Neighbors: Christian Land

Beige storage-like units line the 17th Street lot where The Cabin recording studio is located. Behind its metal garage door sits a studio filled with equipment, musical talent and artists’ dreams. Christian Land, a bass player for the band Gray State, runs the studio. He found the space when he was looking for a place to play.

“This place was wall-to-wall full of recording gear, six different drum sets, it was packed,” Land says.
Land wanted to preserve the dying aspect of music.

“If this was torn down 35 years of Sarasota Heritage would have been lost,” he said.

The wood-paneled recording studio was built in 1977, for The Allman Brothers, who recorded their second and third albums there. Metallica, The Smashing Pumpkins, Black Crowes, Cher and hundreds of local bands have all come through this studio.

“There is a web that runs through the Sarasota music scene,” Land says. “It is all connected, and everyone plays with each other and helps each other. “It’s a close-knit community of musicians.”

Land believes that Sarasota is on the verge of becoming the music scene it was when the Allman Brothers were here.

Land has been playing in bands since he was 16 years old. He moved 10 years ago to Florida, from Minnesota for the warm weather. When Land isn’t working with musicians at the studio he works at Siesta Sports Rentals. He hopes to keep the studio going and rock ’n’ roll alive in Sarasota.