NAMM 2015
Date: January 22-25, 2015
Location: Anaheim, CA
The NAMM Show is a TRADE-ONLY event and not open to the general public. SoundGirls.Org has been generously granted several badges from our friends and supporters in the industry. If you attend you will be attending as an invited guest of one of these companies and representing SoundGirls.Org. Please review the SHOW POLICIES
and make sure you agree to the terms before accepting the badge. (more…)
Growing up, I experienced the autumns of the nerdy kid – that weird blend of nervousness and excitement about starting a new school year that was half wide-eyed optimism and half knowing dread. About the end of July, I would start visualizing it – there I was, strolling into class, buck teeth straightened, round belly and pimpled chipmunk cheeks replaced by graceful leanness, bookbag full of no-nonsense study supplies and a pouch full of pencils that absolutely had not had the ends chewed off. Maybe this is it! This is the year! It’s all going to come together, maybe! But probably not! (more…)
At the young age of sixteen, Magali Couturier happened upon a man setting up for a very small concert in a park. As she watched him set up a couple of tiny speakers, microphones, and equipment, she questioned him. After he finished explaining to her what he was doing, she asked him if that was a real job? When he replied yes she thought to herself that it sounded much more interesting than all of the jobs she had heard about before, and since she always had a love for music it might be worth pursuing.
Magali enrolled in a two-year technical school in France where she earned a degree specializing in sound for Television/Cinema, which she found to be rather useless. She moved to the UK at age 19 where Mags met a small UK audio company and got her start in the business. Some of the lessons she learned working for that company were; “(among how to make a proper cup of English tea!), perseverance, confidence, flexibility, multi-tasking, never to think you know it all, mix with your ears rather than your brain, how to load a truck, and how to lift things a lot heavier than my own weight.” She also picked up skills in accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll, dealing with clients, and all sorts of management skills.
It paid off, and Mags has been working as an independent Monitor Engineer for 19 years. She’s toured with The Dandy Warhols, Rufus Wainwright, My Bloody Valentine, Gary Numan, Duffy, Nick Lowe, Natasha Beddingfield, Lila Downs, Mathew Herbert, and Camille and is soon starting with Marianne Faithfull. Mags occasionally does Production Management as well. Her first tour was with Nils Lofgren. Thrown in at the deep end, she ended up mixing monitors for her company. Mags also spent eleven months managing a US band but recalls that she would never want to do that again.
Mags has had some obstacles to overcome in her early days at the sound company- being foreign (French and working in the UK) young, and female. “There was this one guy who spent every gig we worked together re-doing what I was doing.” She dealt with it by being stubborn, persevering, and having faith in herself. “However the boss of the company believed in me, and he didn’t treat me any different. Actually, he was a very hard boss/teacher, but he pushed me more than I would probably have been able to push myself.” Mags ended up working alongside her boss in running the company for years.
She started working for the Dandy Warhols in 1998 and would still return to the company to work in between tours. Mags did this until 2004 when she became strictly a touring engineer. She now spends her downtime between tours working on her home, an ‘old ruin’ she bought nearly ten years ago in the French countryside. Mags still tries to work at least once a year with the old company, “not mixing but just loading trucks and moving gear around, to keep sane and grounded in this industry.”
Mags loves the constant travel with touring, losing track of time and what day it is, as well as the diversity of the people, places, and culture she sees while on the road and enjoys ‘being a little part of bringing joy and entertainment to the world through music.”
The downside of being independent, however, is that “you never know when the next job is going to come.” The other difficult bits about touring for Mags are “saying goodbye to your touring pals when a tour is over, bad catering, and the lack of a proper croissant and hot chocolate.”
Mags enjoys her alone time on days off, along with running, going to a museum or movie, and “eating gorgeous food.” Her long-term goals include doing what she loves and loving what she does, and right now she wouldn’t change her job for anything in the world.
Advice to anyone wanting to enter the field of live sound reinforcement– “make sure you know the meaning of perseverance.’ Be flexible, open-minded, and have a good work ethic.”
Some members have asked what lessons we’ve learned over the years. Here are a few things I’ve assimilated during my time as FOH Engineer.
Great sound starts with great musicians and great sounding gear. The old adage ‘Garbage in Garbage out’ holds true. If the band doesn’t play well or their gear sounds bad there is only so much you can do. (more…)
SoundGirls.Org member and blogger Kerrie Mondy has created this program. Knowing your frequencies is important not only in stopping feedback quickly but also in identifying what may be over-abundant or lacking in your mix.
Train your ear by listening to how the program material is affected when various frequencies are boost and cut.
For best results, listen on your stereo or with a good set of headphones that have ample bass response. Some computer speakers will not reproduce the low frequencies accurately.
SoundGirls.Org Frequency Training program
After a bit of a rough show Friday night, we showed up early in the day Saturday to regroup and figure out how to make things go a lot smoother. We did end up catching some heat from our superiors about the hiccups we had the previous night but that was kind of expected. (more…)
Please note that currently all spots are full but you can still add your name to the wait list in event of cancellations. Email: Soundgirls.org@gmail.com
SoundGirls.Org is honored to be able to offer a behind the scenes tour of The Mastering Lab to our members. Join us on November 7, 2014 as Grammy winner Doug Sax opens his doors to us.
Attendees will
Doug Sax has played an integral role in the Art of Mastering. Founding The Mastering Lab, the first independent mastering studio in 1967. Through the years Doug has worked on seminal works for acclaimed artists such as Pink Floyd, The Who, Kate Bush, The Eagles, Neil Young, Paul McCartney and many more. Doug has received the AES Lifetime Honorary Membership award and received a Technical Achievement Grammy Award.
Today The Mastering Lab is a world renowned state of the art mastering studio that utilizes custom handcrafted electronics and unique concepts of signal flow and processing. Doug Sax is known for musical accuracy and the equipment at The Mastering Lab reflects Doug’s philosophy such that most gear is custom made or modified to meet Doug’s high standards. This has earned The Mastering Lab more Grammy nominations than any other mastering studio in the world.
Space is limited to reserve your spot email soundgirls.org@gmail.com – exact times tba.
Location: The Mastering Lab – Ojai, CA – Ojai is about 90 minutes north of Los Angeles – near Ventura.
You must be a member of SoundGirls.Org (It’s free).
1.) The first independent mastering facility established in the world.
2.) The power amplifiers designed by Sherwood Sax (Doug’s brother) in the 1968 are still used today to power our rooms.
3.) Doug Sax and Robert Hadley were the first mastering engineers to win a Grammy Award for Best 5.1 Surround Sound Album for Genius Loves Company in 2004.
SoulSound is a leading audio resource center for audio engineers, curated and delivered by live and studio audio professionals.
SoundForums.net is a general live sound and pro production forum, with a news page and blogs. It also has a DIY audio section.
Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) provides training in the recording arts and audio technology in a world-class recording studio with award-winning women instructors. WAM creates an environment that encourages over 200 young women a year to become recording engineers, music producers and media makers and to enter a “non-traditional” field. They also offer an online training and library.
ProSoundWeb.com News and information for the audio professional
SPLNetwork.com A Live Sound E-zine
Mixonline.com Mix Magazine online featuring Professional Audio, and Music Production
CrewSpace.com A forum for touring road crew
StageJobsPro.com A networking and recruitment site for over 20,000 theatre professionals across the USA.
SoundonSound.com Covering various aspects of professional audio- recording techniques, audio technology, music production, video media, etc…
ShureNotes.com Keep up with the latest news and developments from Shure
FOhonline.com People, Production, Gear, and Gigs
This Tour Life Offers Advice and Tips on Touring
Sound Design Live: PodCasts, Interviews, and Strategies for the Audio Industry
Roadies in the Mist: Dave Rat’s blog on touring with The Red Hot Chili Peppers spans a course of five years
Dave Rat Blog: You never know what tips and advice he will post
Musika Lessons Blog: Learn in the comfort of your own home, at a teacher’s studio, or anywhere that is convenient for you. Start your musical journey today!
Lately, this theme seems to keep popping up in my life. It has shown up in conversations I have had with friends about our kids, college, and following their passions. It is a constant theme in a long-term project I am working on, that has me researching the early days of concert sound (If you think those guys didn’t just do it – think again – It is mind-blowing – Here is an article about touring with Led Zeppelin). Just last week I met and interviewed SG member Kim Griess for a profile and “Just Do It” is all over her 20+ year career. Kerrie Mondy’s recent blog post Power Struggles – Work and Physicality highlighted what a great Can Do Attitude can achieve.
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