn of the century (remarkable catalog), and before that a multi-instrumentalist in the great West Chester/ Philadelphia indie-punk band Moped. The one from Philadelphia. (also truly excellent). The Bret Set play Oct 2 at chickenboy w/ VwahVwah & Robert Perry

A great record was made here over the last 6 months. Still figuring a plan, so It’ll be some time before you hear the wh...
09/09/2026

A great record was made here over the last 6 months. Still figuring a plan, so It’ll be some time before you hear the whole thing, but its title track, The Mad King, is out for the world, a song of hope that tyrants will fall and better days are to come.

That’s Mutlu singing and playing guitar, Charlie Hall / Charlie Hall on drums, Tom Spiker on bass, Robbie Bennett / Robbie Bennett on keyboards, additional guitars by Brian D. McTear , along with vocals by Amy Morrissey , Delia Amendolia and Brian. As always, Amy engineered this record masterfully, and Brian and Amy produced and mixed it together.

We love it. We hope you’ll love it. Please stay tuned!

Eclipse 2026. Not Cloudy.
08/12/2026

Eclipse 2026. Not Cloudy.

Best guitar / chorus combo EVER. Highly recommended if you can roll that way. The Rickenbacker 330/6 was the first guit...
08/11/2026

Best guitar / chorus combo EVER. Highly recommended if you can roll that way. The Rickenbacker 330/6 was the first guitar Brian D. McTear ever bought (It was made in 1989. He bought it at West Chester Music Store in 1990 when he was 17). Jason Knight played it the early Mariner Nine days while Brian was just a singer. The Leslie later came from Paul Edwin Hammond around 2003, and the Leslie combo preamp from stephen maglio a little later. Just played first full Bitter bitter weeks show with it in maybe 20 years at Anchor Rock Club w/ Deardarkhead in July. Since then have been obsessed. (Pics of Amy Morrissey are simply proof that someone is mixing as Brian takes pics of his guitar)

This drum set set makes many hearts go pitter-patter. A short-list of its many secrets:1) Amy Morrissey ( ) puts 15 mics...
04/22/2026

This drum set set makes many hearts go pitter-patter. A short-list of its many secrets:

1) Amy Morrissey ( ) puts 15 mics on it, which, believe it or not, all have their purpose and all get used at some point or another. “Less is more”, as Amy always says.

2) The kit’s a 1976 Tama Superstar “Super Maple” (13”, 14”, 16”, 24”). It was bandmate uncle’s kit. He gave it to Matt in 1997 or so, which he traded to us when an old Gretsch kit was given to us by our Manayunk landlord.

3) In 1976, Superstars were the top of the line. We know it’s a 76 because that was the only year the shells were 4 ply and needed support rings (which you can see in the tom pics). By the way ... see drummer Tim Lynam’s cotton balls in the 14 in rack tom? (Never thought of that before... try it. It really works).

4) Our Dream Bliss 20 in crash ride... Drummers love this one. Many have bought their own after experiencing ours but they all say ours is better. We don’t take it for granted. In one of his first appearances gave it to after he signed an endorsement deal with another company. Thanks, Eric. It’s used every session all these years.

5) The hi-hats aren’t hi-hats. Got them at a Sam Ash sidewalk sale in 1999 or so. One’s a 16” medium weight orchestral cymbal, the other’s a 16” paper thin A. They record perfectly and never sound overwhelming in a snare mic (or rack tom for that matter).

6) Dark K Crash? gave it to us after the making of Los Halos “Leaving Va.” album, at Miner Street Manayunk all the way back in 2003. It doesn’t look pretty, but somehow every now and then it’s still the best crash in the room, even if it’s seen better days. We’ve never had a broken cymbal that still sounded great. 7) “el Alma” - one of only two recordings from 2026’s “mirror in the hallway” LP where used this kit, but it’s a great great great one.

04/13/2026

There’s a collective uneasiness these days that feels inescapable. It’s palpable and ever present. Music is one of the very few things we have that can transcend the madness, even if it’s just for a moment. It can provide healing and clarity when nothing makes sense; when you’re lost, heartbroken, isolated. It’s the distinctly human experience of being in a shared space and connecting to one another through that beautiful exchange of energy and vibrations.

It’s been a difficult past few years. There are many days I feel completely overcome with grief. If you’ve lost someone you love, you know that feeling all too well. In my experience, songs are often the only true antidote to alleviate that unbearable sadness. I hope to see some of your lovely faces at a show this year and, no matter where you are, if you’re struggling, just know that you’re not alone.

4/26 - Decatur, GA Eddie's Attic
5/08 - Conroe, TX Red Brick Tavern
5/09 - Dallas, TX Opening Bell
6/03 - Columbus, OH Woodlands Tavern
6/05 - Lake Orion, MI 20 Front Street
6/06 - Arlington Heights, IL HeyNonnyAH
6/07 - St. Louis, MO Blue Strawberry
6/19 - Boston, MA City Winery
8/12 - Knoxville, TN Open Chord
9/21 - Annapolis, MD 49 West

📷: Delia Amendolia

04/13/2026

This is the story of the Dead Milkmen, their hometown of Philadelphia, and the world of punk rock they’ve spent four decades unraveling.

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Philadelphia, PA
19125

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