Restructuring Begins...MCA Evolves Into Revitalized Geffen
As former
MCA artist Tom Petty sang, "The waiting is the hardest
part." For up to 75 MCA staffers who were laid off June
9, the waiting is over.
The changes
will ultimately culminate in the venerable MCA name going
away in favor of a revitalized Geffen Records, reportedly
under President Jordan Schur. A statement from Interscope/Geffen/A&M
reads, "We have begun a restructuring process at MCA
Records. Further details about the structure and staffing
of the label will be announced shortly. We are grateful for
the contributions made by the employees affected by these
changes." As part of those changes, MCA VP/A&R Marc
Nathan exits after 15 months. "I look forward to continuing
my 32-year relationship with music and the identification
of hit records," says Nathan. Other layoffs at MCA: National
Director/Urban Promotion Azim Rashid and Northeast Regional
Valerie Marable, among others. Don Eason, who took over the
department when Benny Pough moved over to Def Jam, will stay
on. The restructuring does not affect MCA's Nashville division.
The new
Geffen, which remains part of Universal's Interscope Geffen
A&M (IGA) family, will be a stand-alone label with its
own A&R, marketing, and promotion staffs. It will share
some services with the other IGA labels and will still fall
under the purview of IGA chairman Jimmy Iovine.
A number
of executives are poised to join the entity, according to
sources. Fred Croshal, former GM of Maverick Records, is expected
to come aboard in a high-level marketing capacity.
Also headed
to the label are Garnett March, former urban promotion executive
at DreamWorks, who will head the R&B promo department,
and former Interscope urban promo exec Chauncey Bell, who
will be East Coast regional.
Among
the top-level MCA staffers who are staying with the new company
and possibly may take on increased roles are senior VP of
sales and marketing Jayne Simon, senior VP of business and
legal affairs Jeffrey Harleston, and senior VP of publicity
Lillian Matulic.
MCA artists
include Live, The Roots, Sigur Ros, A Teens, Blink 182, Lyle
Lovitt, New Found Glory, Snoop Dogg. Catalog artists include
BB King, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sublime, Jimmy Hendrix, The Who,
Tom Petty. Subsidiary labels include DrveThru, Rawkus and
Snoops Doggy Style Records.
Grease
on the beach!
From
Justin to Kelly
New movie by American Idol stars
Guarini
who will have his new cd released this week and Clarkson sing
seven new songs in the movie, plus a remake of KC and the
Sunshine Band's disco classic "That's the Way (I Like
It)."
Clarkson
calls "From Justin to Kelly" " 'Grease' on
the beach," but the movie is influenced just as much
by recent musical movies "Moulin Rouge" and "Chicago"
as by the classics. "It's not so, like, musical, like
jazzy," she said. "It's very hip-hop."
After
Clarkson was crowned the "American Idol" last summer,
the show's creator and her and Guarini's manager, Simon Fuller,
approached the two about doing a movie. They hesitated at
first, but signed on when they learned it would be a musical.
Since
then, the only obstacle has been finding the time to make
"From Justin to Kelly." Both singers spent the fall
on the ambitious "American Idol" tour and have been
busting their butts to get albums out by spring, which is
already six months later than they had originally hoped.
"From
Justin to Kelly" was shot in just six weeks, with the
stars spending any free hours in the recording studio.
Like the
"American Idol" TV show, the movie will have a voting
element, though on a much smaller level.
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Annie
Lenox
Bare
Ltd. edition album with bonus DVD
Release date: June 9 2003
The long awaited release of Annie's new album is the first
in over seven years, and the third of her solo career. Her
previous album "Madusa" is certified 2x Platinum.
She’s come full circle. After exploding onto the world
stage in the early ‘80’s as half of The Eurythmics,
Annie Lennox is back together with partner Dave Stewart.
Jeff
Trott
Dig Up The Astroturf
Released early 2003
"Even though I have a name from my songwriting, it doesn't
mean shit," says Trott, being as blunt and to-the-point
as one can get. Trott may be best known as Sheryl Crow's songwriter
and musical collaborator. That is until he released his debut
solo record earlier this year, Dig Up The Astroturf. Trott
released it on his own Black Apple Records. And though the
record hasn't established him on his own - yet - its layered,
psychedelic pop textures and personable songwriting, the same
found in the Trott-penned hits for Crow, are working to ensure
that people refer to Trott as Jeff Trott, not Sheryl Crow's
songwriter.
The
Ataris
So Long Astoria
Columbia Records 2003
The Ataris, one of the most successful independent rock bands
of recent years, have a brand new album, so long, astoria,
the group's eagerly-awaited major label debut on Columbia
Records. so long, astoria is the first full-length Ataris
album in nearly two years. Conceptually, so long, astoria
takes its inspiration from a concept expressed in punk pioneer
Richard Hell's novel, "Go Now" (which also exists
as a spoken word album): that memory can transcend the experience
that generated the memory. "That really hit home with
me," Kris points out. "That's how I try and structure
my life: to try to do what will produce the best memories
for later.
When it
came time to find a producer for so long, astoria, the Ataris
chose Lou Giordano (Sunny Day Real Estate, Samiam, Paul Westerberg,
Hüsker Dü, Sugar). "I wanted this album to
possess this kind of straight-forward powerpop rock vibe,"
Kris admits, "kind of what the Replacements always did.
I wanted to make a record that spoke to a wide audience.
Hiroshima
The Bridge
Release Date: June 24, 2003
On June 24, Hiroshima, one of instrumental world music's most
innovative acts, is set to release The Bridge, a blend of
Asian and North American sensibilities that reflects both
cultural and spiritual connections. "We looked at who
we are when we came up with the title," says multi-instrumentalist
Dan Kuramoto, the band's leader and producer. "For us,
The Bridge has many different meanings, including cultural
and artistic bridges. As a third generation Japanese, it's
about growing up here and trying to integrate socially. Also,
the music business has continued to change its complexion,
and as a group we need to constantly reinvent ourselves while
staying true to our artistic vision. We're bridging a lot
of things right now."
"The
Bridge is the most uptempo record we've ever done," continues
Kuramoto, who also engineered the project. "It was essentially
recorded 'live' in the studio, but with overdubs, odd loops
and even scratch tracks. We're featuring different elements
of the band, the koto, the keyboard - rebalancing the yin
and the yang - to create a larger sound."
Toni
Braxton
Mor Than A Woman
Arista/La Face
Release: 11.19.03
Producers:
The Neptunes, Irv Gotti, Rodney Jerkins; 1st single featuring
Loon.
Michelle
Branch
Hotel Paper
Maverick Records
Release: 6.24.03
Pre-Order
here
Just three
years after Michelle Branch first picked up a guitar at the
age of 14, she was signed to Maverick
Records with an album in stores. The Grammy winner Branch
is on tour this Summer with The Dixie Chicks.
Watts/Keltner
Project
During downtime for the Rolling Stones’ Bridges to Babylon
recording in 1997, fellow drummers Charlie Watts and L.A.
session ace Jim Keltner slip into an adjacent studio for an
impromptu jam. Keltner brings along a sampler and some sequences
he has prepared, Watts brings a pair of sticks and his inimitable
backbeat. The result is a swirling excursion into Techno/World
Beat exotica with Charlie’s "Start Me Up" grooves
at the core. Digitally edited and enhanced more than a year
later at a Parisian studio with co-producer Phillipe Chauveau,
the Charlie Watts Jim Keltner Project stands as the drummer’s
most personal and compelling statement to date. The song titles
tell the whole story; each named for a different Jazz legend.
And though Charlie makes no attempt to imitate his heroes,
he pays homage to them all on nine provocative tracks.
Kenna's
New Sacred Cow
Kenna,
who recently signed to Columbia, has a new cd and performed
at The Roxy on June 16th. "Some people would say that
I was a little bit impatient, but I felt like waiting two
years after the record was done to put it out was incredibly
patient," Kenna explained. "I went to Fred (Fred
Durst's Flawless label) and I just basically said, 'If you
let me out of my deal, I'll never make music again.' I mean,
that's how frustrated I was and how willing I was to leave."
Fortunately
for the singer, Durst acted, as Kenna put it, "noble."
"He said, 'I want you to make music and I really respect
you as an artist and I'm still gonna let you go. I just know
that it's right for you to do what you need to do and maybe
it's right for you to do it elsewhere,' " Kenna recalled.
"It wasn't Fred's fault. For the most part, I think it
was just bureaucratic bullsh--."
It took
Kenna a few months, but he eventually signed with Columbia
Records and released New Sacred Cow, produced by The Neptunes'
Chad Hugo, on June 10. Read more...at MTV.com
Simple
Plan gets 3 NMVA nominations and goes Warped with a new
video!
When
rambunctious rockers Simple Plan released their 2002 Lava
Records debut, "NO PADS, NO HELMETS... JUST BALLS,"
the band more than just hit the ground running. Just inside
of a year, Simple Plan crossed five continents and played
over 300 shows.
Most recently the band was
in LA shooting a video for their next single "Perfect"
which
will premiere sometime this summer. The band is also scheduled
to be
on the entire Warped Tour, all summer long! Warped Tour is
stopping in almost every major city in the US and Canada so
this is your chance to see the boys, Pierre,
Jeff, David, Sebastien and Chuck, play
with a bunch of great bands like AFI, Rancid, Mest, The Ataris,
The Used, Bowling For Soup, Starting Line... Also,
SP picked up 3 nominations at the MMVA's, the canadian equivalent
of the MTV awards vote
here! The show airs: Sunday, June 22nd, 2003
Red Carpet Arrivals LIVE @ 7:30pm ET (90 min.) Awards Broadcast
LIVE @ 9pm ET
Freshly Brewed, Vol. 1
Captures
the essence of 8BallRadio in this compilation of former Artists
of the Month - angeles
drake, Karmacanic, Dr. Awkward, Peter Moon Band and Q*Ball,
as well as 8Ball Fan favs Shades of Day, Beth Thornley, Rosewood
Fall, American Rockstar, Damion Wolfe, Another Day Wasted,
and Sonic Orange - it reflects the spirit of 8BallRadio.
Besides
helping these emerging artists spread their wings and gain
some global recognition, profits from this CD will go towards
helping 8BallRadio stay on the air
XM
Completes Debt Offering & combined with Sirius Could See
Up To 48 Million Subscribers By 2012
XM Satellite
Radio today wrapped up its $175 million offering of 12% senior
secured notes due 2010. Additionally, XM granted the initial
purchaser of the notes an option to buy an additional $25
million worth of notes to cover over-allotments. According
to a study from satellite radio industry publication SkyWaves
Research Report, even a conservative, minimum-growth scenario
could give the two satcasters a combined total of 29.7 million
subscribers by 2012. The quarterly newsletter also predicts
that XM and Sirius will have nearly 800,000 subscribers by
the end of Q2 (June 30) and at least 1.5 million subs by the
end of 2003.
Robben
Ford in the studio... with a little help from his friends
L-R: Niko Bolas; producer
John Wooler, Robben Ford at Watersound
Blues
and jazz guitar guru Robben Ford's upcoming release on Cocord
Records is produced by John Wooler (PepesitoReyes, Johnny
Lee Hooker, Hadda Brooks, Pops Staples) and engineered and
mixed by Niko Bolas (Mary's Danish, Neil Young).
The team chose Groovmaster and WaterSound
Studios for tracking and mixing. studioexpresso met up
with Robben Ford (and his band, the Blue Line) who says: "Musically
there's a tremendous opportunity, if you like blues music,"
to keep it fresh and alive," says Ford. "Probably
the lion's share of my life's work in music has been doing
exactly that." Ford's earliest musical steps were in
the blues, playing with his brothers in the Charles Ford band
and backing harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite.
The Mix Room Re-Openning Party!
celebrating install of new SSL XL and expansion of the
studios
L-R: At the Mix Party producers/engineers
mingle - Michael
C Ross; Chaka Blackmon, Brad
Haehnel; André
Fischer
Mix Room owner Ben Grosse and SSL's
Phil Wagner hosted the party with a packed house of friends
who came to celebrate the re-openning of the renovated studios
A & B with the new SSL consoles (XL and 9k). Vincent Van
Hoff oversaw the new expansion and everyone enjoyed the fab
vibe and Martinis served!
New York's Avatar surrounded by top artists/producers
JJP, Elliot Schiner, Kevin Killen among others...
L-R:
Jack Joseph Puig (Producer / Engineer), Tino Passante (Avatar
Studio Manager), John Mayer
Grammy
winner John Mayer recently taking residence in Avatar
Studio A (Neve 8068) with engineer/producer Jack Joseph
Puig, recording for an upcoming Columbia Records release.
Ross Petersen assisted the sessions.
Elliot
Scheiner recently in with producer Rob Mounsey tracking
for new Universal/Verve artist Sissel. Brian Montgomery assisted.
Engineer/producer Kevin Killen completed mixing of Elvis Costello's
latest record tracked entirely in Studio A. Peter Doris assisted.
Also in the house were Producer/arranger Bob Belden recently
in with jazz great James Moody tracking new Savoy Jazz record.
Engineer Chris Shaw and producer Butch Walker (Avril Lavigne)
recently in doing mixes for Jive artist Bowling For Soup.
Producer/Pioneer DJ Premier recently in mixing tracks for
Arista artist Cee-Lo in studio D (SSL 9000). Eddie Sancho
engineered the mixes with assistance from Anthony Ruotolo.
Northern Cali's Prairie Sun Recording upgrades to HD and Reports
Session Activity
L-R: Mixer Jack Blades (Nightranger),
Prairie Sun's Mark "Mooka" Rennick and engineer/musician
Michael Lardie (Great White).
Prairie
Sun Recording is excited to announce the installation
of Digidesign's Protools HD3 system. According to owner Mark
"Mooka" Rennick, the system comes fully loaded with
3, 192 interfaces, Sync Unit, and the capability to interface
24 in and 48 out. Monster Cable is handling the wiring and
Studio Construction/Iso-box rack has provided a quiet and
elegant solution to the noise. The computer is a new 1.42Ghz,
dual processor Power Mac G4, with a 20" Cinema display."The
HD system in conjunction with our 80 input SSL 4000 is an
unbeatable mixing environment for the discerning client who
wants to take advantage of Prairie's outboard Neve Eq's (24
class A), 2 award winning live echo chambers (Tom Waits, Hal
Wilner etc.), numerous vintage compressors, and a large comfortable
mixing space with acoustics by Manny LaCarrubba of SAW who's
credits include the Plant Studios in Sausalito, CA. The word
is out that this room really translates! Of course Plug Ins
are available in all forms," says Mooka.
Recent Sun recordings include: Colin Blades' upcoming cd on
Coinsurer
records with Jack Blades (pictured above) mixing and Michael
Lardie (Great White) engineering. Metal legends Exodus were
in Prairie Sun Studio B tracking drums for their upcoming
album. Andy Sneab (Machine Head, Testament) engineered the
session, assisted by Wain Hewlett. U.F.O. guitarist Michael
Schenker recorded and mixed his upcoming solo album with M.S.G.
(Michael Schenker Group) for Shrapnel Records. The album was
engineered by Steve Fontano and assisted by Josh Chaddock.
Producer Khayree Shaheed (Mac Mall, Ray Luv) was in studio
A with R&B group Big Bang Theory, mixing their debut album
for Young Black Brotha Records. Steve Counter (2 Pac, En Vogue,
Digital Underground) engineered the sessions with second engineers
Jason D'Ottavio and Josh Chaddock. Americana singer/songwriter
Natasha James was in studio A mixing her upcoming independent
release. The record was engineered by Ronnie Rivera (Lisa
Marie Presley, Rolling Stones) and assisted by Josh Chaddock.
The San Francisco based Magic Christians finished recording
and mixing their upcoming independent release. The band features
Cyril Jordan of the "Flamin Groovies" on guitar.
Paul Kopf on vocals, Prairie Prince playing drums and Alec
Palao on bass. The record was engineered by Mark "Mooka"
Rennick and assisted by Jason D'Ottavio.
Medeski,
Martin and Wood Go DTS 6.1
Pictured at the Neve 88R
console are (foreground L-R) Joe
Harley, surround producer; Scotty Hard, original Blue
Note album producer/ engineer; Michael C. Ross, surround engineer;
and (rear L-R) Jeff Goodman, Neve; Jeff Levison, DTS Entertainment;
and Brian Vibberts, assistant engineer at Studio
D at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood.
Photo by David Goggin
Acclaimed jazz group Medeski, Martin and Wood created a 6.1
Surround mix of their "Uninvisible" album for DTS
Entertainment.
David
Benoit New Release on Verve
L-R: Benoit, Sykes and Braum
Castle
Oaks Productions, in Calabasas, Ca was once again studio
of choice for the elite duo of Rick Braun and David
Benoit (winner of the 4th Annual National Smooth Jazz
Award's Keyboardist of the Year) as they set the foundation
for David’s highly anticipated up-and-coming release
for Verve Records tentatively scheduled for a 9/9/03 release.
The jazz
legends paired up with long time engineer Steve
Sykes and once again decided Castle Oaks for its incomparable
atmosphere and ultra-punchy tracking rooms. Benoit, so fond
of the room’s silky tone himself, had his own Yamaha
7ft Grand Piano specially sent out to capture the rooms distinct
and rich sound.
Performers
appearing on the album where second to none with a performance
cast that read like who’s who of jazz then and now. Freddy
Washington Jr, Lenny Castro, and Steve Feronne all stopped
in to contribute to the bottom end of things while Tony Mayton
stopped by to add his sweet chord work to the duo’s production.
Even producer
Rick Braun stepped away from his own home studio for once
to spread his own share of the hit making pixie dust over
David stunning piano work and new arrangements. Accompanied
by long time engineer of choice Steve Sykes and 2nd engineer
Frank Verschurren, the pair laid it all down through Castle
Oaks' combination of Pro Tools HD summed through a Vintage
36 input 1083 series Neve with Flying Faders Automation.
DMT
Rentals supplies high-tech systems to record scintillating
"Terminator 3" score
Dennis
Sands opted for ultra-precision DMT SUPER PRO TOOLS HD WORKSTATION
to capture Marco Beltrami's dramatic music.
Pictured during scoring
sessions for "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine"
(L-R): composer Marco Beltrami, DMT's Eric Cowden, Jayce Murphy
and Bryan Jackson, with Dennis Sands (seated).
Renowned
music scoring mixer Dennis Sands ("Cast Away," "Contact"
and "Forrest Gump," which received Best Sound Oscar
nominations) once again called upon DMT Rentals for his most
recent film, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,"
to be released in mid-July. The DMT-supplied systems used
to capture Marco Beltrami's score during dates at the Sony
Scoring Stage, Culver City, and mixing sessions at the Warner
Bros' Eastwood Scoring Stage, Burbank, included two custom-designed
DMT SUPER PRO TOOLS HD RECORDING SYSTEMS.
Warner
Bros.' highly anticipated third installment in the Terminator
Series, this time out with director Jonathan Mostow, is certain
to deliver an electrifying new chapter in the saga, as well
as a powerful soundtrack that combines 128 synthesizer tracks
and 64 tracks of live orchestra. "For the T3 scoring
sessions we used two separate DMT Pro Tools systems,"
Dennis Sands explains. "One Pro Tools HD system was dedicated
to capturing the orchestra, while another Pro Tools rig replayed
the synthesizer elements, allowing me
to creatively handle the complex mix. With some of the projects
I work on, it's not unusual to have over 200 channels going
to the mix - you just run out of faders. One of Pro Tool's
great features is that you have the ability to mix inside
the workstation without taking up channels on the console.
The ever-busy
Sands recently completed mixing the musical score for Universal'
s "The Incredible Hulk" with composer Danny Elfman.
His DMT Rentals rig included two DMT SUPER PRO TOOLS HD SYSTEMS
and two additional 48-track Pro Tools HD with Pro Controllers,
in addition to a DMT 16 CHANNEL RECORDING SYSTEM for the final
film mix at Warner's' Eastwood Scoring Stage, and a DMT ULTIMATE
MASTERING MACHINE for the stereo film score mix destined for
CD release. Upcoming assignments include Danny Elfman's score
for Colombia Pictures' "Big Fish," with director
Tim Burton, and which will be
recorded at the end of August.
For more
information:
EMail Dennis Sands or VOX 805.565-3020
DMT Rentals' equipment and consulting services EMail
Doug Botnick or VOX 818.559.2272 Digital
Music Technologies 273 West Alameda Avenue, Burbank, CA
91502, USA 818.559-2272
Mel
Lambert
Media&Marketing - Media contact
The Beat goes on!
Kenny Aronoff who just played "Willie Nelson and
Friends: Live and Kickin'" on the USA Network on Memorial
Day (May 26) is currently on tour with Michelle
Branch in support of her new album "Hotel Paper"
which is due June 24th on Maverick Records. Kenny performs
on that album and played live with Michelle Branch on May
29 when she debuted the video for "Are You Happy Now?"
at the MTV Summer Beach House on TRL. "I have been traveling
with Michelle Branch all over the USA. We ( Michelle Branch)
just did MTV Beach House with Carson Daley. We're off to Europe
and then back with the Dixie Chicks in the USA," says
Kenny.
And oh
yeah, a song that Kenny played on won an Academy of Country
Music Award (aired on CBS ednesday, May 21).
As one
of the most in-demand and influential drummers in rock music
Kenny Aronoff has worked with many of the world's top artists
including: Melissa Etheridge, The Smashing Pumpkins, John
Mellencamp, Jon Bon Jovi, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Waylon Jennings,
Bonnie Raitt, John Fogerty, Joe Cocker, Mick Jagger, Alice
Cooper, The Rolling Stones, Meat Loaf, Willie Nelson and many
others. With a style of playing that combines power and finesse,
Kenny was named the #1 Pop/Rock Drummer and the #1 Studio
Drummer for 5 consecutive years by the readers of Modern Drummer
Magazine.
Watch
for Kenny playing with Michelle Branch on David Letterman
on July 7th (he was on Jay Leno on June 6th).
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Michael
Schenker's famous Gibson Flying V guitars are now available exclusively
from Andy Brauer!
