about poindexters
geek history 101:
Back when Sony Beta was big, before "home theater" had a home, Poindexter's was founded with passion for music, film, engineering, technology and thoughtful design. We got our feet wet at the epicenter of the film, music and TV world, in sunny Santa Monica, the skate boarding capital of the world. There we had the opportunity to work for some of the most creative and demanding clientele in the "entertainment industry" before returning to our Montana roots in 2000.
our focus:
As Poindexter's we are dedicated to delivering a quality experience and final product that fits a need. As musicians we enjoy listening to our clients, then working with them and other design professionals in a collaborative environment until the best ideas rise to the top. Our unique team is a blend of technicians, musicians, photographers, mechanics, programmers, audio engineers and video gamers who all share a passion for this line of work. We also appreciate and share the "Montana" get-it-done work ethic while respecting the environment and our clients privacy.
Poindexter's was founded in 1987 by Bill Costigan. The name came to him while he was practicing the drums at the Musician's Institute in Hollywood, Calif. Bill was on a quest to find a name that had a sense of humor to it that also painted a memorable mental picture, like a good "band name" does.
a musical and mechanical influence:
Bill began making audio recordings of the Doctor Demento radio show to entertain his fellow carpoolers in the 4th grade. The following year he made a super-8 skate boarding film with a high energy sound track featuring the band "Sweet". Bill soon landed his dream job working at Helen's Cycles, the nations 10th largest Schwinn dealership before his voice deepened. At Helen's he learned how to assemble, repair, sell and eventually build bicycle frames. In the repair shop he discovered the band Led Zeppelin and soon developed a love for the drums. In high school he formed a band with guitarist/singer Peter Distefano called "K-38", named for the famous surf break located at kilometer 38 in Baja, Mexico . Bill and Peter were both surfers, they begin by playing covers of old ventures instrumentals with an updated "rock" twist. Together they played with many talented bass players and keyboardists over the years. Bill left the bike business to work for his long-time friends and mentors, former Helen's managers Robert Eitel and Rick Jurasky who formed the pioneering A/V custom install business "R-Squared" in 1978. Robert branched from R-Squared in 1986 starting "Robert's Home Audio-Video". Both companies continue to prosper today and the three have remained close friends.
Bill began professionally designing and installing audio-video systems with R-Squared in 1981, when a VCR was the size of a suit case and a couple NASA technicians were required to align a video projector. "There were only a handful of companies in the custom Audio-Video business in Los Angeles the 80's. It was a great time to be in LA making this craft up as we went. We worked for some very interesting and creative people" says Bill. After six great years with Rick and Rob, Bill decided to focus more on playing music; he applied and was accepted into the "Musician's Institute" as one of 13 drummers in 1986. "The school was located above the Hollywood Wax Museum at the time; it was a fire trap but I enjoyed every minute. Being around such a worldly mix of musicians each day was a great experience." Bill took six months off from MI to continue gigging and recording with K-38, during which he met up with Steve Burdick and Rob Seifert who were young audio engineering students attending school in Hollywood; K-38 became their pet recording project. Once Steve and Rob graduated from "recording school" they both landed jobs in studios, Steve as a 2nd engineer at Westlake Audio in Hollywood; Rob became the 2nd at Aire LA (formally Yamaha Music Corporation's Testing/Recording Facility in the USA).
of recording studios:
"Rob and Steve were able to let K-38 make demo recordings during "down times" when the rooms were available. In turn, this helped the young engineers learn the new automation systems that were just coming of age on the Neve, Harrison and SSL mixing consoles. At the time, Bruce Swedien and several other engineers and famous musicians were working at Westlake and Aire LA. "It was amazing to hear records like Michael Jackson's "Thriller" being played back in the same room within which it was mixed," says Bill. "Peter and I were very fortunate to have recorded and spent hundreds of hours in these two amazing facilities built with excellent acoustics and outfitted with both cutting edge and vintage equipment." Steve Burdick now owns Westlake Studios. Rob Seifert currently lives in Northern Calif. and makes his living as an independent mixing engineer with numerous records under his belt. K-38 also recorded a record with another talented engineer/musician named William Rogers at Capital Records in 1985. "We tracked the drums at Capital Records in studio A, the larger room, while Julio Iglesias was putting the finishing touches on a record next door in studio B. We mixed at Post Logic Studios once on the 7th floor in the old RCA building on Sunset Blvd. while Stevie Ray Vaughan was in mixing a live record.
K-38 never broke up, Peter went on to became a rock star with the band "Porno for Pyro's" which contained two of the founding members of "Jane's Addition". Peter was signed to Warner Brothers and completed 2 albums with supporting world tours. Peter, an incredible musician, continues to make his living making music. Bill decided to make Poindexter's his priority after graduating from music school. "The lessons learned working at Helen's, then at R-Squared and playing in K-38 gave me a great foundation on which to start and build Poindexter's. Spending time recording and touring, attending numerous technology conferences, studying design and architecture while working with talented architects and designers in California and later in Tokyo has given us a base-line understanding of quality and the different levels attainable. Having these experiences allows Poindexter's to offer unique solutions and a well rounded approach toward integrating music, video, control and acoustical systems together."
work in progress...
Bill has been involved with the design and installation of over 4500 systems in the 29 years he's been in this business. He's done live sound for President Regan, build many media systems and home theaters for people in the film and TV industry, authors and artists. He's worked on many historic homes including Frank Lloyd Wright's own home and studio "Taliesin". Bill has taken the time to visit many unique homes, businesses, venues, concert halls and recording studios in Europe, Japan and throughout the USA. In 2000, Bill relocated Poindexter's from Santa Monica, CA to Bozeman, Montana where he had completed construction on a log cabin with his childhood friend Jeff Nashan during their summer vacations in the 90's. In addition to his activities with the company Bill continues to play the drums and make recordings. Oh, K-38 will be playing a show in Bozeman on April 10th. Join our mailing list if you would like to hear about it and see a great guitarist shread...
