Get REDDI For Session Perfection
Reggie Hamilton Talks DI
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Whether
it's pop, rock, R&B or jazz, in-demand bass player Reggie Hamilton
chooses A Designs REDDI DI.
In-demand bass
player Reggie Hamilton discovered a piece of equipment this year
that helps him overcome the limitations of the hi-Z instrument input
signal chain in the average studio. Since first trying the A Designs
REDDI all-tube direct box last July, it has been his constant companion,
reports Hamilton. The REDDI ensures that he can consistently deliver
exactly the sound for which he has been hired as he moves from session
to session.
"The first
four days I had it at four completely different sessions - pop,
rock, R&B and acoustic jazz bass. Honestly I found it to be
exceptional, and that's without blowing smoke. I really, really
like the box and take it with me everywhere I go. I love the tube
sound. It's so natural and warm," says the busy musician, whose
resume of live and recording session work includes such diverse
artists as Boyz II Men, Ricky Martin, Kelly Clarkson, Seal, Whitney
Houston, Warren Zevon, Johnny Hallyday, Bette Midler, Randy Newman,
and his mentors, Stanley Clarke and George Duke, among many others.
The challenge,
Hamilton observes, is that not all studios pay as much attention
to the high-impedance instrument input chain as they do to the vocal
path. Even some of the high-end preamplifiers most commonly found
at many studios come up short due to manufacturing and design compromises.
"They're really concerned with how it sounds with a microphone.
They're not thinking about how it sounds for a bass guitar or a
transducer for an acoustic bass or a keyboard for a synth bass."
Carrying the
REDDI from one gig to the next eliminates that problem, he says,
and allows him to do his job. "A lot of people I work with
have nice home studios but there's often little thought for the
inputs they're getting from somewhere else. Some people have a signal
path that's pretty poor. You could have bad cabling in the patchbay
and lose 4dB, which is a pain. Taking the REDDI to a session, especially
having 16dB of gain, really helps a lot."
He adds, "I
know from my bass and the cabling that I use, down to the DI, that
after that it's on them - I've fulfilled my part. It's nice to have
a DI that I like and trust as much as my bass."
Years of recording
in a wide variety of locations, from the top commercial facilities
to high-end home studios have exposed Hamilton to nearly every DI
box available. Compared to some of those high-end boxes, he says,
"This is significantly better. Having used all those DIs, I'm
really happy with the REDDI."
"It might
not have the tonal variance that I might have with some units,"
he continues, "but that's made up by the fact that it's all
natural tone, and it sounds excellent. I like the way my sound saturates
the tape - or the hard disc, as it were. You can bring a great sound
to the table automatically. You don't need anything to polish it
up. It's just true, which I like."
Not surprisingly,
engineers at Hamilton's sessions have also been impressed.
"So much so that a friend of mine, Tony Shepperd, who has a
studio, Tonysound, now has a REDDI also. Each guy I've worked with
has been really pleased with it. They like that there's control.
And everybody likes the really shiny light!"
A
Designs Audio is distributed by TransAudio Group, founded by
industry veteran Brad Lunde For
more info, please email Brad
Lunde at LVPA or Phone (702) 307-2700
ATC
Loudspeakers Do Stand The Test Of Time
Film
score engineer and mixer Frank Wolf Gets ATC upgrades from Las Vegas
Pro Audio
Frank
Wolf uses his twelve-year-old upgraded ATC loudspeakers on Pixar's
upcoming blockbuster "Cars" and Mel Brooks "The Producers."
With continual
new developments and built-in obsolescence consigning any number
of professional audio products to the storage closet, or even the
scrap heap, it's reassuring to discover that at least one company
offers its customers an upgrade path that extends over 25 years
of manufacturing. ATC
(Acoustic Transducer Company) Loudspeakers, distributed in the U.S.
by Las
Vegas Pro Audio, offer driver upgrades and amplifier overhauls
that extend the working life of their products, in production since
1980, allowing customers to maximize their investment in the essential
tools of their trade.
Hollywood film
score and music mixer and recordist Frank Wolf first heard about
the ATC upgrades from Las Vegas Pro Audio president Brad Lunde,
and, having changed out the subwoofers in his twelve-year-old ATC
SCM100 reference monitors for the company's new Super Linear drivers,
could not be happier with the results. "They're dramatically
improved," says Wolf.
It's an easy
do-it-yourself job, he reports. "I pulled them apart myself,
replaced the ports, and put the new speakers in." ATC also
offered to service the amplifier modules, he adds. "They suggested
that if I wanted to pull the amp packs out and ship them they would
check them and tweak them and make sure they were up to snuff, which
I did. They turned them around fast and didn't keep me off the air
for long at all. That's about as good customer service as you could
ever hope to get."
With his LCR
setup of SCM100 monitors sporting new woofers and fresh components
in his amplifier modules, Wolf was able to get back to work as one
of the top music mixers in Hollywood. "What I've done since
the upgrade is recorded and mixed the new Pixar movie, "Cars,"
which is coming out next summer. I mixed the album for "The
Producers," the new film of the Broadway production inspired
by the original Mel Brooks film. And I'm just now working on a Spike
Lee movie with composer Terrence Blanchard."
The hotly anticipated
new Pixar Animation Studios feature, "Cars," "looks
like it's going to be great," says Wolf. "I've done four
other movies with Pixar. I did "Toy Story" and "Toy
Story 2," "A Bug's Life" and "Monsters, Inc."
with them and Randy Newman, so this was my fifth one with Pixar.
They're a great group of guys to work with."
Pixar's animated
features have garnered multiple nominations and awards worldwide,
and have won many Oscars. Wolf's busy career also includes such
movies as "Meet the Fockers," "Seabiscuit,"
"Tarzan" and "Mulan."
These same ATCs
were used for scoring "The Producers." This task was arduous,
Wolf reports. "I spent four months this year working on 'The
Producers.' There are 25 songs plus an underscore, so it was a lot
of work.
We cut the tracks at the scoring room that Right Track built in
New York, and mixed it at Sony."
ATC reference
monitors are a longstanding and firm favorite with many music mixers.
Wolf is happy to report that he was able to find a pair in New York.
"Sony has an interesting pair of ATCs that they had custom
made for [former Sony Music label boss] Tommy Mottola some years
ago. They're pretty amazing."
ATC's drivers
are manufactured in-house to exacting tolerances and are legendary
for their many design innovations, such as the innovative SL magnet
system and the company's renowned Soft Dome midrange driver, which
achieves exceptionally broad and even dispersion to produce a flat
response anywhere in the room. Situated in Aston Down in rural Gloucestershire,
England, ATC was established in London in 1974 by acoustics engineer
and musician Bill Woodman.
LasVegasProAudio
distributes ATC
in the USA. For
more info, please email Brad
Lunde at LVPA or Phone (702) 307-2700
Josh O'Connor And The LA Connection
Las Vegas artist
whose vocal talent and songwriting skills combine the fantasy of
Sade and Roxy Music with the soul of Simply Red and the drive of
Smashing Pumpkins was in Los Angeles for a gig at the Viper Room
on January 7th. O'Connor
checked into the
Mix Room to work on some new material with producer/mixer Eddie
Kramer afterwards. Look for Victorian, the new album out now.
Glassman's Go-To
Mic Preamps
Daking Quality
Paired With Las Vegas Pro Audio Service
Longtime
Daking aficionado, Seth Glassman, owns two of the original Daking
mic-pre/EQs and two of the compressor-limiters.
During his busy career as an engineer-producer, songwriter, arranger
and studio musician, Seth Glassman has had the opportunity to use
some of the best signal processing equipment available. Regardless
of whether it is expensive or not, or if it is solid-state or classic
tube, what is important is that it must be useful, says Glassman.
And experience has taught him that the most useful items in his
well-equipped personal studio are made by Geoffrey Daking &
Co.
"I have
two of the original Daking mic-pre/EQs and two of the original compressor-limiters,"
reports Glassman, who, as a session bass player, first met Geoffrey
Daking many years ago when he was working as a recording engineer.
"I have a lot of equipment in my studio. Some of it is very
specialized and much of it is very expensive, but Geoff's stuff
is just better, and I use it much more often. The Daking equipment
is just more useful and sounds great."
Elaborating
on why the Daking units have become his go-to mic preamps, he continues,
"Sometimes, in the heat of things, when there's a limited amount
of time and people's focus is fragile, you don't always have the
luxury of comparing different pieces of equipment. It's got to be
good immediately, so you have to make up your mind pretty quickly."
"The Daking
compressor-limiters are equally practical," adds Glassman,
"and are also very versatile. They can be transparent. You
can put some very light compression on the stereo bus on something
that's very sensitive and get the effect that you want. Or, you
can use them almost as an effect and squash something amazingly
hard and still make it usable."
As a bass and
guitar player, songwriter, engineer-producer and arranger, Seth
Glassman has worked live and in the studio with a truly impressive
list of artists, including James Brown, Paul McCartney, Cher, Diana
Ross, Aaron Neville, Brian McKnight, Hall and Oates, Cyndi Lauper,
Kenny Rogers, Carole King, Jennifer Warnes, and many, many others.
A musician with plenty of experience working the Great White Way
in Manhattan, Glassman recently wrote and recorded several songs
with Broadway star Darlene Love.
LasVegasProAudio
(www.lasvegasproaudio.com)
distributes Geoffrey
Daking & Co.
For more info, please email Brad
Lunde at LVPA or Phone (702) 307-2700
Las
Vegas Pro Audio is the direct sales division of TransAudio
Group. The goal of LasVegasProAudio.com is to provide a personal
long-term relationship with top engineers delivering insightful
and accurate advice, unique equipment and long term support.TransAudio
Group, founded by industry veteran Brad Lunde, has quickly become
the premier US importer/distributor for high-end audio. visit the
web sites at: www.lasvegasproaudio.com
TransAudio Group's
product lines include A-Designs
(USA) AEA ribbon microphones (USA), ADT
Toolkit, AEA,
ATC
Loudspeakers (UK), Brauner
microphones(Germany), Drawmer
(UK), Geoffrey
Daking & Co. (USA), George
Massenburg Labs (GML) (USA), Heil
Sound (USA); Mercury Audio (USA) Mission Audio (UK) Phoenix
Audio (UK), PAULY
Superscreens(Germany), SABRA
SOM(Brazil), Soundelux
(USA), SoundField
Microphones (UK), Z-Systems (USA) and Weiss
Engineering (Switzerland) and Z Systems (USA).
"Crazy
Hair Day" at Cups 'N Strings
Pictured
at Cups 'N Strings Studios are Dustin Hoffman and recording engineer
Sabrina Buchanek.
Acclaimed actor
Dustin Hoffman recently stopped by Cups 'N Strings Studios to record
the audio book of "Crazy
Hair Day." The popular children's book was written and
illustrated by Barney Saltzberg, who is also a singer/songwriter
who has performed at numerous schools, bookstores, libraries and
children's hospitals nationwide.
Hoffman lent his voice talents to support the Crazy Hair Day Literacy
Campaign, a continuing community initiative designed to celebrate
and promote the power of literacy. In 2006, More than 2500 books
will be donated, distributed, and read by more than 2500 volunteers
to more than 50,000 children and adults in more than 500 locations
in more than 10 cities throughout the US.
For an express
tour of Cups 'N Strings, or call 310.656.9356 to schedule a
reality tour.
Firehouse
Sessions
And Friendly Tours
On the outside,
Firehouse
Studios preserve the rustic charm of the original structure,
a circa 1889 fire station near downtown Pasadena, California. On
the inside, however, the facility takes a quantum leap into 21st
century audio technology.
Ed Wooley, chief
engineer-Firehouse Recording Studio; studioexpresso's Claris Sayadian-Dodge;
Firehouse
manager Candace Stewart and Las Vegas Pro Audio's Brad Lunde during
holiday festivities at Firehouse. Recent projects at Firehouse Include:
Oscar
Castro-Neves' self-produced CD, Playful Heart. Oscar also produced
Patty Clark. Foreplay with Nathan East, Yellowjackets and Mark Mancina
(Disney) TV - Haunted Mansion and Brother Bear were all recorded
and/or mixed at Firehouse. Call Candace to get a tour of this fab
facility with its Icon and 20 chl of neve and APIs that's sure to
please the audiophiles.
Avatar Duets
Columbia University To Terlarc Artists
Studio C hosted
a session for Telarc recording artist, Hiromi Uehara (right), recording
a piano duet with Akiko Yano. Sushi Kosugi produced and James Farber
engineered, assisted by Brian Montgomery.
Recently during
AES in NY Student Chapter from Columbia University visited Avatar
Studios. The group was given a tour by Roy Hendrickson, Chief Engineer
of Avatar. Seen here in Avatars Studio A are Roy Hendrickson
(far left) and the student group, headed by Chapter Chair, Suman
Ravuri (third from right).
Parr Excellence!
Steve Parr Win at Surround 05
At the Surround
Music Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on 15th December,
Steve
Parr (pix above) was announced the winner for Best Orchestral
Mix for 'Reich at the Roxy'.
'Reich at the
Roxy' is a DVD of a concert by Alarm Will Sound playing the compositions
of Steve Reich at the eponymous venue in the meatpacking district
of New York in February 2004. The concert was filmed in high definition
video and recorded at 96k directly into Digital Performer by Parr.
After editing by producer Mike Roberts, Parr and Roberts mixed the
concert in both 6.1 surround and stereo at Parr and partner Sharon
Rose's Hear No Evil studio in London.
Parr commented
'this was probably the most difficult mix I have ever had to accomplish.
It was like rescuing a child from a burning building; the material
was so complex and demanding on the ears that Mike and I could only
work for very short periods of time before audio fatigue would set
in; it took the best part of a year before we were happy with the
mixes.' Roberts added 'It was always my intention to combine the
controlled environment of a studio recording with the excitement
of a live performance'
Steve Reich added that he considers it the best performance and
recording ever of his work.
Sweetspot Productions
released the recording as the first of a series of high resolution
recordings of contemporary music. Parr previously won the award
for Most Adventurous Mix for 'The Orchestra' in 2002 and had also
been nominated for his 5.1 mix of 'Who Are You' for the CSI title
theme and for the movie soundtrack for 'Hound of the Baskervilles'.
He was the only European to win an award , other winners include
Brant S Biles for NERD, Greg
Penny who took Best Multichannel Reissue for Elton John's Captain
Fantastic, and Jerry Harrison for Talking Heads.
Surrounded
By Faces of Music
Guests Take A Book Signing Break
Faces of Music: 25 Years of Lunching with Legends by Mr Bonzai
l-r:
George Massenburg, Brad Lunde of Las Vegas Pro Audio, David M. Schwartz
of M Powered Ideas, mixer/egnineer, Rafa
Sardina,
producer Phil Ramone who won the Surround pioneer award
In a gala event,
the 2005
Surround Music Awards announced this years winners at
the Beverly Hilton Hotel past December. The event, hosted by Ed
Cherney and Elliot
Scheiner along with some help from past host Al
Schmitt was highlighted by the presentation of the 2005
Surround Artist of the Year to Jackson Browne by the members of
his Running On Empty band, Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, Craig Doerge,
and David Lindley. Following Brownes acceptance speech, singer/songwriter
Andrew Gold and Jeffrey Foskett from the Brian Wilson Band acoustically
performed two Jackson Browne hits Running On Empty and Stay.
Congrats to all the winners!
l-r:
Elliot Scheiner, Al Schmitt with studioexpresso's Claris Sayadian-Dodge
While waiting
for the award show, there was a frenzy of book signing when a copy
of Mr Bonzai's book Faces of Music: 25 Years of Lunching with Legends
resurfaced at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Pick
up your copy today!
Mr
Bonzai authographing his book for studioexpresso
Pop Up The
Poster & CD Covers
Art
of Van Hamersveld
L-R:
John Van Hamersveld; Poster of Endless Summer; Cream CD art; Hendrix
poster
On the heels
of four hugely successful nights at London's Royal Albert Hall,
the eagerly anticipated Cream reunion arrived on DVD (from Rhino)
and CD (from Reprise Records) October 2005. In what was billed the
must-see show of this decade, legendary rock group, Cream -- Ginger
Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton -- reunited for their first concerts
in more than 30 years. These triumphant reunion performances were
brilliantly captured on HD and 5.1 surround sound for the DVD and
CD releases. The DVD features alternate takes of favorite songs,
along with the only band interviews about the historic reunion.
The last time the band played together was in 1993 when they were
inaugurated into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in Los Angeles.
The DVD cover
features John Hamersveld's wonderful psychedelic art with updated
design much similar to Warhol. January 1964, Van Hamersveld, then
a famous surfer known as the Hammer, is riding one of
the first Makaha Skateboards out front of Surfer Magazine. Later
that year John designed the iconic film poster for The Endless Summer
(John pictured above with the poster).
Van Hamersveld
was recently surprised to find a demand and renewed interest in
his posters like the classic Hendrix/Shrine (which he has recently
done a fourth re-printing of). The original first printings of the
posters now go for $3,500 to $5,000, he says. Not everyone can fork
over that kind of money, however, even for a piece of rock history.
Apart from avid poster collectors intent on amassing the original
pieces, the 60s artists have also found a new audience in
the youth of todays renewed interest and veneration of classic
rock-their vehicle, the significantly cheaper, more accessible re-prints.
Clearly, as long as rock is around, there will be an interest in
the genres posters.
Artwork
of that era harkens back to a time when rock and roll was visually
exciting and musically inspiring. It was collectable, something
you could own or hang on your wall-a bit more than just web code,
says musicians Dave Navarro who recently opened the doors of his
night venue Rokbar in Hollywood with partner Tommy Lee.
Look up John
Van Hamersveld's original prints and collection of Hand-Pulled Limited
Edition Signed Silkscreens at Post
Future.
News From
Sundance
Big 'Sleep' for WIP: $6 mil buy
Warner Independent
Pictures jumped into the big-buy arena Monday at Sundance with the
$6 million acquisition of all North American and U.K. rights to
writer-director Michel Gondry's (pix above) "The
Science of Sleep." WIP moved swiftly to buy the visually
dazzling fantasy starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg
right after its 9:30 p.m. screening Sunday and closed the deal with
Gaumont and Partizan Films at 3 a.m. Monday. "There were six
of us who saw it," WIP president Mark Gill said. "We never
agree on anything, but we all loved this film. It's breathtakingly
original." "Science of Sleep" is produced by Georges
Bermann and Frederic Junqua and marks WIP's first Gaumont film.
WIP plans to release the film in the second half of the year.
In other acquisitions
activity, Ryan Fleck's addiction drama "Half
Nelson," starring Ryan Gosling, and the puzzle docu "Wordplay"
are expected to sell imminently. The Yari Group's "The Illusionist,"
starring Edward Norton, also played well Sunday night and is being
screened "all over Hollywood," according to one distributor
interested in the film, which the filmmakers would like to release
wide.
Naked Eyes
Live And On CD
Pete Byrne of Naked Eyes
Photo by Roger L. Miller
If you're fan of great 80s classics, see the real deal with Pete
Byrne taking acoustic Naked Eyes on the road coming to a neighborhood
near you. Florida and California dates planned in Jan. Catch tour
details at Naked Eyes web site
The new CD, " Fumbling With The Covers " features Naked
Eyes acoustic version of the hits, along with covers of Dylan, The
Beatles and more.
Naked Eyes T-shirt, the new song " Diamond Eyes" and all
available at Pete's web site. Click
here to read and hear Pete's profile on Studio Expresso and
record production.
Pete has taped an in-studio video for VH1 Classic. Always Something,
Promises and a Dylan song were performed.
The Naked Eyes original dance mix and b-side collection "Everything
and More." is out!! This long awaited CD features unreleased
mixes, including "Promises Promises" with Madonna in both
7" and 12" versions. None of the tracks on this album
have ever been on CD before. Some have never been released... All
the 12" dance mixes, the early UK b-sides, the early singles
when they were known as Neon, the lost album tracks. This is the
definitive rare tracks CD, featuring "Always Something There
To Remind Me", "Promises Promises", "In The
Name Of Love" and much more...
MTV's Twentieth Anniversary video collection "MTV 20"
includes the "Promises, Promises" music video. The DVD
version also includes a bonus interview clip with Pete and Rob.
Watch Pete Byrne's interview with studioexpresso's Claris for Record
Production and hear Pete singing one of his hits.
Coachella,
The Film
Directed by
Drew Thomas, Coachella will feature two-hours of highlights from
the previous six years of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
On January 24
there will be a sneak peek one night only event. Click here for
a list
of local theatres. You can purchase tickets online at www.bigscreenconcerts.com
or in person at select theatres. Tickets are $10 advance or $12.50
day of event. No refunds. This film is rated R.
Featured performances by: The Chemical Bros, The Polyphonic Spree,
Radiohead, Red Hot Chilllie Peppers, Beck, Bjork, Perry Farrell,
The White Stripes, Mars Volta, to name a few.
Make Some Noise!
Mix of music, celebration and action in support of Amnesty
International
There are approximately
639 million small arms in the world today. Eight million new weapons
are produced every year. Nearly 60 per cent of small arms are in
civilian hands. The annual number of bullets produced is more than
double the world's population. Every
year roughly half a million men, women and children are killed by
armed violence - that's one person every minute.
On December
10th, International Human Rights Day, the first four tracks of the
compilation were made available on amnesty.org/noise as 99 cent
downloads.
Make
Some Noise is a global venture by Amnesty International that
mixes music, celebration and action to protect individuals wherever
freedom, justice and equality are denied. What's their New Year's
Wish list: To attract one million new supporters worldwide. With
Yoko Ono's gift the recording rights to Imagine
and John Lennons entire solo songbook MSN is harnessing
the power of music to inspire a new generation to stand up for human
rights. Black Eyed Peas, Maroon5, Snow Patrol, The Cure, Postal
Service and Avril Levine are all involved in the MSN campaign doing
John Lennon covers.
Let The Games
Begin
XX Torino 2006 Olympic Torch Relay
According to
Greek mythology, Prometheus stole the sacred Fire from the Gods
and brought it to Earth, where it soon became the symbol of human
reason, freedom and creativity.
The 2006 Olympic
Torch Relay started in Rome on the 8th of December and for two months
will travel across national territory. The celebrations will expand
through 600 communities of all the Italian regions until February
10, 2006, when the last torchbearer (open to public) will light
the XX Olympic Winter Games cauldron. The Olympic Flame has
passed through Italy twice, bearing its wealth of heritage and enchantment:
in 1956 for the Cortina dAmpezzo Winter Olympics and in 1960
for the Rome Games. 50 years later, Italian passion is being ignited
for an extraordinary event: Torino 2006 Olympic Torch Relay.
Andrea Bocelli,
Lou Reed, Ricky Martin, Avril Lavigne and other musical stars will
perform in the downtown medal plaza during the Turin Games. Opera
singer Bocelli will open the festivities in Piazza Castello on Feb.
11 after the first day of competition. Organizers expect 8,500 spectators
each night. Fifty-five of the 84 medal ceremonies will be held in
the plaza, with Alpine ceremonies held at competition venues. To
purchase tix click here
Laying It Down
Kenny Aronoff New DVD & Address
Kenny
Aronoff's "Laying it Down: Basics of Rock Drumming"
is now available on DVD. It includes exclusive, never-before-seen
footage along with many other special features including a candid
recording session with Kenny, drum solos, photo galleries, and printable
PDF files of the onscreen examples. Click here to order. studioexpresso
caught up with the legendary drummer during a session with Ken
Allardyce in Los Angeles. "Yes it was great working with
ken. He is amazing as an engineer and I love him as a person. I
have had a place here in LA for 3 years now, so as always I'm available
for sessions on both coasts," says Aronoff who can be reached
at 818-990-3031 or visit Aronoff
web site here.
Microsoft
Unveils Windows Vista at CES
Keynote
Remarks (edited) by Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect,
Microsoft Corp
Microsoft
Chairman Bill Gates points towards future products; Stringer holds
the new Sony Reader e-book during keynote addresses at the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
"The
software is where the magic is. Software is providing power, but
software has got to provide simplicity. And that's why our investment
levels are going up in the toughest problems: security, privacy,
speech and video recognition, and all of those things will fold
into this platform," said Gates in his closing remarks during
Microsoft's unvailing of its Windows Vista this year.
With more than
90 per cent of personal computers running Windows, security represents
the biggest target for hackers.
Focussing on
average consumer needs Vista is featured with new photo-editing
tools, a revamped media player designed specially to improve the
way that Windows tackles media files and improved remote-control
experience.
Highlights
from the keynote address included: Van Toffler, MTV Networks (the
music group) president jokingly handed Gates a massive $50 royalty
check for being the inspiration for MTV film "Napoleon Dynamite"
as part of their new venture together called URGE!
URGE promises to offer a customized relationship with music, a sense
of musical discovery, along with access to millions of songs from
major labs and indies, an opportunity to listen to over a hundred
radio stations, a chance to learn about the roots of songs and lyrics,
plus interaction with hundreds of artists and access to their playlists
of must-haves. You
can also take URGE and make it your own and personalize your own
soundtrack and make it for any mood or event. Subscribers will customize
and drive this service, they will tell what sucks and what they
hate about the service, they will customize it, program it, share
it, change it and move with it. When URGE music service launches,
they're going to have over two million tracks available for individual
song or album purchase or as part of an all you can eat subscription.
A cameo appearance
by Justin Timberlake who plugged his new album ended the introduction
of URGE. " URGE offers artists like myself a new way to specifically
reach our music fans with a ton of options to play, interact and
buy music. I want to let the cat out of the bag; when I release
my new album this year, which by the way features Mr. Gates's singing
debut, we'll be doing a duet -- (laughter) -- [singing] "Artistry
and technology" -- no? (Laughter.) Whatever, " Says Timberlake.
Windows's Xbox
360 took the ceterstage once more. According to Peter Moore who
leads Xbox and gaming, the Xbox has achieved an unprecedented global
launch for the world of videogame consoles. In the first 90 days
we will have launched Xbox 360 in nearly 30 countries, and Xbox
360 is on track to ship between 4.5 and 5.5 million consoles by
the end of June.
Key partnerships
with Verison, MCI, Motorola (the Q) and Phillips were announced
promising connecting phones to broadband services and offering richer
consumer experience.
New TV software
packages promise more interactivity, choice and personalization.
In this area watch for Vive (rhymes with "five" and "live,")
a partnership with Intel. Combined with the Windows Media Center,
it's like the 7.1 surround sound. Another partnership with DIRECTV
video onto the Windows Media Center PC. "We'll also connect
up to our portable devices, connect up to Xbox 360, and so these
Media Centers will let you enjoy the high definition and normal
definition DIRECTV content and take that away on a portable media
device, so a lot of flexibility there," says Gates. BSkyB,
is sort of a sister company of DIRECTV over in the UK who has over
8 million subscribers and will be able to do those downloads and
use those great capabilities.
As for High-def
DVDs coming online this year, the Toshiba HD-DVD player will be
available in March for $499 as a device that consumers can get to
start watching HD-DVD disks. Its A user might get benefit out of
interactivity and compelling content running on a WindowsVista Media
Center PC with tthe HD-DVD player by changing the viewing experience.
Media Center is a platform that enables content providers and software
developers to create all kinds of compelling application experiences
and services that work with a remote control either on your PC,
your Media Center PC, or streaming through extender devices like
the Xbox 360.
Let's hope Bill is right and we're all going to have a lot of fun
and productivity in the new year.
Sony Corp. Chief
Executive Howard Stringer, in his keynote at CES,"Content
is no longer pushed at consumers, it's pulled when they want it
and how they want it," Stringer said, who added that the transition
to high-definition television would shake the industry. "The
scale of the transition from analog to HD (high definition) will
make the shift from black-and-white to color small by comparison,"
Stringer said.
Sony BMG, a
joint venture of Sony and Bertelsmann AG, was sued last year after
5.7 million of its CDs were shipped with anti-piracy technology
that required a new software patch to plug a potential security
breach in computers used to play the CDs. They entered a preliminary
agreement to settle a class action lawsuit brought against the company
here for its use of copy-protection software that allegedly behaves
like spyware. The move signals a setback to major-label efforts
to control consumer copying of CDs.Sony CEO Stringer said the experience
highlights the conflict at Sony between the electronics division
that wants to make products with features consumers want, such as
the ability to copy music and films to devices, and the creative
units of the company concerned with protecting copyrights.
"We have
to walk the line at Sony between the needs of technology and the
consumer, and the rights of the artist, which we feel very strongly
about," said Stringer who highlighted Sony's upcoming product
line, which includes an electronic book reader, a device that allows
TV shows to be streamed live to a PlayStation Portable handheld
unit, and a new digital movie projector. He said his efforts at
cutting costs and reorganizing the company around several core units
is progressing slowly but steadily. Company
executives intend to meet next week in Hawaii to assess the restructuring.
The company is planning to cut 10,000 jobs.
The Pandora
Box
Helping Find New Musical Favorites
Lomax
puts a dime in the Global Jukebox
As the Savage
Beast Web site points out: "In an industry where less than
3% of all releases currently account for over 80% of all revenue,
Savage Beast is ideally positioned to unlock an enormous lost revenue
potential." That's where the Music Genome comes in.
Those of you
familiar with Alan Lomax's legacy and his Global Jukebox can see
the similarities. Lomax's Jukebox was based on a music notation
system he called his "cantometrics," a made-up word he
defined as meaning "song as a measure of society." It
consisted of 36 parameters that could be used to compare musical
performance styles across cultures. And, just as the Music Genome
would, Lomax employed an army of rigorously trained research assistants
to code and input thousands of songs into a central database. There
are 4,400 in all, spanning 400 cultures, everything from Pygmy recordings
to American pop tunes. This is only a portion of what Lomax intended.
A series of strokes in the 1990s prevented him from getting the
Jukebox past the prototype stage.
Despite their
many similarities, the two projects have very different ambitions.
The
Music Genome is primarily a commercial venture, designed to
take advantage of something called the Long Tailan economic
concept with new implications in the Internet age. It holds that
in an environment of limitless selection and easy distributionas
created by businesses like iTunes and Rhapsodythere's money
to be made by driving people beyond the blockbuster hits to the
more obscure, deep catalog stuff. As the Savage Beast Web site points
out: "In an industry where less than 3% of all releases currently
account for over 80% of all revenue, Savage Beast is ideally positioned
to unlock an enormous lost revenue potential." That's where
the Music Genome comes in.
To date, the
system has been used exclusively by in-store kiosks and online recommendation
engines for clients like AOL, Tower Records, Best Buy, and Barnes
& Noble. But in the next few months, Savage Beast plans to unveil
a public interface that will enable listeners to, in CEO Tim Westergren's
words, "have a full music genome conversation on the web":
query it, input songs, and listen to music.
The next step
for the project is to expand the catalog to include commercial recordings
from around the world. The enthusiastic CEO also talks about a recent
visit to Japan, where he encountered a local band that sounded like
Counting Crows. "It would be awesome to be able to connect
someone in America with a Japanese band where the music is the same,"
he said. Ironically, this is precisely what Lomax feared most: a
day when America turns its ears to the world and hears only echoes
of itself! (courtesy of Slate and Martin Edlund).
Proud John
Concord Records Builds A Bridge Back To John Fogerty
Soon we'll hear
more from the somewhat forgotten but brilliant songwrter, John
Fogerty who penned Proud Mary, Bad Moon Rising
and Born on The Bayou in the 60s. Just where has Mr Fogerty
been all these years? The 60-year old rocker became a solo artist
after the immensely influential Creedence Clearwater Revival
split up. With a spotty solo career and large gaps in between
album releases, he agreed to forfeit virtually all his royalties
from the music he'd written and recorded on Fantasy Records with
Creedence. After spending a decade in legal and business battls
with the label and its owner, Saul Zaentz, Mr Fogerty's new label
Concord is unwailing a new campaign to reintroduce the legend.
Now, look for
a series of album releases designed to reassociate John with the
far more successful music of his old band which will continue through
2007. John's new label, Concord Records, which is owned by television
producer Norman Lear, bought Fantasy for $80 million from its long-time
owners, led by Mr Zaentz. Concords 3-5-year album release and promotional
plan aims to put Mr Fogerty on par with other icons of '60s rock.
"We wanted to build a bridge back to John so that we could
reconnect him to the Creedence catalog. We wanted to celebrate his
work with the band, and move forward with him so that he could create
new music," says Concord's Mr Barros. "After meeting with
Norman Lear, Hal Gaba, and Glen Barros (President of Concord), I'm
happy to say that the new Fantasy is very enthusiastic about my
body of work...They are honoring my songs that hold an important
place in the history of American music," says John Fogerty.
"It's a happy coincidence that when we bought the Fantasy catalog
we were also able to sign one of the most relevant and talented
singer/songwriters of our generation. We're all enormous fans of
his music. He's a big hero here," says Mr Lear.
To reach Mr Fogerty's aging fan base Concord will also promote the
album in-flight entertainment systems of several airlines and JF's
music will play as part of the pre show music in movie theaters.
Concord will spend over $1million on direct-response TV advertising
to promote "The Long Road Home. Many of Creedence's best-known
recordings with a handful of hits from Mr Fogerty post Creedence
solo career are compiled on this new release which has sold 159,000
copies since November and debut at No. 13 on the SoundScan album-sales
chart. A liveDVD, taped September 15 at the Wiltern Theater in Los
Angeles, is due for an early 2006 release. Let's hope Mr Fogerty
is proud.
UCLA Course
On Today's Biz Gathers Industry's Who's Who
HITS Editor Lenny Beer, The Doors' Manager Jeff Jampol and Universal
Music Publishing EVP Tom Sturges Will Instruct 12-Week "The
Music Business: Now," Started on Jan. 11.
It's a great
course to learn about what's happening right now in the business,"
says Beer, who will host the class' overview and analysis of the
most compelling events in the record industry, 'What Happened This
Week.' "It's about what's going on right now. Part of the curriculum
is the day's current events. It's as valuable for people just breaking
into the business as it is to those looking to get ahead in their
careers by networking with some of the most important executives
in our industry."
Each student will receive free online access, good for the duration
of the quarter, to MIS/MediaBase, the industry standard for radio
and video performance/chart monitoring.
Confirmed guest
speakers include: Andy Slater, President, Capitol Records; Polly
Anthony, Co-President, Geffen/Dreamworks Records; L. A. Reid, CEO,
Island/Def Jam Records;
Scott Pascucci, President, Rhino Entertainment; Danny Strick, President,
Sony/ATV Music Publishing; Irving Azoff, CEO, Azoff Music Management
(Christina Aguilera, Van Halen, Jewel, The Eagles); Jeff Kwatinetz,
CEO, The Firm (Snoop Dogg, Korn, Ice Cube, Kelly Clarkson, Leonardo
DiCaprio, Vin Diesel, Cameron Diaz); Jim Guerinot, President, Rebel
Waltz Management (No Doubt, Social Distortion, The Offspring, Nine
Inch Nails, Hot Hot Heat);
Kenneth Crear, Partner, Wright/Crear Management (Backstreet Boys,
Janet Jackson, Chingy);
Arthur Spivak, Stu Sobol, The Firm (Three Days Grace, A Perfect
Circle, Yellowcard);
Rick Sales, Sanctuary Music (Slayer, Morrisey); Rob Light, Head
Of Music, Creative Artists Agency (CAA); Kevin Weatherly, Program
Director, KROQ-FM; Nic Harcourt, Program Director, KCRW, Geo Bivins,
Senior Vice President, Urban Promotion, Capitol Records
Peter Baron, Head Of Programming, MTV Networks; Jay Frank, Head
of Artist/Label Relations, Yahoo Music; Mark Williams, Head Of A&R,
Interscope Records (Manson, Queens of the Stone Age, Beck, No Doubt);
Ron Laffitte, Senior Vice President, A&R, Capitol Records (Coldplay,
Radiohead, Yellowcard); Jeff Gelb, MIS/MediaBase
Course Name:
The Music Business NOW: How It Really Works, and the People and
Events that Influence It
X 448.75 Music
4 units $515
Reg# R7754U
UCLA:
39 Haines Hall
Wednesday,
7-10pm,
January 11-March 29, 12 mtgs.
For registration information, e-mail [email protected],
call (310) 825-9064 or access http://www.uclaextension.edu.
Extreme Makeover
with Auralex
Photo
courtesy of ABC photos and photographer Michael Desmond
Every Sunday,
millions of viewers watch as ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,
undertakes the monumental task of completely rebuilding a home in
a one-week timeframe. When a recent renovation called for specialized
acoustical treatments, Auralex
recommended its new AudioTile and assisted the crew during the installation
of the product in a vocal recording booth.
Guilty Pleasures
With AWS 900
Twenty-five
years after her multiplatinum Guilty, Barbra Streisand's Guilty
Pleasures, which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 album chart,
is another artistic and commercial triumph for the legendary singer.
The long-awaited Guilty Pleasures once again pairs Streisand with
producer Barry Gibb. For engineer and producer John Merchant (pictured
above), the Solid
State Logic AWS 900 Analogue Workstation System was indispensable
in the creation of Guilty Pleasures at two critical stages of the
process-Streisand's vocal overdubs and mixing. Basic tracks for
Guilty Pleasures were recorded through the SSL 9000 J Series console
in Studio A at the Hit Factory/Criteria in Miami, with overdubs
recorded to Pro Tools at the Bee Gees' Middle Ear Studios, where
Merchant served as chief engineer for more than 10 years. "Barbra
really wanted to do her vocals at home," said Merchant. "She
gave us this beautiful cottage with sweeping views of the cliffs
of Malibu, looking out at the mighty Pacific. But we needed to create
a studio, so we rented an AWS 900 from Advanced Audio and Pro Tools
rigs from Design FX.
Hollywood
Cat's Music Notes
The top pre-order at Amazon.com is Tony Bennet: Tony Bennet
Sings for Lovers (Concord)
Poison the Well talks about their leaked demos (roughly seven
of them): "...those where the first songs we had wrote when
we started writing for the new record and ... We did them about
a year and 2 months ago at Steakhouse. ... So, if you happen to
come across them, don't think that they are the final versions or
songs that will make the cut." (Punknews)
Not only
are the Black
Eyed Peas setting up for a Honda Civic-sponsored tour -- which
will launch in Fresno in March -- but all four core members are
working on solo albums.
Do you
like Rock 'n Roll? How about wine? If so - here's a unique and tasty
collection from the drummer and cofounder of Fleetwood Mac - two
new wine releases and a brand new CD!
Mick Fleetwood
says he isn't a connoissier - but he does know what he likes - and
hopes you will share his tastes. "I want this to be fun"
he says. We think that both wines - sourced from artisanal producers
from California's Central Coast, are pretty dang tasty. The CD is
great classicly styled rock as well - a mighty fine combo if you
ask us.
This Wine.com
exclusive Mick Fleetwood Private Cellar Collection contains one
each of:
Mick
Fleetwood 2001 Chardonnay
Santa Barbara, California
Mr. Fleetwoods taste in a classic Santa Barbara style Chardonnay.
Carefully selected, produced and bottled according to Micks
standards. Lightly oaked, this medium-bodied wine maintains its
crisp character while showing flavors of tropical fruit and citrus
aromas.
Mick
Fleetwood 1998 Cuvee
Santa Ynez, California
Mr. Fleetwoods selected blend of 25% Cabernet Franc and 75%
Merlot grapes from Westerly Vineyards in Santa Ynez is a distinctive,
all-occasion wine. Aged for 30 months in French Oak casks and 18
months in the bottle for optimal flavor development and structure,
this is a rich, supple and tasty all-American red.
Something Big
Mick Fleetwood CD
For decades, Mick Fleetwood has proven to be not only one of rocks
greatest drummers but also an astute discoverer of great talent.
"Its basically what Ive been doing with Fleetwood
Mac for 35 years," the Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer says. Fleetwood,
co-founder of the legendary rock group Fleetwood Mac, continues
his stellar track record in his newest venture, The Mick Fleetwood
Band.
Rumor
has it that Columbia let go of a slew of people on the east and
west coast including high profile A&R's including Matt Pinfield,
Mitch Cohen and Ken Komisar (leave an email
or call us if this is not true please!) According to Billboard.biz
Sony BMG laid off 42 people and Sony Music Label Group laid off
19.
Sucessful
model, actress, designer, and now musician, Paris Whitney Hilton,
is thrilled to release her debut album "1 Crazy Party"
on her very own label, Heiress Records. Ms. Hilton's first single
"Turn It Up" is a sassy slice of electro pop produced
by famous writers/producers including Scott Storch (Snoop Dogg,
Beyonce) she has been working with over the last year. "I wanted
to record something personal, something that has meaning to me,
and I think this CD will show my fans that singing has always been
one of my huge passions," says the socialite who was one of
the VIP guests at openning party of Studio at the Palms back in
December. Hilton's book "Confessions of an Heiress:
A Tongue-In-Chic Peek Behind the Pose" came out via Simon and
Schuster last September.
Peace Baskets
for 2006
Baskets, made by Tutsi and Hutu women who came together after Rwanda
was devastated by the war between their tribes, are for sale at
Macy's in New York. Woven with papyrus, banana leaf, sisal or bamboo,
the collection, $30 to $80, includes a delicate black-and-ivory
version of a centuries-old basket shaped like an acorn and traditionally
used by brides for keepsakes ($60), far left. It has been renamed
the Peace Basket. "People just imagine Rwanda as being a sad
and troubled place, and we wanted to get a positive story out,"
said Kaliza Karuretwa, a trade counselor at the Rwandan Embassy
in Washington, who helped link the women to Macy's (www.macys.com/rwanda):
151 West 34th Street or (212) 494-4181.
Farewell
Soul singer
Lou Rawls died on Jan 6th from lung cancer. He was 72 with
a 40-year career that earned three Grammys.
Wilson Pickett, famous for R&B hits like Mustang Sally
and In the Midnight Hour, died on jan 22 of a heart attack. He was
64.
The Todd-AO
family mourns the passing of Academy Award-winning Re-recording
mixer Robert Buzz Knudson who joined the company
in 1960. His extensive list of diverse credits included E.T., Who
Framed Roger Rabbit, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Exorcist,
Ghost amd Cabaret, to name a few. Clients like Spielberg, Landis,
Streisand, Beatty, Fosse were just a few of the names Buzz worked
with great directors who sought him out to bring his artistry
and creative instincts to their films. Buzz served as President
of Todd-AO from 1982-1990 and then served as Vice Chairman and as
a consultant to the company until he retired in 2003. During
his long and distinguished career, Buzz garnered 10 Oscar nominations
and took home three wins.
Terry Becket Boyle
5.20.1950-12.19.2005
Terry Diane Becker Boyle married engineer Tim Boyle June 2005. Most
knew her as a recording engineer who worked with Bonnie Raitt, Jackson
Browne, Paul Kelly and Kansas. She won a Grammy in 2000 for her
engineering work with Taj Mahal. Terry was also an Associate Professor
at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and became the Assistant
Director of Special Projects for Berklee upon her relocation to
Los Angeles in 2003. Her warm smile will always be remembered.
We invite you to visit the beautiful memorial site for Terry and
light
a candle The official memorial for Terry was on January 7.
"quote.....," says Terry's friend Lenise Bent.
To California
Dreaming!
Photo courtesy
of world traveller/architect Isabelle Ulrich & Duke Sakiyabu
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