Beautiful Downtown Tinseltown - Hollywood, California

I'm sitting in front of the Tiago Coffee Shop next to the Emerson Theater at the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and La Brea. The sidewalk in front of the coffee shop is part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame with the stars honoring those entertainers who've earned the privilege of being so recognized. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #149, The Ampex 200 Studio Audio Recorder, Phantom Productions Collection, Austin, Texas, October 2013

This week's photo of the week is for any of my audiophile, recording studio and Bing Crosby aficionado readers. This is the Ampex Model 200A audio recorder. It is the first American commercial studio grade audio recorder designed specifically to be used by recording studios and radio broadcasters. This recorder was released in 1948 making it 66 years old and still fully operational and able to produce broadcast and studio quality recordings.

On a personal note, this is only the second Ampex 200A I've ever seen and touched first hand. The other was in a small radio station in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, where it is still used. (A side note, Mt. Airy is where the late actor, Andy Griffith was raised and was the model for the fictitious town of Mayberry in the Andy Griffith, Mayberry USA TV show.)

The reason I brought up Bing Crosby's name is because Crosby, acclaimed as the most popular radio star of that period (TV hadn't really begun to build an audience in the late 40's), helped finance the development of the Ampex 200A recorder because he wanted to pre-record his radio program and not be bound by the rigorous time constraints of the broadcasting industry. The only high-quality recording medium of that time was disk recording and there were numerous disadvantages to using that medium as Crosby wanted to use the pre-recording idea. So, the first two Ampex 200A recorders, serial numbers 1 and 2 were delivered to the American Broadcasting Company in April of 1948. And, accordingly, the Bing Crosby show was the first pre-recorded, delayed broadcast radio show in the U.S. (Another side note, in the future, Bing Crosby also helped finance the development of the first broadcast video recorder with Ampex for the same reason.)

The recorder to the left of the Ampex 200A that is only partially visible is an Ampex Model 300, the next studio grade recorder in the Ampex line up. I am very familiar with the 300 and operated several 300's during my Air Force days in Washington, DC. I also had a custom modified 300 that was modified into a 1" tape, 8-track studio recorder in our small basement recording studio in Upper Marlboro, Maryland in the early 1970's. While I embrace and love all the flexibility and capability of digital recording, there is still a glamour attached to these old heavy, bulky "beasts" that those of us who used them will always miss.  

Photo-of-the-Week #142, First Recording Studio, Thomas Edison Laboratory, West Orange, New Jersey, September 2013

In an earlier Photo-of-the-Week I featured a photo of the Thomas A. Edison Laboratory where, not only did the great inventor create most of his world changing inventions, but where my father also worked from the late 1950's until his death in the beginning of 1967. As I drove through West Orange, New Jersey by a GPS serendipity, I came upon what is left of the huge many block manufacturing complex that was Edison industries. The storage battery plant is now a derelict factory building covering an entire square city block 46 years later. The rest of the huge complex has been demolished and returned to other uses. However, the small, red, three story building that was Thomas Edison's personal laboratory and that housed his personal library and where most of his inventions were created (along with about four other smaller buildings) has been preserved by the National Park Service as a National Historic Park site.

Of the many wonders I discovered as I went through the laboratory building was what may be the first actual recording studio. This studio was where some of the earliest music recordings were recorded, most likely purely for experimental and demonstration purposes. This photo is that room inside the Edison Laboratory building. It doesn't remotely resemble a modern recording studio . . . because, back at this time of pioneering a new medium and industry, no one actually knew how a recording studio should be designed or look to carefully control sound for the best sonic fidelity. 

Of course, since I have been actively involved in the recording industry since 1963 when some of the early technology pioneered by Edison was still being used, this room was of particular interest to me. I sincerely doubt that the air conditioning duct, at the top of the wall in the photo, existed when this room was being used for its stated purpose. The room also wasn't designated as a recording studio, but as a recording laboratory, since in those days, everything was experimental.

I don't know if the piano in the room is original or there for the purpose of recreating the atmosphere. And, certainly, all of the gramophones on display were not likely there when it was being used for experimental recordings. I can't honestly say if this room existed in this condition when I visited the building when my father worked in it. I don't remember seeing it and I hadn't become involved in the recording industry, yet, so it wouldn't necessarily have caught my attention then.

But, here it is. Behold! One of the magical wonders to be found in a building where, perhaps, more world changing technological inventions and advances were dreamt by one of the most creative minds of modern time and turned into reality, touching the lives of every human being on this planet directly or indirectly to this day. My father touched these hallowed floors and walls and I made a career of an industry spawned here. 

Playing Catch Up...Again...As Usual

Small Part of Martin Theophilus' Magnetic Audio Recorder Collection

So, I've been back from the "My McVansion Shakedown Cruise -er- Road Trip" and I'm way behind on blog posts. Actually, I arrived back at base camp in WV on September 25th, the day after my radio interview on WMSC. The interview has been listened to by way, way more folks than I thought and it is still getting hits and listens every day. So, thank you for your interest and support. So much happened during that shakedown cruise, all good, I might add. But, the trip became so busy that I ended up with virtually no time to blog. It was either blog or catch some sleep and I really did need the sleep. I also attempted to keep up with (not completely successfully) a plethora of emails. So, this is part of the catch up I have to do.

Currently, I've actually been on the road since Sunday September 29th on the road trip to Texas. This trip is a mixed bag. First, My McVansion is sitting, parked, in Front Royal, Virginia where I left it. I'm driving my former partner's huge Chevy Suburban that was loaded with materials and equipment for the project in San Antonio, where I am located as I compose this post. I couldn't sleep in the Suburban on the way due to the load I was bearing. So, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night I stayed in budget motels, an Americas Best Value Inn on Sunday night in Marion, Virginia and Motel 6's in Meridian, Mississippi on Monday night and in Austin, Texas on Tuesday night.

A Challenge 

Monday morning I had a little surprise that added three hours to my travel time. When I woke up, loaded my bag into the Suburban, got my phone/GPS, Bluetooth and dash-cam set and operating, I noticed a little amber light in the instrument cluster indicating one tire had low air pressure. So, I got out and walked around the vehicle and found a very flat right rear tire. I called AAA and they sent someone out to change the tire. Then I took the tire to Thompson's Tire Repair in downtown Marion (Marion is in southwest Virginia near Abington, Bristol and the Tennessee border). The folks at Thompson's were friendly as could be, very efficient and very thorough. So, while I lost about three hours, I felt like I got excellent service, a very reasonable price and by the time I left, I felt like I was leaving old friends.

Austin, Texas

From that point forward the travel was simply long and boring since I was using interstate highways to make time getting to my first stop in Austin, Texas. Upon arriving in Austin on Tuesday night, I found the home of the daughter of a deceased, well-known and loved humorous speaker friend, Dr. Charlie Jarvis. I personally delivered a plaque to Pamela posthumously recognizing her father as a "Legend of the Speaking Profession" awarded at the recent Veteran Speakers Retreat in August. Then I found some food and a Motel 6 to rest after a long day of driving. I had another long day planned for Wednesday

Austin is a large, very busy, very congested city. It is the home of the Texas state capital, the University of Texas, the TV show, "Austin City Limits," a former recording engineer employee of mine and, just a few miles outside of town, a private museum/collection of vintage audio recorders, microphones and various other items belonging to Martin Theophilus. It's currently maintained in his home, however, he's in the process of locating a home for the equipment in a facility where he can make it open to the public. Martin and I hit it off immediately and it turns out we've been in the recording industry about the same time - and his career and experience has been as interesting as mine. This saga will continue in the future. I might also add that I've owned and used many of the recorders in this photo as well as many more of the machines in his collection.

New Braunfels, Texas

After leaving Martin Theophilus, I headed south to New Braunfels, Texas where I went to my former business partner's ranch. Troy Brand, John Caughman and I were partners in a business in Washington, DC called Audio-Video Concepts, Inc. or AVCom for short. Troy, John and I also served in the Air Force together, in related capacities. I last saw Troy and his wife, Pat, ten years ago when I made a swing through Texas about this same time of the year. It was around forty years ago when Pat Brand put up with us. I so remember how she'd listen to Troy, John and me and just roll her eyes. Well, it was a great fun and when Troy and I started talking it was like we turned back the hands of time by 40 years. And, yes, Pat was rolling her eyes...again. It was great fun and I'm hoping it won't be another 10 years before I see them. I also stayed in their guest room at the ranch Wednesday night. I departed about 4 PM on Thursday afternoon to cut cross country through "The Hill Country" of Texas to the small town of Kerrville, about 70 miles +/- from New Braunfels and about 60 miles west of San Antonio.

Kerrville, Texas

The trip was great over to Kerrville, a town of about 25,000. I passed through several other small Texas towns that really caught my eye and make a commitment to myself to come back through here and learn about and enjoy these places. In Kerrville, I arrived at my friends (and a former author of my book publishing company), T. Scott Gross and his really cute and fun wife, Melanie. They go by the pet names of Tiger and Buns. Arriving at around 6:00 PM, Melanie had some dinner waiting for the three of us and we enjoyed communing around the dinner table. I had already learned by email from them that just this past Friday (a week ago) they had been involved in a major head on collision that totaled their vehicle (and the vehicle of the 20 year old woman who was texting or something at 70 miles per hour, lost control, flew across a 50 foot wide median strip and hit them head on. Scott had to be med-evaced to an Army hospital in San Antonio with five broken ribs and some other broken bones and a punctured lung plus a lot of cuts and abrasions. Melanie sustained a fractured wrist and some trauma to her abdomen. Both were very sore and in Scott's case, in some pain from time to time. Scott also is a victim (though he doesn't consider himself a victim) of Parkinson's disease.

Despite what they had just been through, they were in great spirits and they were still great hosts. I, of course, offered to be of assistance any way I could and helped whenever asked or saw something I could do for them. We had a wonderful time together and I learned more about both of them and they about me. We had a wonderful lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant on Friday and Scott took me (with me driving) on a spin around Kerrville and showed me, what I found to be, a beautiful little town. I was very impressed. Scott had a hand in making some of the improvements to the town during the six years he spent on the city council. I spent two nights with them, Thursday and Friday nights and left about 11:00 AM this morning (Saturday) to head for the San Antonio Airport to pick up the first member of our team for this project.

While in Kerrville, I had the opportunity to meet Marvin Willis, the creator and head honcho of the "Hometown Hero Card." I met Marvin through the LinkedIn business social network on the Web. We've emailed a bunch and spoken on the phone a bunch about his project(s) and idea. This was our opportunity to meet in person and take a possible working relationship to another level. I really enjoyed meeting Marvin and he and his wife, Myrna, joined Scott, Melanie and Scott's mother, for lunch.

Remember The Alamo

I can simply say my time in Kerrville was, once again, both enjoyable and memorable as were my two earlier visits. But, it is Saturday and this is the day that the primary reason for this specific trip is all about, providing conference recording and other support services for the annual CFDD conference (Center for Due Diligence). So, off I went to the San Antonio airport to pick up the second member of the team. He was flying in from St. Louis, Missouri. I arrived at the airport in plenty of time for his flight, but checked the online flight status and found that his flight had been delayed. So, I waited the extra thirty minutes or so and finally we connected and I picked him up. We then headed into town looking for an authentic Tex-Mex, local restaurant to catch some lunch at. We succeeded. Then on to the Grand Hyatt hotel in downtown San Antonio near the River Walk, the former HemisFair and the Alamo ("Remember the Alamo").

This is where I sit as I write this post. My room on the 21st floor of the Grand Hyatt is quite a bit more luxurious than My McVansion in a Walmart parking lot. The view is reasonable. We off loaded all the materials and equipment I had on board the Suburban, so it's once again, empty. Now, I await the other four members of the team who are flying in from Virginia. Unfortunately, their flight has now been delayed by about two and a half hours. So, it's rest and catch up time on this new blog post and some emails and some reading. It looks like I'll be at the airport at about 10:00 PM or later when I retrieve the rest of the team from the airport. I am now relaxing and preparing to go pick them up and be ready for the beginning of the conference, tomorrow morning. The next four days until about 2:00 PM on Wednesday will be BUSY days. After that I pack a very small amount in the Suburban, take only one member of the team back to the airport and begin making my way back to Virginia. I'll make, yet, another stop in Austin, TX (likely spending the night there), while I visit my former recording engineer employee, Bill Smith and his lovely bride, Diane. Then start marking time back to Virginia on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and back to base camp in WV on Saturday night.

I'll probably have one more post about this road trip after this, but I'll begin catching up on the earlier Shakedown Cruise trip and the many and varied experiences of that adventure over the next week.

Photo-of-the-Week #122 - On Stage at Winchester Little Theater, Winchester, Virginia, December 2007

Most of the photos I feature in this weekly blog post are of places and either of something I found interesting or from nature. But, from time to time, I like to change up with a photo of some other significance to me. This week's photo is from one of the few times I've been on stage during a theatrical production.

So, to make this clear, I do not suffer from stage fright. If it's an opportunity to speak to a group of any kind, in any location, for any reason, just show me the way to the stage, platform or whatever. I'm not shy and have no fear of public speaking. However, I have never aspired to be an actor or perform in a theatrical production in front of an audience. My role in theater has always been behind the scenes, more specifically, designing and developing the sounds that bring a show to life and give it more layers and depth. It can be as simple as a phone or doorbell ringing to creating a radio program to play through an actual radio prop on the set to the subtlety of a soundscape playing in the background to create the effect of being outdoors in the evening or in an airport terminal or on a city street with traffic passing and so on. Occasionally, I would do off-stage voice-overs like the judge charging the jury with their responsibility from the classic drama "12 Angry Men" and similar off-stage voice roles. I also provided the pre-show off stage announcements.

I was the primary sound designer for about ten years at the Winchester Little Theater, a very active, 83 year old, professionally operated, community theater in Winchester, Virginia. The show reviews often credited the sound design as a critical factor in the exceptional quality of the productions. This was my contribution to the arts and I was very happy with my role. But, one day, one of the directors decided to do the staged radio drama version of "It's a Wonderful Life" as a holiday offering for the community. The director insisted that the show be as authentic as possible to an actual radio drama produced live during the 1930's and 1940's. That meant that we actually did live sound effects on stage along with announcing, music and commercials.

So, what you see in this photo is the stage set for "It's a Wonderful Life." In the foreground you see two microphones on stands used by the cast of actors to perform their lines just as they would have in the '30's and '40's. The show utilized up to about 30 performers, several playing multiple roles. Behind the microphones you see a raised and well-lit set. The set was left over from the previous production, a Neil Simon play, I believe, and we simply decorated it for Christmas. On the set to the left you see all the sound equipment I specifically brought in from my own inventory and set up for the show. Along with it were all the live sound effects we used during the show. We opened and closed doors, walking through the snow was done in the cardboard carton using corn flakes, we broke glass, popped corks, essentially everything we could do live was performed in front of the audience. A few sound effects were pre-recorded since it was not possible to create those effects live in the theater. 

I couldn't hide. I was right there running the board (the control mixer) and directing two assistants who were helping me create the live effects. I also did a short, pre-show, audience warm up to explain what they were about to see, hear and experience. I demonstrated a couple of the sound effects, first with the audience closing their eyes and then showing them how we actually created the sound effects. Each performance was recorded and I took the best of each of the performances and made a final, edited version of the show that aired on the local radio station on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It sounded great, even if I do say so myself.

So, there you have it. Finally, Ed Helvey, the sound designer, on stage, performing as...a sound designer. They got me. We did the show for at least three years and the last year I directed from off stage and had someone else on stage who I was training as a sound designer. It's a wonderful life.     

Photo-of-the Week #87 - Memphis Musical History - Stax Records, Memphis, Tennessee, June 2003

If the names Booker T & the MG's, Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, The Bar-Kays, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, The Mar-Kays, The Staple Singers and a number of other soul singers, groups and composers bring back memories (hmmm, you'd have to be of a certain age, I suspect), they all have two things in common. First, they were all part of the Memphis music scene during the late 50's, 60's and part of the 70's. Second, they were all affiliated with Stax Records and some of its derivative labels, like Volt and Satellite.

This week's photo is of the Stax Museum in Memphis. The studios and labels were owned and operated by Jim Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton at this location. The company moved to the old Capitol Theater at 926 East McLemore Avenue in South Memphis during the summer of 1960. The labels produced southern soul, R&B, jazz, funk and gospel music. Booker T. Jones was the Booker T of Booker T & the MG's. One of their hits was called "Green Onions" in 1962. The MG's were also the Stax studio band and appeared on hundreds of records backing up other Stax artists. The Satellite Record Shop next to the Stax (Capitol Theater) Studio was operated by Estelle Axton, who handled the finances and accounting for the Stax company.

The building you see in the photo is a recreation. After the demise of the company through bankruptcy in 1975, the building was turned over to the Southside Church of God in Christ in 1981 by the bank. They tore the entire building structure down in 1989. The land sat vacant until a group of philanthropists gathered the funds to buy the land in 1998 and began construction of the museum in 2001. The museum opened to the public in 2003.

What you see in the photo is a facade designed to appear like the original structure. Inside is not a recreation of the original structure. The museum fills the building and has a variety of  exhibits, including some equipment that may have actually been in the studio during its operational days. I enjoyed my tour and I met some interesting people while I was walking through. One of them was a fellow from the Netherlands who travels the world tracking music, studios and the history. He and I chatted at some length and both agreed that for the general public, the museum was more than adequate. However, he and I shared the same disappointment from our perspective as "industry professionals." Even the curator of the museum, who we both spoke with, had very little real knowledge of the history, technical aspects and other details we felt he should have known. However, it was still worth the price of admission and I'd recommend it if you're ever visiting Memphis and love great music from the period.  

Photo-of-the-Week #85 - Studio on the Road, Ontario, Oregon, June 2010

This week there are two photos. As an independent audio producer, I accept all kinds of different assignments. The list is very long of the places I've recorded from all over the U.S. and Canada to China. The variety of projects is equally as long ranging from a single spoken voice to a solo instrument to symphony orchestra's and sound effects of all kinds of sounds. Many people in the recording business do the vast majority or even all of their recording in a fixed studio environment. Everything is controlled. The surroundings are familiar. The equipment compliment is virtually the same for every recording session and while it may be a voice-over studio where different voice actors may be the main variable element or the kind of music and the musical talent will vary, my experience is exponentially more variable. Actually, I may be the only non-variable.

These two photos represent a recording project of two audio books I did in the small town of Ontario, Oregon, just moments away from the Snake River, in June of 2010. I decided to drive cross-country and carry everything with me for this project. The talent for the recording was the author of the two books. Upon arriving in Ontario a day or so early for the project, I scoped the town and found there were a minimal number of hotel/motel accommodations that would be able to potentially meet my needs for setting up a temporary recording studio. After checking out the likely prospects I selected a relatively modern Super 8 property. It had one suite that was over the front office and lobby. It was tucked about as far from the heavily trafficked roads and backed up to the side of a large shopping center with little or no traffic in that area.

What you see in the photos is how I transformed the bedroom of the suite into a live recording environment. The large black area in the center of the photo is actually a window looking out over the front parking lot of the Super 8. The black area is actually two pieced of 4" thick acoustical foam. You can see other foam to the right (brown) and strategically located around the room there are other pieces that I used to tune the room and make it an aesthetically pleasing sounding room. No! The acoustical foam does not sound proof the room or the window. That was one of the reasons I selected this specific property. Yes! We did have some noise interruptions, but very few during the four days of recording.  The music stand is where the author/narrator placed his script and the studio microphone is on the microphone stand and boom with specially designed "pop" filters to eliminate the popping "P" sounds that can occur.

The second photo was the sitting room outside the bedroom. There just happened to be a conveniently situated desk next to the door separating the bedroom/studio from the sitting room/control room. You can see the set up was very simple. A pair of speakers to monitor the recording, a digital, hard drive, recorder (the gray unit) and my netbook computer that I would back up the recorded digital tracks on to be sure nothing would be lost. The other important tool was my pencil that I used to make editing marks and notations on the scripts as the author was narrating so I could easily find the places that had to be cleaned up after a mispronunciation, a stutter, a stumble or some other noise, including a noise from outside the window. Optimum? No! But, more than adequate and comfortable for both the author and me, the engineer/producer. The day after the project was recorded I removed all the foam, packed up the gear and left the suite at the Super 8 in Ontario, Oregon just as I found it. Both my living and working accommodations for the project were very comfortable. Just another day at the "Office." Both audio books are now in distribution by Tremendous Life Books.

Photo-of-the-Week #82 - An Iconic Sign, Hollywood, California, May 2009

Nothing new here! This is probably one of the most iconic signs in the world. This, of course, is my shot from my "Final Hollywood Tour" trip in May of 2009. I hadn't been to Hollywood in quite a number of years. I've certainly been to Los Angeles, of which Hollywood is a part, but not to Hollywood proper.

I called it my "Final Hollywood Tour" because my main purpose for going to Hollywood was to see what was still left of the recording studio scene that I knew from my days in the early 70's thru early 80's when I spent time there during my early recording industry career. I wanted to visit the old "Temples of Sound" where most of the Hollywood chart topping rock and roll and other pop music were recorded during the 60's and 70's. I shot this photo while I was driving my rental car, so it's not as good as it could have been, but it was difficult to find a place to park along this street and capture the shot.

Sadly, while I did locate a very few of the studios I remember, many, perhaps, most of them were gone. Some were, what appeared to be abandoned buildings. Others the buildings had been repurposed and I couldn't even recognize them. Still others were bulldozed and either new buildings replaced them or they "paved paradise and put up a  parking lot." You may remember that line from Joni Mitchell's famous , "Big Yellow Taxicab" song written and originally released in 1970. I even found the hole in the ground that had been a building where Harry O'Connor, a broadcast pioneer, had his studios based at Hollywood and Vine. I had made an informal arrangement with O'Connor to use his services as my west coast facility for my Washington, DC based production company. My brochures sported our DC address and the Hollywood and Vine address.  

While Hollywood, or Tinsel Town, as it's been called, didn't impress me the first time I went there in 1970 or '71, it hasn't really changed much since then. It was seedy looking to me back then and it was still seedy looking in 2009. But, the real change was that many of the well-known studios of the 60's and 70's were gone forever. I guess what is most unnerving is that this change is a reminder of my own age. Back then in my mid 20's. Today in my mid 60's. Time marches on - too fast.