March 2017 MSP Audio Geeks meetup

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Apologies for the delay on this announcement and for the short notice! March's MSP Audio Geeks meetup is this Tuesday, March 14th at 9:30am. Please note the morning time. With thanks to James M. Davis of Cade Michaels for assistance in coordinating, we will be touring the Showplace ICON Theatre in St. Louis Park. Scott VanDoren, Projection Presentation Analyst, will be our host and tour guide.

The tour will focus primarily on the Dolby® ATMOS™ system but you are welcome to ask any questions during the tour.

About the theatre:
"Founded in 1909 with a single storefront nickelodeon, Chicago-based Kerasotes ShowPlace Theatres introduced a "new era of moviegoing" with its ShowPlace ICON Theatres in Chicago and Minneapolis. Managed by third generation family, Tony and Dean Kerasotes, the Company plans to debut ShowPlace ICON Theatres in additional major U.S. markets.

In addition to projection and visual enhancements, select ICONX presentations will also feature Dolby® ATMOS™; upwards of 60 individually powered QSC Speakers; and up to 40 QSC Digital Amplifiers, creating more than 100,000 watts of audio power. Dolby® ATMOS™ enables sound to be placed anywhere in the auditorium, delivering a unique and compelling experience with natural and lifelike soundscapes, surpassing anything else currently available in theatres.

This event is open to everyone. Invite your friends and join us for a morning of audio geekery! Space is limited to 20 people so please RSVP to mspaudiogeeks at gmail dot com.

Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Time: 9:30am (yep, it's really in the morning!)
Location: Showplace ICON Theatre
1625 West End Boulevard
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
612-568-0375
showplaceicon.com
Click here for a Google map
Metro Transit: Showplace ICON Theatre is accessible via local bus route #9. Please visit metrotransit.org for more information.

Audio Society of MN

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

March's ASM meeting is on Tuesday, March 21st. The topic is Streaming Madness. From the website: "In the past few years, all the stars have aligned to provide true HRA or High Resolution Audio streaming into your home, car, or pocket mobile device. This portable, better-than-CD quality used to be limited to writable discs or thumb drives, both with a fixed selection of songs. 

Now, millions of songs are at our Internet connected beck and call!

Please join us at the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting in St. Louis Park for an evening of in depth discussion and listening. Attendance is free for all, and light refreshments will be on hand. The presentation begins at 7:00 PM, and, as always we encourage you to join us at 6:30 for more casual conversation."

Refreshments are served; guests, visitors, and new members are welcome to attend.

Join: Individuals may join the ASM at any time by paying the annual dues of $25 at any meeting. Club dues for those who join after our December break are just $15.

To find out more, check out their website at audiomn.org or their Facebook page at facebook.com/audiosocietyofmn.

Professional Music Business Advice meetup

James M. Davis, of Cade Michaels Management and Consulting, has been organizing monthly events for the Professional Music Business Advice Meetup group. The next event is on Thursday, March 30, 2017 at 7pm. The topic is Professional Email and Email Signatures. This will be a free webinar, broadcasting live from sunny Los Angeles.

The webinar will focus on S.N.I.F.F. - The 5 things

• Subject Line - What are we talking about?
• No fluff - Get to the point as quickly as possible.
• Information - EPK link. If you don't have an EPK, get one.
• Friendly Greeting - Hi, Good morning.
• Friendly Email Signature - Include contact info here as well.

About the Professional Music Business Advice group: "This group meets once a month to discuss all the business obstacles that face talented musicians. More than a conversation, this group focusses on solving issues and helping artists/music professionals develop their careers. Hosted by a professional Music Manager with 20+ years experience in the music business."

You must RSVP here to receive the webinar link.

Date: Thursday, March 30, 2017
Time: 7pm
Location: Online
Click here to RSVP

Job Postings

• Third Coast Festival is hiring a Managing Director and interns. Read the job and duty description here.
• Nissan Motor Company is hiring an audio / IT engineer. The job is for their Farmington Hills, MI location. For more information, see the post on LinkedIn.

Are we missing a job listing? Let us know via email at mspaudiogeeks at gmail dot com.

Cool stuff from around the web

• 31 Women in Audio
  To celebrate Women's History Month Mix Messiah Productions is highlighting a woman in audio every day for the month of March. You can follow along at mixmessiahproductions.blogspot.com.
• How soundproofing works
  Acoustic Geometry has released a lot of cool videos about how audio and treatment work. One of their recent videos features a cool way to understand soundproofing.
  
• Game Audio Scripting
  A Sound Effect has been posting a lot of cool stuff on their blog lately. One post that caught our eye talks about game audio scripting. You can read the part 1 here.
• In a room with Radiohead
  Adam Thorpe, a poet, author, and friend of Colin Greenwood, offers a glimpse inside Radiohead's recording process for the most recent album A Moon Shaped Pool. Read about it here.
• 10-hour Moog playlist
  Via Boing Boing: Spotify user xeroxboy has put together a 10-hour playlist of Moog music. Take a listen!
• 360° Virtual Tour - Welcome to 1979
  If you haven't had a chance to head down to Nashville to check out Welcome to 1979, you can now see the space virtually with this Google Street View-style tour. Check it out here.
• Isolated vocal tracks
  We came across this cool list of isolated vocal tracks. We hope you enjoy listening!
• Raspberry Pi LED record-finder
  We came across this great idea to make finding a record quick & easy. And it makes a cool LED display to boot! Check it out here.
• Behind the Scenes at The Current studios
  The Current recently released a fun sneak peak behind the curtain of their live sessions, featuring some of your fellow audio geeks!
  "What makes the live sessions at The Current sound as good as they do? Take a peek behind the scenes with four of the people who make a live session sound as amazing as your favorite album and as effortless as a walk in the park."
  

Industry Events

Designing Sound Event Calendar

Are you looking for other events locally, nationally, and regionally that you don't see listed here? Check out the Designing Sound events calendar that lists all kinds of audio geek events.

AXPONA

AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) is the defining high-end consumer audio show in the United States. The three day experience features multiple hotel floors packed with listening rooms, exhibit floors, seminars and live musical performances. Whether you’re a serious audiophile, a new comer to high-end audio or simply a music lover, you’ll find everything you need to immerse yourself in your favorite sounds.

The event features over 110 high fidelity listening rooms, providing guests the enviable opportunity to experience the newest technology in high-end consumer audio products. Attendees are encouraged to go from room to room and sit, listen and compare the various systems. The Marketplace and Ear Gear Expo play host to thousands of products and accessories from cables to headphones to LPs and SACDs.

NAB Show

The NAB Show is the world’s largest video, audio and broadcast event serving the digital media and entertainment industries. It's your most comprehensive resource for next-generation tools to develop, manage and deliver content across all platforms. Join an international community of content professionals at this must-attend event, and future-proof your career and business.

Moogfest

Moogfest is the synthesis of music, art and technology. Since 2004, Moogfest has brought together artists, futurist thinkers, inventors, entrepreneurs, designers, engineers, scientists, and musicians.

By day, Moogfest is a platform for conversation and experimentation. This mind-expanding conference attracts creative and technology professionals for three days of participatory programming in Durham, North Carolina. Each evening, Moogfest presents cutting edge music in venues throughout the city. Performing artists include early pioneers in electronic music, alongside pop and avant garde experimentalists of today.

Summer NAMM

Showcasing a complete product landscape set within one of America’s most musical cities—Nashville, Tennessee—Summer NAMM celebrates the local community music store and honors our industry’s Top 100 Dealers. Enjoy star-studded events and the lure of the Nashville night life while making connections that will last a lifetime.

143rd AES International Convention

Do your interests or work include Broadcast and Streaming, Networked Audio, Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality, Live Sound, Studio Recording, Home Recording, Music Production, Game Audio, Sound for Picture or Product Development? The 143rd Audio Engineering Society International Convention has you covered in one exclusively end-user focused event.

AES New York 2017 will be collocated with the independent NAB Show New York 2017 event. In an adjacent exhibition hall, NAB Show New York exhibitors will be on hand with the latest video and distribution hardware and related sessions. Your Exhibits-Plus or All Access AES New York registration includes access to both exhibition halls.

Mpls-St. Paul Studio Nerds Facebook group

Audio geek discussions galore!

If you are looking for another online outlet for meeting others in the audio world, check out the Mpls-St. Paul Studio Nerds Facebook group.

From the group's description:
"This is a space for all the Mpls-St. Paul folk (current or former) who spend a lot of time in the studio. This is a place for engineers, producers, songwriters, and session guys and gals to talk gear, share techniques, encourage each other, network, and collaborate."

If you're not yet a member, simply request to join the group and an admin will add you. With 500 people in the group, it's a great place to share ideas, learn from each other, and meet new people.

AES Upper Midwest

Pink Noise

Pink Noise is a cool online magazine brought to you by editors Catherine Vericolli and Allen Farmelo. It features interviews, technical papers, essays, and more. We think you should check it out!

Peruse their website at pinknoisemag.com, like them on Facebook: facebook.com/pinknoisemag, and follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/PinkNoiseMag.

Audio Geek Podcasts

Here's a small selection of audio podcasts we think you might enjoy. If you've got a suggestion, feel free to send it our way!

Tape Op Podcast

The beloved recording magazine Tape Op has started a podcast series. The first episode is an interview with Brian Eno. Take a listen on the website here.

Dolby Institute Podcast Series

The Dolby Institute has released a few seasons of really cool interviews with various sound artists like Randy Thom, Anna Behlmer, Jad Abumrad, and Walter Murch. You can check it out on their website here.

Recording Studio Rockstars

Many of you know fellow audio geek Chris Mara as the owner of Welcome to 1979 in Nashville, TN. He was recently featured on the Recording Studio Rockstars podcast. Vinyl mastering engineer Cameron Henry, also of Welcome to 1979, was also interviewed. You can check out Chris's episode here and Cameron's episode here.

Viny Emergency

If you're into vinyl, then you should check out Vinyl Emergency, a new podcast hosted by Jim Hanke. He and "a wide range of guests discuss vinyl records as well as the lives of those who collect, create or commemorate them."

You can subscribe in iTunes here, and in other RSS readers here.

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