april 2014
studioexpresso eZine
Since 2000 
 Trans Audio Group
 
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This month we spotlight home of Luke and Jar Jar, and drop in a village and home of an EDM baron to hear ATC monitors. You get directions to stellar recordings and hear a wild heart. Point your calendar to Tee-Time on June 2nd. The night is young in one studio and it is super bright with stars at two labels. Celebrate a birthday with gift of a scholarship and speak up for two endangered species. Watch Vinyl rising and let's give, the boss and the fortunate son are in town!
Thanks to our 24,000 readers and studioexpresso's community of studios, composers, arrangers, and producers who create music that lives and moves.
Congrats to those of you have renewed or choose to do it today! Please click the blue link next to the espresso cup above. Thank you! 
 
studioexpresso  
In This Issue
Skywalker Sound Home of Luke & Jar Jar...with Leslie Ann Jones
Watch stduioexpresso on YouTube
studioexpresso Home of Hammond & Roland Keys
Wild Heart...Mindi Abair
EDM Baron Dave Clarke Chooses ATC SCM-25As For His Studio
Rolling Stone Gear
Bock Microphone from Trans Audio Group

 

 

The Music Team at Skywalker Sound    


l-r: L-R Front: Lennie Moore, Michael Roache, Pyramind Studios COO/Audio Director Paul Lipson, Skywalker's Director of Music Recording and Scoring, Leslie Ann Jones, and Dann Thompson    

 

Skywalker Sound offers one of the most impressive scoring stages in the West. The main room, measuring 60 feet by 80 feet long with a 30 foot ceiling, easily accommodates a 125 piece symphony orchestra yet is flexible enough to provide an intimate recording environment for a solo performer.
The origin of Skywalker Sound can be traced back to 1975, when George Lucas and Gary Kurtz hired Ben Burtt, a young graduate of the
USC School of Cinema-Television.  They were looking for a "director of sound,"

someone who could imagine and implement a creative soundtrack to match the revolutionary visuals they planned for a low-budget science fiction adventure called "Star Wars". The company soon became Sprocket Systems, and shared space with Industrial Light & Magic in San Rafael, before moving up to the newly completed Skywalker Ranch in 1987.   

 

Enters multiple Grammy Award-winning recording engineer Leslie Ann Jones (Dianne Reeves, Herbie Hancock). She began her career at the famed Automatt, Hollywood's Capitol studios and later became director of recording and scoring at Skywalker Sound.  Jones (also serves on the Trustees board of NARAS), recorded three-movement string quartet by conductor, arranger, and composer Vince Mendoza (below) at Skywalker. Jones was nominated for a Grammy for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical. She was also nominated for Best Surround Sound Album as well for a classical project called Opus One (above),  the flagship release for the new mediaHyperium3 label.

Opus One is in a 5.1 multichannel treasure of leading classical recordings produced by GRAMMY� Award winner Herbert Waltl, remixed by GRAMMY� Award winner Leslie Ann Jones and mastered by Michael Romanowski.   

Today Skywalker Sound hires anywhere from 80 to 160 employees (depending on workload), and for the first time, Skywalker Sound provides sound and music production services for movies, commercials, TV, IMAX and other large format films, theme park attractions, and videogames. Their scoring stage records and mixes music ranging from solo piano pieces to works using full 130-piece orchestras. Each year, they work on 20 to 30 different films, and have won a total of 18 Academy Awards. "Use your ears, Luke-use your ears!"   

 

 

ATC Monitors at The Legendary Village Studios
ATC SCM25A Compact 3-Way Monitors Added to Village Arsenal

As The Village in Santa Monica approaches its fiftieth year of making compelling soundtracks and hit records, its technology and the artists who make it their creative home continue to evolve. Early sessions with the Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan still echo as contemporary hit-makers, such as Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, and John Mayer, track, mix, and master tomorrow's classics and inspired The Village to add a pair of ATC SCM25A Compact 3-Way Monitors to its arsenal.

 

"ATC monitors were a common request from our clients," says Tina Morris, studio manager at The Village. "ATC has a ruthlessly transparent sound that doesn't color the work at all. Other loudspeaker manufacturers tend to emphasize different components of the frequency range, whereas ATC is flat and clean. ATCs reveal the good as well as the bad so that our clients can be confident moving forward that the work they've done will translate in the later stages of production."

 

The ATC SCM25A embodies ATC's legendary low-distortion performance in a remarkably small footprint: 10" x 17" x 16". Its precision crossovers and tri-amplified topology (150W, 60W, & 25W) are designed to work in perfect concert with the acoustics of the drivers and housing. The ATC SCM25As are small enough that engineers at The Village are able to transport them from studio to studio to meet the needs of various projects, though Morris reports that they've been spending most of their time in studios A and D.

 

"People are happy to hear that we have the ATCs available," said Morris. "Next up will be producer Ed Cherney!" Cherney is best known for his Grammy Award-winning work with Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones, and Eric Clapton, among many, many others.

 

 

 

 

  East West Studio 5 Gets an SSL Makeover 

 

EastWest Studios celebrated the newly remodeled Studio 5  (standing L-R) Vintage King's Jeffrey Ehrenberg, chief engineer and project manager Lawrence Malchose, studio manager Candace Stewart, producer/engineer Dave Reitzas, assistant studio manager Blake Rogers, and (seated L-R) producer/engineers Chris Lord-Alge and Eddie Kramer.  Photo by David Goggin.

   

 

Located in the heart of Hollywood, East West Studios have contributed to some of the most celebrated music of the last fifty years, from Frank Sinatra to The Rolling Stones. These iconic studios have been brought into the 21st century by a striking collaboration between EastWest Sounds producer Doug Rogers and internationally renowned designer Philippe Starck.  A key ingredient, however, was in preserving the integrity of the live recording rooms, as built by legendary engineer Bill Putnam in 1961. This month EastWest Studios opened their reborn Studio 5 with a classic 64-channel SSL G+ console and a wealth of new and old gear from Vintage King Audio.  Main monitors are EastWest Custom Augspurger design in a spacious control room remodeled by chief engineer and project manager Lawrence Ethan Malchose.  

 

 

 

    

 

 

 
Trans Audio Group 
Trans Audio Group   


 After Hours With Studio Musicians
 

 
Now more than ever, being a successful studio musician requires a strong work ethic, pleasant personality, dedication to craft and consistency of character. These traits all come shining through
bassist Reggie Hamilton who was in the studio at After Hours recently with Fernando Garibay (Britney Spears, U2, Will.I.Am) and 11-time Grammy winner mixer/engineer Rafa Sardina   
Reggie has performed and recorded with Ricky Martin, Whitney Houston, Enrique Iglesias.  His film scoring credits include Twin Peaks, Austin Powers II - the Spy Who Shagged Me and 102 Dalmations. "You could say Hamilton is one of the most versatile and emotionally driving musiccians on the scene today," says Sardina.  His performances vary from classical to jazz, country and hip hop and everything in-between. But it's the emotional content of his playing that drew him to producer Garibay, who also co-produced Lady GaGa's smash single, Born This Way (sold more than 4 million copies worldwide in less than a month from its release).  Garibay is executive at Interscope Records (also signed to Interscope as an artist and producer with his own imprint Paradise/Interscope).  What's Hamilton's favorite pastime?  "Run with my kids, exercise, take photos, repair broken toys, and drink copious amounts of espresso!"  Oh yes, he's also recording his second CD and working on a Doublebass concerto. Ok. 



ATCs For An EDM Baron 
Dave Clarke Chooses ATC SCM-25As For His Studio
 

"The Baron of Techno" aka Dave Clarke is a DJ, producer and BBC radio presenter. As of today, 433 editions of "White Noise" have been broadcast and the program has moved VPRO (3FM) to the Irish station RT� 2fm
You can say Clarke has a long standing career remixing many of electronic music's biggest names, including the Chemical Brothers, Leftfield, Moby, Underworld, New Order and Depeche Mode.

Dave Clarke has also become a key player of the annual Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). He is a regular DJ presence at top global clubs such as Fabric in London, Berghain in Berlin, and Fuse in Brussels. He has also played a wide range of festivals including Glastonbury, Pukkelpop, and I Love Techno and hosts his own successful stage at Tomorrowland in Belgium since 2012.

It's an understatement to say Dave's floating studio is well equipped. He is the type a person that always keeps an open eye and ear for cutting edge technology. Along with the ever increasing audio quality of his studio equipment, Dave realized his existing monitor system no longer met his requirements.

 

Several audio monitors passed in review and to cut a long story short, the ATC SCM-25A turned out to be Dave's favorite choice. Their detailed and distortion free sound was what appealed to him most. Dave: "Though not super abundant in the low-end the SCM-25A produced an exact and very tight image of bass pulses and bass lines. Extremely important when producing low frequency dependent club music. The mid range reveals lots of detail but is never obtrusive, the detail you can hear in the reverb tails in complicated mixes was a complete surprise and highs are frosty & crisp but never harsh or edgy. This is a monitor that tells it like it is but doesn't bring about any listening fatigue. In fact, it is a real pleasure to listen to them and finally hear everything in the mix even if it is a complicated one."

 

 

 

Trans Audio Group & studioexpresso at HotZone, NAMM 2014  
photo by: GS Studios/Francisco Rodriguez  

  

      
 Trans Audio Group  

 tag crew  

 

Questions- pricing, availability and dealer locations please email [email protected]

l-r: Richard, Todd, Janis and Brad at Trans Audio Group 

For the latest info contact 
Brad Lunde at  702-365-5155 [email protected] 

 
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-Techand Sonodyne Nearfield Monitors 

  

 

 

Tee Time!
Monda
y June 2, Noon  

2014 Recording Industry Golf Tournament  

  Malibu Country Club  


Join Honorary Chairs Ed Cherney and Al Schmitt
Meet hosts studioexpresso, Trans Audio Group & Studio Suite at Hole # (TBD)      

  

Attention Sponsors and Golfers!
Producer Karen Dunn is now accepting entries.
Call Karen  at 925-708-0307 OR  Register here: http://www.eventbrite  
Like" RIGT on Facebook
 
In addition to the 18 holes of pristine golfing, the day will include a $1 million hole-in-one opportunity, contests for longest drive and longest putt, a "closest to the pin" competition, "funnest hole," a putting contest, a silent auction, world famous "tequila cart," "beer/espresso bar," and more.  
Sponsorships are available at $10,000, $6,000, $3,500, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $1,400, $1,000 and $750 levels, covering every aspect of the event, from apparel and golf carts to photos, refreshments and much more.  
Confirmed sponsors include Audio-Technica, Clyne Media, Dave Collins Mastering, Design FX Audio, GC Pro/Sterling Audio, JBL Professional�, NAMM, PreSonus, The Recording Studio Insurance Program, Record Plant, SAE LA, studioexpress.com, AlterMedia and TransAudioGroup, with many more to be announced. 
Proceeds benefit the music and recording program at A Place Called Home  www.apch.org 




Tuesday April 29th, 2014 at 8:00 PM
"Video Game Sound Design", an Evening with Jory Prum of studio.jory.org 
Sportsmen's Lodge Event Center
12833 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604
free Parking -off of Coldwater Canyon entrance  

  

Exploring video game sound design, dialogue and sound effects in video games.
 
The 136th Audio Engineering Society Convention
April 26-29, 2014, at the Estrel Hotel and Convention center, Berlin, Germany
  

  

 
 
Home of Hammond Organs    The Sound . The Soul . The One   
SK1-73, SK1-88, SK2, and XK3 with the Leslie 3300 
 
l-r (clockwise):  Ryo Okumoto, Gregg Gronowski, Brady Lefler, Gary Swan, Scott May and Nelson Dodge of Church Keyboard Center  in Pasadena, CA.   

  

www.churchkeyboard.com  & www.studioexpresso.com 

2295 E Foothill Blvd Pasadena CA 911107

 

 


 


Label: Fools Gold


Nimble enough to outpace the majors, a small handful of independent labels-many artist-run, all started this century-have become industry tastemakers with big-name rosters to boot. 


 
Sleepy Tom is coming str8 outta Vancouver with a signature mix of unexpected jams and clever bangers from across the whole spectrum of dance music. His hometown parties and DJ sets alongside some of electronic music's biggest names have earned a rep as Canada's funnest.
Hear them all on his new mix for THUMP on Fools Gold Records sporting over 50 artists (536 Metropolitan Ave in Brooklyn, NY). This label offers deals on "Record Store Days" and live FREE shows. Come hear Blaze, Salva, Treasure Fingers, Nick Catchdubs, Sammy Bananas and High Klassified performing on the Broadway Outdoor Stage right over by Moog headquarters on April 27, noon-6pm!
Fool's Gold is all about breaking genre boundaries.  Meet Cubic Zirconia (above right). Their music challenges record store bins' classification.  "I find that dope," says A-Trak. Tiombe, Nick and Daoud each have a rich musical history before combining as a group, and Cubic Zirconia feels like where that all gets supercharged.
 
Very few DJs can jump from club sets to high-profile festival performances, to Kanye West's larger-than-life stadium shows with ease. In today's DJ culture, A-Trak (above middle) holds a truly unique place. He and partner Nick Catchdubs (above left) founded America's most trendsetting new label, Fool's Gold, launching the careers of artists such as Kid Sister (above right) and Kid Cudi.

Label: Glassnote
 
On a unusually chilly April night earlier this month, the Museum of Modern Art hosted a Sunday night rager. Yes, you read that right. The dancefloor was packed, complete with purple lighting and beer and everything that you'd expect from a basement party (except, of course, about a billion times classier).

Founded by Daniel Glass (left), Glassnote is a next-generation Music Company. Glass is acting as jury at the 2014 CLIO  Awards presented by Billboard. He went on to SAM Records and continued at Chrysalis, then SBK Records. Daniel's path in music lead him to become President/CEO of EMI Records Group N.A., a founding President of Universal and President of Artemis Records before eventually starting Glassnote. By embracing new mediums, Glassnote enables fans to develop the close-knit relationship with the musicians they love and consume their music in the manner that suits them best. The reason behind the MoMA's celebration? The new Robert Heinecken: Object Matter exhibit, which was cool in itself--but the real draw to the dance party came courtesy of LA duo Holychild. Glassnote LA: 9830 Wilshire Blvd.  Beverly Hills, CA 90212 I 310 272 2412

55th  CLIO Awards will take place during New York City's Advertising Week.

October 1, 2014  6:30pm at Capriani Hotel, NY. Entry deadline: May 9th

Record Store Day: Vinyl Rising

The legendary rockers Aerosmith reissued four classic albums (Draw the Line, Night in the Ruts, Rock in a Hard Place and Rocks) as part of the worldwide Record Store Day celebration on Saturday April 19. Participating artists  spinned up to 450 releases this year which will be sold at more than 2,000 record stores worldwide. There are Record Store Day participating stores on every continent except Antarctica. Adapter Prize honors releases chosen as "The Best" by store staff and customers and Back To Black Friday gives record stores exclusive releases as part of the attempt to redirect the focus of the biggest shopping day of the year to the desirable, special things to be found at local stores.  Record Store Day is currently managed by Michael Kurtz and Carrie Colliton, in coordination with Michael Bunnell and Eric Levin. Folks wanting to contact Record Store Day are encouraged to email   [email protected] A full list of this year's crop can be seen here.  Bruce Duff, a vinyl expert and director of regional marketing and personal management at Knitting Factory says that more fans are collecting records because they crave a stronger connection to an artist; holding a record in your hand is more tangible than a digital download. "It was dead when we started, and now the factories can't even meet the demand. It's just exploded," Duff says. In 2012, vinyl album sales totaled 1.4% of U.S. album sales, or 4.6 million units, compared to 0.4% in 2008 when vinyl sold 1.9 million units.  Still, labels like Epitaph and Yep Roc say vinyl album sales can make up anywhere from 12% to 20% of dollar sales volume during the first month of a title's release. For example, the Redeye-distributed Grizzly Bear album Shields (2012) has scanned 12,000 vinyl units of its 111,000 sales total, while the band's prior release, Veckatimest, has moved 21,000 vinyl albums of the 236,000 units scanned since its 2009 release. While those percentages work out to about 9% and 11.5%, respectively, on a unit basis, vinyl is priced much higher than the CD. Moreover, at retail, merchants like Criminal Records in Atlanta say that vinyl now comprises 70% of the store's sales.  At Rainbo Records, a CD/DVD/vinyl/cassette manufacturer based in Canoga Park, Calif., vinyl has grown from 18% of the company's sales volume three years ago to about half, according to Rainbo president Steven Sheldon. Just keep in mind. It's a niche market but one that's on the rise!      

 

L.A. Reid "Xscape" At Grundman

Eight Previously Unreleased Michael Jackson Songs Mastered  


(L-R) At Bernie Grundman Mastering are executive producer L.A. Reid and mastering engineer Bernie Grundman.  Photo by David Goggin.     

 

Epic Records Chairman/CEO L.A. Reid was in session recently at Bernie Grundman's for the mastering of Michael Jackson's "Xscape."  The collection of eight previously unreleased Jackson songs was curated by Reid, who also decided on the final tracklist.  
"Michael left behind some musical performances that we take great pride in presenting through the vision of music producers that he either worked directly with or expressed strong desire to work with. We are extremely proud and honored to present this music to the world," Reid said.  
Grundman mastered most of Michael Jackson's albums, many times with recording engineer Bruce Swedien, including "Thriller," the most successful album of all time with more than 40 million in sales.  L.A. Reid recalled that his very first mastering session was with Bernie Grundman in 1983
Reid curated the final list of recordings to deliver to the producers, who retooled the production to add a fresh, contemporary sound that retains Jackson's essence and integrity.  It's a process Reid calls "contemporizing." The album's lead producer, Timbaland was one of a handful of producers Reid believed had the gravitas, depth and range to creatively engage with Jackson's work. Additional producers include global hitmakers Rodney Jerkins, Stargate, Jerome "Jroc" Harmon and John McClain. 

For the ultimate fan experience, "Xscape" will also be available in a Deluxe Edition, which includes all of the sourced Michael Jackson recordings in their original form. The "Xscape" standard and Deluxe Edition's are available for pre-order iTunes.com/MichaelJackson and elsewhere, and available at all retailers worldwide on May 13.  

  

A Swedien Scholarship  

 

This year marks the 80th birthday of legendary producer/engineer Bruce Swedien, whose career in the recording industry spans more than 60 years. The Audio Engineering Society Educational Foundation (AESEF) is honoring Bruce with a scholarship funded by his colleagues, fans and  
friends in the business, as a way to say "thank you" for his many gifts and to help aid young recording engineers who believe in putting the "Music First!," as is Bruce's mantra.

Scholarships will be offered annually to graduate students in the recording arts who are AES members and who have a passion for maintaining the highest standards of music recording. Applications must be received at AES Headquarters by May 15.  Click here to join supporters of the Bruce Swedien Scholarship Fund, honoring his career and carrying on his legacy to the next generation. 

 

 

SESAC Reps Cobain Catalog
Even twenty years after his death, Kurt Cobain remains a legendary musical icon whose influence on music and culture is immeasurable. Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10 this year at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.  SESAC will now represent Kurt Cobain's complete catalog, including his work on the groundbreaking Nirvana albums. The alternative rock band defined a generation ushering in the genre known as 'grunge' and, perhaps unintentionally, catapulted Cobain into the spotlight as a spokesperson for Generation X. Having written such hits for the band like "All Apologies," "Heart-Shaped Box," "Come as You Are" and the classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Cobain is widely recognized as one of rock music's most revered songwriters and most influential talents. For more info email [email protected]  or call 1-800-826-9996

  



The Endangered Song  
Sumatran Tiger & Portugal, The Man


Sumatran tiger is hopefully not about to eat one of the 400 copies of the record Indie rock band Portugal, The Man has released with the 
The "endangered song" released in time for Earth Day.  The Smithsonian National Zoo hopes to demonstrate the dwindling number of about 400 Sumatran tigers left in the world.
The new song, "Sumatran Tiger," was recorded on 400 polycarbonate vinyl records that will degrade and self-destruct after a certain number of plays. So the only way to save the song is to digitize and "breed" it by sharing the music through social media.
photo:  Connor Mallon/Smithsonian  
 

Ambassador for Humanity Award
A Shoah Foundation Benefit Honors Pres Obama in Los Angeles, May 7


The Sumatran tiger is not the only endangered species. Turns out some historical facts can also become endangered unless digitized and preserved. The USC Shoah Foundation Institute, established by Steven Spielberg in 1994, is fundraising to add collections from the Armenian and Cambodian genocides into their nearly 52,000 video testimonies of the Holocaust survivors
This month J. Michael Hagopian/Armenian Film Foundation's 400 filmed survivor and I-witness testimonies were delivered to Shoah's Visual History Archive at USC. These rare testimonies will now be made available to scholars, students and researchers online.  The Boss, Bruce Springsteen is set to perform at the Shoah Foundation's 20th anniversary Ambassadors for Humanity Gala on May 7, 2014 in Los Angeles. Spielberg will recognize President Obama  with the Institute's highest honor, for his global efforts to protect human rights, and to recognize his commitment to expanding educational technology.  TNT is the presenting sponsor.  Conan O'Brien will host the event, with special guest Liam Neeson.

For packages and gala dinner information please contact 818.777.7876 or email




Gimme Some Truth.  It's Earth Day - we rise to the occasion to celebrate renewal and gather up courage to speak the truth and defend human rights. Sometimes, even International law is not able to stop ethnic cleansing in certain pockets of our world --  Cambodian, Bosnian, Rwandan Tutsi. Perhaps it's because we are allowed to deny the truth like the Turkish Government has for 99 years after the First Genocide of The 20th Century. 
Thanks to smart phones and other recording devices, it's getting harder for politicians to change their tune!    
  
Be an ambassador for truth and show that you care for historical facts.
We like how John Lennon says it in this video: "Gimme Some Truth."  How does your music speak the truth?
 
Make music news and share with studioexpresso community of over 24,000 subscribers. Music Lives & Moves...until next month,
 

Claris Sayadian-Dodge, Founder I Editor studioexpresso

  

  
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NEW!
studioexpresso

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New Address
 
Roland l Rodgers I Hammond 
keyboard Showroom 

studioexpresso
 2295 E Foothill Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91107 
 

 

 

For megatalent Mindi Abair, music started out as the thing her father, Lance Abair, performed onstage as the family traveled around with him. From there, it evolved to high school band, a love of the saxophone, college at Berklee, performing with The Backstreet Boys and later going solo while also performing with the likes of Aerosmith, Duran Duran, Bruce Springsteen and others. Here, she tells us the story of how music grew from a childhood love to an incredible career:

http://www.pledgemusic.com/blog/mindi-abair-interview 

 

Wild Heart, Abair's May 27 release on Heads Up/Concord, includes guest performances by - and songwriting collaborations with - Gregg Allman, Joe Perry, Booker T. Jones, Keb' Mo', Trombone Shorty, Max Weinberg, Waddy Wachtel and others. 


 




















    



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Ben Lilly of ATC   






The Tube-Tech Team from Denmark: John Petersen (L) Jesper Bo Nielsen (R)    



  Brad Lunde with Dave Hill   


Rolling Stones Gear
Backbeat Books
Amazon 
Author Andy Babiuk was given exclusive access to the Stone's musical equipment, and he has masterfully compiled the history of the band through the instruments they used for more than 50 years. "The book has taken nine years to finish and I thank The Rolling Stones as well as the hundreds of people who helped make this historic document possible," says Babiuk about the 672 pages of lavishly illustrated research on the Stones. In 2001, he wrote the best-selling book Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four's Instruments from Stage to Studio, and Rolling Stones Gear is a worthy follower. The book's writers could be heard in their own legendary garage-rock group The Chesterfield Kings.














 
Streaming music might be the way we all listen to music in the future. CD sales are diminishing. Downloading music is slowing and streaming is increasing. There are a handful of businesses in the marketplace (Spotify, Google Music, Rhapsody, Rdio, Deezer...). Beats Music is the newest.  
Grammy awarded music audio engineer  Dan Gellert  with film and TV credits is now writing about Beats Music (a music-streaming-startup) since their January launch. It's a kind-of running history of their trajectory as a business. I call it "Beats Music Now". Take a look and get in touch with Dan. He's exploring how this will affect artists, fans, and ultimately how music is made. Tell him, how do you consume music today?




   








 

 

 

 

   

 

 






Universal Mastering Savings


Master 3 tracks and get the
4th track FREE

Want your music to be comparable in presence and volume to commercially released recordings after it has been mastered?  Here's a 25% saving from Universal Mastering. 
How? It's simple.
After confirmation of payment, you will receive notification of upload instructions from [email protected] within two business days.

For more info visit here






Shepard Fairey
Album Art


50 Shades of Black Box Set

2014 Edition of 200

Signed and Numbered

Box: 13 x13 x 2 inches

Print editions: 12 x 12 inches/ea  

$1,100 each  

 


 

The OBEY GIANT art campaign  and imagery has changed the way people see art and the urban landscape. In 2008 his portrait of the then Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, with the message of 'HOPE' under the illustration, became an internationally recognized emblem of the campaign. Now Shepard Fairey is out doing what he really loves. Music.   "I've had some very moving encounters with art in my life, especially in the street, but almost nothing can compare to the first time I heard the boots marching and first chord of the Sex Pistols' "Holidays in the Sun", or the air raid sirens leading into "too black, too strong" on the intro to Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, or the opening guitar scream of Black Flag's "Rise Above," says the artist.


"Music is visceral, but also has the additional powerful layers of the lyrics, with their content and politics, and then there's also the style and personalities of the musicians themselves. Compelling album covers have always been a great complement to great music. There's something subversive about bundling seductive visuals with provocative ideas, or provocative visuals with seductive ideas. An audience that's looking for escape doesn't expect a confrontation and a call to action, but I believe the best music, and the best art, can deliver both," he adds. 
Call his approach hi-brow/lo-fi or lo-brow/hi-fi, but however you look at it, he uses it in his artwork to capture the same energy and spirit that makes music so powerful.    




Shepard Fairey
Steve And Sid, 2013
Mixed media painting on canvas
30 x 41 inches
$35,000

view gallery





List of Winners

Marc Anthony accepts an award onstage during the 2014 Billboard Latin Music Awards at Bank United Center on April 24, 2014 in Miami, Florida. 

Larry Marano/Getty Images



Commencement Speaker

John Fogerty
Friday, May 16 beginning at 10:45 a.m. on the Ramo Hall South Lawn on the main USC campus

 

Music icon John Fogerty is the featured speaker at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music's 2014 Commencement ceremony.

Rolling Stone called Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" a protest song that made you want to dance. It was inspired by the term "favorite son" from political conventions and protested the draft.  

 

"I wrote the music for the song that I was calling 'Fortunate Son' without actually knowing what the lyrics were," says John Fogerty. "I rehearsed the band for a few weeks and, at some point, realized I was ready to write the words. I went into my bedroom. ... and wrote the whole song in 20 minutes." John's songwriting ability, the Library of Congress has just added "Fortunate Son" to its collection. It's a big honor coming from the oldest federal institution in the United States. His song will be added to the de facto national library of the United States along with ones from other artists such as the Everly Brothers, Jeff Buckley, U2, Bing Crosby, and John's friend Buck Owens.      

 

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