In 1994, Mass Giorgini recorded and mixed the Screeching Weasel album How to Make Enemies and Irritate People on the Leaping Lizard Mobile rig of Sonic Iguana Studios. That album was recorded in the basement of drummer Dan Panic and mixed in the living room of the singer songwriter Ben Weasel. Rest and coffee breaks were taken in the kitchen of guitarist John Jughead, who also happened to be Dan Panic’s next-door neighbor. The only then-band member of Screeching Weasel who did not live in Chicago at the time was bassist Mike Dirnt, whose obligations with his other band meant that sessions had to be scheduled around minor details such as appearances on the David Letterman Show. The sessions were crazy, but great fun, and ended up producing a fantastic album!

Green Day with Mike Dirnt front-and-center in his Screeching Weasel shirt.

How to Make Enemies and Irritate People has gone on from its initial long sold-out Lookout Records pressings to a later edition on Asian Man Records, and most recently, on Recess Records.

Mike Dirnt is doing his part to help the Save Sonic Iguana Kickstarter campaign by autographing three of the rare and sold out vinyl LP editions of How to Make Enemies and Irritate People originally released on the Lookout Records–which will be the new reward for the $350 of contribution!

Here is a link to the Save Sonic Iguana Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/912734450/save-sonic-iguana

A long ago sold out Lookout Records pressing of “How to Make Enemies and Irritate People” awaiting Mike Dirnt’s autograph for the Save Sonic Iguana Kickstarter campaign.

Welcome to the new Sonic Iguana web site! After several years of the same tired old page, we are introducing an updated look. Interestingly, the logo which is the centerpiece of the new site is actually the original logo designed for Sonic Iguana by Aldo Giorgini – renowned artist with several pieces in the Smithsonian Collection – and also father of Sonic Iguana founder Mass Giorgini. In a similar way, the rest of the site is meant to share what is new and fresh about the studio while still proudly celebrating the notable albums which have been produced at Sonic Iguana over the past 22 years.

While the studio has a long and significant history (as celebrated by the partial list of albums produced here on the Credits tab), the current projects being completed at the studio  are just as exciting – from the releases completed in just the last few weeks, such as Mass Giorgini’s work on the latest Anti-Flag album The General Strike and master of the upcoming The Thing that Ate Larry compilation for Adeline Records to the current projects in the mastering studio (the upcoming release by San Francisco’s One Man Army on Adeline Records being mastered by Mass Giorgini), in the recording studio (Lady and the Monsters from California, PA being produced by Philip Zumbrun) and also at the mix desk (New Castle, Australia’s Excite Bike being mixed by Philip Zumbrun and mastered by Mass Giorgini).

Finally, in order to celebrate our history in a way that truly has a significant effect on the present, we have decided to stick to the same rates we have had since January 1, 2000 – despite the several thousands of dollars of additional investment in improved and expanded studio equipment in the studio since that time.

Thank you to Punk Rock Geek at TPU Design for designing and putting this site together. We hope you all enjoy the new site, whether you are just visiting, or plan to record with us or master a new release here in the future!

To inaugurate the new site, here is a link to the recently released video sponsored by Amnesty International for “This the New Sound” from Anti-Flag’s latest album The General Strike.