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Photo of the Week

Mr. Bonzai Hosts Bernie Grundman, Gavin Lurssen, Stephen Marsh & Doug Sax

Pictured clockwise from top left are mastering engineers Bernie Grundman, Doug Sax, Stephen Marsh, and Gavin Lurssen.

Pictured clockwise from top left are mastering engineers Bernie Grundman, Doug Sax, Stephen Marsh, and Gavin Lurssen.

The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) has announced that the H.O.T. Zone will present “Mastering Engineers on Optimizing for Multiple Release Formats.”  Hosted by Mr. Bonzai, the panelists are Bernie Grundman, Gavin Lurssen, Stephen Marsh & Doug Sax.  The event takes place at 12:30pm on January 20 in Room 203 of the Anaheim Convention Center.

Mastering is described by panelist Bernie Grundman as “basically post-production for the recording industry — the final creative step before delivery to the public as physical vinyl, CD, or any of the various digital formats.”

The name Bernie Grundman is synonymous with Mastering.  His world renowned facilities, responsible for a consistently large percentage of chart recordings, were launched in 1984, following Grundman’s 15-year tenure with A&M Studios.  In 1997, Grundman opened his Tokyo mastering studios and in 1998 relocated to expanded facilities in Hollywood.

Gavin Lurssen established himself in 1991 as a prominent mastering engineer in the industry, and has earned three Grammy Awards and a Latin Grammy Award. Lurssen’s work has been recognized with two TEC awards in 2008 for Mastering and for Outstanding Facility as well as with a Berklee College of Music Distinguished Alumni Award.

A native New Yorker, Stephen Marsh came west at 19 to take a job at Sony’s West Coast Mastering operation, working under David Mitson.  Having now spent half his life behind the mastering console, he has been fortunate enough to count Grammy(r) nominees and winners, multiple Gold and Platinum albums and numerous chart successes among the releases to his credit.

Doug Sax opened the doors to The Mastering Lab Hollywood in 1967, founding one of the first independent facilities in the world, as well as the most recognizable name in mastering. Now located in Ojai, California, The Mastering Lab remains a revolutionary, state-of-the-art company, utilizing unique signal flow concepts and unequaled electronics pioneered by Doug’s brother, Sherwood Sax.

“Providing relevant and high-value education programs to the thousands of pro-audio and live sound members of NAMM is one of our key objectives,” said Joe Lamond, president and CEO, NAMM. “The role of technology continues to expand and we believe that this unique educational opportunity at the 2012 NAMM Show makes attendance a must for anyone working in this important segment.”

The H.O.T. Zone is a feature of the 2012 NAMM Show, which will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, Jan. 19-22, 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2012

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|| “Fairy Tales Can Come True” ||

January 8, 2012 Photo of the Week

“Fairy Tales Can Come True” Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, ©1987;  Exhibition Excellence Award; All City Art Open, 1989; Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park;  Judges: Merry Norris and Henry Hopkins.
Children’s Day, a national holiday in Japan, is also celebrated in Little Tokyo, downtown Los Angeles. I was asked by [...]

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Happy New Year, Akemashita Omedeto, Buon Anno!

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“Santa Claus would have to travel at 40,000 miles a second to reach all of the children on Christmas Eve.”  — Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

Santa’s Secret Sled ©1979
Oscar-winning animator Bruce Lyon and award-winning photographer/author David Goggin have written the next chapter in the myth of Santa Claus, the North Pole, [...]

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|| NAMM Video Interview with Mr. Bonzai ||

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|| Chad Smith: Red Hot Drummer: Part IV The End. ||

August 7, 2011 Photo of the Week

New album, “I’m With You,” coming August 30.  Check out the final video episode on the right.
BONZAI: What is the best part about being a Chili Pepper?
SMITH: I think it is being in a group that gets to do whatever we want. We are really free to express ourselves as people, and as [...]

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|| Chad Smith: Portrait of a Red Hot Drummer, Part III ||

July 24, 2011 Photo of the Week

New album, “I’m With You,” coming August 30.  Check out the new video on the right.
Order “FACES of MUSIC” here.      Order “MUSIC SMARTS” here.   Order both and get free shipping from Amazon.

BONZAI: What did you learn from your years of working with Flea?
SMITH: Flea has his own universe and he is the first bass player [...]

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Mr. Bonzai’s Neighborhood: Chili Chad Smith, Part II

July 10, 2011 Photo of the Week

New album, “I’m With You,” coming August 30.  Check out the new video on the right.
Order “FACES of MUSIC” here.      Order “MUSIC SMARTS” here.   Order both and get free shipping from Amazon.
BONZAI: When did you decide to be a drummer?
SMITH: Well, I’m still thinking about it! But when I was seven years old, I [...]

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Mr. Bonzai’s Neighborhood: Chad “Chili Pepper” Smith

June 26, 2011 Photo of the Week

New album, “I’m With You,” coming August 30.  Check out the video on the right.

BONZAI: Did you ever have a panic attack on stage?
SMITH: I have had stage fright, but it is only when I am in an unprepared situation.  When we played the Woodstock Festival in 1994, we played with these big giant light [...]

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