DeGrazia News

Please Remember Me

Please Remember Me

I did some drumming, percussion, and engineering on a 3 tracks with Domingo DeGrazia that were included on the new Ted DeGrazia Jazz/Big Band compilation CD entitled Please Remember Me, which is available now through the DeGrazia Gallery gift shop.

There will be an official release party for the DeGrazia Centennial Concert DVD on May 1, 2011, at Tohono Chul Park. Mark your calendars now for this all-ages show, featuring the Domingo DeGrazia Band. The show is set to begin at 8:00pm.

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

2010 Comes to a Close

This has been a freaking crazy year, my friends. Two trade shows, three different performing live bands, nine studio drumming projects, multiple photography projects, two DVD’s released, four new staff members, and a whole new redesign and studio philosophy implementing as we speak. Can you say no sleep? I can. Barely! I even finished 95% of my script for The Studio Edge Vol 2. Seriously? And I have 14 days left till new years. Hmm. What else can I get done? Yikes!

Now that the TSE series has just debuted, I will be doing more clinics. On DVD 2 I will be talking about how to build a studio, including philosophies and implementation. I have already built and filmed a studio as a case study for the appendix of the DVD. And now that I am rolling, I hope to possibly get Vol 3 recorded this year too. I haven’t decided which topic to do next, but I have 8 more outlines ready to go.

Ten Times Gravity

Ten Times Gravity

I just spent two days in the studio recording drum tracks for my friends Ten Times Gravity. In the middle of it all, we did a live interview with DJ’s from New York and Ireland using our phone patch system. The station has already taken a liking to one of the releases “When It Comes To The Night.” Now it’s time to follow up with the rest of the album. I ended up using 15 microphones to capture my 7 piece kit. Since the songs will be using loops, real drums, and effected drums, I wanted to have many sound options with the live drums; Room mics, an extra ribbon on kick, MS stereo setup and 6 snare drums with two up at a time. Now that’s options! We spent 6 hrs setting up the mics, pres and session files so all the headphone monitoring, EQ, and routing was already finished. All we had to do, when it was time to record the drums, was open the file, do a line check and start recording. I did 7 songs in one day and two the next. It was very stress-free. I let Chase, my trainee, run the session. We videotaped the whole session and hopefully will be YouTube-ing the results in the coming weeks of making an album. Google Ten Times Gravity for all thier sites.

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

AES 2010

Bjorgvin, Chase and I stormed San Fran for the AES 2010 convention. Our first stop was the Focal unveiling of the SM9 studio monitor at Broken Radio studios. Two Speakers in one; a 2-way band limited speaker inside of a 3-way full 40kHz bandwidth studio monitor, including a sub. When you flip the switch, the same tweeter and midrange are used so your imaging does not change. Once the unveiling was over, we moved down the hall to Romanowski’s mastering room for a listen with Fab Dupont. We not only heard the new SM9’s but got a glimpse of PT 9 a few days before it was released. In the background was a pair of Focal Grand Utopia’s, a $190K pair of speakers. Next up was a day at the trade show checking out the shocking difference in an A/B comparison with Vovox cables and a full dissertation by Jerg, the owner of Vovox. Then we took a tour of Studio Trilogy, a newly made public studio that was designed by John Stork. Later that night we hit a party there with Chris Lord Alge. We then took a stroll down to “the tenderloin” for a party at Hyde Street Studios. I watched a clinic being put on by Joe Chiccarelli mixing a song on an old Neve while using Mercury outboard gear to sweeten. Sure, we even did the trolley down to Bistro Boudin for their famous bread and meals. Very good. We also attended a two-day panel with Bobby Owsinski about the music industry, and a mastering panel with Doug Sax doing A/B comparisons of real mixes showing how compression destroys mixes. (We keep telling you, but no one listens! Pun intended.) And then the final show-stopper: the SSL Nucleus controller, mic pre, interface and monitor controller all-in-one. Sweet!

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

2011 Grammy Voting

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences has officially placed several projects that I have performed, engineered and produced on the  Official Ballot for the 2011 Grammy Awards in the following categories:

  • Record of the Year:
    DeGrazia Live at the Paramount
  • Album of the Year:
    DeGrazia Live at the Paramount
  • Contemporary World Music Album:
    DeGrazia Live at the Paramount
  • Contemporary Folk Album:
    The Bluest Sky – Domingo DeGrazia & Beth Daunis
    Native Anthropology – Jack Gladstone
  • Engineered Album:
    Joe Gallegos & Jim Pavett for DeGrazia Live at the Paramount
  • Producer of the Year:
    Jim Pavett for DeGrazia Live at the Paramount
    Jim Pavett for The Bluest Sky

If you are a voting member of the Grammys, I ask for your consideration in voting. Please click on the albums below to hear samples. If you are not a voting member please celebrate with me through this journey. Thank you.

DeGrazia Live at the Paramount
The Bluest Sky
Native Anthropology

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

Audiotuts+ Giveaway

As you may or may not know, the audio production blog site Audiotuts+ periodically hosts giveaways for their readers where one lucky commenter is randomly chosen to receive a prize.

Earlier this year I was interviewed by Audiotuts+.  In the interview I mentioned my upcoming educational DVD, which I was working on at the time.  Now since its release, Audiotuts+ has approached me about contributing a copy of the DVD, The Studio Edge: Pro Audio Recording Series, as the prize for one of their current giveaways.  I’m really excited to see all the positive feedback it’s getting and I’m hoping it will come in handy for the winner.

Be sure to check out the article and enter to win. If you’re lucky, a free copy of my DVD may be on its way to you soon!

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

The Studio Edge: Pro Audio Recording Series

The Studio Edge: Pro Audio Recording Series I’m proud to announce that the first DVD of my educational series, The Studio Edge: Pro Audio Recording Series, is finally shipping. This first installment, titled Studio Concepts, Gear & the Physics of Sound, is a detailed journey through the fundamentals that are essential to audio engineering. This is a landmark achievement for me, as it is a culmination of my knowledge, experience, hundreds of hours in scripts, edits, lights, teleprompters, and my desire to give back to a world that has given a lot to me throughout my lifetime.

In this first DVD, I cover all of the key concepts and explain in easy to follow terms what you need to know to record great audio. Not only that, but with over 100 visual aids from my friends at ASK Video, you’ll see these important concepts in action.

If you’re an aspiring audio engineer who desires the knowledge and skill to becoming a great audio engineer, this video is for you. The information in this DVD is crucial to your success in the studio, and will teach you from the ground up all of the concepts and principles essential for every sound engineer.

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

1 4 5 6 7 8 9