#97: Paul Prestopino: The Heart of New York's Record Plant

Gear Club Podcast

Paul Prestopino was a musician, inventor, and technician with a long and varied career. From 1970 until its closure in 1989, Paul was a technician at the Record Plant in NYC, a venerated studio that helped produce an endless stream of hit records and launched dozens of careers for the engineers and producers that worked there. While working at the studio, Paul, known to everyone as “Presto,” was charged with the maintenance and care of the recording equipment, but he also played on dozens of albums for bands like Aerosmith, The Hooters, Alice Cooper, Slade, and Edgar Winter. He was also an integral member of the bands of Peter, Paul, and Mary, John Denver, and The Chad Mitchell Trio. Paul was part of the lifeblood of the Record Plant, and his passing in 2023 was felt deeply by those who worked with him at the studio. Our very own John Agnello organized this special memorial episode for Paul, where we interview Record Plant alumni and Paul’s brother, Greg Prestopino, to pay homage to a man who touched so many lives through his work and music.