Story Index for Articles, Interviews, News and Reviews
GEAR: This month, at the Winter NAMM, Roland announced its newest high-end keyboard offering which takes its well conceived, but not widely embraced, V-Synth platform and blows it up to a new level, with a far more powerful iteration of their Elastic Audio Synthesis Engine. It’s called the V-Synth GT, and it’s my next keyboard.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Author Dee Dee Phelps signs and talks about her memoir “Vinyl Highway” (ISBN-10: 1412073839) singing as Dick and Dee Dee, at Village Books, 1049 Swarthmore Avenue, Pacific Palisades 90272 on Thursday evening, February 8th at 7:30 pm.
GEAR: Yamaha Corporation of America expands on their top line of synthesizer workstations with the new Motif XS, featuring new sounds and new creative tools in a redesigned, intuitive user interface. The Motif XS includes new Xpanded Articulation sounds featuring 355 MB of wave ROM to inspire creativity.
NAMM REPORT: The developers, inventors, creators and programmers found at NAMM (formerly the National Association of Music Merchants) are a fascinating bunch of people. Some are geniuses. Some are certifiable. Some are both. And we must face the fact that some are electronic device zealots with an expensive hobby instead of a 401(k).
NAMM REPORT: The National Association of Music Merchants, now known simply as NAMM, held a lovely little party for four days in January. With displays of gear from 1,500 manufacturers and the hallways packed with 85,000 attendees, it was a show that was a sonic circus of electronic innovation.
INTERVIEW: In September 2006, Peter Frampton released his first all-instrumental album, called “Fingerprints.” For the project he was able to bring together not only many of his contemporaries and peers, but also a couple of his long time “heroes” and inspirations, Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett of The Shadows. The album showcases many influences, including […]
SYNTH NEWS: The new “KORG Legacy Collection – ANALOG EDITION 2007” was announced January 18th. The popular “MS-20” and “Polysix” from the KORG Legacy Collection are now joined by the “Mono/Poly.” According to the company, these are “classic Korg analog synthesizers newly reborn as software instruments in a powerful production package.”
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — A&R Select, the leading independent A&R firm in Hollywood, has announced it will be a participant in America’s leading independent film festival. A&R Select will sponsor an event highlighting “Music for Films” at the Sundance Film Festival.
QUEENS, N.Y. — The Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning mixes the rich, vibrant and scintillating sound of four continents in its New Young Artists (NYA) concert series scheduled for Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17 at 7 p.m. The NYA series will showcase African, jazz, rhythm and blues, funk, reggae, and Latin music; audiences can travel the world in just two days.
ANAHEIM, Calif., Winter NAMM 2007 — Cakewalk, the world’s leading developer of powerful and easy to use products for music creation and recording, today announces new versions of its popular SONAR Home Studio and SONAR Home Studio XL titles. SONAR Home Studio 6 and SONAR Home Studio 6 XL feature the power of Cakewalk’s flagship SONAR 6 paired with a feature set, price, and ease-of-use geared towards home studio owners and budget-conscious musicians.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A year ago, Arturia changed their logo and added the tag line “Hardware and Software.” Many people then wondered what it would mean effectively. Well the answer is unveiled today at the NAMM show in Los Angeles: Origin, Arturia’s first Hardware synthesizer, is introduced on booth 7013.
SEATTLE, Wash. — Kagi Media, producers of Mix It Like A Record, the enormously successful interactive mixing course authored by Grammy-winning engineer, mixer and producer Charles Dye, together with DUY, a leading developer of a broad range of plug-ins for Pro Tools, are sponsoring a contest in which three winners will receive a copy of the Mix It Like A Record mixing course and DUY’s Global Bundle.
ARTICLE: There are deep, dark secrets in all of the heart-pounding and soul-melting music enjoyed by Valentine’s Day lovers and they are revealed by recording artist and commercial music composer Scott G (The G-Man). So sit back, relax, have some chocolate, and dip into some little-known stories behind those famous emotional tunes. Ah, the power […]
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — As befits anything from an album by DJ Insane and The G-Man, the first music video is one of the strangest ever posted online. The opening track, entitled “Trans Addiction,” from the U.S. album CRAZED + DAZED (Delvian Records, UPC 6-75604-10252-0), has prompted an advertising copywriter in India to use open source film footage by an avant-garde German director to create the “Trans Addiction Wine Symphony.”
REVIEW: Take a pianist with a classical repertoire and a guitarist who grew up playing rock; turn them loose and you might get Davison/Coleman, whose first album wraps you up in melodies that reach back to the seventies and stretch forward to music that could come from a distant peaceful planet.
NEW YORK, N.Y. — New York City audiences will have the rare opportunity on Sunday night, January 28, to hear “Jazz Hits from the Broadway Stage,” a swinging, intimate program of well-known Broadway show tunes performed by some of the city’s most-accomplished and well-known jazz musicians. It is sure to be a treat for general audiences and jazz lovers alike.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Building on the extraordinary, sold-out success of the 2006 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO, ASCAP will stage an even larger, more comprehensive event for music creators at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles on April 19-21, 2007. The ASCAP EXPO is the first and only national conference dedicated to songwriting and composing, bringing together top music creators across all genres with those just starting out.
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Jazz pianist Tamir Hendelman joins New York jazz bassist Jay Leonhart to inaugurate a new jazz series called “Great Duets” at the recital hall and piano showroom of AC Pianocraft at 333 West 52nd. St. in New York on Friday, January 12, 2007. The new series is hosted in a gracious grand piano showroom on the ground floor directly off 52nd St.
SWANZEY, N.H. — UrbanBoomer, the online entertainment and social networking site targeting the 35-60 demographic, announced the launch of its digital music download store UBTunes. The site, www.ubtunes.com is aesthetically appealing, more reminiscent of a neighborhood record store with browse features for a host of sub-genres such as 60’s Soul, Lounge and Exotica, Jazz, 70’s Rock, etc. and has colorful, informative and easy to read graphics. Price wise, UBTunes offers lower prices than most top level content download sites with an 88 cent song price and many frontline albums at discounted prices.
COLUMN: From chestnuts to carols, games to sleigh races, and loose translations to loose women, there are some interesting facts about the sounds of the season. Recording artist and commercial music composer Scott G presents some eyebrow-raising information about the most familiar and famous holiday music of all time.
COLUMN: Matt Forger. Michael C. Ross. Eddie Kramer. Elliot Scheiner. Joe Chiccarelli. Each one is a huge star in the world of recording. Scott G points out that you probably own albums with their names listed in the credits as engineer, producer, or mixer. Studio Expresso is what they all have in common.
REVIEW: Some music soothes you. Some seduces you. And some swaggers up to you and hits you over the head with a box of skateboard parts. Scott G (The G-Man) writes about an upstart new band called Manic Circuit that slams its way into your skull with songs of raw power combined with progressive structure.
COLUMN: Ever notice that some music artists suck? Sure you have. Ever thought it would be helpful to label these artists so we could avoid wasting time with them? Of course you have. In an interview with Brian Forest, Scott G explains how these worthless performers should all be lumped into a new genre of music that he calls “nada.”
GREENSBORO, N.C. — NOTION Music, makers of NOTION(TM) music composition and performance software, have contributed content to Pass the Ring, one of several Theme libraries for Sony Cinescore soundtrack creation software.
HAMBURG, Germany — Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH is pleased to announce that its new WaveLab Studio 6 editing and mastering application is now shipping to dealers worldwide, providing first-class mastering, editing and CD burning tools for musicians and project studios at an impressively low price point.
PETERSBURG, Va. — Alexander Publishing, the world’s leading publisher of orchestration instruction, has teamed with Naxos Recordings, the world’s leading classical recording label, for How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother Goose Suite. This breakthrough in orchestration instruction includes a newly engraved score featuring the condensed Piano part at page bottom along with the Naxos Recording of Mother Goose Suite by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Jean.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Dee Dee Phelps, author of “Vinyl Highway,” singing as Dick and Dee Dee in the Sixties (www.dickanddeedee.com) was introduced to a sold out audience by Book Publicists of Southern California founder Irwin Zucker, with comedian Fred Travalena and game show host Wink Martindale, at the 12th Annual IRWIN Awards dinner and program for Book Publicists of Southern California on October 11th in Studio City, California.
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — L.A. based, A&R Select offers artist development and marketing services for online musicians. Historically, A&R refers to “Artist and Repertoire,” a job title given to the label representatives that discover and groom new talent for success. A&R Select’s staff gives the tools and resources for songwriters and performers to develop and market themselves to labels, publishers, film, television and video game companies through their MySpace music sites.
REVIEW: I was pretty excited to hear about the new disc “Fingerprints” (A&M/New Door/UMe) from Peter Frampton, a seminal guitar god from the ’70s who became enormously famous for his “Frampton Comes Alive” album and for his formant-tube guitar “talk box” sound on that record 30 years ago. I hadn’t really thought about him much lately except when my iTunes jukebox cycled around to his tunes. So, getting the new disc was like hearing from an old friend again.
INTERVIEW: Matt Forger speaks out on everything from working with Michael Jackson to producing new artists like Mutant Radio. G-Man: When people think of Matt Forger, they usually think of your work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Glen Ballard, and Bruce Swedien, yet when you hand out a CD with examples […]
COLUMN: With the “A&R Registry,” “Music Publisher Registry,” “Music Business Attorney Registry,” “Producer Registry,” and the “Film and Television Music Guide,” Ritch Esra and Stephen Trumbull provide vital connections in a rapidly-changing business. Scott G likes ’em and uses ’em.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Mark your calendars, and save the date! ASCAP is pleased to announce that the next ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO will take place April 19-21, 2007, at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.
COLUMN: Three personal managers of independent artists outline pathways for success in an increasingly competitive marketplace “An artist’s music must be something I love,” stated Jennifer Yeko of True Talent Management. “It has to be music I want to hear in my personal life as well as when I’m working.” This view was echoed by […]
Just when you think it’s safe to go shopping on eBay for used gear, like a vintage tube mic, or analog keyboard, the phishing artists have to ruin my day. Phishing, is the practice of trying to fool you into going to a website pretending to be a legitimate site, like a bank or eBay, or to contact somebody about a product or service through real looking email communications.
Cakewalk today unveiled official details of the latest iteration of their popular music creation and recording suite: SONAR version 6. According to the company, SONAR 6 debuts an innovative feature called Active Controller Technology (ACT) and other features to “tighten up your entire band with the revolutionary new AudioSnap.”
MONTABELLO, Calif. — TASCAM is pleased to appoint Paul Jenkins to the position of National Sales Manager. Jenkins, with over 25 years of experience in the pro audio and music instrument industry, will lead the TASCAM sales effort throughout the U.S.
RoyaltyShare, a premier provider of digital royalty solutions to the entertainment industry, today announced it has been selected as a finalist for the POPKOMM Innovation in Music and Entertainment Award (IMEA) 2006 in the category of Digital Music & Marketing Innovations, B2B Solutions. In its third year, the annual IMEA Awards recognize the best new business ideas and brightest entrepreneurs in the worldwide music, media and entertainment technology sectors.
CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple® today announced that its entire iMac® line now features the new Intel Core 2 Duo processor in every model, delivering up to 50 percent faster performance than the previous iMac. A new 24-inch iMac with a brilliant 24-inch widescreen display joins the 17- and 20-inch models, and iMac prices now start at just $999. Every new iMac includes a built-in iSightâ„¢ video camera for video conferencing out-of-the-box; Apple’s breakthrough Front Row media experience; and iLife® ‘06, the next generation of Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications.
PARIS — Vivendi and Universal Music Group (UMG), 100%
owned by Vivendi, announced today that they have signed with Bertelsmann a
definitive agreement for the purchase of BMG Music Publishing Group for a
total consideration (in enterprise value) of EUR 1.63 billion.
A Special Report by Scott G (The G-Man): Where music meets licensing, there’s money to be made. How much money? “I have synched quite a few thousand songs into productions over the years,” states Peter Jansson of CRC Jianian Co., “and have charged anywhere between US$1.00 and US$250,000 for each one.”
MODENA, Italy — IK Multimedia is pleased to announce that three new Bundle collections of IK’s award-winning music production tools are now shipping: The “Total Studio Bundleâ€, The “Total Effects Bundle†and the “Total Workstation Bundleâ€. Extremely affordable, with savings of up to 67% off the full prices for registered IK Users, the IK Total Bundle Series is the most comprehensive collection of instruments, samples and effects available, suiting all musicians at every level of expertise.
GEAR REVIEW: Gleaming, smooth, player-friendly and finely-crafted guitars are a labor of love for Pat Wilkins, but that’s not how he makes his living. Instead, he’s the master of something that is on every guitar: the finish.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — RED Microphones announced today that they will begin to widen distribution of their products, making them available to brick and mortar retailers as well as other online music and pro audio dealers. This change in distribution strategy is a result of the acquisition of VintageMicrophone.com by California-based equity firm SEMA Capital Group, Inc.
COLUMN: From songwriting to band politics, from rehearsals to touring, and from recording to making money, the Michael W. Dean book $30 MUSIC SCHOOL is superb, succinct and often subversively funny. Scott G thinks it’s worth about a hundred times what you pay for it.
Making money from music online: NARIP and the Hype Council help the advertising, marketing, and recording industries face the facts and expose the fiction – a report by The G-Man.
COLUMN: Jay Flanzbaum wants to change the way every indie band handles touring, promotion, booking, and the management of their careers. His creation is called OnlineGigs and it has the potential to shift the balance in favor of artists who want to do things for themselves.
COLUMN: Audio mastering is widely misunderstood, often mangled, and sometimes mistaken for mixing. It’s the audio step that comes just before manufacturing a CD, and some people would even say it’s a crucial step.
COLUMN: WireonFire is not exactly a record label, but to Earth, Wind & Fire and more than a dozen other artists, it’s not only the next-best-thing, it may be even better. Why? Because WireonFire provides almost all of the same services as a record company, but without the 70-page contracts and the penny-rate royalties.
COLUMN: Sat Bisla, Jeff Blue, Ritch Esra and Perry Watts-Russell have worked with and/or signed artists such as Radiohead, Meredith Brooks, Secret Machines, The Thompson Twins, Linkin Park, Macy Gray, Korn, Dido, Damien Rice and The Chemical Brothers, and they have a lot to say about the current state of the record industry and the […]