April 2017 MSP Audio Geeks meetup

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

April's MSP Audio Geeks meetup is on Tuesday, April 25th at 7pm. John Calder of Acoustic Geometry will be our host. We’ll have a tour of the Acoustical Surfaces, Inc. manufacturing and warehouse areas, then head to the main office for a short presentation and Q&A session for attendees' acoustical issues. Snacks and beverages will be provided!

A bit about ASI Brands: Acoustical Surfaces, Architectural Surfaces, Acoustigreen, Acoustic Geometry
The strength of ASI is our group of professionals who bring product application knowledge and installation experience to every situation. We offer a wide range of products that help designers achieve the desired control of sound, noise, and vibration for the commercial, professional, and residential markets. The right solution often involves multiple products, and we specialize in a wide variety of systems for walls, ceilings and floors. Some of our notable clients include 3M, Amazon, Apple, Boeing, Chipotle, Best Buy/Magnolia, Dave & Buster’s, Facebook, Guitar Center, FitBit, Google, Honeywell, Kraft Foods, Lockheed Martin, Mayo Clinic, McDonald’s, General Motors, Microsoft, Sherwin Williams, Yahoo, and Warner Brothers.

About John Calder, Acoustic Geometry
John Calder has worked as a musician, recording engineer / producer, sound designer, audio post-production mixer, studio owner, theater performer, product developer, and marketing director. He has 4+ decades of professional sound experience, engineering records in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Milan, and Montreal, earning Platinum and Gold Records, as well as Gold Reel, VPA-Monitor, Muse, and AZA Awards. He is currently Director of Retail for Acoustic Geometry in Minnesota. Credits include Neil Diamond, The Band, Joe Cocker, Umberto Balsamo, Fallon, CM Advertising, Cornell University, MN Zoo, and MN History Center.

This event is open to everyone. Invite your friends, BYOB, and join us for an evening of audio geekery! If you are planning to attend please RSVP to mspaudiogeeks at gmail dot com.

Date: Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Time: 7pm
Location: Acoustic Geometry
105 Peavey Road
Chaska, MN 55318
acousticgeometry.com
Click here for a Google map
Please note that Google Maps does not accurately locate 105 Peavey Road. It is at the intersection of Peavey and West Columbia Court. It's the grey building with a big ASI sign.
Parking: Around the back of the building. Access is through the left-most door.
Second Location: (We will caravan here after the tour)
123 Columbia Court North
#201
Chaska, MN 55318
acousticalsurfaces.com
Click here for a Google map
Metro Transit: While buses do run to Chaska, the closest stop is about 1.5 miles from Acoustic Geometry. Please visit metrotransit.org to check your route.

Audio Society of MN

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

April's ASM meeting is on Tuesday, April 18th. In April, the ASM will be hosting Erik Beutler, General Mgr. at Halsten Entertainment in Golden Valley. With 30 years of audio and video retailing, system design and installation experience, Halsten has deep knowledge of what it takes to deliver great family entertainment.

Erik will be demoing the new KEF LS50 Wireless, the powered version of a popular loudspeaker. The LS50 Wireless adds “audiophile-grade” amplification and sound processing, as well as extensive wired and wireless connectivity. If you’ve never heard the LS50, you owe it to yourself to hear what’s available today on a reasonable budget.

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. If you aren't able to join us in Chaska, you could join the online webinar on Tuesday, April 25, 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

• Welcome to 1979 is searching for a studio manager/booking coordinator. If you're looking for a change of scenery and want to work with some of the coolest people in Nashville, TN then contact them for more information about the job and compensation.
• Third Coast Festival is hiring a Managing Director and interns. Read the job and duty description here.

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.

IGDATC April meeting

The Twin Cities chapter of the International Game Developers Association hosts regular meetings at the Nerdery. This month's meeting features a talk about music theory for non-composers. They will also be discussing Zenimax vs. Oculus. You can read more about the evening and RSVP here.

MN Music Summit

This 3-day festival and conference for artists, fans, and music industry professionals brings a taste of SXSW to the Twin Cities with workshops, industry panels, parties and a special conversation with Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields. This year our theme is "Breaking Down Walls," exploring music across artistic, cultural & physical boundaries. Join us and 1,000+ artists and industry professionals as we we gather to discuss timely issues affecting artists and our music communities.

Events take place throughout St. Paul and Minneapolis. Ticket prices range from $20-$50. For more information about performers and panels, head to mnmusiccoalition.org/news.

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.

Vinyl Camp

Vinyl Camp is a two day workshop centered around the art of creating great vinyl records. Saturday will be an in-depth look at recording and mixing for vinyl and the art of lacquer cutting. On Sunday we will do a live, direct to disc recording. Welcome To 1979 is one of the few studios in the world that can record directly to a vinyl master! This is a hands on workshop, so come prepared to learn while doing!

Here's what the weekend will look like:
Saturday:

• Technical/Philosophical Tour of Welcome To 1979
• Lathe Room Demonstration (standard cutting procedures)
• Demonstration and discussion of recording techniques specific to vinyl
• Lunch (Provided)
• Discuss setup options for Sunday, focusing on direct to disc requirements.
• Setup for Sunday's session

• Direct to disc recording
• Lunch (provided)
• Talk with Band about the experience
• Tour of Our New Vinyl Electroplating Facility & Discussion
• Tear Down

Cost: $300
Attendance is limited to 12 people. For more information and to purchase tickets, head to welcometo1979.com/tape-camp.

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!

AudioNowcast

The AudioNowcast is a pro audio podcast that covers all aspects of audio in the music, recording, film & television industries. Topics include: song writing & music marketing; recording & mixing; location sound, sound design & sound editing. You can learn more and listen to episodes here.

Beards, Cats, and Indie Game Audio

The title of the show says it all! If you're into game audio, then check out the episodes 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 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.

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.

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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