August 2016 MSP Audio Geeks meetup

Wednesday, August 31st

     

August's MSP Audio Geeks meetup is on Wednesday, August 31st at 7pm at Green River Recordings. We will be joining an event organized and presented by fellow audio geek and Cade Michaels Management founder James Davis.

This month is about selecting the right merch to sell. Setting a strategy on what to buy, how to sell it, and ultimately, connect with more fans and make more money.

Too many closets and garages are full merchandise that the fans didn't want and James is going to show you how to take only the necessary risks in purchasing and how to repurpose product that isn't selling.

Highlights of This Meeting:

• Best Kinds of Merchandise
• Proof of Concept
• Forms of Payment
• Merchandise Marketing
• AND YOUR SPECIFIC MERCH QUESTIONS!

About James:
"I've traveled the country helping musicians make a living with their craft. I've worked with some of the biggest names in entertainment and have had a BLAST doing it. I look forward to meeting you and helping anyway I can."

About Cade Michaels Management:
"Achieving distinction takes years of building professional relationships and working with the biggest names in music and entertainment. For nearly a decade and in almost every genre of music, Cade Michaels Management and Consulting has been providing turnkey talent management for musical groups, solo musicians, audio engineers, and producers.

In addition to serving creative professionals, Cade Michaels Management has had the great pleasure of working with some of the best companies in entertainment providing logistics, talent negotiations/procurement coordination, event media and promotions. Whether your focus is an 80,000 seat venue or a singer-songwriter in a professional studio, Cade Michaels Management and Consulting is here to ensure a meaningful and profitable performance."

About Ben & Green River Recordings:
Green River Recordings is a spacious fully floated digital multi track recording studio located in Maple Grove. Green River was founded in 2009 by Ben Perecman, in an effort to seize upon the potential of the space. Since then Ben has slowly built up the studio from its modest beginnings to its current state. Most recently Green River has expanded to incorporate a green screen for video production.

Come early, pick the brains of others who have done it or just come and hang out at a cool studio. We have limited seating so please come on time.

Feel free to invite your friends and BYOB. Due to the limited capacity of this event, please RSVP here or by emailing mspaudiogeeks at gmail dot com.

Date: Wednesday, August 31st, 2016
Time: 7pm
Location: Green River Recordings
7270 Forestview Ln N
Maple Grove, MN
763-360-8761
greenriverrecordings.com
Upon entrance to the building, walk in the main doors and take the elevator to the basement level.

Matt Mayfield on Lynda.com

Foundations of Digital Audio

Congratulations to fellow audio geek Matt Mayfield, who was approached by popular online education website Lynda.com to create a course that teaches everything you need to know about digital audio.

From the course description:
"Learn everything you need to know about working with digital audio. In this flagship course, author Matt Mayfield demonstrates a wide array of audio and music fundamentals. The lessons are designed for new musicians, songwriters, producers, and engineers; those making the leap from analog to digital; and professionals who need to brush up on a concept or two."

About Matt:
"Matt Mayfield is a musician from Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is a teacher of music theory and audio engineering, and the author of the "Audio Fundamentals Course" and the original "Loudness War" demonstration videos on YouTube. Matt is also a composer and arranger, photographer, web designer, and technology enthusiast. He performs on guitar, keyboard, saxophone, and vocals in various bands in the Twin Cities area."

You can see a preview of Matt's course here. While you're there don't forget to check out the other audio-related courses and sign up for a free 10-day trial.

Designing Sound Seeks Correspondents

Back in April Designing Sound enjoyed an overwhelming response to their call for contributing editors. Based on that response they have created an opportunity for even more people to become involved as a correspondent.

From the website:
"The correspondent role is a way for you to get involved on your own time and at your own pace. You can’t directly publish on your own, but you also don’t have the regular responsibilities and requirements that we ask of the contributing editors. You’ll be given a login for the site, which will allow you to come here and write your article, upload and link to media, and generally get your article formatted and prepped for release. You’ll submit those articles to the editorial team for review, and we’ll get them into our schedule for posting. You can write about the monthly themes, or go off in your own direction…preferably not more than once a month. What you choose to share with the community (within reason) is up to you."

If you are interested in learning more and applying, read more here.

Job Postings

• The Guthrie Theater is hiring a sound board operator for their productions and events. This is an hourly full-time position. Read the job description and requirements and submit an application here.
• Sledgehammer Games, developer of Call of Duty, Advanced Warfare, is hiring a sound designer. Read more about the position and submit an application here.
• King Show Games, a video game development company in Minnetonka, MN, is hiring a sound designer. You can learn more about the position here.
• Starkey Hearing Technologies is hiring an Audio Engineering Technicain. You can see the job description and submit an application here.
• American Public Media / MPR is hiring an audio applications developer, an associate digital producer and a technical director. See these & other job listings at americanpublicmedia.applicantpro.com/jobs/
• CheerSounds is seeking full-time remote producers who are Pro Tools savvy. CheerSounds is the world’s leading music production company for cheerleading and competitive dance music. They specialize in high energy/aggressive content--Pop/EDM/Trap related genres are right up their alley. Contact Phoebe Danskin if you are interested in learning more & applying for the position.

Cool stuff from around the web

• Inside Abbey Road
  Google teamed up with Abbey Road Studios to a cool interactive inside look at the studio. Grab your favorite pair of headphones and check it out! insideabbeyroad.withgoogle.com

• The Last Cassette Tape Factory
  

  Check out this fun short video featuring Robert Coverston, Chief Technician at National Audio Company.

  via BoingBoing.net

• Cool Tools Show 049: Meara O'Reilly
  In this episode of the Cool Tools podcast, Meara O’Reilly describes four of her favorite tools.

  "Meara O'Reilly is a sound artist and educator, most recently in residence at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. She is co-creator of the Rhythm Necklace app, a musical sequencer that uses two-dimensional geometry to create rhythms. Her collaboration with Snibbe Interactive on sound-based cymatic concert visuals for Björk’s Biophilia album was included in the world tour.

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.

Fall Tape Camp

Tape Camp is a weekend of hands-on analog recording and networking for people of all ages! During the two-day workshop (Saturday & Sunday), participants will learn the differences and similarities between analog & digital recording through discussion, demonstrations, and hands-on practice.

We'll bring in an acoustic act on Saturday afternoon, and at the end of the weekend, we bring in a band for participants to try out their newfound techniques on -- everyone gets to engineer, assist, tape op, punch-in, and learn how to use our "Mara Machines" to the fullest!

Pricing:

• Weekend | Sept. 24th, 25th: $250
• Weekend + Lathe Night | Sept. 24th (day & evening) + 25th: $300
• Weekend + Alignment Day | Sept. 24th (day), 25th + 26th: $500
• Weekend + Lathe Night + Alignment Day: $550

To read more about the event and to register, head to welcometo1979.com/tape-camp

AES Los Angeles 2016

Interested in or work in Live Sound, Studio Recording, Home Recording, Music Production, Broadcast and Streaming, Sound for Picture, Networked Audio, Game Audio or Product Development? The 141st Audio Engineering Society International Convention has you covered in one exclusively end-user focused event.

Exhibits-Plus access, free with a promo code, gains you entry to the exhibition floor and demo rooms, where leading manufacturers reveal and demonstrate the latest in audio hardware and software tools. The “Plus” includes the application-oriented sessions on the show floor stages of the Live Sound Expo, the Project Studio Expo and the Plug-In Pavilion, along with other special events.

If you are interested in attending panels, technical discussions, and other events, you can purchase an all-access pass. Pricing and more information can be found at aes.org/events/141/registration.

AES LA 2016: Tools of the trade, breaking research, theory and application, historical perspective, student competitions and career development ­– presented by the best minds in audio!

Recording Summit

Chris Mara and the Welcome to 1979 crew are hosting the 9th annual recording summit at their studio in Nashville, TN. This is a great event with cool events and panels. If you've never checked it out, it's well worth the trip!

Here's a teaser of what to expect from this year's summit:

• A Direct to Vinyl Master session for the Friday night kick off party, (artist TBA). Records will be pressed the following morning and available that afternoon!
• Saturday Night’s listening party will be Purple Rain with an interview of Susan Rogers by Larry Crane (Tape Op).
• Demonstrations of our new vinyl electroplating facility.
• Our own on site hotdog stand for lunches, with proceeds going to the local food shelf.
• Much more to come!

Registration is open now, and at just $200 ($150 for students) is a great deal. This event is limited to 60 attendees and will sell out, so buy your ticket now! You can learn more about the summit at welcometo1979.com/recording-summit.

GDC 2017

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is the world's largest and longest-running professionals-only game industry event. The GDC attracts over 26,000 attendees, and is the primary forum where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision-makers and others involved in the development of interactive games gather to exchange ideas and shape the future of the industry. The GDC is produced by the UBM Tech Game Network. Learn more and stay updated at gdconf.com.

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.

Audio Society of MN

"The Audio Society of Minnesota is a noncommercial hobby organization incorporated in 1979. We present monthly meetings from September to May/June of each year where we discuss, learn about, and experience the latest and greatest audio gear and software. Of course, we also operate this web page.

We support all audiophile interests. We have tube freaks and solid-state freaks, people who only listen to digital and people who would be happy if digital had never been invented, folks who have never seen an LP in their lives and others who have thousands, members who think nothing of making major expenditures for audio gear and others who are interested in the best bang for their buck, some with advanced degrees in engineering and some who don't know an Ohm from a Watt, those who think of their hobby as a science and those who think of it as an art. But we all have one thing in common: We love music and we love to hear it accurately and emotionally recreated in our homes.

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."

The Audio Society of MN is currently on its summer hiatus. To find out more, check out their website at audiomn.org or their Facebook page at facebook.com/audiosocietyofmn.

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.

Recording Studio Rockstars Podcast

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.

Vinyl Emergency Podcast

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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