Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500189
52 M PS E . O R G Disney, and I forget the name of the mixer who was there, I just don't remember his name. Tim had left some years previous to that. We were lucky enough to have Greg Orloff, and then Mary Jo Lang step up as mixers after Tim left. SSS: And did TAJ change the name when Disney took over, or was it still called TAJ Soundworks? JR: I'm pretty sure they kept the name. I can't say for sure as a fact, but I believe so. SSS: And do you believe that they closed after a couple of years? JR: Oh, I know they did. SSS: Where did you transition to from TAJ? JR: I really didn't know what to do. Actually, I was pretty much at my wit's end. Here I was, where the place I thought I was going to retire out of, and had all my blood, sweat, and tears involved in. I'm going down in flames, I had no money. That place took a terrible toll on me at the end, and I just didn't know what to do. So I called up Don Rogers, and went over to see Don because I'd known Don for years and years and years, having worked at Gomillion early on, and then Warner Hollywood. I sat down and I said, "Don, I don't know what I'm gonna do, I'm trying to figure this out." He said, "John, don't worry." "Don, what do you mean, don't worry?" "Now, John, don't worry. I'll tell you what, I'll put you under contract here. How's that? And I'll get you in the union." Let me tell you. That statement made a huge difference in my life. It turned it right around. Not that it was bad. But it was not looking good. SSS: He gave you a new direction. It opened another door. JR: It opened another door. And again, as I say, it's the people that make the difference, not the equipment, etc. So Don, true to his word, did that. I got into the union and worked there for many, many years. And then it transitioned over to the main lot at Burbank onto the Foley stage there, which Don mostly designed. Although, he called me up one day and said, "Hey, look at the plans up there." "Well, Don, send it to me, give me a month or two." "No, no, no, I'm gonna meet with the contractor today." "What? Where's the water heater?" "What do you mean 'water heater'?" "Where's the water heater? You've got to have hot water in there if you got people in the water tank." "Oh." So that was my only contribution to that Foley stage. SSS: You were at Warner Hollywood, which is off Santa Monica and Formosa. How many years were you at Warner Hollywood? JR: Oh boy, I don't know. 12. Honestly, I don't know the timeline, per se. SSS: And then you transitioned to the Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank. Why did you make that transition? Warner Bros. Main Stage.