Bock Provides Tools For The Vig Vibe
Butch Vig Talks about Bock 507 microphones

Few contemporary musical minds can claim credit for having helped craft as many ground-breaking works as Butch Vig. As producer, he is responsible for both Nirvana's "Nevermind," which has become one of the greatest rock albums of all time, and Smashing Pumpkins' "Siamese Dream," which helped defined the sound of the 1990s. Those two accomplishments are epic enough that no one would have faulted him for proudly resting on his laurels. But instead of resting, Vig helped propel his band Garbage to sales of over fourteen million albums from behind the drum kit, a career change that underscores the native Wisconsinite's genuine love for making music.

Since Garbage's hiatus, Vig has gone on to produce albums for Jimmy Eat World, The Subways, and Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown" earning a Grammy for "Best Rock Album." He recently worked with Against Me! and Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson, using a newly-acquired Bock 507 large, elliptical capsule microphone to record stunning vocals, as well as perfectly-balanced electric & acoustic guitars and punchy drum kits.

"I'm spoiled," laughed Vig. "I have a vintage ELAM 250 and my engineer, Billy Bush, has a Brauner VM1 Klaus Heyne Edition. Both of those mics are absolutely amazing on vocals. I was looking for something equally amazing, but different, and I knew David Bock of BOCK AUDIO had a reputation for building sweet sounding mics." At that time, Vig was beginning work with Against Me! for their April 2010 release "White Crosses."

Vig used the Bock 507, which employs a patent-pending elliptical capsule to mitigate mechanical resonances, on Against Me! lead singer Tom Gabel, together with a Chandler LTD-1 preamp and a Summit LTA-100A compressor. "Gabel is tremendously dynamic," said Vig. "The Bock 507 captured his performance with a transparency that made me feel like I was still standing in the room with him. It has a lush bottom and nice definition on top." Many of the acoustic & electric guitar and drum room sounds on "White Crosses" were also recorded with the Bock 507.

Since Vig and Shirley Manson are both recent transplants to Los Angeles, they've been working on new songs for a possible future Garbage release.
"Although Shirley's vocal range and style is completely different from Tom's, the Bock 507 does a wonderful job with her as well," says Vig. "It really captures her persona. I can hear all of the breathiness in her voice.
I've found that I really like mics that work well with vocalists singing in a high register or a low register, or whether they're singing softly or loudly. The 507 is that kind of mic."

Of course, no one but the producer and engineer listens to raw tracks; the mix is what matters. Here, Vig claims the Bock 507 excels. Whenever Gabel or Manson really leaned into the mic, its "sweet tube saturation," in Vig's works, kicked in. That, combined with the overall honesty of capturing the performance, led to a vocal track that sat happily in the mix with very little need to ride the virtual faders or add any EQ.

"The Bock 507 easily rivals the ELAM and Brauner," concludes Vig. "Of course, you choose a mic to create a certain vibe within the larger context of a recording, and the ELAM and Brauner are certainly going to remain on the front line. But the Bock has given me another option for a go-to vocal mic. David Bock has made an incredible sounding microphone. The only question now is... should I buy a second one? It did so well on individual instruments that I'd love to hear a piano with a pair of 507s... or a stereo pair for room mics on drums. That would be amazing!"

ATC Monitoring Atlanta Symphony's Transmigration
9th Grammy Award for engineer Michael Bishop & prdoucer Elaine Martone

Michael Bishop (recording, mixing and mastering engineer) and Elaine Martone (producer) have created a compelling and timeless work in Transmigration, a Super Audio CD release on Telarc Records devoted to honor and remembrance. The recording recalibrates the creative and emotional possibilities of surround sound, a fact reflected in the team's recent win of "Best Surround Sound Album" at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, which earned Bishop his ninth Grammy and Martone her fifth.
As with his other award-winning recordings, Bishop relied on ATC monitors throughout recording, mixing and mastering phases to reveal the undecorated truth, allowing him to correct problems that other monitors would have blurred over. As a result, Transmigration is compelling when played back on any system and worthy of the industry's highest honor.

Transmigration features Robert Spano conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Choruses at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a collection of hymns and requiems featuring the compositions of Samuel Barber, John Corigliano, Jennifer Higdon, and John Adams. Adams' "On the Transmigration of Souls" forms the album's cornerstone and is a reflection of personal grief for the victims of the World Trade Center tragedy on September 11, 2001.

"All of the pieces on this album are emotionally charged," said Bishop, "but 'On the Transmigration of Souls' is especially so. There is a lot going on with the orchestra, an adult choir, a children's choir, and additional recordings. All of the parts are important, but it is difficult to get them all to coexist in stereo. I saw this as a great opportunity to use surround sound to provide every component with the space it needed to contribute its full emotional impact. To be sure, I wasn't attempting to recreate the three-dimensional acoustics of 'the best seat in the house.' On the contrary, this is a very creative use of surround sound."

The number of projects that Bishop has recorded at the Woodruff Arts Center is closing in on 100, and this level of acoustical familiarity allowed him to take the basic pickup (almost) for granted. His trusted Neumann KU 100 binaural head provided the basis of the stereo pickup, with a Sanken CO-100K, Sennheiser MKH-8020 condensers, and an AEA R-84 ribbon mic completing the stereo pickup. Because the stereo mix had to remain consistent and sensible, instrument positioning had to remain somewhat conventional.

So instead of moving the players to opposite ends of the hall, Bishop used creative mic placement to reposition things sonically in the surround sound field. This had the dual advantage of allowing him to "move" players in real-time by mixing in different mics as appropriate for the score. The main mics were Sanken CO-100K condensers and AEA R84 and R-88 ribbons. Additional Sennheiser MKH-8020 mics covered both the adult and children's choruses. "I wanted the choruses to surround the listener," said Bishop. "The adult chorus is mainly in the front with smaller parts from the children's chorus in the rear."

Bishop mic'd the back of the orchestra - the brass and percussion - with a stereo Royer SF-24 ribbon. He routed its output to the rear channels, effectively pulling the orchestra inside out. The mic comes and goes in Bishop's real-time mix, presenting traditionally and dimensionally-contorted sonic views of the orchestra according to the score. At times, the front strings play percussively, and Bishop again used creative real-time mixing to move them to the rear channels as counterpoint to everything else that was happening. A second SF-24 mic provides much of the orchestra surround ambience pickup and was very important in completing the surround "picture."

Participating manufacturers of highly respected gear included: L.A. studio musician and pro audio developer PETER MONTESSI of A DESIGNS ; UK's Hi-end monitor manufacturer BEN LILLY of ATC LOUDSPEAKERS ; One of the brightest minds in handmade microphones of our dayDAVID BOCK of BOCK AUDIO; Blues Magoos drummer/engineer/pro audio designer GEOFF DAKING of DAKING; Creator of The new bridge between tape machines and DAWs CHRIS ESTES of ENDLESS ANALOG; Inventor/Producer GEORGE MASSENBURG (Lyle Lovett, Aaron Neville, Dixie Chicks) of GML, Lehmann Audio, Soundfield and boss man at Legendary all-tube recording equipment from Denmark, JESPER B. NIELSEN of TUBE-TECH Well done, James!

Hugues Aufray
New Yorker
Mercury Records

Just when you think you've heard every version of a Dylan cover, here comes an album of songs from his longtime French friend and artist, Hugues Aufray. Aufray's new album is a Dylan tribute called New Yorker engineered and mixed by Ken Allardyce (Green Day, Avril Lavigne, The Yardbirds) for Mercury Records. Aufray received a lifetime award this year at the 25th victories of the music --French version of the Grammy's. Take a train ride to the 60s with a French twist. But perhaps the best compliment comes from Dylan himself. "Sometimes it makes me think they (my songs) were written in French to begin with and it was me who translated them back," says Dylan who recalls Hugues doubling as host and tour guide during his visits to Paris. "I'd rather be a sculptor, painter, use my hands. It is never too late: I spent part of my present life to sculpt, I'm taking classes, I am a student and you think I will set out Gianadda in one day? " (Smile)

While Cookie Jar owner Brian Malouf is offering clients in the studio Keebler Fudge sticks and Mother's Iced Oatmeal cookies, he's proud to report new gear additions to Cookie Jar to include: Melodyne DNA, the new Lexicon Native Reverb plugs, along with Brent Averill Neve 1073 mic pre and the wonderful Aphex Aural Exciter 204 with Optical Big Bottom.
"Still the most transparent of vocal tuning devices (when you want it to be), but so much more powerful now that is detects polyphonic input material. Big WOW factor with the DNA," says Malouf, VP of A&R at Disney.

Mark Linett is in partnership with Music Mix Mobile West (M3-W), a highly respected east coast based remote recording company owned by John Harris and Jay Vicari along with system designer, Joel Singer and manager, Mitch Maketansky. "They're few of the most experienced broadcast engineers in the business," says Linett. Based in Los Angeles, M3-West features a remote studio cast in the mold of the original M3 vehicle. A high quality, highly efficient facility with a proven work-flow, based around Digidesign's ubiquitous Pro Tools platform and D-Control mixing surface, it is a virtual twin of the east coast truck.

In its first few months of operation M3-West recorded the Foo Fighters for VH1 Storytellers, and U2 at The Rose Bowl where it also served as the live mix facility for the YouTube simulcast of the concert. Other shows included the live mix/record facility at the Latin VMAs, and the remix facility alongside M3 for the Country Music Awards in Nashville, as well as the 2010 Grammy broadcast in Los Angeles.

Nine-time Grammy winner Benny Faccone (Ricky Martin, Mana, Santana) has moved his studio, The Cavern to Westlake Village, California.
The studio is culmination of 25 years of this engineer/mixer/producer collecting gear -- vintage to industry standards like Pro Tools HD system. "We offer a combination of classic and modern sound - perfect for any recording session – from single voice to 70-piece symphonic orchestra," says Faccone. This analog/digital studio comes complete with a spacious tracking room, isolation booths and multiple overdub and editing rooms. The control room has a custom built Trident 80 Series discrete console with 72 channels, 32 Uptown moving fader automation. "The studio has been here since the early 80's. Lots of records were done here," he adds.

Garbage on stage

"The tricky part of all of this was that I was executing the mix in real-time, committing only the six mixed channels to our Sonoma DSD workstation," said Bishop. "Having five ATC SCM 150 monitors on hand was critical. I went into this with an idea of what I wanted in my head. The process of positioning, mic'ing, and mixing the players is the realization of that idea, which of course remains flexible to the sort of inspiration that can happen in the moment. The ATC SCM 150s close the loop on what I'm expecting, what I'm hearing, and what I can anticipate later in post and mastering. And they do it with an honesty that can be frustratingly elusive with other monitors."

As with his other recordings at the Woodruff Arts Center, Bishop set up a makeshift control room in the middle of the music library using RPG Acoustics. He used a combination of Upstate Audio and Millennia Media mic pres together with EMM Labs and DAD converters. In post, Bishop mixed in sound recordings of actors reading from the list of 9-11 victims made by sound designer Mark Grey, along with his own on-location sounds of Manhattan made in full surround DSD.

"I've been working on the ATCs for so long," said Bishop. "I rely on their ability to deliver recordings that translate on any system. They are effortless to mix on because I don't need to do any mental compensation - I know exactly what the mix will sound like elsewhere. In addition, the ATCs reveal even minute changes - I don't need to bludgeon something to hear it.
During the recording, we had the rare treat of having the composer on hand.
John confessed that before that session, he didn't fully appreciate the possibilities afforded by surround sound. But after sitting in our makeshift control room, surrounded by five ATC SCM 150s, he said he finally got it."
Listeners to Transmigration will certainly agree.

Bishop is now a partner and recording engineer at Five/Four Productions in Cleveland, Ohio, and Elaine Martone is Interim Artistic Administrator with the Cleveland Orchestra. Both were members of Telarc Record's prestigious production team before corporate restructuring in 2008.

For more information on .............. contact Brad Lunde or Phone (702) 307-2700 or visit www.transaudiogroup.com

LasVegasProAudio.com, LasVegasProAudio.com, a division of TransAudio Group, is the launch pad for the brands of tomorrow. The goal of LasVegasProAudio.com is to provide unique equipment, useful information and long-term support to their clients.LVPA product line includes: Accusound Cable, Economy 50mm Shockmount,Enhanced Audio (Ireland), PAULY Superscreens (Germany)Sonodore Microphones (Holland)

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Watch Video Interviews with Top producers from Legendary Studios
studioexpresso in alliance with Record Production & Babblefish is pleased to bring you these interviews. Watch the video interviews by clicking on the producer names below.
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Matt Wallace Interviewed At his Delux Studios in LA for Record Production
L-R: Producer Matt Wallace, studioexpresso's Claris Dodge
Photo: Johnny Jaskot

Ken Allardyce - Sarm West, UK
Lenise Bent - Village Studios. LA, CA
Niko Bolas - Watersound Studios, Studio CIty, CA
Pete Byrne - Glenwood Place, CA
Andre Fischer - Village Studios, Los Angels, CA
Chris Fogel - Fig, Glendale, CA
Brad Gilderman - Little Big Room, Burbank, CA
Greg Ladanyi - Maple Jam Productions, Studio City, CA
Joseph Magee - O'Henry Studios, Burbank, CA
Scott Mathews - Tiki Town Studios
Oscar Paul - Roundhouse Studios, London
Greg Penny - Sphere Studios, London
Steve Parr - Hear No Evil Studios
Michael C Ross - Royaltone Studios, North Hollywood, CA
Rafa Sardina - Abbey Road, UK
Elliot Scheiner - Presense studios, CT NEW!
Al Schmitt Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA
Toby Scott -- coming soon!
Robert Shahnazarian Jr.-- Sony Music Studios, Santa Monica
Tolbert & Sutton - Studio Atlantis, Hollywood, CA
Matt Wallace - Delux Studios, Van Nuys, CA
John Wooler - Village Studios, Los Angels, CA

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Expresso Walk And Talk... .

According to Nielsen's figures, the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics drew an average 32.6 millions from 7pm to 11pm. Ceremony mastermind David Atkins spent somewhere between $30 million and $40 million on the production, roughly a tenth of Beijing’s budget. He wanted it to feel intimate and personal as the story of Canada unfolded before our eyes.
More than 100 projectors were used to create the ceremony’s “landscape of dreams” theme. Canadians Nelly Furtado, Bryan Adams, Sarah McLachlan, KD Lang were among performers. A minute of silence was observed to honor the late Georgia luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman sings while the Olympic flag is raised. k.d. lang took center stage and sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." Everyone in the audience had been given a miniature flashlight to wave. The power and beauty of Joni Mitchell music accompanying the acrobat flying over golden fields, was one of the most moving moments. Honest moments like Wayne Gretzky not able to hide the worry on his face during the mechanical malfunction. You can tell they don't worry about security as much in Canada, as dozens of citizens are ran alongside the Gretzkymobile just like a scene out of "Rocky." Meanwhile, the people in the arena paid $1,000 a seat. Proof that solid entertainment has good value.

>>>>>>>>>Promoter Live Nation and their partners the Lee Development Group have set an aggressive timetable for the construction of the Fillmore music club in Silver Spring with a projected September 2011 opening date. Live Nation's stock is up 7.4% in the last five trading days, and rose 3.2% on Wednesday. With new business models, like annual subscription series - Premiere Marquee Club (PMC) of The Greek Theatre and Gibson Amphitheatre, Live Nation is working on growing their share with membership offer. Once you are a member, you will be treated to advanced access to shows* at both venues all year long. Membership Levels: Platinum member - 8 or more shows; Gold member - 5 to 7 shows; Silver member - 3 or 4 shows. Platinum Members will also enjoy three months of access (June through August) to The Foundation Room at House of Blues Sunset Strip for the member and one guest. The Foundation Room is a private, members-only dining room and lounge for individuals who enjoy the five-star treatment. Gourmet chefs, elegant surroundings, top-notch service and Hollywood VIPs are the norm here. Access is subject to room capacity on an individual date basis and reservations are appreciated. Seat location is determined by membership level. The more shows you have in your series, the better your seats become!

OSCAR In The House The Academy Awards are an annual rite of passage, a social and economic boost in an industry in which the two are intertwined," said Women in Film president Joan Hyler, an organizer of the group's House of Blues Oscar Night Mardi Gras, at which director Taylor Hackford and Oscar nominee Helen Mirren ("The Madness of King George") will serve as king and queen. In terms of prestige, there are two parties to beat: Vanity Fair's (held this year at the Sunset Tower Hotel), hosted by editor Graydon Carter and producer Steve Tisch ("Forrest Gump") and the 18th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation fund-raiser, which netted $200,000 for the charity last year, is held at the Pacific Design center is home to Sir Elton John's annual Gala. It starts first as a viewing party, then gets busy after the Oscars. Every big-name star is expected to stop by, like David and Victoria Beckham, Nicole Kidman and Ellen. The party doubles as a fundraiser, collecting more than $25 million. The headline performer will be Grace Jones. As Director of the Elton John AIDS Foundation Scott Campbell says the benefit party is important because it is one of the top donators to HIV/AIDS projects around the world. The organization has raised over $175 million since they were founded 18 years ago -- this year they expect to raise between $3.5-5 million. "Our theme and focus always remains the same, which is to do the best we can to raise as much money [as possible] to support the issue of HIV and help us to expand our ability to support projects around the world," Campbell said. 1500 guests attend the Governor's Ball including Oscar winners, presenters and other Hollywood elite where Puck has the menu including the gold Oscar chocolates.

A few days ago AllAccess went live with AllAccess Desktop, a desktop alert application to notify its members of updates to music charts. AllAccess Desktop was built using KlipFolio and the KlipFolio Bunder.
Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd., the U.K. manufacturer of Focusrite and Novation brands is pleased to announce the formation of Focusrite Novation Inc., which establishes a dedicated American presence for the UK company. Industry leader Phil Wagner, who held a similar position as President of Solid State Logic, Inc., will head the new company. Phil Dudderidge, Focusrite Managing Director states, "We want to increase the recognition of and support for the Focusrite and Novation brands in the vital U.S. market. Creating Focusrite Novation Inc. enables us to enhance our presence with increased levels of dealer support and various forthcoming marketing initiatives. We are extremely pleased to have Phil Wagner come on board as President of our wholly owned subsidiary."Focusrite Novation Inc. will concentrate on growing Focusrite and Novation's expanding product slate with the addition of sales management, marketing and field training staff. The new US operation will be located in Los Angeles, California. Phil Wagner comments, "Establishing an American corporate presence for Focusrite and Novation is an exciting opportunity. Focusrite Novation Inc. will continue to work in partnership with its US distributor, American Music and Sound Inc., specifically their newly established 'Music Creation Division'. This newly created division concentrates on Focusrite, Novation and four other premium brands that will be managed regionally by a new team of sales managers. AM&S President Lynn Martin opines, "We are pleased to see Focusrite & Novation applying additional sales and marketing resources directed specifically to the US market. They are leveraging the strength of the Music Creation Division team and our distribution and service capabilities. "We will continue to handle the physical distribution of the Focusrite and Novation products from our warehouse in the Memphis, Tennessee area."

Congrats to Chris Jenkins, SSL design guru and director of commercial applications, has won the Music Producers Guild Unsung Hero Award. The award ceremony took place at Cafe de Paris, London, on February 11, 2010. The Unsung Hero Award puts the spotlight on those individuals who have quietly yet dramatically contributed to the music industry at large. SSL recently moved to a new west coast office location on 3700 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 720 in Los Angeles, CA. The new building offers expanded demonstration facilities to further showcase the successful ‘C’ series digital consoles and full line of industry leading analogue products including the flagship Duality SE, AWS 900+ SE, Matrix and the new X-Patch.

The 15th Annual TEC LA Open, sponsored by Guitar Center Professional, is set for Monday, May 17, at the Malibu Country Club. This tournament, hosted by 20-time Grammy Award-winning engineer/producer Al Schmitt is celebrating its 15th year. Proceeds of the tournament support the House Ear Institute’s hearing health outreach services for audio professionals and the TEC Foundation’s TECnology Hall of Fame, recognizing the most historically significant audio innovations and inventors, held annually at the AES Convention. Please call Karen Dunn at (925) 708-0307 if you have any questions. You can also check out the Web site at www.tecfoundation.com for more information.

Mirimichi "Place of Happy Retreat" For Justin. For father-son bonding, you couldn't pick a sweeter venue than Augusta National where Timberlake eagled the famed 13th hole, holing-out a 9-iron from 135 yards. Once merely thought of as a lightweight boy band crooner, Timberlake has emerged as one of the 21st century's most protean pop culture figures. But for all of his high-profile success as a singer, actor, producer,"Saturday Night Live" funnyman and serial dater of starlets, Timberlake's real passion is golf. His single-digit handicap is only one manifestation. Timberlake is simultaneously making golf both cool and eco-friendly. Through regular appearances at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Bob Hope Desert Classic, Timberlake has injected a much needed youthful vitality into two of the PGA Tour's oldest tournaments, and his cutting-edge on-course fashion has forever shattered the image of golf as a haven for bad plaid. Through his pro-am cameos Timberlake quickly became an indispensable asset to the Tour, and in 2008 he was awarded his very own tournament, the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Timberlake's latest golf-related labor of love is Mirimichi Lakes, the course he owns near his hometown of Memphis. The same piece of earth used to be Big Creek Golf Course, a public track where Timberlake learned the game. In 2007, Big Creek was going to be plowed-up and turned into a housing development, so Timberlake swooped in and bought the place for $800,000. Some $15 million in improvements later, the course was rechristened—Mirimichi honors Timberlake's Native American roots and means "place of happy retreat." Timberlake not only built a world-class public course but also a model of ecological responsibility. Captured rainwater is used for irrigation, and native grasses planted just off the fairway cut down on the course's overall thirst. The 43,000- square-foot clubhouse—home to Justin Timberlake Enterprises—is largely solarpowered. For all these efforts, Mirimichi was the first golf course in the U.S. to receive Audubon Classic Sanctuary certification from Audubon International. "The golf swing is very, very rhythmic. There's a certain tempo to it, just like in music. It just made sense to me," says Justin.

Express Yourself! We're living in a material world, so why not wear clothes by the Material Girl? Madonna's collaborating with Ed Hardy on a fashion line - The Cut, according to the Mirror. Known for its tattoo prints, the label is owned by Christian Audigier. According to Women's Wear Daily, the apparel, intimates (of course!) and footwear collection would be sold exclusively at Macy's stores, and label names under consideration are reportedly, the obvious "Material Girl" for the clothes, and the apropos "Truth or Dare" for her lingerie and undergarments line. We'd like to toss "Blonde Ambition" and "Express Yourself" into the ring and make it available at studioexpresso, of course!
Taylor Swift, 20 and the Zac Brown Band won their first Grammy Awards on Sunday (Jan. 31) in Los Angeles, recognized in two of the night's highest-profile categories. Swift's Fearless claimed the evening's final honor -- album of the year. She also collected three country trophies -- best female country vocal performance and best country song for "White Horse," as well as best country album for Fearless. She performed a duet with one of her personal idols, Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks. Meanwhile, the Zac Brown band won best new artist among all genres. Our favorite catagory: Best new artist, Zac Brown Band The band was later joined by Leon Russell on a medley of songs, including "America the Beautiful" and "Chicken Fried." They were introduced by actor Chris O'Donnell, who also acknowledged famed Nashville studio musician Harold Bradley, recipient of a Trustees Award from the Recording Academy, given to outstanding non-performing individuals in the music business. Beyonce, 28, went into the show with more nominations than anybody else, with 10 to her name, and she also walked away with the most gold, winning six Grammys. After sweeping the R&B categories, she proceeded to win song of the year for Singles Ladies (Put A Ring On It). She also won best female pop vocal performance for the song Halo. Lady Gaga, 23, who won two awards, sweeping the dance categories, she had the coveted privilege of kicking off the show, which she did in larger-than-life style, dueting face to face with pop icon Sir Elton John on a medley that included her hit, Poker Face, and his, Your Song Alt-rock band Kings of Leon beat out all three of them, as well as hip-hop/dance group Black Eyed Peas, taking home a record of the year trophy for their hit Use Somebody. On the Canadian front, veterans Leonard Cohen and Neil Young both collected prestigious Grammy honours. Young received the MusicCares Person of the Year award for his charity work, as well as taking home an award for best boxed set.Leonard Cohen received a lifetime achievement award. The Montreal bard's moment was overshadowed however, by another lifetime achievement recipient, Michael Jackson, whose untimely death shocked the pop world last year. Jackson was the subject of an elaborate tribute which included a 3D mini movie that had been designed for his This Is It tour, which he was set to embark on before he died. Other major Grammy winners included Green Day, whose 21st Century Breakdown edged out AC/DC and U2 for best rock album, and Black Eyed Peas, who won three awards, best pop vocal among them. R&B star Maxwell scooped two trophies for best R&B album and best male R&B vocal Nominees and winners here

Zac Brown Band or ZBB is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown, (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, vocals), Coy Bowles (guitar, organ), Chris Fryar (drums) and Clay Cook (guitar, organ, mandolin, steel guitar, vocals). The band has toured throughout the United States, including a slot on the 2009 and 2010 Bonnaroo Music Festival. It has also recorded four studio albums, and charted four singles on the Billboard country charts in the Number Ones "Chicken Fried" and "Toes", the #2 "Whatever It Is" and the Top 20 "Highway 20 Ride." The Zac Brown Band then signed to Live Nation Records in 2008. Their first single, "Chicken Fried", was originally recorded in 2003 and included on the Home Grown album, but later re-recorded and released to country radio in 2008. In October 2008, Atlantic Records took over distribution of "Chicken Fried". The band's album, The Foundation, was released under Atlantic Records' newly re-established country division in association with Home Grown/Big Picture label on November 18, 2008. Zac Brown Band received four nominations for the 2009 CMA Awards including New Artist of the Year, as well as Song of the Year, Single of the Year, and Music Video of the Year for their Number One single, "Chicken Fried". They also received three Grammy nominations for Best Country Album, Best Country Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocals and Best New Artist. On January 31, 2010, the band won the award for Best New Artist. Zac Brown Band becoming the third country artist to won the Best New Artist, after LeAnn Rimes in 1998 and Carrie Underwood in 2007. The group is currently playing most songs of their yet-to-be-released follow-up album on tour. Although, most of the material is already recorded, no release date has been set.

artist expresso-- Ask Claris


We hear from artists every day from all corners of the world -- France, Germany, Russian, Israel, Asia, Australia and Middle East asking how they can get heard or build their careers. We've decided to feature a letter or phone message each month and share our response with other new artists with similar needs or questions. Our goal remains to empower new artists and encourage them to find their voice and musical path. Most importantly, we're here to remind artists that it's a long journey, so enjoy the process. We encourage artists to provide a link to their music site when they cotact us..this way, if a producer or manager is interested, they can be contacted directly.

Artist: Warm greetings; I got your email address from Music Connection. I am the CEO and President of Preaksman Productions, LLC; a full service music production with professional recording studio quality (material). Preaksman Productions is an active member of The Recording Academy/Grammy, Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP), is an affiliate of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) and all our beats are federally copy written. We specialize in Hip Hop, R&B and Pop/Rock. We currently have hundreds of original beats available for sale or lease and custom making is offered to artists who bring their lyrics. Me personally, I’ve been creating music for 14 years and I’ve been a producer since 06’. I’ve created a thousand plus beats. We are looking for beat maker/producer representation. Can your agency assist my company in this area? -- Genuinely, artist
C: Thanks for your interest in C Artist management. Kindly share your most recent discography. Best, C Artists
Artist: On www.Preaksman.com there's a beat listing and artists under the title collaborative projects. Is there anything in particular your company is looking for at this time?
C: We’re not looking for beats at this time
Artist: Alright; when I have a more dense song listing I'll give you a shout. You're looking for songs right?
C: Representation is not about needing songs…it’s handling requests and growing one’s exisiting business.

"Music sells everything from burgers, cars, clothes to perfume...everything but music itself!"
--Claris Dodge, studioexpresso

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