While the majority of metal heads in the early '80s looked toward the burgeoning rock scene in L.A., a little-known band was forming its assault on the music industry in the back streets of San Francisco. More than 20 years since their rippin' debut album, Kill 'Em All, the boyz of Metallica have upped the ante for their rock brethren, crafting the heaviest of heavy metal, incessantly touring, notoriously attacking a little company called Napster, bringing a new level of sophistication to head-banging — and continually pushing themselves (and their fans) to redefine what is RAWK.

We happen to really like the San Francisco Bay Area here at Mix. Not in that smug, hipper-than-L.A. sort of way. And not in that hybrid-driving, organic-promoting, politically correct sort of way that the rest of the country seems to associate with us. The Bay Area is simply our home, and has been for 30 years now. And we like it.

You can't beat New York for its raw, dynamic musical energy. Or Nashville for its cohesive, family-like intimacy. Los Angeles has some of the most inventive minds in entertainment and the massive creative infrastructure to push the world forward. San Francisco, meanwhile, has always existed on the fringe of professional audio, and that's okay.

To honor the entrepreneurial spirit, we present “Bay Area Legends,” a photo feature that spotlights individuals, teams, facilities and venues that have made a difference in our little slice of the production world. This is by no means a “Best Of” list, nor are we trying to rank the major players. So many more artists, engineers, producers, editors, developers, composers and designers are worthy of being included among a collection of local legends that we could fill the whole magazine. And someday, maybe we will.

But for now, we present our own Bay Area Legends.

Though he's been long retired from the music industry proper, most Bay Area engineers who came of age in the '70s credit David Rubinson with teaching them how records are made. Herbie Hancock, the Pointer Sisters, Santana, Janis, Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane, Taj Mahal — his legacy will never end. Did we mention that he founded the Automatt and was the music producer for Apocalypse Now?

Nearly 35 years ago, Walter Murch walked this same stairwell with a Nagra and recorded his footsteps for a scene in The Godfather: Part II, where Don Fanucci climbs to his death at the hands of Robert De Niro. At the time, Murch was credited with “sound montage,” though in Francis Ford Coppola's world, he was a “director of sound.” He directs, he writes, he edits film. He won the rarest Oscar double in history (for Film Editing and Sound) for The English Patient. But we still like to refer to him as the original “sound designer.”

It's not just that she has some of the best ears in the business and the nose of a sommelier. And it's not just that she tirelessly pursues quality both in her own projects at Sky-walker Sound and her years on the national board for NARAS and the Oakland Cultural Affairs Commission. We salute Leslie because after cutting her teeth at the Automatt in the '70s, then leaving for an 11-year run at Capitol in L.A., she came back home.

Neil Young could certainly make our Legends section solely on the basis of his incomparable and uncompromising music career, which spans more than four decades now, and has included a staggering number of great albums, tours and films. But we also love Neil because year after year, he and his indefatigable wife, Pegi, have put on what everyone agrees is the greatest series of benefit shows ever staged, the annual Bridge School concerts, which have featured everyone from McCartney to Bowie to Springsteen to Pearl Jam and dozens more — all to raise money for a school for disabled children.

In the mid-'60s, engineer Fred Catero was living a comfortable life at CBS/Columbia in New York. He had just built his “round” dream house in Long Island and had lived there two months when his colleague at CBS, Roy Halee, called from San Francisco and asked him to come take a look at what they were setting up there. Fred headed West and never looked back, walking right into the heart of the San Francisco sound, 1960s-style. Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, Phoebe Snow, Chicago, Blood, Sweat & Tears, the Pointer Sisters — and he mentored a legion of engineers at the Automatt, who have all gone on to remarkable careers. He has no cellphone, no Internet service, but today, Fred is busy cleaning up his massive personal collection of radio programs in Pro Tools, using the Waves Restoration bundle and playing back from an iPod. We salute Fred — there at the birth of modern recording and still learning today.

Every week, a group of technology and electronic music pioneers gathers at a small Berkeley coffeehouse for chat and discourse about all things electronica and esoterica. Pictured (L-R): Tom Oberheim, Dave Smith, Roger Linn, Jaron Lanier, David Wessel, Keith McMillan, John Chowning and Max Mathews. Not pictured is regular club member Don Buchla.

From his first design (the Glyph loudspeaker he brought to Monterey Pop in 1967), John Meyer has always taken a different approach to seeing — and hearing — the world. He introduced the concept of trapezoidal, arrayable enclosures in 1980 and borrowed technology from Stealth aircraft to put in his X-10 monitors. And when Megadeth, the Three Tenors, Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House all use your products, you must be doing something exceptional.

Though his heritage is Mexican, Carlos Santana's life has been the embodiment of the American Dream. Once his family moved to San Francisco, the brilliant young guitarist quickly became a regular at The Fillmore and other S.F. ballrooms, leading the first great Latin-rock band. Wood-stock made Santana a star, and there's been no looking back since. His long and storied career has produced so many hit singles and albums, but more importantly, thousands of hours of passionate and inspiring music have made him a hero to millions of fans around the globe.

The Fillmore had already been an R&B venue years before Bill Graham took it over during the Day-Glo Rush of the mid-'60s. But Bill turned it into a place where magic happened nearly every night. Free apples greeted revelers as they ascended the stairs to the second-floor ballroom, and inside they were treated to nights of incomparable fun with the greatest rock, blues and jazz bands.

After laying fallow for many years, the Fillmore was re-opened by Bill in the late '80s, and to this day, it remains the coolest venue in S.F., equally beloved by fans and the bands that still beg to play there. From left, Morgan Pitman, production manager; Nathan Harlow, audio head; Zombie, concert master; Jim Cornett, general manager.

Any studio that has survived 37 years in one location deserves our respect. Originally opened as Wally Heider Recording in 1969, and home to seminal albums from the likes of the Jefferson Airplane, Creedence, CSNY, Steve Miller, Jerry Garcia and countless others, Hyde Street Studios took over in 1980 and owner Michael Ward (back center, in blue) has made an up-and-down run for 26 years, and is still going strong. We salute you, Hyde Street. For a list of those pictured, visit www.mixonline.com.