Nicotine Dolls Live At Harbor
Many of you know about my work with Nicotine Dolls. They’ve played a major role in my life as a producer and studio owner ever since I stopped touring with Augustines.
I first met Nicotine Dolls through Greg Giorgio at Tarquin Studios. Greg was Peter Katis’s assistant engineer and helped shape countless records we all know and love. He brought in Rob Allen and me to help with the band’s first EP. While working at Tarquin, the band and I instantly clicked, and before long, we were recording together at the original Harbor Studios, just two piers down the waterfront.
Over the next three years, Sam, the band, and I recorded nearly 20 songs together. During that time, they went from being an unknown local band to signing an impressive label deal and reaching over one million monthly listeners on Spotify. To put that in perspective—when I first met them, they had fewer than 1,000 followers on Instagram. Today, they have 877Kfollowers there and 1.7 million on TikTok.
But let’s take a moment to talk about what that really means. Numbers are just numbers. Yes, these stats are insanelyimpressive. But what’s truly remarkable is how they got there.
Sam is one of the hardest-working (and kindest) people I’ve ever met in the music industry. He’s poured everything into building the band’s profile—writing, producing, and pushing forward with relentless determination. Nothing about their success has been easy or handed to them. They were not born with a silver spoon. They worked their asses off for every single milestone, and they deserve every bit of the success they’re seeing.
Nicotine Dolls (and Augustines) are proof of what I believe about this industry: magic is possible. If you put in the time and build your foundation on humility, you can do anything. It’s easy to get discouraged. Trust me—I know. But I also know that success is possible. So never give up.
- Eric
Many of you know about my work with Nicotine Dolls. They’ve played a major role in my life as a producer and studio owner ever since I stopped touring with Augustines.
I first met Nicotine Dolls through Greg Giorgio at Tarquin Studios. Greg was Peter Katis’s assistant engineer and helped shape countless records we all know and love. He brought in Rob Allen and me to help with the band’s first EP. While working at Tarquin, the band and I instantly clicked, and before long, we were recording together at the original Harbor Studios, just two piers down the waterfront.
Over the next three years, Sam, the band, and I recorded dozens of songs together. During that time, they went from being an unknown local band to signing an impressive label deal and reaching over one million monthly listeners on Spotify. To put that in perspective—when I first met them, they had fewer than 1,000 followers on Instagram. Today, they have 877K followers there and 1.7 million on TikTok.
But let’s take a moment to talk about what that really means. Numbers are just numbers. Yes, these stats are insanely impressive. But what’s truly remarkable is how they got there.
Sam is one of the hardest-working (and kindest) people I’ve ever met in the music industry. He’s poured everything into building the band’s profile—writing, producing, and pushing forward with relentless determination. Nothing about their success has been easy or handed to them. They were not born with a silver spoon. They worked their asses off for every single milestone, and they deserve every bit of the success they’re seeing.
Nicotine Dolls (and Augustines) are proof of what I believe about this industry: magic is possible. If you put in the time and build your foundation on humility, you can do anything. It’s easy to get discouraged. Trust me—I know. But I also know that success is possible. So never give up.
- Eric
BBC Documentary - The Surgeons Ghost
Soon after the session with Foreigner, Dave Eggar called me up to book a session for Patrick Cannell, who needed to record a string section for his arrangement for the upcoming BBC documentary The Surgeon’s Ghost.
Patrick is an incredibly talented composer working in film and TV. His ability to blend ambient textures with haunting melodies is unmatched, seamlessly pushing and pulling emotions through his harmonies. It was a true honor to work on this music.
The ensemble featured Dave Eggar on cello, Katie Thomas on violin, and Laura Sacks on viola, while Aly Whitman captured the entire day with her incredible camera work.
Soon after the session with Foreigner, Dave Eggar called me up to book a session for Patrick Cannell, who needed to record a string section for his arrangement for the upcoming BBC documentary The Surgeon’s Ghost.
Patrick is an incredibly talented composer working in film and TV. His ability to blend ambient textures with haunting melodies is unmatched, seamlessly pushing and pulling emotions through his harmonies. It was a true honor to work on this music.
The ensemble featured Dave Eggar on cello, Katie Thomas on violin, and Laura Sacks on viola, while Aly Whitman captured the entire day with her incredible camera work.
It takes a village to get ready for Foreigner
After making the difficult decision to end my previous partnership and return to Harbor Studios, we were left with the exciting (and slightly daunting) challenge of rewiring the entire studio and setting up a whole new workflow. Thankfully, I was surrounded by an incredible community of friends who stepped in to help.
Peter Katis lent me his Studer 962 console along with other various gear. Rob Allen provided multiple drum kits. William McCarthy shared his guitar amps. Tomislav Zovich outfitted me with cymbals and stands. Justin Wands lent me his Moog Voyager. Tom Efinger contributed his AMEK dual compressor/limiter. And Peter Tavoulareas—who deserves some kind of sainthood—spent countless hours re-soldering nearly every patch point in the studio (thousands, maybe?).
And then there’s my amazing wife, Diana Halluska, who somehow managed to find the perfect rugs and furniture, all while providing emotional support and putting in extra hours caring for our son as I worked late into the night. It was truly a labor of love and a community effort.
All of this generosity, hard work, and time were anchored by a serious deadline: Foreigner was coming on January 12 to record a 25-person choir singing “I Want to Know What Love Is” in Spanish. This surreal and incredible project came to me through the insanely talented—and equally generous—Dave Eggar. Dave has been working with Foreigner for a while now, and after his first session here, he completely fell in love with the studio. We hit it off immediately, and he’s been back many times since.
The Foreigner choir session went even better than I could have imagined. The vibe in the studio was warm, inspired and deep. The fire was roaring all day, my son was running around helping out, Diana was here, Peter was here—everyone was in the best of spirits. After nearly a month of high-pressure stress getting everything ready, I honestly couldn’t have been more proud.
- Eric
After making the difficult decision to end my previous partnership and return to Harbor Studios, we were left with the exciting (and slightly daunting) challenge of rewiring the entire studio and setting up a whole new workflow. Thankfully, I was surrounded by an incredible community of friends who stepped in to help.
Peter Katis lent me his Studer 962 console along with other various gear. Rob Allen provided multiple drum kits. William McCarthy shared his guitar amps. Tomislav Zovich outfitted me with cymbals and stands. Justin Wands lent me his Moog Voyager. Tom Efinger contributed his AMEK dual compressor/limiter. And Peter Tavoulareas—who deserves some kind of sainthood—spent countless hours re-soldering nearly every patch point in the studio (thousands, maybe?).
And then there’s my amazing wife, Diana Halluska, who somehow managed to find the perfect rugs and furniture, all while providing emotional support and putting in extra hours caring for our son as I worked late into the night. It was truly a labor of love and a community effort.
All of this generosity, hard work, and time was anchored by a serious deadline: Foreigner was coming on January 12 to record a 25-person choir singing “I Want to Know What Love Is” in Spanish. This surreal and incredible project came to me through the insanely talented—and equally generous—Dave Eggar. Dave has been working with Foreigner for a while now, and after his first session here, he completely fell in love with the studio. We hit it off immediately, and he’s been back many times since.
The Foreigner choir session went even better than I could have imagined. The vibe in the studio was warm, inspired and deep. The fire was roaring all day, my son was running around helping out, Diana was here, Peter was here—everyone was in the best of spirits. After nearly a month of high-pressure stress getting everything ready, I honestly couldn’t have been more proud.
- Eric
Hello World - New Location
Hello, hello!
2024 was a year of change for all of us, but for the studio, dramatic change might be the better description.
At the start of the year, everything was new—a new location, a new partner, a new name—pretty much a fresh start in every way. It took some time to get the new studio up and running, but once it was, the energy was electric. Throughout the year, I had the privilege of working with old friends and meeting a lot of new ones.
As 2025 approached, I faced some big decisions. I realized it was time to return to my original vision for the studio. When I signed the lease for this space, my goal was clear: I wanted a bigger studio where I could make music with talented, driven artists. I wanted to record bands live, without relying on overdubs. I had outgrown my old studio, and it was time to expand.
But what wasn't part of the dream? Running a "commercial recording facility." One year into this journey, I knew I had to realign with my roots—so I brought the business back to Harbor Studios.
Now, with the new space fully mapped out, it’s time to share the love and spread the word. So here we are, 2025—I'm going back to 2006 and writing a blog post. Sometimes, progress means looking back, recognizing what was great, and bringing it forward.
Eric
Hello, hello!
2024 was a year of change for all of us, but for the studio, dramatic change might be the better description.
At the start of the year, everything was new—a new location, a new partner, a new name—pretty much a fresh start in every way. It took some time to get the new studio up and running, but once it was, the energy was electric. Throughout the year, I had the privilege of working with old friends and meeting a lot of new ones.
As 2025 approached, I faced some big decisions. I realized it was time to return to my original vision for the studio. When I signed the lease for this space, my goal was clear: I wanted a bigger studio where I could make music with talented, driven artists. I wanted to record bands live, without relying on overdubs. I had outgrown my old studio, and it was time to expand.
But what wasn't part of the dream? Running a "commercial recording facility." One year into this journey, I knew I had to realign with my roots—so I brought the business back to Harbor Studios.
Now, with the new space fully mapped out, it’s time to share the love and spread the word. So here we are, 2025—I'm going back to 2006 and writing a blog post. Sometimes, progress means looking back, recognizing what was great, and bringing it forward.
- Eric
