From Sueno Road to Sueno Studios

Up-and-coming bands such as Big Hungry, The Sweeps, and Field Daze have themselves a home in a music recording studio run by two UC Santa Barbara alumni. You won’t find Sueno Studios on Google Maps, but you can find it tucked away in Old Town Goleta. On the outside, the building is covert, with plain white walls and no signs to reveal the studio inside. But taking a few steps in unveils a vibrant studio equipped with everything needed to record and produce a full-length album, a single, or anything in between.

Jake Morenc and Franky Sansone currently run the studio together. During their time as undergraduates at UCSB, they became heavily involved in the Isla Vista music scene by playing house shows with their respective bands — The Framers for Sansone, and Loot (formerly known as Noise Complaint) for Morenc. The “Sueno” in the studio’s name pays homage to Morenc’s former residence on Sueno Road in Isla Vista, where he hosted several band shows and recorded a majority of his early music. Morenc joined the studio in late 2021 when it was still operating under the name “Sugar Rush Studios” and run by a group of musicians. As time passed, those musicians moved on and Morenc took over. Sansone joined the studio in 2022, and now the two run it together. Morenc is the music equivalent of a jack-of-all-trades, serving as the studio’s sound engineer and handling recording, mixing, mastering, and any renovations the studio might need.

Aside from the studio operations, Morenc and Sansone are also both members of the indie rock band The Framers. Sansone, rhythm guitarist, is one of the founding members that helped get the band started in Isla Vista back in 2019, with Morenc joining in 2022 as their drummer. Having played in that music scene for so long, they resonate with the struggles that many I.V. musicians face in wanting to record original material but lacking the funds and support to do so. Morenc taught himself drumming and audio engineering and advanced these skills throughout his time at UCSB. Now, Sueno Studios strives to provide an affordable space for local bands to pursue their musical endeavors. “We trust people in the I.V. music scene because they’re going through the same stuff that we did,” said Sansone.

Sueno Studios specializes in working with metal, punk, rock, and indie genres and is able to assist musicians with any part of their musical process. Morenc has helped bands from start to finish, but he has also worked just on recording more specific elements such as vocal or piano parts. “My favorite thing to do is to start from scratch,” said Morenc. “The recording part is by far the most fun.”

When musicians visit Sueno Studios, they can feel confident knowing that they are receiving high-quality services without having to spend thousands of dollars. “I think that’s the beauty of this place,” said Sansone. “Anyone from any level can come in and get their work done at a very high value.”

The studio recently underwent a renovation, which included redesigning the space to follow a unified color scheme of red, white, and black. Sansone and Morenc also added life to the walls by hanging photos in frames that featured different gigs they’ve played with The Framers. But
the renovations don’t end there — Morenc is constantly adding new microphones as well as plug-ins, speakers, and equipment to continue to add value to the space.

“The studio’s never done,” said Sansone. “It’s a never ending project.”

Musicians interested in learning more about the services offered at Sueno Studios can reach out to Morenc directly via phone number and email at (949) 748-0717 and jmorenc1@gmail.com.