The History of the 1700 Building, and Its Impact Overseas

As Yuba College stands tall, nearing its 53rd year since the Marysville campus first opened it’s doors in 1962, many are the stories these walls and windows could tell. From the football field, to the darkrooms, to the cafeteria hall, these lairs play host to many of the life-altering moments that shape the people we call alumni.

With the remodeling of the Marysville campus, Yuba College has turned a new leaf and headed deeper into the 21st century with many new, beautiful facilities that are state of the art, and much like the previous walls that stood before them, will provide the setting for some of the shape shifting that alters lives for infinity.

In fact, just last year, the TV station that provided students over the years with live broadcasts of televised classes, known as ITV (available on Comcast Channel 18 in the Yuba-Sutter area), moved from an old bungalow labeled the 1900 building, only to relocate to the newly created, state of the art 1100 building.

As the Mass Communication program has moved around over the last half-decade awaiting it’s brand new facilities, complete with a broadcasting station that would make just fine for the local news, recent classes up until now had been tucked away in the old 1700 building adjacent to the baseball field, previously used for auto repair.

The fancy machines that splice and edit full length movies directed by students were not well-kept, stationed in their own cubicle as they are now. They sat humbly amongst not-so-similar devices and machines on basic fold-out tables.

Students who had been told they would be learning the virtues of Pro Tools were reduced to making jingles on Garage Band, once again stationed on lunch tables around the porous design of the main rec room in this not so well laid out facility.

While it’s an exciting time as new forms of technology are brought in for students to educate themselves to, it is these previous walls, and the yarns they could spin, that must fall like an exhausted empire, in order to form that which is new.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles and half-a-world away, Melbourne’s DJ Fokus works feverishly from a laboratory, putting the finishing touches on his group’s 4th studio release, Doctor Scott & DJ Fokus’ “For Future Reference” LP.

Keyboards, synthesizers, turntables and the like are woven together like a finely tuned orchestra. Amongst the various instruments and tools of the trade, vocals are laid down and mixed to a delicious perfection.

Being that the Victoria native works mostly with artists of the Western Americas, it is quite often that the beatsmith is not present when said vocals are recorded for press.

It is at this intersection where Melbourne, Victoria meets East Linda, California as today the world renown DJ & producer is putting the final mastery on lead vocals sent direct from Yuba County. From the previously mentioned 1700 building, no less.

Soon gone will be a recording studio within the building known as “The Pro Tools Room”. A relative shack. A virtual closet. A 6×12 box that, to the naked eye, bares no real intrigue, yet for students housed the only computer at the time with the Pro Tools computer program available for professional recordings.

However, for fans of the duo, whose 4th album is soon to drop on Magician Records, this clubhouse of sorts served as an easel, upon which stories were spun, and tales were told.

Tracks like “Professional Extraterrestrial” and “Ocean Beach”, an ode to the lyricist’s hometown within the Sunset District of San Francisco, were constructed here, at the very Yuba College where students arrive everyday conspicuously to learn the basic of reading, writing, and arithmetic.

These musical time capsules, for whose existence will continually remain present until every last CD has disappeared and the internet has ceased, can claim their roots of existence within the hallowed halls of these forgotten laboratories and makeshift studios.

Within this former auto repair structure, originally designed with absolutely no intent for the musical arts, are the walls which fertilized the seeds for sound entertainment of the future.

While the 1700 building may not be here by the time the next generation of Hip Hop griots emerge from the fog, the art created within most definitely will be. The stories of those sessions will remain. The essence of existence will continue permeate.
Every laugh. Every bit of flirtatious interaction while impressing an attractive young lady while recording. Every last secret beer residing in a taco bell cup hoping to remain undiscovered by those who the lay the land’s law (alcohol is permitted within the building) has a life within it that will continue to remain as a layer of folklore.

For the folks at Magician Records in Melbourne, Australia, it may as well have been a delivery room. One whose offspring may grow to achieve accomplishments far beyond our expectations.