Kevin Alan Scott of San Francisco, a beloved son, brother, uncle and friend to many, head engineer of the Site Recording in Marin County, California, died suddenly at the age of 41, Wednesday, October 12, 2005, while putting for birdie on the ninth hole at Rooster Run Golf Course in Petaluma.

Kevin Allen Scott, KAS, Kbud, Dude.

Kevin was my best friend, my roommate, and I will never forget him.

He was gracious and humble, open and receptive to any of the family lopez that came his way.

It’s hard for those outside of the Lopez Family Circus, perhaps, to understand how pivotal a person, and personality,  Kevin was to every one of us.  He never shrugged off a favor request, nor turned down an invitation.  He was just a tiny bit older than most of us, but was always an Elder– we all looked up to him in a way, and to a deep degree, that we are only now beginning to understand the scope of.  As our funny little displaced circus troupe tries to navigate this massive disruption, the more we see every little dependency we are now floundering without.  He loved, understood and accepted all of us displaced Easterners, and many more Utahans, Texans, and other Outlanders.  He took us all at face value, which is more than most people can ever expect.  But he went far beyond that as well– he believed in us enough to take our  acquaintances at face value as well, and made every one of us better people simply by doing so.

Kevin was born February 13, 1964 in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up in Tonawanda, New York, where he graduated Williamsville North High School in 1982. He studied engineering at The University of Buffalo before transferring to The State University of New York College at Fredonia, graduating in 1988 with a degree in Sound Recording Technology. He was President of the Tonmeister Association at the Fredonia School of Music and a longtime percussionist with the American Legion Band of Tonawanda.

Kevin moved to San Francisco after college, and began working at The Site Recording Environment around 1989. He was passionate about music and had become one of the top recording engineers in the Bay Area. He worked for nearly two decades at The Site recording studio in Nicasio with such artists as Keith Richards, Dolly Parton, Neil Young, Linda Rondstadt, Huey Lewis, Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, Pearl Jam, The Grateful Dead, Metallica, Elvis Costello, Frank Sinatra, Aaron Neville, Glyn Johns and many, many others.

He had a great ear for production and was appreciated for his knowledge and mellow demeanor when at the recording console.

Kevin’s other interests, aside from weekly golf, were photography and playing bass guitar.

Kevin is survived by his parents, Lou and Gretchen Scott of Buffalo, New York, sisters Kelly and Kristin, two nephews and one niece as well as many close friends and a legion of musical acquaintances whose lives are richer for having known him. He will be direly missed and long remembered.

“how great to have 2 families, one on each coast. the love in the room was so strong. oh my god, am i actually writing this? well, one thing i can say is, goodbye kevin i will miss you, but i will always have a memory chip with your smile on it. f in awesome! more cowbell! white inn was a celebration of the great person you are. bring back the wollensack! pee wee’s playhouse! pancake pete! linda ronstadt! dolly parton! pearl jam! you are a satellite watching over the lopez family circus. enjoy the ride! peek out from behind a cloud and shine your smiling sunbeams through the ozone to us. liberty bell!”
-Waz

Kevin and his car, can’t tell you how many times he had a stereo stolen from the car…

“I always thought it would make a good TV show (& Kip would back me up on this-)
Kevin’s the Star, with a so-called normal life, while all Hell breaks loose all around him all the time.  We could call it “Kevin’s Idiot Friends”, and he would be the star with the only voice of reason. It has often seemed like we have been flailing and thrashing, again and again, but Kev has always stayed up with us, late at night, as long as we’ve needed to hear his calm, low voice.
Forgive us now, as we have no voice of reason anymore.”
-K. Fox

“Kevin was awesome. Even though our contact decreased over the years since I left SF, his generosity and friendship have and will continue to have a positive effect on the way I try to live.  We have very fond memories of a man who’s kindness and greatness were at levels i could only dream of obtaining. I am honored to have known him.”
– Joshua Wheeler

One of Kevins hobbies was digital photography. He had a much fancier camera than we see him with on the right. He had the whole kit – the vest to hold all the stuff, the tripod, the mono-pod, lenses, filters and what not.

He got some pretty good shots of the Blue Angels when they were in town.

“I don’t know what to say…I guess nobody does. He was such a good, loyal, kind man. He was my anchor when we were up at the Site, and was supportive for years after.”
– Glen Phillip

“He was a lovely guy, and a fantastic engineer.”
– Austin DeLone

Kevin taught me allot about sound engineering, especially being an assistant engineer, which college really didn’t prepare me for. Kevins was dedicated to doing the best job possible, and keeping things very well organized, a man after my own heart.

That’s not quite all of them, but the pic on the right is the pile of all the recordings that Kevin had worked on. Click here to see Kevin’s sound engineering discography.

1989-2005 – Chief engineer, the Site Recording
Assisted and engineered over forty record projects. Assisted in the customization and installation of 72-channel Neve 8078 Nov. ’89- Nov. ’90, construction of studio isolation rooms (Jan. ’89), rebuilding  and rewiring of  control room (Feb ’96)

1985-1988 – Student, Sound Recording Technology
Unpaid extra curricular activities include; Live-to-two track recordings, assisted in the wiring of two twenty-four track studios, sound engineering for campus television cancer research telethon and live sound for many local jazz and rock bands.

1985-1988 – State University College at Fredonia, Fredonia, NY
B.S. Sound Recording Technologies, graduated, Cum Laude

1982-1985 – State University of New York at Buffalo, Amherst, NY.
Undergraduate Studies

1987-1988 – President, Tonmeister Association/Studio Manager – Mason Hall Recording Studios (Fredonia, NY).
Supervised studio operations and student activities. Fall 1987 Apointed to search committee/task force for Sound Recording Technology Program

Spring 1987 – Vice President, Tonmeister Association.
Supervised maintenance of studio equipment.

1983-1985 – Sigma Phi Epsilon National Fraternity
New York Epsilon Chapter, University of Buffalo.

Kevin, like many of the rest of the family Lopez was an Apple Macintosh addict.
Here we see his two towers battling for control of Kevins computer world. He went from a Centris to a G3 tower to a G4 tower.

His “home office”, where many hours were spent surfing the web, working with audio, playing bass, and catching up on the latest StrongBad email.

“He was one of those really good guys.”
-Dave Fridmann

His office at work. Kevin had developed a filemaker pro database to keep track of data for a recording session. This example set me into making my tour databases. He had print layouts for any reel of tapes box. To bad nobody uses tape anymore, but Kevin was a pro with 2″ to 1/4″. Old school analog. Though he was also getting to be a wiz on the ProTools as more and more sessions went that way.

Besides Photography and Golf, one of Kevins other big hobbies was playing the bass, and as an exercise in playing he was working on learning every song in the bass tabs book he had. For many hours you could find him in his room, headphones on, music stand, itunes, perfecting his technique. He was our resident bass player for when any of the family lopez needed some for their musical project.

Kevin was the Kirk, or the Picard of the Family Lopez, and now we must go on bravely with out our captain. And we will hopefully honor him till our last days making the time we have the best that it can be.

To Kevin, I hope Partner was there to greet you and it was 4:20 on your arrival.
I love you.

Ode to K2

A curious place on the Earth has been found;
A place where unusual beings make sounds…
A haven for those who would have it be said
That the world must now hear what hides there in their head.

They come there to “work”, that’s the word that they say…
But if truth be true-told, they’ve come but to PLAY!
O, work yet is done: there are tasks large and small;
‘Tho duties are shared, they’re shared not by all.

‘Mongst mountains wooded, and roads asteep
There toils one who ’tis said ne’er sleeps;
Be it midnight or dawn, with sunbeams anew,
One is there working, steadfastly and true.

A sound we oft’ hear, “Help, Kevin; Help, please!”
A call ne’er denied, nay, the duty is siezed!
The wrong shall be righted, the ill’s met its cure…
His knowledge and effort join swiftly and sure.

So WHAT if his mind is ablaze with rebuke,
If THIS week’s Genius-in-Charge makes him puke?
So WHAT if his journal at night is a-flow
With serial plans of who’ll be first to go?!

So WHAT if he’s saving each penny and dime,
And watching and waiting ’til fin’ly it’s time,
To BLOW the damned MOUNTAIN to HEAVEN and BACK…

Until that fine day,
He’s in there to stay,

There’ll always be Kevin to take up the slack.

-Dean Parks

A memorial for Kevin can be visited at the
San Francisco Columbarium
One Loraine Court
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 221-1838