McDowell Mountain Music Festival

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CRAS students do it outside! Last month there was a 3 day long music festival, and while the musical content was provided by local and national bands such as Mergence, Dry River Yacht Club,  Umphrey’s McGee, The Roots, The Shins, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Les Claypool, the engineering side of things definitely needed a hand.

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Thankfully CRAS instructor Paul Richards had a connection and was able to round up some current CRAS students to go and get some real experience! James Berish, Dan Beattie, Michael Benjamin, Cameron Crowson, Tom Chapman, Porter McComas, Nat Boyer, DJ Grace, Josh Aune, Jesse Paremski, Mo Obenauf, Max Bylin, Dylan Gette-King, Owen Koslawy, and Travis Durgan all volunteered to help set up and run the shows.

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Between the major acts, local acts were allowed to get some stage time, and all their sound was controlled by CRAS grad Brian Stubblefield. CRAS instructor Jason Robey also assisted in running and recording the “after hours” show that Orgone put on at the Crescent Ballrom.

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Aside from just the music production aspect of it, they wanted to have audio and visual recordings, resulting in 774 GB of video, and 400 GB of audio, not to mention thousands of pictures. There were roughly 5,000 people in attendance for each day of the festival.

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Signals were split as part of a 3-way stage splitter that fed a recording snake underneath the stage. That was then run to the recording rig in a tent behind and to the side of the stage. Recording was done to four Alesis HD24’s multi-track hard disk recorders, set up as two 48-track systems for redundancy. Front end preamps included API, Neve, Millennia, and True Systems.

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Instructor Spotlight: Jay Phillips on Tour Part 3

Continuing the series on our instructor Jay Phillips on Tour.

You can check out the previous post here.

March 25, 2013

The Milestone (Charlotte, NC). This is the epitome of a punk rock venue. This venue has been around for more than 40 years. They still have graffiti from when Bad Brains played there and spray painted their band name on the wall. Stickers line the stage, walls, bathroom, etc. Everywhere you look is spray paint and stickers.

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This was a Monday night and a last minute show though, so the turnout wasn’t great, but the audio engineer definitely knew what he was doing. The on-stage sound was amazing. We rocked the house as hard as any other show on this tour and had a great time.

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The console was an Allen & Heath and most of the outboard gear was Peavey.  There was a DBX 166A in the rack which is a GREAT compressor for punk rock.

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March 26, 2013

The Ultimate Basement (Spindale, NC). This place could have been better. For all of you aspiring audio engineers out there, this is one place you could get a gig if you needed to. The sound here was flat out HORRIBLE. Not that I advocate moving to Spindale, NC, but if you’re in the area you could probably do a better job than the engineer here. At first all I could hear was vocals. When I asked for way more bass and a little guitar I got a little bit of crunchy bass.  Yay.

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They had Yamaha and Peavey consoles and I don’t remember the outboard gear. This was our last show with Triple Stitch since the 3-27 and 3-28 shows fell through. Since this was the last show with them we wanted to have a lot of fun with Triple Stitch. During their set I got Nate (FBS Bassist) to distract their merch guy while I took their flag from the merch booth.

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I then ran around the venue and on stage with it. After that Nate took their bat (not one night went by in which we did not steal their bat) and played it like a guitar on stage.

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Instructor Spotlight: Jay Phillips on Tour Part 2

Continuing on his endeavor through the midwest, here’s Jay’s next set of tales.

You can catch up on the previous post here.

March 17, 2013

Nashville (St. Paddy’s Day) Foobar: I got to see a few CRAS Alumni at this show. Rico Alvarez and Caleb Casey showed up.

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This was an amazing show from start to finish. All of the bands were great (it was an all punk show) and the crowd loved it. The bar was giving out free merchandise (shirt pictured).

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The audio engineer knew what he was doing and I recognized it even before any audio was run. He was on a ladder troubleshooting the lights. I ended up talking to him and he went to school for audio engineering in the DC area. He was familiar with CRAS due to all of our magazine ads.

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March 18, 2013

We’ve got a few days off so we’re staying in the Nashville area. One of the good things to do on tour is to eat local cuisine. We got some spicy chicken.

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The guys we’re touring with (Triple Stitch) from Minnesota were crying and all red from the spicy chicken. Living in the Southwest gave me an unfair advantage apparently. I finished the chicken with no problems other than a slightly runny nose.

March 22, 2013

We played in a skate park in Jackson, MS. The band we’re on the road with (Triple Stitch) has this baseball bat they put out at their merch table.

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Every night it ends up getting stolen (mostly by us). They also have some grenades that usually end up with the pins getting pulled.  They sometimes end up missing as well.

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During Triple Stitches set Josh (Guitarist of FBS) decided he wanted to wear one of the rental helmets at the skate park.  It seemed like a good picture. The kids were dancing pretty well at this show, so I got a nice picture of that.  No picture of the “PA” here because I forgot, but it was just a 6 channel board.  I think it was a Behringer, but I’m not sure.

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March 23, 2013

Squeaky Lizard (Ocean Springs, MS).  This was a rather small show with a small turnout.  The guy running sound said he used to work at a TV station. I don’t know which one, but he kind of discredited himself when I saw his “Bucket O’ Mics”.

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Not that he called it a bucket o’ mics, but that’s exactly what it was.  The stage was kind of small and the last band most definitely turned the whole show into a competition…  of who could get the most drunk.  Their drummer won.

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It was a cool little venue and we got hooked up with a crew called the “Plug Uglies”.  They have several chapters in the south, one of which was in Columbus, GA which brings us to…

March 24, 2013

Plug House (Columbus, GA). We played a show in a warehouse called the Plug House. It’s rented out by the Plug Uglies and they’ve turned it into a venue.

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It was a cool little place and we had a great time here. I’m actually typing this from a loft in the warehouse. They had severalbeds and couches set up upstairs in this loft and we stayed here last night. We actually got paid BEFORE the show here which almost NEVER happens.

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There was a vocal PA (Peavey) set up and a decent stage.  I’ve also included a picture of a vital requirement of touring; deodorant.  If you’re lucky you can shower every day.  If not, deodorant and A LOT of it!

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Instructor Spotlight: Jay Phillips on Tour

There is an old adage that goes something along the lines of “Those who cannot do, teach”. That certainly does not apply to our instructors here at the Conservatory. All of our instructors do teach for their day job, but they are all involved in some facet of the audio industry outside of the school. Some are in bands, some run live sound for local venues, some manage studios, and some go on tour!

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Here’s a little story about one of our instructors. Jay teaches digital audio classes, synchronization classes, C|24 hands-on classes, as well as various other things around here. Recently he got a chance to go on tour and drum for his band Fight Before Surrender. Here’s a little insight to his life on the road.

March 15, 2013

Buckland Ohio was our kickoff show. We had a decent turnout of around 130 people. While I’m not touring as an audio engineer this time, the guy who was running sound for the show had just bought his gear 2 weeks before.

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I ended up running sound for the show and giving the guy a few pointers. During one band’s set they made it clear they wanted a great deal of vocals in their monitor wedges.  I told them I’d do what I could because we were having issues with feedback (it was in a gym) and the kid tried to tell me how to eliminate the feedback by rolling off all the highs. I ended up stepping in and fixing the feedback problem for him correctly. They sounded good (as far as their audio was concerned) but in hindsight I should have just rolled off all of their highs so they’d have horribly muddy vocals. Lucky for them I’m a nice guy. It was an amazing show.

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March 16, 2013

We played in Somerset, Kentucky.

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This was a poorly run show all around that was promoted poorly and had a very bad turnout with horrible sound. It was in a theater (obviously designed/built to sound good) and all I could hear was the low end of the bass and that was coming from the actual cab. Horrible monitor mixes despite SEVERAL requests for more bass, more guitar and at least a little bit of vocals. After the show the engineer came backstage and praised our performances and said “If you ever need an audio engineer let me know”.

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I bit my tongue and pursed my lip as the guitarist of the band I’m touring with looked at me to see my reaction. It was great. The drive to the show was gloomy and the people we stayed with have a pet boa.

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Less Noise, More Soul: The Search for Balance in the Art, Technology and Commerce of Music

Two of our instructors at CRAS are now published authors, having contributed to the new book;

“Less Noise, More Soul: The Search for Balance in the Art, Technology and Commerce of Music” by David Flittner

Both Kevin Becka and Bobby Frasier have contributed to the text, along side industry veterans Bob Ludwig and Adam Ayan of Gateway Mastering, Will Ackerman of Windham Hill Records, and world renown session drummer Kenny Aronoff, to name a few. This excerpt from the publishers explains the concept of the book:

The digital revolution has enabled the creation and distribution of music in ways previously unimagined. Paradoxically, it has also made possible better and better recordings of less and less substance. Artists, engineers and producers have begun to raise questions about the balance between the profoundly human undertaking that is the creation of music and the ever-more-antiseptic means by which it is translated into recordings. “Less Noise, More Soul: The Search for Balance in the Art, Technology, and Commerce of Music” brings together original essays by a select group of industry professionals, many of them award winners, who share a wealth of experience, passion, and insight into where popular music has been, where it currently finds itself, and where it’s going. The book is designed to be a portable vehicle for generating discussion: not too long, and replete with the poignant, thought-provoking commentary of many brand-name players in the industry. Perfect for the office or the college classroom, “Less Noise” will enhance the understanding of music as a medium and a business for students and artists to producers and other industry professionals. 

 Less Noise, More Soul: The Search for Balance in the Art, Technology and Commerce of Music

Congratulations to both Mr. Becka and Mr. Frasier in their recognition as industry professionals, and their continued contributions to the professional audio industries! You can find this book on Amazon by clicking here!

CRAS Music Theory Clinic

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The CRAS teaches all things necessary to be a great engineer including the ability to speak the language of music. While you don’t have to be a  virtuoso to record audio, it definitely helps to be able to converse with the artist on both creative and musical levels. CRAS instructor and author Brian Burrill regularly holds Music Theory Clinics for any student interested in upping their skills. The CRAS’ also sponsors other extracurricular clinics including mic, preamp and processor builds as well as workshops and field trips for AES student chapter members.

CRAS Instructors Travel to Teach

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This month two Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) instructors headed in different directions to share their knowledge as guest instructors at special training events.

Sound Reinforcement department head Keith Morris headed east to St. Louis to join 6 time TEC award winning live sound engineer Robert Scovill for The Complete Front of House Engineer seminar and workshop.  Keith led attendees through the fundamentals of the industry standard Smaart audio analysis software.

Digital Dept. head Robert Brock headed west to sunny California to deliver a day long immersive training on Apple’s Logic Pro 9.  The event was held in Bob Clearmountain’s private Berkeley Street Studio located within Apogee Electronic’s headquarters in Santa Monica.  Attendees included nearly all of Apogee’s employee’s as well as invited friends of Apogee.

CRAS offers certifications on both Smaart and Logic Pro as part of enrollment in its Master Recording Program II curriculum.

Meet Our Gamer

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photo caption: l to r, Composer Jack Wall, Michel Henein and impressario Tommy Tallarico of VGL

Michel Henein will tell you unabashedly that he is a game geek. He loves to play, and especially work on the production end, making custom interactive audio work within a game engine. His background is impressive, having worked with Academy Award winning composer Hans Zimmer at Media Ventures, and Rainbow Studios in Arizona where he was on the team for the Cars game.

In one short year at the Conservatory, Michel has been instrumental in the development of the Conservatory’s game audio classes and most recently, worked with Audiokinetic on creating a professional curriculum for game audio producers. Audiokinetic is the company responsible for the Wwise pipeline solution for game audio, the app used exclusively by the Conservatory in all their programs. If you’re at the upcoming Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco (March 5-10), you can meet Michel in the Audiokinetic booth where he will be teaching Wwise.

You can read Michel’s work in the March 2007 issue of Mix magazine where he wrote features on Game Audio Integration and the Video Games Live show that has been touring the world.

Instructa Down Unda

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photo caption: CRAS instructor Robert Brock in Sydney Australia

Conservatory instructors are experts in their field. For instance, Robert Brock is a certified Apple Logic Pro trainer who travels around the world to train others to teach Logic. He also helped write the definitive text on the popular Apple DAW, Apple Pro Training Series: Logic Pro 6 with Martin Sitter. Other CRAS instructor’s with world-class experience include Keith Morris who traveled to Moscow to mix live sound for the UK pop star Jem, and Kevin Becka, who is technical editor of Mix magazine. Other teacher’s with interesting and varied backgrounds include Chris Bailey who is an independent film maker, Michel Henein who has his own game production company, Clifton Batchelor who is a lawyer, John Berry who has composed over 300 published works and Grammy winner Jeff Thomas who is an independent recording engineer.

Workin’ With A Legend

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: Conservatory tech Dale Epperson in studio with audio legend Les Paul

Usually, having a “past” is a bad thing, but for CRAS tech Dale Epperson, it’s an impressive thing. Dale has a history of work with guitarist and inventor Les Paul. Over the years, he’s worked in Les’s home studio, keeping it running in top condition. Les’s career has spanned over 70 years (he’s currently 92!), and his contributions to audio are impressive. For one, he invented the multi-track recorder and the first solid body guitar which became the Gibson Les Paul and is still used today by top guitarists all over the globe. Les plays regular monday gigs in New York’s Iridium night club and tinker’s in his home studio which contains most of the original gear he used to make hits in the 50s. There have even been a few CRAS students who have interned with the legend.