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A Village Celebrates Two Music Men
Schmitt & Jones Celebrated at Sixth Annual Producers & Engineers Wing
  
during Grammy week to a swarming number of audio producers and music industry folks who came to honor and celebrate two music legends Al Schmitt (21-time winner) & Quincy Jones (27-time winner). Al's credits include: Cal Tjader, Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, to name a few. Qunicy is best known for his work with Count Basie to Michael Jackson.
Jones spoke of his early childhood surrounded by gangsters and an encounter with a spinet piano during a junior high vandalism streak in Seattle that altered his life. He brought out two acts on stage: The five members of Blush, a singing group comprising women from the Philippines, India, Korea and Japan, and tje 11-year-old pianist, Emily Bear (newly signed to Concord Records). Bear performed few of her compositions to a stand-only room. "Let's all just keep making great records,"
said Jones.
Mike Clink, co-chair of the P&E Wing, noted the recent creation of QualitySoundMatters.com. Others on hand included musicians Michael Penn, George Benson, Ledisi, Sheila E., Patti Austin, Marcus Miller, Jimmy JamJeff "Skunk" Baxter, Peter Asher, Ed Cherney, Rafa Sardina, Dana Nielson, Barry Rudolph, Brent Fischer, to name a few.
Ross Directs The Oscars From Capitol Studio A
l-r: Mark Graham, William Ross and Tommy Vicari
"Tonight, for the first time, the Oscars have a theme," Seth MacFarlane said at the start of this year's Academy Awards, adding that Sunday night's show would be celebrating the marriage of film and music. The 2013 Oscar ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The awards show lasted three hours and was televised live in more than 225 countries. "There is quite literally hundred of pieces to rehearse and record for this year's Oscar show! It took the whole week to go through them all at least once," says Bill Ross, the Music Director for the 85th Academy Awards which was aired on ABC on February 24th.
Boob and looser jokes aside, MacFarlane, who himself has released an album of jazz and swing traditionals, focused the show on music highlighted with performances by Adele and Shirley Bassey.
Oscar Goes to Toronto composer Mychael Danna who won an Oscar for best original score for his work on "Life of Pi". This marks the third collaboration between Danna and director Ang Lee (who took an Oscar for best director).
Danna was also nominated for best original song for "Pi's Lullaby," but, he lost to Adele's heavily favoured "Skyfall" from the similarly named James Bond film. Danna (R: with long-time collaborator, engineer/mixer, Brad Haehnel) also contributed music to director Atom Egoyan's (an early supporter of Danna) upcoming thriller "Devil's Knot," which stars Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth. Congrats Mychael & Brad!
Producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan had a code name for the surprise 1st Lady appearance at the show: Operation Florence! |
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NoHo's Wells Mastering
Acquires ATCs
Studio Mastering engineer Mike Wells has installed a new pair of ATC SCM150ASL PRO three-way active reference monitor speakers at his studio in North Hollywood, CA. Wells discovered how accurately mixes mastered at his new facility translated outside his studio while working with Vance Powell on an album that he engineered and mixed for up-and-coming indie rock band The Young Things. From winning a shoot-out against other prospective mastering houses to completing the album master took only days, Wells reports. "The whole thing happened in four days, and I really think a lot of that had to do with the seamlessness of translation coming from the mix to the master. Vance's perspective and the producer's perspective on the mixes all felt very similar to what I was hearing. When I sent them tracks back they said, 'Yes, this is what we want!' I'm doing better work with the ATCs - I'm making better, faster decisions, I'm making less revisions and clients are happier."
Wells recently moved into a room in the famed former Kingsound Studios complex in North Hollywood, now owned by production music company Megatrax, after relocating from San Francisco to the Los Angeles area over a year ago. The new ATC SCM150 monitors replaced a pair of Dunlavy SC-V passive monitors, which Wells had been using for the past eight years, but which were not suited to his new facility. "You need a lot of space and a long throw to be able to run the Dunlavys," he explains.
"I didn't want to lose the performance and the fidelity that I was getting, but I clearly needed a smaller format speaker," he continues. During his research, Wells found a review in Stereophile magazine comparing the ATC SCM150 speakers with the Dunlavys, which are no longer manufactured. "The reviewer wrote that it's so hard to find a speaker that can perform like the Dunlavy, because of its legend and its reputation. The ATC 150 was the only speaker he'd heard in a long time that not only came close but also that he felt would be a wonderful next-generation speaker. So I got in touch with Brad Lunde at TransAudio."
Changing over to the SCM150s offered a number of advantages, according to Wells. "I've reduced the crossover count and I've got a smaller footprint. There are so many crossovers in the Dunlavy system that I always felt I had to double-check crossover count. But most people don't listen on large array systems, so I wanted to get onto a system that was at most a three-way. Plus, because most systems today are active, I wanted to represent what's happening in the marketplace better. So the ATCs met all of my criteria - and the price point was great," says Wells.
"I didn't even have to play with the positioning. We put them down, turned them on, and...that's what I was looking for! We fine-tuned them from there," Wells notes.
"I feel like I've been doing better work since I got the ATCs. It's the sum of all the parts: this rig is the best that it's ever been and I'm in this awesome, acoustically correct room. My revision list from every client has been greatly reduced, which I attribute to the ATCs and this room. It's everything that you want to hear from a results standpoint." -- Mike Wells
contact Brad Lunde re ATCs or Phone (702) 307-2700 or visit www.transaudiogroup.com
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¡Ritmo! Wins A Grammy For Best Latin Jazz Album
The New Clare Fischer Album Features Poncho Sanchez, Alex Acuña and the
Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band, directed and produced by Brent Fischer
 The new Clare Fischer album, ¡Ritmo! won a Grammy this year in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album.
Brent Fischer, who produced ¡Ritmo! and directs the Clare Fischer bands, was there to accept his award along with the late Dr. Fischer's wife, Donna who accepted on Clare's behalf. The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013 in Los Angeles at Staples Center.
This is the fifth Clare Fischer album Brent Fischer has produced for Clavo Records (including last year's Grammy-nominated 2011 release "Continuum").
"My father's handwritten scores let me look deep into his heart and mind...," says Brent, who recorded Dr. Fischer playing keyboards on many new works. "These will soon be released featuring various ensembles and special guest artists," says the multi-instrumentalist (bass, vibes,
keys) composer, and arranger who continues the family tradition working with a rich harmonic palette that has become a Fischer brand. Like his late father, Brent Fischer arranges and orchestrates for pop artists like Usher, Al Jarreau, and Eric Benet, to name a few.
¡Ritmo!features Poncho Sanchezand Alex Acuñawho appear on San Francisco PM, a mambo arranged by Brent Fischer and mixed by 11-time Grammy-winner Rafa Sardina. Other stellar musicians on ¡Ritmo! include: Luis Conte, Peter Erskine, Steve Khan, Alan Pasqua, Don Shelton (Hi-Lo's, Singers Unlimited), Carl Saunders, Andy Martin, Ron Stout, Steve Huffsteter, Pete De Siena, Scott Whitfield, Francisco Torres, Bill Reichenbach, Alex Budman, Rob Hardt, and Jeff Driskill.
Producer Brent Fischer (above) with NARAS Board Chairman George Flanigen (wire image photo Rick Diamond)
Grammy Behind The Scene Spotlight
Pete Townsend Honored with Les Paul Award
Townsend joines the music jam on stage on "Let My Love Open the Door" (a song written and performed by Pete Townshend from his 1980 album Empty Glass) after receiving his Les Paul Award from the Tec Foundation
Musicians included: Eric Burdon, Tal Wilkenfeld, Narada Michael Walden, Julia Fordham, and David Pack. LarryBatiste and the 2Cold ChiliBone TEC Band carried the night's music.
Highlighting the evening were two lifetime achievement awards, beginning with the induction of Record Plant President Rose Mann-Cherney to the TEC Awards Hall of Fame by recording executive Ron Fair and Slash, followed by the Les Paul Award presentation to renowned recording artist and composer Pete Townshend. The Les Paul Award was presented by film producer and humorist Martin Lewis and Jeff Salmon, representing The Les Paul Foundation.
Upon receiving the award, Townshend described using his first tape recorders purchased as a teen to write music, and expressed his deep appreciation for the professional audio and music products community: "In every hope that I ever had for a device that would do something that I wanted to do, you fabulous people made it for me...I'm so hip to what you guys do, hip to the amount of time that you spend, and as a musician and as a composer, I sincerely want to thank you!" Celebrity presenters included Suzanne Ciani, Melora Hardin, Orianthi, and producers NikoBolas and Csaba Petocz (also recognized during MusicCare Man of The Year Presentation). Winners here
Tec Awards producer, David Schwartz photographed above (Mike Clink in the background) with host, singer/songwriter John Sebastian (front man of the Lovin Spoonful), who opened the show with "I'm Satisfied".
studioexpresso Behind the Scene 2013 Grammy Highlights
Each of the 21 live performances during this year's Grammy show were rehearsed just a few times.Two identical trucks called Horizon and Eclipse echo each other's work for safety. We learned how vocal microphones are stored in numbered bins near the stage, with each number corresponding to a particular artist. All preset instruments go on risers that can be moved on and off the stage in seconds. When they hit the stage, it's plug and go! Denali is the third truck where the director of the show lives. This is where the live broadcast is being recorded on digital videotape. Then the audio and video for the show are combined, creating the final feed that is then sent to CBS in NYC using a giant satellite outside Staples Center to be broadcasted.
   
 
l-r: Lisa Roy lead the backstage Grammy tour; Backstage artists autograph donated instruments to help raise funds for the Grammy Foundation; Timberlake Drums on a riser; Producer Rafa Sardina at the Village Celebration; Emmy-winning engineer Tim Holmes (above) in the Dineli truck; Tec Merit Award winners, Ron Fair, Rose Mann-Cherney and Slash.
Sweet Deals & Service From Trans Audio Group The Daking Mic Pre 500.
Now on sale for a very limited time at $585
 
TransAudio Group, founded by industry veteran Brad Lunde, has quickly become the premier US importer/distributor and/or US sales and marketing representative for high-end audio. Success hinges on TransAudio providing dealers and end users with a higher standard of product expertise and support far beyond the norm. TAG product line includes A-Designs (USA), ATC Loudspeakers (UK), Bock Audio (USA), Chameleon Labs , Crane Song, Daking Audio (USA) Dave Hill, Drawmer, Pete's Place Audio, Tube-Tech and Sonodyne Nearfield Monitors |
Hot Zone Presenters at NAMM 2013
Join the Tec Award Celebration
 
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Virgin Records Executive Appointments
Ron Fair is named Chief Creative Officer/EVP of Virgin Records, and Ashley Burns rises to GM. Fair will report to Steve Barnett, Chairman/CEO of Capitol Music Group. In his new position, Fair is charged with rebuilding Virgin Records across all contemporary music genres, launching its resurgence with an A&R team, helmed by Fair, and a marketing staff helmed by newly appointed GM Burns. Promotion and other centralized functions will be handled by the core teams within Capitol Music Group. Fair will be based in Hollywood at the company's iconic Capitol Tower. "Ron Fair is simply one of the most accomplished music executives in our business. In addition to his consummate A&R skills, Ron is a first rate producer, arranger, recording engineer and musical director who is consistently successful and acclaimed for his work," says Barnett. "I am thrilled and humbled to work with Steve Barnett, Greg Thompson and the fabulous team he has assembled for the new Capitol Music Group... It was my destiny to return to UMG's family of companies. Under Steve Barnett's wing, and alongside my new partner, Ashley Burns, the doors of the Capitol tower are open; we are listening. Thank you, Steve and Lucian [Grainge]," says Fair
Ashley Burns has spent her entire career as a valued executive within EMI and Capitol. She was most recently EVP, North America for EMI, overseeing the company's partnerships within the digital, mobile and online spaces - including iTunes, Amazon, YouTube and VEVO - and overseeing digital planning and strategy for EMI artists. Burns also helmed the company's strategic initiatives and new product development in the digital space. She joined EMI's Commercial team in 2007 and oversaw the company's digital sales as Senior Vice President of Commercial Development. "Ashley has enjoyed a sterling reputation within Capitol and EMI for many years, and I knew within minutes of meeting her that her diverse skill set would perfectly complement that of Ron Fair's," says Barnett . "I believe wholeheartedly in Steve Barnett's vision for the Capitol Music Group and am extremely grateful to Steve for the opportunity to be on his team in this exciting new era for the company," says Burns
 
Five Young Music Attorneys
Grammy's Entertainment Law Initiative (ELI) promotes discussion and debate about the most compelling legal issues facing the music industry today. ELI turned fifteen (15) this year and was presented on February 8th at the Beverly Hilton. Who came? Some of entertainment industry's top deal makers and artist representatives were there to hear five new legal minds present their papers, a respected journalist, an angel investor speak.The GRAMMY Week event featured a keynote discussion with Tom Brokaw, special correspondent, NBC News; Ron Conway, special advisor to SV Angel; and moderator Andie Simon (Brokow's daughter), interactive content consultant. Chuck Ortner, a partner in the
litigation department at Proskauer Rose LLP and National Legal Counsel to The Recording Academy, was the recipient of the 2013 Service Award, which honors an attorney who has demonstrated a commitment to advancing and supporting the music community through service.
$5,000 was presented to the author of the winning paper with $1,500 awarded to four runners-up.
Winner:
Tyrone Scott,
Case Western Reserve University School Of Law
"Saving The Modern Record Industry: Partnership And Fiduciary Duty Between Labels And Artists"
Runners-Up:
Nicholas Krebs
, Loyola Law School
"Covering Losses: SoundExchange's Role In The Next Generation Of Artists"
Alex Krueger-Wyman
, University of Virginia School of Law
"Mashing Up The Copyright Act: How To Mitigate The Deadweight Loss Created By The Audio Mashup"
Katie O'Shea
, University of Georgia School of Law
"Rebranding Digital Music Theft And The Graduated Response Model In The United States"
Did you know according to sound exchange there are $130 million unclaimed royalty payments?
Titilayo Tinubu
, UC Berkeley School of Law
"Fan Finance: Alternatives To Securities Restrictions On Social Media-Based Fundraising"
Mr Brokow spoke with his unmistakable voice. He told the story of an old-school journalist who's very much in touch with how news is delivered today. He called the speed at which news is distributed "terryfying." Recognizing that technology is moving faster than our ability to keep paste. He joked how a collegue often tells him "you're not going to belive what I read on the internet today." and Brokow often responds: "You're right. I'm not going to believe it until I can investigate the source." He joked how he knows more about Margaret Thatcher than Lady Gaga and credited his daughter for having the musical experties. He spoke of presence of "verbal diary" and said he's learning to use his social network with impact - like telling a good story, always with a beginning, middle and an end. He even shared a few lessons about effective Tweets! Tom said that today's challenge for the consumer is to seek truth in the news. On a positive note, he touched on how reporting has gotten better because of a democratization brought on by the internet: "Gender and cultural lines don't exist which makes a much richer journalistic environment," he said.
He admitted how he enjoys receiving direct press from all corners of the world on his desktop and recognizes that the challenge for the news consumer today is to be pro active and check the source of the news carefully.
Attorney Chuck Ortner spoke of how his background in diverse industries (biochemistry to politics) helped him develope advocacy skills. He joked when he got a call from an advice seeking Heidi Fleise during a yumkipore family dinner (she made more per hour than he did). He credited colleague/attorney Joel Katz as one of the best strategic thinkers and remembered the late David (president of Polygram) who received the same award 5 years before.
Dodge with angel investor, Ronald C Conway at Beverly Hilton during ELI Awards in
February, 2013
Ron Conway (above), 'the man who has placed more bets on Internet start-ups than anyone else in Silicon Valley (Google, Twitter, Pandora, among others) spoke about Bay Area coining the phrase: software eats the world and introduced 11 industries that software has distrubpted (music among them). He outlined "collaboration" as a mega trend. He sited Air b&b as one of his favorite services going global whereby you can earn money by renting a room in your house. He sees this as a rising trend and noted how the "Facebook generation" 30's-40s prefer access over ownership.
Guests were entertained by The Grammy Jazz Combo (piano, bass and flute) during the reception. Though ELI may seem like a less glamorous event around the star studed events during Grammy week, it's one of the most interesting. This is where policy makers, IP owners and music lovers alike gather to find new business models for the future of music industry.
Neil Portnow encouraged everyone to support the newly launched www.grammymusicteacher.com
While traditional media and entertainment companies are twisting themselves in pretzel knots figuring out the shifting landscape, media start-ups are experiencing a "Golden Age," according to a panel of financing executives at a technology and media event hosted by the Founders Forum in Los Angeles
The Sound Track of My Life (Amazon)
Clive Davis
Longtime music impresario is sharing some of his legendary tales in his new autobiography. The 80-year-old exec has guided the careers of a wide range of stars that includes Usher, Diddy,Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Santana, Janis Joplin and Pink.
From becoming an orphan in high school and getting through college and law school on scholarships, to being falsely accused of embezzlement and starting up his own record company, J Records to the topic of bi-sexuality. Mr J!
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Google Co-founder, Sergey Brin models Google glasses this month at the Oscars and also before the Diane Von Furstenberg fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Spring Fashion Week in New York, USA
Fun. and Gotye dominate the Grammys this year.
You could be in the spotlight next!
"When it rains, get wet, and always empty the cup. Every time it will come back twice as full."
---Quincy Jones (accepting speech at Village Studios)
Angels wanted: Art and technology both require new business models to take flight. This week we were reminded that a film chronicling the life of Inocente Izucar, a homeless undocumented artist, had a happy ending. The film was funded by "Kickstarter", with a budget of little over $52,000. The19-year-old Izucar felt like she was in the middle of a bizarre dream. She, along with husband and co-directors Sean and Andrea Nix Fine, took to the stage to grab the Oscar in the Best Documentary Short category. Viva Inocente!
Until next month,
Claris Sayadian-Dodge, Founder I Editor studioexpresso
Music Lives & Moves!
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2013 Oscar's Theme:
Music
Capitol Studio A (photos by Larry Mah) Hosts the Oscars
William Ross (Josh Groban, Rod Stewart) and his music team ( Bob Zimmitti, Don Williams, Dan Greco, Tom Ranier and Tommy Vicari) gathered at Capitol studio A for an entire week that culminated with one final dress rehearsal on the morning of the Oscars show.
This year's films, despite their dark subject matter, produced healthy box office success.
Titles like Amour ($4mill), Argo ($128mill), Beasts of the Southern Wild ($12mill), Django Unchained ($158mill), Life of Pi ($112mill), Lincoln ($177mill), Zero Dark Thirty ($89mill), Silver Lining Playbook ($101mill), Misérables ($146mill)...Well, did you guess the winner?
Regardless, their producers are laughting their way to the bank this week. A statistical analysis by the film blog BoxOfficeQuant of Best Picture winners from 1990 to 2009 found that a typical winning movie gains an additional $14 million in box office returns compared to a movie that merely receives a Best Picture nomination.
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courtesy of Record Production & Babblefish
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New Address
Roland l Rodgers I Hammond
keyboard Showroom
studioexpresso
2295 E Foothill Blvd Pasadena, CA 91107
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55th Annual Grammy Awards
Best New Artist
Fun.
Song Of The Year:
We Are Young
Fun.
Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
Dan Auerbach
El Camino (The Black Keys) (A)
Locked Down (Dr. John) (A)
Savage (Hacienda) (S)
Shakedown (Hacienda) (A)
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
The Goat Rodeo Sessions
Richard King, engineer; Richard King, mastering engineer (Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile)
[Sony Classical]
Best Latin Jazz Album
The Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band
[Clare Fischer Productions/Clavo Records]
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