Author: By by Mr. Bonzai
May 21,2013
I first saw the Doors perform before they were major stars, at an all-night rock club with a revolving stage in Hollywood. It wasn’t until 1980 that I met Ray, however, when I moved to the Hollywood Hills. At the time, I didn’t recognize the neighbor who lived across the street, and when I asked him what he did, he moved his fingers as if playing a piano and modestly replied, “Oh, I used to play keyboards in a rock group.”
We became friends and over the years, I interviewed and photographed Ray numerous times. He was always there for me, writing blurbs for my books, joining me as a guest at panel discussions and at my book signings. A true original, Ray never wavered from his stance as a courageous artist and a visionary spokesman who decried hypocrisy, both political and artistic.
Author: By Kelleigh Welch
May 17,2013
The Log Cabin Studio is located on the fourth floor of the Manhattan Center on West 34th Street in Manhattan. Since opening in 1993, the studio has hosted a number of popular artists and producers, including Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Bono and Duran Duran. Now the facility is the focal point of Live At The Log Cabin, a new web series created in partnership with MySpace.
The series, appearing periodically on the social network, brings the intimacy of a private recording session to your computer screen through a series of short videos showcasing an artist recording at the studio. The first three episodes feature the New York City-based duo MS MR, who recently gained recognition when its alt-pop single “Bones” was used in a trailer for the most recent season of Game of Thrones. The band’s music uses a mix of classic guitar and the jazzy vocals of lead singer Lizzy Plapinger, and meshes it with the more electronic sounds of synthesizers and a range of pedals, amps and effects to create an eerie sound.
Author: By by Mr Bonzai
May 16,2013
It's not every day that
Pro Sound News lands a video interview with a world-famous superstar—so today, we're talking with "Weird Al" Yankovic instead. While renowned for his parodies and zany image, Weird Al is also a three-time Grammy Award winner (out of nine nominations), has sold over 12 million albums, created the classic cult movie
UHF and TV series
The Weird Al Show, has written a bestselling children's book, and achieved many other serious accomplishments. Having played more than 1,000 concerts over his career, Al will add to that number when he returns to the road this year; with that in mind, intrepid pro-audio bon vivant/blogger, Mr. Bonzai, conducted this snazzy chat with the wizard of weird himself to get a preview of what lies ahead.
Author: By Kelleigh Welch
May 15,2013
Anticipating the start of the Gathering of the Vibes’ 18
th
year, fans can expect to see a number of
bands returning to the stage thanks to the efforts of the festival’s production
crew as they try to create an atmosphere that fits the festival’s jamband vibe.
“It’s not just about production,” said Chris Hubbard, the
production manager for the Gathering of the Vibes Festival. “Creating a great
artist and fan experience is absolutely a team effort and we’re one piece of
the equation. I like to think artists love to return to Vibes year after year
because the Vibes Production Team has this culture at its core.”
Author: By by Kelleigh Welch
May 14,2013
American blues musician Cassie Taylor made a stop in New York City on May 3rd as part of her “Out of My Mind” tour, performing original songs for a hungry audience. The show was held in the lower level of New York’s Hill Country Barbecue, which houses a small stage with QSC self-powered speakers and a Midas Venice Soundboard.
Author: By by Kelleigh Welch.
May 9,2013
While millions of people have turned music on vinyl records into MP3 files, Amanda Ghassaei gained notoriety a few months ago when she wrote online about her experiences doing the opposite—turning an digital audio file into a physical record by using a precision 3D printer. Now Ghassaei has followed up that project with instructions on how to use a laser cut machine to create records using a variety of materials, including wood, acrylic and paper.
Author: By by Kelleigh Welch
April 26,2013
Sound designer David Sonnenschein’s newest project is
3 Deaf Mice, a computer game that stems from the lessons in his book,
Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema. Sonnenschein knows something about video games, too, having been an audio consultant on the hit,
Mass Effect 3. However, the game is still in the process of being created, and now he's turning to Kickstarter to help fund the completion of the project.
Author: By by Clive Young.
April 24,2013
From the lies they tell musicians (“That was great”) to the lies they tell themselves (“We’ll fix it in the mix”) to the lies they get told (“The check’s in the mail”), producers and engineers know all about lying liars and the lies they lie. After producing more than 180 albums over the course of three decades, Grammy-winner Jeff Weber’s heard them all—as well as countless musician jokes—and now he’s crammed an endless supply of both into his aptly titled book,
You’ve Got A Deal! The Biggest Lies Of The Music Business. Filled with one-liners and the occasional wise truth, it might just be the ultimate music biz “bathroom book.” We sat down with Weber a while back at Book Expo America for a chat that left us smiling—and that’s the truth.
Author: By by Kelleigh Welch
April 22,2013
In celebration of the resurgence in popularity in music festivals,
Pro Sound News and
Pro Audio Review are creating a new tabloid publication—
Music Festival Business—that covers the business and technology behind a successful music festival, set to release this fall. Over the next few months,
Pro Sound News and
Pro Audio Review
are asking for your help: If you are involved in the festival business,
whether as a Sound Company Executive, Tour Production Manager, Regional
Sound Company management, FOH engineer, monitor and system engineer,
producer, director and other related participant, please share your
experiences creating your music festival, and submit your photos and
videos for our Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as this blog!
Author: By Kelleigh Welch
April 17,2013
Pro Sound News recently spoke with Tommy Vetterli, a trash metal guitarist with bands including Coroner and Kreator and owner of The New Sound Studio in Switzerland, where a custom Cadac Clive Green console makes up the heart of the studio.