Music To His Ears
Recording-studio founder
Anthony Newett mixed and mastered the soundtrack for
Mummers documentary Strut!, among other notable
projects, in his modest 13th Street production
house.
By Lorraine
Gennaro
Review Staff Writer
To say that music is Anthony Newett's life would be,
as he puts it, a severe understatement.
Just as that life was beginning to take shape at the
tender age of 2, his music-teacher father placed a
baritone ukulele in his little hands. The elder Newett
cleverly decided the small, four-stringed guitar-like
instrument would be the next best thing to a real guitar
for the toddler.
It wasn't long before Newett Sr. discovered his only
child had a natural gift to replicate pitch. "What that
means is I have perfect pitch. I can hear a car horn and
know it's D flat," notes Newett.
Honing his son's gift, Newett's father worked on
developing his ear in lieu of teaching him music from an
instruction book, recalls the 35-year-old
multi-instrumentalist/producer/engineer.
By age 3, Newett could play the Dick Van Dyke
theme on the ukulele. And he's been making music ever
since.
It's been a lucrative career for the owner of Newett
Music Studios, 1437 S. 13th St. No signage marks the
entrance, which is actually just around the corner on
Wilder Street.
The owner claims he doesn't need a sign, or any other
form of advertising for that matter, because he has more
business than he knows what to do with. Nice work if you
can get it.
"My client base is exclusively referrals from other
artists. I also get referrals from Philadelphia's top
entertainment attorneys and managers. They send their
clients to me based on my reputation as a
perfectionist," he says.
Established in 1985, Newett Music Studios is a
one-man show. Exceeding the services of a conventional
recording studio, projects are developed from their
rawest form.
The bulk of Newett's business comes from local and
national songwriters who bring him rough versions of
their work. He dons multiple hats, acting first as
musician -- laying down whatever instrumentation is
required; then producer/engineer -- turning the work
into a commercial-quality song. The studio offers all
those services in-house, saving the client the
additional costs associated with producing a quality
project, Newett says.
When he's not working his magic for other people, the
producer is furthering his own craft.
A few years ago, he wrote and performed a song that
appeared in the Jennifer Tilly movie, Relax, It's
Just Sex. And he recently finished performing,
mixing and mastering the soundtrack for Strut!,
the Mummers documentary. The 18-track instrumental album
features covers of popular tunes like Oh Dem Golden
Slippers, When the Saints Go Marching In and
Greased Lightning. Newett even sang on two songs,
Come Softly To Me and Do You Know What It
Means to Miss New Orleans.
The man behind the music describes the film as a
great portrayal of the Mummers' history. The National
Association of Recording Arts and Sciences, of which
Newett is a voting member, nominated Strut! in
three categories.
Being a NARAS member enables Newett to vote annually
for Grammy nominees and attend the awards, which take
place this year in Manhattan. In order to be a voting
member of NARAS, one must have six nationally released
albums, he notes.
Newett's first national release, on which he played
all the instruments and produced, was a 1998 CD by local
jazz artist Clyde Terrell.
Among Newett's better-known local production credits
is an artist named Bria. Atlantic Records founder Ahmet
Ertgun signed the singer on the strength of the
Newett-produced material, the producer claims. Another
local credit is Danielle Ingerman, who edged out
hundreds of artist submissions and won the Q-102 Philly
Idol contest with a Newett-produced song.
The South Philly native realized early on that his
life's calling was music. By his own admission, Newett
was a spoiled child born and raised at 13th and Reed
streets.
"But it paid off because [my parents] put so much
into my career in terms of supplying me with instruments
and equipment," he says.
His father also happened to work at Zapf's Music in
the Olney section of town. With myriad musical
instruments at his fingertips, Newett Sr. could easily
nurture his son's ability by bringing home the tools of
the trade.
Newett is proficient in so many instruments today, he
has trouble remembering them all. Sitting on the piano
bench inside his studio, he closes his eyes and rattles
off the list: drums, guitar, bass, trumpet, violin,
five-string banjo, tenor banjo, mandolin ...
"Which one am I forgetting? Ah, piano!" he says with
a laugh.
Of all nine, guitar is his favorite because that's
the instrument he started with. Newett recalls he had
original designs on following in his father's footsteps.
But in his early teens, he developed a strong interest
in music technology, so he decided instead to pursue the
production end of the biz and remain behind the scenes.
"I learned at an early age that a producer in the
music business is very much like a director in the movie
business. All commercial-quality records involve the
services of a producer," he notes.
When the musician married at age 26, he moved to
Abington, where he lives today with his wife Alissa and
2-year-old daughter, appropriately named Aria.
"Those two are the loves of my life. Every project
that I work on ties in some way to my relationship with
Alissa. They are both my inspiration," says the
producer.
On Dec. 18, the couple celebrated their ninth
anniversary.
Talk about ending on a happy note.
