Remembering Dave “Roz” Rosner – A Cornerstone of NYC Audio
SonicScoop was saddened to hear of the sudden passing last week of Dave Rosner, known universally as “Roz.” Roz had a massive heart attack while on his way to work at Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan, where he was studio manager. He was 53 years old.
Roz’ passing has caused an outpouring of grief in the New York City audio community, following a decades-long career of studio management, primarily at Quad after starting out at Shakedown Sound, which has long stood as one of the city’s best-known studios.
For your author, Roz was inseparable from the experience of coming to Quad’s home at 723 Seventh Avenue — no matter which of the building’s several studios I might have been visiting, the likelihood of running into Roz was high. When we met, the encounter was invariably warm and down-to-earth, and I marveled at the way Roz applied his blue-collar work ethic to enabling the art of recording and mixing.
Services for Dave “Roz” Rosner will be held in Staten Island on Wednesday, April 3. (Photo credit: Ricky Hosn)
“Everybody who’s anybody in the music industry had to come through Quad, and you couldn’t come through Quad without knowing Roz,” says Ricky Hosn, Owner of Quad Recording Studios. “He spent nearly 30 years working at one of the top recording studios in the world — not many can attest to that in any industry. As you look around and see all these studios shutting down, Roz was actually able to make our business flourish.
“As a professional booking manager, Roz had a very personal way of connecting with clients,” Hosn continues. “This helped him build a client base like no other. On a personal level, he was such a good friend, I don’t think I’ve ever looked at him as an employee. It was always two friends discussing things. This made running Quad a breeze. It’s safe to say the industry will never have another Roz. It’s also safe to say I’ll never have a friend like Roz.”
Glenn Swan, Studio Manager for Premier Studios in the same building, had a relationship with Roz that dated back to the late 1980’s. Roz was interning for former owner Lou Gonzalez at Quad, while Swan was an intern a block away at Unique Recording Studios. “Roz was the studio world,” Swan says. “He worked in it for so long, as I have, that you transcend bringing something to it, to actually being the entity itself. My favorite thing about him as a professional was that he was never about hoping he was beating you competitively. More than anyone, he was genuinely for all of us doing well and being happy. He wasn’t that hard-charging take-no-prisoners ‘this is business’ type. Roz’s genuineness was his outstanding quality. Man, he will be missed.”
Mixer and studio designer Christos Tsantilis’ experiences with Roz extend back to the 1990’s. “Throughout the years I brought clients to facilities that Roz was managing and during our walkthrough, Roz exhibited enthusiasm within a calm demeanor which showed the warmth within his character,” recalls Tsantilis. “He was personable, professional, witty and grounded. It was moments like this that reminded me why I got into this business in the first place: Working with such a great guy made the experience worthwhile.”
Now the owner of Jungle City Studios on Manhattan’s West Side, Ann Mincieli first met Roz in 1996 when she was an assistant engineer at Quad, with Roz serving as night manager. “Quad was running 24/7, he was one of four managers there at the time,” she remembers. “He was such a team player, and he had the resourcefulness to take care of clients on the overnight shift, from rock stars wanting strippers to rappers screaming at the front desk. We had a lot of monumental times at the studio: For the millennial new year (2000) we were all in the penthouse room watching the ball drop, and we went through 9/11 together.”
For Mincieli, Dave “Roz” Rosner stood out as a vital force in NYC audio. “He crossed a lot of people’s paths in the industry,” she says. “He taught me to never have an enemy in the music business, and he certainly never had one. Roz looked at everyone as family: He was a big guy with a big heart.”
A wake will be held for Roz at Hanley Funeral Home, 60 New Dorp Lane, Staten Island, NY 10306, 718-351-1800. The service will be held Wednesday, April 3rd, from 2:00pm – 4:00pm and at 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm.
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