Time Out New York / Issue 596: March 1-7, 2007 Music studio By Elise Loehnen Scandal, a gold- and platinum-record-earning '80s band (fronted by Patty Smyth)-most famous for catchy tunes like 'Goodbye to You' and 'The Warrior'-was an early favorite on MTV. In the same trailblazing vein, former Scandal member Benjy King just might be the first person to multitask an eensy Murray Hill apartment as a fully functioning music studio. "I'm old-school", King explains. "I believe in preproduction: You write, rehearse and then record the song." Contrary to the process today, where bits are recorded on computers and then spliced together, fixed and adjusted as needed, he holds that the soul of the song "lives in the performance." During the day, King-whose apartment is propitiously located over a garage-works with small groups creating their first albums. Outfitted with a Sony DMX-R100 console, an electric sitar, more than 20 guitars-including a rare 12-string baritone guitar, of which there are only about seven in the world-a Hammond organ, a Fender Rhodes piano, a harmonium and two '60s Slingerland drum sets, the arrangement doesn't leave a lot of room for living. But King holds that he doesn't need much outside of music. His bed, complete with a Norwegian mountain-goat-skin blanket (a gift from an ex-wife), occupies the entryway, and the dining-room table doubles as a desk. "The beauty of living here is that I can work when the muse strikes, even if that means I'm at the console in my pajamas." Photos: Patrik Rytikangas 
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