Saturday, September 28, 2013

Tony Macalpine In Exclusive WVOX Metal Mayhem Interview This Friday , October 4th, 2013 !

 

psmsalbumcover

Legendary and pioneering guitar great Tony Macalpine will be featured on WVOX's Metal Mayhem show in New York with host Matthew O'Shaughnessy this Friday, October 4th at 9:10pm Eastern exclusively on WVOX.com Worldwide and 1460 AM.

Macalpine will discuss, among other topics of his heralded career, Live In Tokyo, the brilliant and internationally-acclaimed new Eagle Rock release, from Portnoy Sheehan Macalpine Sherinian as Tony will give WVOX listeners and fans an in-depth look into the making of the album and much more.

Live In Tokyo was filmed/recorded on November 14th 2012 at Zepp Tokyo and the 95 minute concert is the first release of material from the Portnoy Sheehan Macalpine Sherinian mega-group and it showcases a wide range of instrumental performances from each of the members' careers and collaborations.

tonysolo2The Springfield, Massachusetts born and raised guitar maestro is one of rock's most versatile players and he first picked up a guitar at the young age of twelve.

During his world-renowned 25-plus year career, Tony Macalpine has produced, written and arranged eleven ground-breaking solo instrumental albums, and unleashed three albums with progressive rockers Planet X as well as music from his jazz-fusion outfit CAB.

Tony Macalpine live on WVOX's Metal Mayhem with Matthew O'Shaughnessy this Friday, October 4th at 9:15pm Eastern only on WVOX.com Worldwide and 1460 AM!

Metal Mayhem - the biggest names in rock, the A-list bands first!

 


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

SONY LEGACY TO RELEASE MILES DAVIS’ THE ORIGINAL MONO RECORDINGS

 

42 - Cover ArtTHE MOST EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF MILES DAVIS'S EARLIEST COLUMBIA ALBUMS, RECORDED 1956 TO 1961 – JAZZ AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE HEARD!

Landmark box set presents nine albums remastered in original, brilliant sound, as they were intended to be heard in the 1950s and ’60s - Available everywhere November 11, 2013, and Online through Columbia/Legacy

Nine of Miles Davis’ earliest albums on Columbia Records, encompassing music that he recorded for the label in monaural sound from 1956 to 1961 (and released from 1957 to 1964), will be issued together on CD for the first time as Miles Davis: The Original Mono Recordings.

This historic box set, comprising nine CDs in mini-LP replica jackets, will be available everywhere November 11, 2013 through Columbia/Legacy, a division of Sony Music Entertain­ment. Pre-order is available at http://smarturl.it/milesmono_amzn.

I have had the privilege to receive a preview release of this fine collection jazz masterpieces and the quality of the mastering is exquisite. Miles Davis exudes a talent that is infinite and is as timeless as this collection. The soft tones and values, the audible clarity is sublime. To hear his work as he did, as he created it to be, is as to be present at the birth of genius, simply breathtaking. I felt as if I was in the studio, witnessing greatness.

On November 29th of this year, in celebration of Record Store Day, Columbia/Legacy will follow up with vinyl mono editions of Kind Of Blue, Miles & Monk At Newport, and Jazz Track—capping a series of recently released mono LPs including ‘Round About Midnight, Miles Ahead, Milestones, Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain, and Someday My Prince Will Come. The re-release of the most significant jazz masterpieces known to the music world is a long awaited joy. Recently there has been a prevalent amount of “lost” recordings found in various family archives or studio vaults, Sony Legacy had lead the charge in recovering many of these timeless pieces and making them available to a public that adores it’s lost but never forgotten greats, artists such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Miles himself are still affecting us now as they did when they lived.

45 - Publicity Photo 7Miles Davis: The Original Mono Recordings is a true landmark collection, with every album newly remastered in 2012-13, from the original analog master tapes. Once again will be able to hear Miles’ early music in mono, the way virtually all popular music was recorded, marketed and intended to be heard in the 1950s and early 1960s. The style of Mono Recording was the norm before the home, broadcast and film stereo era began to develop fully in the mid-’60s, leading to stereo’s all-encompassing takeover by the early ’70s.

Two of the albums included in The Original Mono Recordings are exciting rare editions that have never appeared in any Miles Davis CD collection in the U.S., and have not been generally available for many years.

Over the course of these nine albums, whose principal recording spanned barely a half decade, The Original Mono Recordings presents a clear vision of Miles’ evolution as musician and bandleader, and as a composer graduating from hardbop to modal creations. He was famously signed to Columbia Records by George Avakian in the summer of 1955, after the A&R staff producer witnessed Miles’ showstopping solo on a jam session of “’Round Midnight” at the Newport Jazz Festival.

Taking Avakian seriously, Miles assembled a group around bassist Paul Chambers and drummer “Philly” Joe Jones, with Red Garland on piano and, after several early contenders (Sonny Rollins, Hank Mobley), Philadelphian John Coltrane on tenor saxophone. This lineup cut four LPs’ worth of material in late ’55 and ’56 to satisfy Miles’ contractual obligations to Prestige Records. They also began to record the first Columbia LP, ’Round About Midnight, named for the paraphrased Monk title tune. The LP, produced by Avakian, consisted of jazz and popular standards done in Miles’ inimitable style.

49 - Publicity Photo 3Most significantly, in terms of The Original Mono Recordings, Myers writes, “the word ‘mono’ did not appear on the cover. Instead, the jacket announced that the music inside was ‘360 Degree Sound, Guaranteed High Fidelity.’ Stereo technology wouldn’t be in place at Columbia until 1958, so there was no need to add the word ‘mono’ to delineate a difference. ‘Mono has always been truer to the studio sound and the original intent,’ said Avakian. ‘Mono featured less audio trickery and fewer audio distractions, so you can actually hear the musical conversation between Miles and the other musicians as it occurred in the studio.’”

For the second album, Avakian realized his intention to feature Miles in the presence of a jazz orchestra: horns, trumpets, trombones, bass trombone, tuba, alto sax, bass clarinet, flutes, and clarinets, along with bassist Chambers and drummer Art Taylor. Most significantly, Miles Ahead by Miles Davis + 19 reunited Miles with his late-1940s Birth of the Cool collaborator, arranger Gil Evans. With the exception of the title track, composed by Miles and Evans, the program again consisted of jazz and popular standards done Miles’ way.

Although the third album, Milestones, was recorded in two productive days of sessions in February and March 1958, it proved to be Avakian’s final LP with Miles. It reintroduced the quintet (Coltrane, Garland, Chambers and Jones) along with a new member from Florida, former schoolteacher Julian “Cannonball” Adderley on alto sax.

Some of Miles’ most iconic music is heard on Milestones: the quintet (sextet’s) versions of Jackie McLean’s “Dr. Jekyll,” Dizzy Gillespie’s “Two Bass Hit,” and Monk’s closing “Straight, No Chaser.” At the same time, the album upped the ante of Miles’ originals with two, “Miles” and the 13-minute “Sid’s Ahead,” which hinted at things to come from the inspired young (32-year old) artist.

47 - Publicity Photo 5Two months after the Milestones sessions, the quintet (sextet) was back in the studio for a day of recording with a new Columbia staff producer, Cal Lampley. The session yielded four classics, three of which, due to length, made Side B of Jazz Track: Miles’ original “Fran-Dance,” and two American Songbook standards, “On Green Dolphin Street” and “Stella by Starlight.” (The fourth, “Love for Sale,” running over 11 minutes, is included on Columbia/Legacy’s Kind Of Blue 50th Anniversary sets.) The year before (December 1957), Miles had temporarily disbanded his group and gone to Paris to perform. There he was hired to create a soundtrack for French film director Louis Malle’s suspenseful murder mystery Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (Elevator To the Gallows in the U.S.). Miles and several European jazz musicians improvised the music while seeing the film on a screen. The music, barely 25 minutes, was issued on LP in France in 1958, and was subsequently coupled with the three Lampley tracks on Columbia as the cleverly titled Jazz Track, one of Miles’ most elusive and collectible LPs.

In between, Miles got back together with Gil Evans in July and August 1958, for the jazz orchestral masterpiece, the Gershwins’ Porgy And Bess, the final LP with Lampley. The scene was then set for the March-April 1959 Kind Of Blue sessions, with Columbia's Irving Townsend historically attributed as having overseen the recording, with a slightly revamped quintet (sextet) lineup, as Jones was replaced by Jimmy Cobb on drums, and Garland was replaced on piano by Bill Evans (on “So What,” “Blue In Green,” “All Blues,” and “Flamenco Sketches”) and by Wynton Kelly (“Freddie Freeloader”). The impact of Kind Of Blue, not only on jazz but on popular (even classical) music in general, continues to reverberate. It is part of the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, it is #12 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and it was even honored by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2009, the album’s 50th anniversary.

46 - Publicity Photo 6Kind Of Blue’s closing track, “Flamenco Sketches,” might have hinted at the next project, the jazz orchestral Latin-tinged modal masterwork, Sketches Of Spain, the third of Miles’ collaborations with Gil Evans. Under Columbia’s staff producer Teo Macero (who would remain Miles’ exclusive producer at Columbia through the 1980s), two standards of the Spanish national repertoire, Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez” and de Falla’s Will o’ the Wisp (from “El amor brujo”) were juxtaposed with three Evans originals, “The Pan Piper,” “Saeta” and “Solea.” Myers characterizes the conceptual framework as, “Davis’ piercing, crying solos supported by Evans’ sighing, sophisticated orchestrations that both provoked and mirrored Davis’ lines.”

The quintet lineup was again fine tuned in 1961 for Someday My Prince Will Come, Coltrane’s final Columbia recording with Miles (on the opening title track, from Disney’s Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, and a Miles original, “Teo”). Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley actually doubles with Trane on the title track, but has the tenor chair to himself on the other tracks, Miles originals (“Pfrancing,” “Drad-Dog”), and American Songbook staples “Old Folks” and Johnny Mercer’s closing “I Thought About You.”

Though separated in time by five summers, the Newport Jazz Festival performances by Miles’ sextet in 1958 (Adderley, Coltrane, Evans, Chambers, Cobb), and Thelonious Monk’s quartet in 1963, as heard on Miles And Monk At Newport, are remarkably seamless. As Mark Wilder told Myers, “I originally assumed that this album was going to need the most work to capture the original mono sound. After all, the Davis cuts were recorded in 1958, Monk’s in 1963, and both were recorded outdoors. Surprisingly, though, the master tapes were exactly like the original LP pressing and needed no fine-tuning.”

50 - Publicity Photo 2“For the producers and engineers who toiled on Davis’ albums between 1955 and 1963, mono was considered the purest and most unadulterated recorded expression of the trumpeter’s genius,” Myers writes. “Stereo versions of Davis’ albums weren’t made available until Kind of Blue in August 1959, and even then mono continued to be a priority since stereo LPs were marketed initially only to the small number of upscale consumers with stereo systems.”

The Original Mono Recordings follows in the tradition of the eight-time Grammy Award®-winning Miles Davis Series of multiple-CD box sets that began in 1996. The series culminated in the 2009 box set of 52 mini-LP replica jacketed albums, The Complete Miles Davis Columbia Album Collection, whose contents were all heard in stereo.

The Original Mono Recordings was produced for release by multiple Grammy Award®-winners Steve Berkowitz and mastering engineer Mark Wilder, who have overseen the Miles Davis Series since its inception more than 18 years ago, and the Miles Davis Bootleg Series since it was introduced in 2011.

 


Roeller’s Custom Guitars Create Entire New Line For One Group - Thira

19081_10151258015128542_1675368496_n

FOTA48A

Minneapolis-based Industrial Metal band, Thira, has partnered with Roeller’s Custom Guitars [RCG] to create a signature series guitar and bass, the Caldera. Thira will be playing their signature line exclusively on their upcoming tour under endorsement with RCG and Lace Pickups.

The Caldera will be available as an 8-string fanned fret guitar and a 5-string fretless bass.

You can download Thira’s free EP, The Ascension Construct, at www.thiraband.com.

Their new album, Vein I: Varying States of Decay, will be released this month

Follow Thira on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thiraband

You can also see Thira on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/thiraband

 

 

The Specifications of their signature line are as follows:

 

IMG_3310sPif Pyle‘s Caldera:

  • 8 String, Multi-Scale 27.0-25.5
  • Neck thru design - 24 Fret, Stainless Steel Fret
  • Rock Maple Neck, Swamp Ash Wings, Spalted/ Curly Walnut Top and Head Stock Veneer
  • Hipshot Tuners, Lace Deathbar 5.0 pickup
  • Novax Individual Saddle Bridge, Single Volume, Locking Output Jack, Black Hardware

 

 

IMG_3414sHall Palkovich Caldera:

  • 8 String, Multi-Scale 27.7-25.8
  • Neck thru design - 24 Fret, Stainless Steel Fret
  • Rock Maple Neck and highly figured Curly Walnut body wings
  • Hipshot Tuners, Lace Deathbar 5.0 pickup
  • Novax Individual Saddle Bridge, Single Volume, Locking Output Jack, Black Hardware

 

IMG_4097smallCoz’s Bass:

  • 5 String Fretless Bass
  • Rock Maple Neck, Ebony Finger Board, Bubinga Body Wings and Buckeye Burl Top
  • Lace Deathbar 4.0 at Neck and Bridge
  • Black Gotoh Tuners and fixed Bridge. Dual Volumes, and Locking Output Jack

 

 

 

CalderaPromoTemplateSmall

You can see the entire series from build to the stage at http://roellerscustomguitars.com/thira/

 


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Sorry to keep you waiting, but Say Goodbye to Your Generation

cover_copyBlue Review of Sorry to keep you waiting: a tribute to the methaodones

A collection of artists pay tribute to an unsung voice of our generation

Available on Infested Records – www.infestedrecords.com

Music Album Review by Joseph Timmons: Xombiewoof Magazine

The Methadones, formed in 1993 performed the darkened clubs of suburbia and excited the particles of the minds of America’s disenfranchised youth with lyrics that would make you ponder ones place in the universe. Although the band itself only lasted a few years – 1993 to 2010, it left an indelible make on the flesh of the music world, a punk tattoo that would never be removed.

Infested records offers up a hot serving of” in your face” punk inspired tributary in the form of Sorry to keep you waiting: a tribute to the methaodones and the bands involved have the message of The Methadones engraved in every chord and verse. From the first cover track by the Fairmounts ”Solitude” to “Far Away” by Girlcrush, every band involved covers the music of The Methadones with precision and with the utmost respect. The bands on the album keep the original material intact yet infuse their own styles making the music whole and fresh. With the power of the punk scene imagery and the sense of the messages urgency, this album is a triumph of the devils due to a band that, even in the memories of the most obscure aficionados – gets the green card on the field of life’s rugby match.

With a track listing too infamous to list, this is one for the dock, to have this album is to have the best of an indie label’s force of fame,” kicking butt” and taking names. I have no favorites on this CD, I love ‘em all and have to say, at my venerable age of 47, this album’s energy takes me back to my youth of the 80’s when music was king and it was all about the beat, hey a band with the name “Skunk Muffins” is on this album, you have to have it just for that!

Sorry to keep you waiting: a tribute to the methaodones sounds to be recorded in the raw, no over production and pure musical mastery, keeping with the natural rather than the mechanical, some songs you hear the hollow sound of voice in an empty room, a sense of a despondent soul singing to an empty room or an uncaring heart, others site the power of exposing one’s naked self to the world with the “F-YOU” of individuality, making this a tour of self-expression and an insightful documentary of a generation seeking answers to a senseless worlds questioning.

206067_355403991224589_2032559510_n Infested Records has brought many great acts to the sound systems of the world, and in this compilation of 19 solid and ideologically sinister bands of rascals and tearaways give cause to devour this album with auditory avarice and glamorous gluttony. Get the album, join the chorus, smash something have a Saturday night!

Check out Infested Records on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/infestedrecords

 

 

 

 

Monday, September 23, 2013

Hot New Melodic, Power and Prog Metal!

nmr_logo_NOslogan

Hot New Melodic, Power and Prog Metal!

 

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=523f49ebaf52257c4700123e&u=30475157&v=3&key=7fb6&skey=46cd2960fc&url=http://www.nightmarerecords.com/online-store/altair-lost-eden?utm_medium=email&utm_source=MyNewsletterBuilder&utm_content=#subscriber_id#&utm_campaign=New+from+Metal+Church+T++N+Altair+The+Ragged+Saints++Astrakhan+1411856727&utm_term=

ALTAIR "LOST EDEN"

"Lost In Eden" is European style Melodic Power Metal in pure culture! Classically arranged with speedy guitars, running bass lines, awesome melodies. Well supported by great keyboard work and a vocal performance some others would kill for. Check this one out!

LEARN MORE

 

   

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=523f49ebaf52257c4700123e&u=30475161&v=3&key=8264&skey=46cd2960fc&url=http://www.nightmarerecords.com/online-store/astrakhan-retrospective?utm_medium=email&utm_source=MyNewsletterBuilder&utm_content=#subscriber_id#&utm_campaign=New+from+Metal+Church+T++N+Altair+The+Ragged+Saints++Astrakhan+1411856727&utm_term=

ASTRAKHAN "RETROSPECTIVE"

Incredible songwriting with melodies that won't leave your ears. Paired with classic 70's prog elements, instrumental and vocally mastery of the highest level basted in a consciously earthy production. This album is inspired by the classics, yet exceptionally fresh, making "Retrospective" a true masterpiece for a wide range of Rock/Prog lovers. Highly recommended!

LEARN MORE

 

  http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=523f49ebaf52257c4700123e&u=30475165&v=3&key=67e3&skey=46cd2960fc&url=http://www.nightmarerecords.com/online-store/the-ragged-saints-the-sound-of-breaking-free?utm_medium=email&utm_source=MyNewsletterBuilder&utm_content=#subscriber_id#&utm_campaign=New+from+Metal+Church+T++N+Altair+The+Ragged+Saints++Astrakhan+1411856727&utm_term=

THE RAGGED SAINTS "THE SOUND OF BREAKING FREE"

An entertaining time travel back to the glory 80's, with great catchy melodies, craking guitars and solid rhythms, all packed with an up-to-date sound that doesn't sacrifice the roots or the feeling of one of the greatest musical eras.   It's good, very good!

LEARN MORE

 

 

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=523f49ebaf52257c4700123e&u=30475169&v=3&key=aac7&skey=46cd2960fc&url=http://www.nightmarerecords.com/online-store/metal-church-generation-nothing?utm_medium=email&utm_source=MyNewsletterBuilder&utm_content=#subscriber_id#&utm_campaign=New+from+Metal+Church+T++N+Altair+The+Ragged+Saints++Astrakhan+1411856727&utm_term=

METAL CHURCH "GENERATION NOTHING"

Metal Church "Generation Nothing" marks the bands 10th full length studio release and boasts the return to the band's classic metal sound, says founding member Kurdt Vanderhoof, "It has elements of both the first album and the "The Dark", but still embraces the new sound of the band without chasing the past." A new classic is born!

LEARN MORE

 

   

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=523f49ebaf52257c4700123e&u=30475173&v=3&key=5443&skey=46cd2960fc&url=http://www.nightmarerecords.com/online-store/t-n-slave-to-the-empire?utm_medium=email&utm_source=MyNewsletterBuilder&utm_content=#subscriber_id#&utm_campaign=New+from+Metal+Church+T++N+Altair+The+Ragged+Saints++Astrakhan+1411856727&utm_term=

T&N "SLAVE TO THE EMPIRE"

FEATURING "THE BIG 3" FROM DOKKEN! T&N reunites George Lynch, Jeff Pilson and “Wild” Mick Brown – aka “The Big Three” from Dokken - for this brand new 12 song disk that will surely be referred to as a classic in years to come! Great stuff!

LEARN MORE

 


Todd Rundgren to Receive the Les Paul Award at 29th Annual TEC Awards

 

Sound and music luminaries John Meyer and Hal Blaine to be named to TEC Hall of Fame at ceremony held during 2014 NAMM Show

Legendary musician, groundbreaking record producer and electronic music revolutionary Todd Rundgren will be honored with the prestigious Les Paul Award at the 29th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards. The awards recognize outstanding achievement in professional audio technology and production and will be presented Friday, Jan. 24 at the Anaheim Hilton during the 2014 NAMM Show held in Anaheim, CA.

The Les Paul Award, named for the revolutionary inventor and esteemed musician, is presented annually to honor individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio and music technology. Russ Paul, son of Les Paul, will make the presentation on behalf of the Les Paul Foundation, sponsor of the award. Instituted in 1991, the honor has been granted to such luminaries as Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young and Peter Gabriel.

A personification of creative musical experimentation and mastery, Rundgren often performed multiple tasks on his solo albums - writing, playing, singing, engineering, producing and distributing - and has been a pioneer of interactive and online distribution. Between his solo work and his creative output with his progressive band, Utopia, Rundgren has released more than 25 critically acclaimed albums.

The TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio will also induct two new members to its Hall of Fame. Audio engineer and sound researcher John Meyer co-founded and is CEO of Berkeley’s Meyer Sound Laboratories, Inc. He will be recognized for bringing groundbreaking developments to the design and manufacture of the loudspeaker and for his cutting-edge contributions to sound reinforcement in the performing arts. Legendary session musician Hal Blaine of the Wrecking Crew played drums on more than 5,000 records, TV jingles and film scores. Career highlights include hits for Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys and dozens more.

The TEC Awards ceremony is expected to attract more than 1,000 global manufacturers of audio equipment and software, as well as top music producers, engineers, sound mixers and musical artists. The awards ceremony is now produced as part of the NAMM Foundation. It will be held on the second night of The NAMM Show, one of the world’s largest global music industry trade shows. As it approaches its third decade, the TEC Awards under the auspices of NAMM continues to grow both technically and artistically and has become established as one of the entertainment industry's most important annual events.

 

About The TEC Foundation
The TEC Awards was founded in 1985, and subsequently presented by the
TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, a 501(c)(3) charity devoted to recognizing and furthering excellence in audio, video, music and other communications media arts.

About the NAMM Foundation

The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit organization with the mission of advancing active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs from the international music products industry. In 2013 the TEC Foundation was merged with the NAMM Foundation, the educational and charitable arm of NAMM, presenters of the largest trade show for the music products industry.


Metal Church Vocalist Ronny Munroe Talks About New Album 'Generation Nothing' On WVOX's Metal Mayhem This Friday At 8:10pm Eastern!

 

Metal-Church_pic650

With Metal Church's long-awaited 10th studio album set to be released via Rat Pak Records on October 22nd, Host Matthew O'Shaughnessy will get the exclusive details on 'Generation Nothing', which "has elements of both the first album and 'The Dark', but still embraces the new sound of the band without chasing the past," according to Metal Church.

Born out of the legendary West Coast metal scene in the 80's, Metal Church fast became one of the pioneers and standout talents of the genre.

According to the band, 'Generation Nothing' combines the best elements of the bands early roots with modern day lyrical content and a revived hunger that delivers an electric assault of anthemic and epic metal songs.

A Metal Church world tour is slated for 2014. Ronny Munroe live on Metal Mayhem this Friday, September 27th at 8:10PM EST! 

Metal Mayhem airs every Tuesday from 9-11pm and Friday between 6-10pm on WVOX.com Worldwide and 1460 AM in New York.

image

METAL CHURCH "GENERATION NOTHING"

Metal Church "Generation Nothing" marks the bands 10th full length studio release and boasts the return to the band's classic metal sound, says founding member Kurdt Vanderhoof, "It has elements of both the first album and the "The Dark", but still embraces the new sound of the band without chasing the past." A new classic is born!

LEARN MORE


Sunday, September 22, 2013

Our kickstarter project is live

Check out @josepht1965's Tweet: https://twitter.com/josepht1965/status/381931369699360768

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

SONOR Announces The Release of The “MARTINI” Drum Kit

SONOR – an Industry leader in the finest Drums and Percussion Instruments, used and loved by Artists such as Jojo Mayer, Bradlee Dean and others is a testament to their innovation and dependability. Now SONOR has created another kit that will excite and thrill drummers and percussionists worldwide.

Martini2[3]Following in the footsteps of the extremely successful Safari and Bop drum kits, Sonor announces the launch of the Martini, a new take on the “cocktail kit.” Small in size but mighty in attitude, this little powerhouse will be offered in a gorgeous, retro Emerald Isle turquoise sparkle and include natural-grain “one-of-a kind” finish bass drum hoops.

Martini’s compact poplar shells (bass drum 14” x 12,” rack tom 8”x 8,” floor tom 13” x 10” and a 12” x 5” steel snare) produce bright tone with powerful, full projection and a single tom holder is included to mount the rack tom. Top-quality Sonor fittings and tuning lugs, featuring the TuneSafe system guarantee consistent performance making these drums reliable for pros and hobbyists alike. Martini’s shells are cross-laminated for strength and dependability and top-quality Remo heads are included.

“Today’s working drummers require great sounding kits that are quick to set up, that don’t require tons of space on-stage and that are easy to transport,” said Product Manager Larry Nelson. “We believe Martini combines portability with great sound at an affordable price and we’re very excited to bring it to market.”

Xombiewoof Magazine’s Music Reviewer and Staff Drummer / Percussionist Joseph Timmons took a look at the Martini’s Specs and had this to add: “I loved playing on the Bop kit when it was brought in for Xombiewoof to review; its sound was full and with varied tuning was able to let me play anything I wanted to in any style. Whether it was Jazz, Rock or Metal rhythms, the Bop was magnificent, I am sure the Martini will be the same. I highly recommend you check this kit out. I would also recommend you consider pairing this with the Perfect Balance Bass Drum Pedal, designed by renowned drummer Jojo Mayer and produced by SONOR, it has the flexibility and speed I have yet to see in other pedals, once I used it I have never gone back to my old pedal, it’s reflexive speed is unrivaled. I will definitely add the Martini to my collection of SONOR Drums”

The Martini Shell Pack is brand new and available through your local retailers, for more information; please go to www.sonorusa.com to locate a retailer near you for pricing. We also advise you visit SONOR at http://www.sonor.com to see other new and exciting Drum Kits, Percussion Instruments and Accessories for your Musical Pleasures.

 


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

PrimeVibe: New Technology That Makes Music Sound Natural Vintage

 

524891_578205615536868_2110222220_nNo industry has more innovation on a daily basis than the Music Industry, and whether it is in the recording studio or in live performance, it all begins with the Musical Instruments that are played. With this, there is a constant drive to find the purest sound an instrument can produce, and there have been some great flops as music is over sampled and over produce, yet there has been one innovation in recent years that is astounding, and it is named primeVibe.

A small family business based upon the vision of a musician with the foresight to see what could be rather than what was has created a device that uses sound waves to “prime” an instrument to create a softer and richer, more natural tone and sound. This device, known as primeVibe, can be used on your most favored instrument, or new instrument, giving it the warmth and tone that is unequaled by remixing or sampling.

our first endorser, Peter Czajer of Bohema

Ronny North

 

Artists ranging from unsigned to signed musicians such as International touring guitarist Peter Czajer of the group Bohemia to the legendary Californian Metal Guitarist Ronny North, endorse PrimeVibe with enthusiasm and complete trust. primeVibe is creating a new industry standard, and until now, has been a well-guarded secret, Xombiewoof Magazine has the “Tech-Specs” and the story of a technological vision become reality.

 

 

The primeVibe - Product Technical Specifications: 534244_641412602549502_678560100_n

· Stereo 7 watt per channel amp and Amp has blue power indicator LED

· Illustrated instruction manual included

· Amp speaker terminals on rear: spring type

· Transducer wire length approximately 1 meter

· Combination power/continuously variable volume control

· Two transducers, each 55mm x 17mm (diameter x height)

· High gloss finish for easy cleaning with clean, dry, soft cloth

· Switching power supply with quick-release US and European style plugs

· Amp Dimensions: 1.13 x 3.94 x 4.2 inches…28.7 x 100 x 106.8 mm

· The contact surface on the transducer underside and the outer jacket of the transducer wire leads are smooth high-density rubber with some silicone content.  Owners of high-end instruments with nitrocellulose finish can click HERE for pertinent information.  Vinyl is caustic on instrument finish and is not employed on the transducer underside or the outer wire jacket. When relocating transducers on the instrument elevate them rather than drag or slide them.  Julian Fordham, PhD. in Materials Science at then-NXT (now Hi-Wave Technologies) was the team leader for PrimeVibe research and design.  Master Luthier Ryan Thorell consulted on the design and materials employed in PrimeVibe.

 

jim2Now, let’s talk with the visionary mind behind primeVibe, James Romeyn whom has the casual demeanor of a new best friend and would be referred to as simply “Jimbo”

Joseph Timmons: Jimbo, Thank you for taking time to work with us on this product article and for being such an interesting person to know.

Jimbo: Thank you for doing this article for us, we are happy to do this!

Q: What exactly is PrimeVibe, and how does it work?

Jimbo: “PrimeVibe warms up tone wood, it works on guitars, violins, bass guitars, harmonicas, drums, and ukes, just about any instrument made of wood except pianos, which are too big to service. The longer you play an instrument the warmer the tones. This is due to the seasoning of the tone wood. PrimeVibe seasons tone wood fast. Guitars take only 4 days to sound “vintage”.”

Q: Is this a “Family Based Business”, how big is your company?

Jimbo: “My wife, Debra, and I are the only full time workers at our UT location, so we are a “mom and pop” business. We take orders, provide customer service, package kits and ship them. We also handle promotions thru social media.”

“We also have sales people and a great webpage designer. Our sales reps are musicians. Our rep for Singapore, China and Thailand is a guitarist. Our distributor to Europe and Russia is a guitarist and plays violin and mandolin. And our webpage designer is a great bass guitarist! “

Q: Does the process cause any permanent changes to the structure of the Guitar or Instrument?

Jimbo: “No - We hired highly educated engineers to work on the primeVibe prototype. The transducers are harmless when properly used and the instruction manual clearly illustrates how to season various instruments. We also encourage our customers to contact us if they have any questions.”

Q: What was the initial idea for PrimeVibe, when did you begin?

Jimbo: “After searching for the “perfect” guitar for 3 years I ordered a custom guitar. It took the builder over 10 months to deliver it. I opened the case and saw that it was gorgeous. But when I strummed it, OH, Man! It sounded stiff, lacked dynamics, and the wood needed seasoning. “

“I had waited nearly four years for my guitar; I didn’t want to wait 6 more years for the wood to sound good! I found some light weight NXT transducers. They were interesting to me because unlike regular speakers which move air particles the NXT speakers pumped musical vibrations right into the wood so they turned my new acoustic guitar into a speaker box and music clearly played from my guitar.”

“The transducers worked, but they were not efficient and there were several issues that I felt I could eliminate with proper design. I knew I could tweak them for the specific application of seasoning tone wood so I called NXT and asked them if I could license their technology and incorporate my designs for this specific purpose. They sent a project manager, Martin Roberts to Utah from California. He, Debra and I went to Marie Calendar’s Restaurant in Salt Lake City and hashed out the initial details for what is now primeVibe. That meeting took place in March of 2010.”

1150326_641014905922605_1067953260_nQ: Jimbo, during our initial call, we discussed “Lignin”, is this a material in all wood based instruments, and how does it differ from instrument to instrument?

Jimbo: “Yes, I remember the discussion very clearly and it’s great that you understood everything right off the bat. Your readers could look at some wood and see that there are hard winter lines (thick) and soft summer lines (thin) in all wood. In between those lines is a plant substance called Lignin. When wood is not warmed or “seasoned” it sounds tight. Stressed Lignin is softened by musical vibration and warm wood sounds pleasant, engaging, and more harmonious to the ear. All tonewood has lignin and all tone wood sounds better the more it is excited by music.”

Q: Presuming there is a noticeable change in tone and texture of sound and is the effects long lasting or is regular treatments needed?

Jimbo: “It is long lasting, however, if a musician seasons an instrument and then puts it away for say a year he’ll want to re-season it because the wood, lignin will become tight without vibration. A store in Thailand sells primeVibe kits along with guitars to schools. Before concerts the music teachers prime the guitars. I think that if a musician has a gig and wants to make sure his instrument sounds extraordinarily good he should season it. Our first customer, Mr. Muir, is a professional musician playing in Hong Kong. He seasoned his main guitar, a Gibson Roy Schmeck Reissue played "two and a half hours per day" and he heard big improvements.”

Q: You had mentioned the origins of the technology as being from an old military concept, can you give us the details and was it difficult to convert to your products desired outcome?

Jimbo: “During the Cold War, spies used "bugs" (microphones) to listen to conversations. The US invented technology to thwart the eavesdropping. They invented highly specialized transducers that play louder when contacting a solid surface than exciting only the atmosphere (the normal job for regular loudspeakers). They attached the special transducers to the walls of hotel rooms and other places requiring privacy.  Music was pumped into the walls so the bugs picked up musical sound instead of conversations.”

“Later, NXT (now HiWave Technologies) refined their "bending wave" technology and were granted 375 international patents.  Now we use that same technology to “prime” tone wood!” “It was difficult to iron out the details and it took several months of planning, including consulting with local Master Luther Ryan Thorell.”

pV on Chad_s drumQ: I am a Drummer, and know nothing about Guitars, yet I was able to grasp the importance of this unit and what it offers. Given the scientific nature of PrimeVibe, have you come across anyone that just does not understand the concept?

Jimbo: “Yes - Our friends and family looked blankly at us when we told them about primeVibe. When we finally had the kits in our hands we rented an old mansion in Logan, UT near a large theater. We were hoping to create interest in PrimeVibe.

“The mansion had many rooms and we displayed primeVibe working on my guitars. Some friends and family went to the show and finally got excited about our PV kits. One nephew found an attic in the old place where the owners stored drums. He kept bringing us drums to prime. It was great! We primed every drum in the stash and put them back into the attic.”

Q: What are your personal experiences in Music, and was there a personal driving factor in your desire to create this revolutionary product that has impressed so many musicians?

Jimbo: “Thank you for asking this question. I play some guitar, mainly acoustic. I’m not a professional by any means but I’ll volunteer to play at a party or musical show, say at a school play or church music night. I love perfect sound. Over the years I’ve tried very hard to perfect reproduced music in friend's homes by building speakers and trying to match them with a "perfect" amp, pre-amp, musical source and room acoustic treatment.  I have always wanted music to sound as good as it possibly can.” 

“My music and audio history goes back to my first guitar age 9, played in a grammar school band (Pall Bearers, perhaps you've not heard of them?), studied synthesizer with Dr. Patrick Gleeson one of the top two analog synthesizer musicians in the world at that time. I was an assistant engineer at Sausalito Record Plant, where I worked with Roy Buchanan, Tower of Power, and New Riders of the Purple Sage. I gave guitar lessons, etc.”

“I now make and sell a world-class five piece Distributed-EQ Bass Reflex Array (DEBRA subwoofer system) for home or studio named after my wife which can be found at the following Link- : http://jamesromeyn.com, and I co-designed a new two-piece loudspeaker system with Duke LeJeune based on my own Patent-Pending radiation pattern, found at http://www.audiocircle.com

Q: Overall, what is your goal, to see your device used in all applications or performance by all musicians, or by a distinct few that want the best sound from their instrument?

Jimbo: “Our customers are musicians and luthiers and music store owners. Musicians buy kits because they care a great deal about their audience. Whether playing for a single person or thousands of people musicians who want to sound their absolute best will purchase a kit for their audience.”

primeVibe red“So we are excited about all our customers, a 16 year old music student excites us because he gets the concept. A hard rock guitarist excites us because Wow! He’s an awesome guitarist, a nice guy and loves his kit! A 55 year old guitarist from the UK excites us because our kit is priming a guitar in a little cottage in England! A huge music store in Thailand excites us because Wow! They are selling to schools! We are thrilled with all our customers! “

Q: Considering the artists that use and endorse PrimeVibe, do you feel that your dream has been realized, or do you feel you have a long way to go?

1234830_659407867416642_1948292003_nJimbo: “The answer is both. Our dream has been realized. When Peter from Bohema, a popular and award winning rock band in Poland, wrote us and said he wanted to endorse primeVibe we were speechless. We kept playing his You Tube videos and we just loved Peter. He writes great songs, he’s versatile, he’s professional and he’s a nice guy. He was our first endorser. Then more people contacted us, and when doors opened for us to contact musicians and people in the luthier industry, we did.”

“We are extremely happy with our endorsers and we believe we will likely have more endorsers in the future.”

Q: Where can our readers find PrimeVibe in either retail or online venues?

Jimbo: “They can visit us at prime-vibe.com, we have a dealer's page there and they can order directly from us.  We will also have kits available at Amazon.com in mid October thru January of 2014. If your readers drop us a line at info@prime-vibe.com and mention that they heard of us through this article we will offer them free shipping and tell them how they can order a kit using Pay Pal.”