Tyler Watkins, co-owner of Postal Recording. Credit: Melodie Yvonne for Mirror Indy 
Postal Recording is in a former post office building. Credit: Melodie Yvonne for Mirror Indy 
Musician Deric Shannon records at the studio March 30, 2024. Credit: Melodie Yvonne for Mirror Indy 
Instruments line the walls. Credit: Melodie Yvonne for Mirror Indy 
The interior of Postal Recording. Credit: Melodie Yvonne for Mirror Indy 
Recording equipment. Credit: Melodie Yvonne for Mirror Indy 
A light at Postal Recording. Credit: Melodie Yvonne for Mirror Indy 
Co-owner Tyler Watkins works in the studio. Credit: Melodie Yvonne for Mirror Indy 
Instruments line the walls. Credit: Melodie Yvonne for Mirror Indy 
Recording equipment at Postal Recording. Credit: Melodie Yvonne for Mirror Indy
After longtime local recording studio Queensize closed in 2012, sound engineers Alex Kercheval and Tyler Watkins were on the hunt for a new location to record artists. The duo came across an empty post office building for sale on the city’s near westside, and herein lies the humble origin of Postal Recording.
“The only thing we ever hired anyone to do was charge the air conditioning systems,” Kercheval said with a laugh.
Having now recorded albums for musicians far and wide, Kercheval and Watkins are throwing a 10-year anniversary party on April 13 for their studio with a performance from Eric Alexander as Sir Deja Doog.
Alexander, who was the first artist Postal Recording ever recorded, is known for creating alter egos with each of his albums. For Postal’s anniversary celebration, Alexander will perform the album “Love Coffin” alongside a band of Indy all-stars. The $50 tickets for the event include a copy of the vinyl LP of the album.
Alexander remembers his first experience working with Postal Recording, “I outlined my vision for the record, which included using gear from the ’40s and ’50s to create an anachronistic sound, and (Watkins) assured me that people would be scratching their heads saying, ‘What year was this released? It sounds old.’”
[Listen to the song Mirror Indy commissioned for spring]
Since the release of “Love Coffin,” more musicians have gravitated towards Postal Recording’s rare sound offerings. In addition to the instruments they have to be used in recording sessions, Kercheval and Watkins also offer analog recording — a service that’s not often found at recording studios today.
“If someone walks in, we don’t ask questions — we just start rolling tape,” Kercheval said. “Most studios, if they even had tape machines, would be reluctant to turn them on because of the maintenance required to keep them going.”
Having recorded all but one of his albums at Postal Recording, jazz musician Charlie Ballantine, who recently moved to Baltimore from Indy, thinks of the Postal Recording duo as directors on a film.
“There’s a bedside manner with engineers,” Ballantine said. “You can very easily be too hands-on and opinionated, and you can very easily not say anything, where it just seems like you’re ready to cash the check and go home. But they’re this perfect median.”
Since recording her band’s “Days Worth Living” double album at Postal Recording, Sarah Grain has come on as Postal’s studio manager, helping artists map out the creative direction of their projects. When reflecting on what makes Postal so special, Grain pinpoints the fact that both Kercheval and Watkins are also musicians.
“Alex and Tyler wanted to create a studio where artists like them could make interesting and sometimes off-the-wall records, in an environment without pretense, and with gear that they have literally been collecting since they were 12 years old,” Grain said.
[Check out Seth Johnson’s “15 songs by Indianapolis artists to listen to now“]
When asked why his band Everything, Now! chose to record their forthcoming album “Hideout Mountain” at Postal Recording, vocalist/guitarist Jon Rogers echoes these sentiments.
“The physical layout of the studio is pretty much perfect, and they have so many instruments and technologies at their disposal,” Rogers said. “But even the coolest, most state-of-the-art recording studio would be a drag if you as a recording artist weren’t comfortable with the engineer, producer, or whoever else is around in the space. You can tell they want you to be comfortable. You can tell they want you to have fun.”
But while the artists may be enjoying their time at Postal, Kercheval and Watkins both admit they also have a good time doing what they do at the studio.
“I feel very lucky about the musicians we get to work with,” Kercheval says. “We know other engineers across the country, and it seems there’s a lot of work that they do begrudgingly. I feel like we get very little of that work, which I’m very thankful for.”
Seth Johnson is an Indianapolis native and graduate of Lawrence North High School. He has worked as a freelance writer in the Indianapolis area since 2013, reporting on all things arts and culture.
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