From band frontman to music store manager to recording engineer and producer

After graduating from MSU (SMSU at the time) with a degree in Psychology, Jeff took on a management role at the Springfield legacy music store, Hoover Music. He was also leading a band called Ten Penny and had slowly built a collection of recording gear as a hobby to record his friends. In 2001, he was working for audio installation company Sounds Great when a friend and mentor, John Morton, decided to open a recording studio and asked Jeff to manage it. They bought an empty block building, commissioned a design from R.O.P. Designs out of New York, NY and, blueprints in hand, began building the interior with their own hands and some help from friends.

In January of 2003, Studio 2100, named after the street address of 2100 N. National Ave. opened for business. Typical clientele has varied as music trends have changed, beginning mostly with bands, moving to songwriters, then to solo recording artists and also taking on audio books, podcasts, and even feature films in 5.1 surround sound. While beginning in a primarily recording engineer role, Jeff has also effectively honed his skills as a producer both with physical and software instruments. In 2006, John Morton decided to leave the recording business and sold ownership of Studio 2100 to Jeff.

Early on in 2005, notable projects included working with Happyendings, Springfield locals signed to J Records, a division of Warner Bros. In 2010, Jeff mixed a single for Never Shout Never (Warner Bros.) which went over so well that the band began recording entirely at Studio 2100. The resulting projects include Time Travel (2011), Indigo (2012), Sunflower (2013) and Violett Soul (2018). In addition, 2100 helped record frontman and songwriter Christofer Drew’s solo project and drummer Caleb Denison’s solo projects (Caleb Denison, The Denison).

In 2014, a local songwriter named Kayleigh Rose recorded an EP at Studio 2100, went on to sign with Atlantic Records and took the stage name Chappell Roan. Studio 2100 had the privilege of continuing work with Chappell Roan and Atlantic Records on another EP (School Nights released October 2017) and a full length album. In 2025, after moving to Los Angeles and re-signing with Island Records she won the Grammy award for best new artist.

In late 2024, Jeff engineered with producer Oran Thornton for Brent Cobb. The album was recorded entirely to tape and also mastered to tape. It is pending release in 2025. Jeff also mastered the single “Four on the Floor” (released February 2025) for Adam Hood and Brent Cobb.

Other notable artists that have projects recorded, mixed or mastered by Studio 2100 include Imagine Dragons, Rick Springfield, Lee Ann Womack, Tanya Tucker, Tom Whitlock (Songwriter), The Ozark Mountain Daredevils and many more! See more clientele here.