March 13, 2023 by A.S. Van Dorston

Jeff Henson’s rustic recording studio, nestled next to a hidden lake between Austin and Bastrop, has become one of the prime destination for heavy psych and metal bands.

Before I even arrived at Rancho Bulboso, just a little bit outside Austin, TX on Halloween night, 2021, I knew that there was a recording studio not far away recording some of the best bands in Austin and beyond. I finally was able to meet with Jeff Henson at Red Nova Ranch, and is indeed only a few miles away, which in the boonies means we’re practically neighbors. One Saturday morning I picked up some tacos and coffee from Pud’s Cup of Mud food truck and we sat at a picnic table outside the recording studio. It’s a rustic metal structure overlooking a small lake, but inside it’s a top notch facility with state of the art sound design and gear.

Henson has worked in studios since he was 21, applying his knowledge and experimenting with his first band Meganaut, It was an opportunity to learn every aspect of the business, writing their own press releases, booking tours and recording. “I sold my car, bought a van, and we toured as much as we could and, just figure out the game and the business and how it all works. And then make ourselves good. We would practice five nights a week to metronomes.”

Simultaneously Henson logged valuable experience working in various studios like yellow DOG Studios in Wimberley with the “best producers and engineers around here.” But he quickly learned that isolation booths weren’t for him. “They may be talking and I can’t hear what they’re saying to each other. I need to be involved. I need to be in the room with the band. We’ll get sounds dialed in, that’s fine. But then I need to be in the room with the band with headphones on and just fucking work.” He built Red Nova Ranch nearly seven years ago as a single room. “It’s my job is to find the soul and the vibe of a band at its purest form and put that on record.”

That almost sounds spiritual, and for the majority of his heavy stoner, psych and metal clients, the music is certainly more related to devotional music than the commercial mainstream. Similar to the famous Shangri-La Ranch studio in California, built in 1958, Red Nova Ranch is meant to be a peaceful setting with no clutter or distractions. “I don’t want anything else encroaching on our creativity.”

Among the 25+ clients listed are Henson’s own band Duel, Clutch, High on Fire, Eyehategod, Creeping Death, Lord Buffalo, Greenbeard, High Desert Queen, and Spirit Adrift. Since Spirit Adrift’s Nate Garrett moved to the area a few years ago, their friendship has blossomed into a creative partnership that has seen both men elevating their creativity. After recording tracks for a covers album and EP, the pair recorded Spirit Adrift’s fifth full length album, the release date of which has not yet been announced. Henson played me a track where he chipped in to hire a cellist, and it sounded amazing. Spirit Adrift has regularly made the Fester’s Lucky 13 list since 2016 as one of the very best metal bands active in the U.S. I have a good feeling the new album will see Spirit Adrift’s profile level up. And many more bands will be interested to learn more about the place where the magic was recorded.

Having been active in the music scene in Texas his entire life, Henson is heavily involved with both an extended community of musicians, artists, technicians (Marshall Terry, who hand-makes EQs at Terry Audio), and studios throughout the areas surrounding Austin, such as the Machine Shop barn studio in Dripping Springs, which he helped build, and also the tight-knit community of musicians in Bastrop. Henson has been helping Heartless Bastards guitarist Jonas Wilson out with a solo record. Wilson runs Mr. Pink Records, which is both a label and recording studio. “We got a cool little community out here. It feels more like South Austin used to feel.”

When he’s not recording, Henson tours with Duel, who have been getting increasingly popular, especially in Europe. Last summer they hit many of the major festivals starting at the legendary Duna Jam, a private party where many of the legends of stoner psych have played in Sardinia, then going through Poland, and Germany (Black Label and Freak Valley), Hellfest in France and eventually Psycho Las Vegas back in the States. Henson explains bands love touring Europe because they’re treated so much better than in the U.S., they make sure the bands are fed and get decent accommodations at hotels or apartments.

The next major show will be Stoner Jam, a free show on March 16, at The Far Out Lounge. “We’ve done this for I don’t know how long, and it’s mainly Tom [Frank], he does all the fucking work. Something like 30 bands… we had thousand people come out last year. And it’s complete anarchy. There’s no stage managers [but] it always stays on time and organized.”

I’ll definitely be there, as it will be the first time I get to see Duel since they played with Spirit Adrift at the Mohawk, which was the band’s first Austin show in years. My memory of the show was fuzzy because I was fresh out of the hospital from a medical procedure, but didn’t want to miss it. While there’s a lot of great bands playing at SXSW, there’s no place I’d rather be than my favorite Austin venue, The Far Out Lounge.