John Kliner entered the recording engineering profession in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1977 with his first entry level position in a small 8 track recording studio named SoundTrac studios, owned by Rob Ashe.  (Ampex AG 440 1″ machine and a 16 input Neotek console).  Being a full time student at Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Mi, John would commute to Fort Wayne on weekends to work on sessions.

In 1979, John made his way to Los Angeles and landed in Hollywood at the world renowned Record Plant Recording Studios at the old historic facility at 3rd and LaCienega. (4 SSL Rooms) As a runner, Johns  job was very high profile,  involving interaction with some of the biggest names in recording history; including Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Ozzy Osborne, Kiss, John Travolta; not to mention very high profile producers and engineers.

John left Record Plant and moved on to Room 335 Recording Studios owned by Jazz legend Larry Carlton. (MCI 636, JH24 2″ 24 Track)  “Larry actually taught me how to align a 2″ machine”.  This was a fabulous experience for John as he was able to experience a more private education in recording; assisting Larry’s engineer Hal Saks and getting a chance to work closely with Larry.  Sessions worked on include “Against All Odds” Soundtrack, Bill Withers LP and countless sessions with LAs top musicians.  John was also equipment manager for Larrys 1981 “Friends” tour which played the East/West coasts and points in between.  After 2 years with Larry, John became a staff 2nd engineer at Westlake Audio, another major studio with 2 facilities in Hollywood.  (3 harrison Consoles, 1 API)  Westlake was enjoying huge success with the production of Michael Jacksons  ”Thriller”, recorded in Westlake Audio Studio A at the Beverly Blvd facility.  John Stayed at Westlake for 2 more years working with Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Barbara Streisand, Billy Crystal and Stevie Nicks.  “Working with Michael Jackson and just being around him was one of the highlights of my career, as well as being able to look over the shoulder of veteran engineer Bruce Swedien and the great Quincy Jones” .   After leaving Westlake John landed another staff 2nd engineering gig at Total Experience Records, a division of RCA. (1API console, JH24Track).  The Gap band was this labels only major artist and was experiencing extreme financial woes.  After a brief stint here john continued on to another high profile studio, Cherokee Recording. (4 studios, 4 Trident ARange consoles.)  Artists worked with here included Rod Stewart, Billy Preston, Laura Branigan, Mel Brooks (Film:SolarBabies).

John moved on to Roxx Studios in North Hollywood (Trident 80-B, Trident DI-An).  John Spent 3 years here and honed in on his skills.  “It was here that I engineered my first record as a first engineer that came out on vinyl, Los Romanticos by Los Caminantes,  I was so excited!”  John eventually went on to become chief engineer of the studio and recieved his first gold and platinum records for his work on the 80s Pop sensation Tiffany.  Roxx Studios was also a major favorite for Jazz artists and had a steady clientele of high level artists such as Keiko Matsui, Grant Geissman and Scott Henderson.  Working with Keiko Matsui in the studio opened up doors for John to be able to tour with Keiko as she was the opener for David Benoit and George Benson.

In 1989, John and first wife Carole and son Jay, decided to leave Los Angeles for a safer and slower lifestyle.  The family moved to Nashville which was quite an adjustment.  John eventually became a staff assistant for Randy Scruggs at Scruggs Sound Studio and worked independently for Bob Solomon at Air Studios in Hendersonville, Tn.   John recieved another gold record for his work on Sawyer Browns “The Boys are Back”

In 1989 John met Tuscaloosa, Al. businessman Kenny Smithermann.  Kenny was interested in opening a commercial studio and brought John in as chief engineer.  The studio which the two opened was a 24 track studio named KOS (MCI 400 series console, ATR 24)  The studio stayed open for 2 years but eventually closed.  Through this time period John networked with Bob Solomon in Nashville and eventually was recruited back there to become a staff engineer at Woodland Digital. (NEVE VR 72, NEVE 8068)  Artists worked with include Shania Twain, Al Kooper, Charlie Daniels, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pam Tillis, Patty Lovelace…almost all recieving platinum and gold status.  John also worked independently with session guitarist Biff Watson at his private home studio. 

After a really great run at Woodland Digital, John and his family decided to move back to Tuscaloosa.  It was Johns will to open his own private studio and attempt to complete his undergraduate degree at the University of Alabama.  As luck would have it, in 2000 John was hired by the University as an Audio/Video Tech for distance education which has allowed him to finish his undergraduate degree in Communications in 2010 and has plans to continue on to grad school to pursue a Masters Degree in Interactive Technology.

Stay tuned for details… 

Renilk music has managed to blossom over the years with continuous clients and a steady stream of new clients.  The studio is currently undergoing and upgrade of equipment and personnel.