EARS meeting at Chicago Mastering Service 9-25-07

On a warm Tuesday night, EARS was welcomed at Chicago Mastering Service, the newest CD and Vinyl mastering studio in Chicago.

Shea Ako discusses how he designed and built the custom mastering console that you see in front of him. Shea has become very well known and is in high demand all over the city for his amazing technical abilities. Amongst many many other things, he also fully restored the Trident A-Range 32 channel mixing console at Soma Studios.



Attending the console (from right to left) Bob Weston, co-owner of Chicago Mastering Service; Harry Brotman, of Harry's Sonic Bistro; and Michael Kolar, owner of Soundscape Studios, and our EARS Vice President.


Jason Ward demonstrates how their vintage 1950s Neumann VMS70 lathe creates a vinyl master used in the production of albums. Album production has never ceased and is actually seeing a comeback in certain generas. Of course it is used quite a bit for DJ mixes of house, techno, and trance, etc. The Neumann colors the sound in a certain timeless "old-school" way that is highly sought after, and having one of the few cutting lathes in the city allows a mastering house to pursue a very select niche market.


As always, it was a fun and interesting night. Chicago Mastering Service is definately a place to consider when mastering your next project.


(From Left to Right) Kerry Haps, President of EARS, Shae Ako, Bob Weston, Jason Ward.

Listen! 5K ppl makes more music

5k ppl (AKA: 5000 People) The ambient project of Jon Chambers and myself, got together for a one-day marathon of recording jams and whipped up 5 new pieces of improvised then processed ambience. This time using the Nord Lead 3, the Korg Microkorg, a Korg piano, a Boss Dr. Rhythm, Ableton Live, some Quadraverbs, oh and even a real bass guitar - wee heeeeee.


Once again any sane Fire Marshall would have given us a stern lecture. Just look at how we throw caution to the wind and overload the power strips. We cant help it, this is electronic music we're making.. and that needs lotsa electricity - DUH!

What started as an afternoon jam session turned into a quest for the perfect Buffalo Wing dinner. Gators in Wheeling was our first choice, being voted #1 in the area. But they were closed on a Saturday at 5:30.. what's up with that? So we meandered over to another highly acclaimed Wing maker, Buffalo Joe's in Evanston. Talk about wanting wings.

But dont let me digress. We are talking about music here.
Have a listen:


Mr Hughes
(Imagine this in the background of Sixteen Candles?)

Piano
(A simple piece to massage the eardrums.)

Overall it was a productive time. I wanted to see how the MircoKorg complements the Nord and Jon enjoyed the digital piano. Of course these are rough ideas that may show up later. There is still more to come from Five Thousand People. A finished CD is still on the way. Stay tuned..

House Party in Pilsen

What a great time I had at a house party in Pilsen last weekend thrown by my friend Alexander Bassett. His parties are totally cool and have a totally home-grown flavor. Alexander and I have known each other for a couple of years. He has been instrumental in teaching me various music software like Ableton Live. EDMX was in town from London and looking for a place to play, so it all worked out quite well.



Here is EDMX (DMX Krew) making the beats and a video artist using a Mac laptop is behind him sending out the visuals.




I met a beautiful Brazillian girl named Juliana. She was really attractive and was in town for a few weeks to learn English. We talked for a little while. She kissed me on the cheek. I got her number, but she was with a group of travelers and when I called her the next day, an gruff Brazilian guy answered and hung up on me. harumph..


Its pretty amazing what you can do with the right software, and a USB video projector from Officemax. The whole musical experience is now shrunk down to laptops..

Listen to and download DMX Krew DJ sets
Visit DMX here
Visit Alexander Bassett's Myspace here