# Stuart Sikes

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{{short description|American recording engineer}}
'''Stuart Sikes''' is an American [recording engineer](/source/Audio_engineering) and [producer](/source/Record_producer) best known for his work with [the White Stripes](/source/the_White_Stripes) and for engineering [Loretta Lynn](/source/Loretta_Lynn)'s [Grammy Award](/source/Grammy_Award)-winning album ''[Van Lear Rose](/source/Van_Lear_Rose)'', as well as producing [Cat Power](/source/Cat_Power)'s 2006 [Shortlist Music Prize](/source/Shortlist_Music_Prize)-winning album ''[The Greatest](/source/The_Greatest_(Cat_Power_album))''.

==Early life and education==
Sikes grew up in [Plano, Texas](/source/Plano%2C_Texas) and graduated from [Plano East High School](/source/Plano_East_Senior_High_School) in 1991. He attended [Full Sail University](/source/Full_Sail_University). When his sister, who was living in [Memphis, Tennessee](/source/Memphis%2C_Tennessee), learned that Sonic Youth had recently recorded at [Easley-McCain Recording](/source/Easley_McCain_Recording), she suggested Sikes move to Memphis and get a job there. 

==Career==
Sikes was hired at Easley-McCain as an intern in 1995 and advanced to assistant in less than 6 months. During this time, the studio worked on projects by such bands as Cat Power, [Modest Mouse](/source/Modest_Mouse), [the Walkmen](/source/the_Walkmen), [Rocket from the Crypt](/source/Rocket_from_the_Crypt), and [the Spinanes](/source/the_Spinanes).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tanzilo|first=Bobby|title=Maritime working with Sikes at Burst|url=https://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/maritimesikes.html|date=April 26, 2007|access-date=August 29, 2024}}</ref><ref name="TapeOpNov2004">{{cite web|last=Pittenger|first=Frank|title=Stuart Sikes: White Stripes, Loretta Lynn, Cat Power, more...|url=https://tapeop.com/interviews/65/stuart-sikes/|website=Tape Op|date=May 2004|access-date=August 29, 2024}}</ref>

Sikes' first project at the studio was Two Dollar Guitar including band members Tim Foljahn and [Sonic Youth](/source/Sonic_Youth) drummer [Steve Shelley](/source/Steve_Shelley). Sessions he engineered at Easley-McCain included [The Promise Ring](/source/The_Promise_Ring)'s 1997 album ''[Nothing Feels Good](/source/Nothing_Feels_Good)'', [Jets to Brazil](/source/Jets_to_Brazil)'s 1998 album ''[Orange Rhyming Dictionary](/source/Orange_Rhyming_Dictionary)'', and [The White Stripes](/source/The_White_Stripes)' 2001 album ''[White Blood Cells](/source/White_Blood_Cells)''.<ref name=TapeOpNov2004/>

Sikes relocated to Dallas in 2001. He returned to Memphis to engineer [Loretta Lynn](/source/Loretta_Lynn)'s 2004
album ''[Van Lear Rose](/source/Van_Lear_Rose)'', produced by [Jack White](/source/Jack_White), which earned Sikes a [Grammy Award for Best Country Album](/source/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Country_Album) in 2005. Back in Dallas, he engineered [the Happy Bullets](/source/the_Happy_Bullets)' 2005 album ''[The Vice and Virtue Ministry](/source/The_Vice_and_Virtue_Ministry)'', then returned to [Ardent Studios](/source/Ardent_Studios) in Memphis to produce Cat Power's 2006 [Shortlist Music Prize](/source/Shortlist_Music_Prize)-winning album ''[The Greatest](/source/The_Greatest_(Cat_Power_album))''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Partridge|first=Kenneth|title=Cat Power's 'The Greatest' at 10: Classic Track-by-Track Album Review|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6851052/cat-power-the-greatest-10th-anniversary|magazine=Billboard|date=January 20, 2016|access-date=August 29, 2024}}</ref>

In August, 2006 Sikes found a space for a permanent recording studio in the Elmwood residential area within the [Oak Cliff](/source/Oak_Cliff%2C_Texas) neighborhood of Dallas. Sikes renovated the space himself and opened the studio as '''Elmwood Recording'''. [John Congleton](/source/John_Congleton) became involved with the studio, and took it over after Sikes relocated to [Austin](/source/Austin%2C_Texas) in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|last=Frost|first=Matt|title=John Congleton: Engineer & Producer|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/john-congleton-engineer-producer|website=Sound On Sound|date=June 2014|access-date=August 29, 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.fullsail.com/index.cfm/fa/news.story/con_id/3136/another-grammy-night-for-full-sail-graduates- Another GRAMMY Night For Full Sail Graduates!]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikes, Stuart}}
Category:American audio engineers
Category:Grammy Award winners
Category:Living people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

{{US-music-bio-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stuart Sikes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Sikes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Sikes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.