Portfolios Journalism
Page updated March.30.2007
A Convention for the People Behind the Glass
Trade Show Review, Groove Vol. 17 Issue 1, October 17, 2005
(~782 words)
While great records are made by famous artists, and sometimes also famous producers, it’s the men and women behind the glass, in front of intricate mixing consoles, who are responsible for making great performances and great ideas sound like records, like supernatural sonic soundscapes. The AES, Audio Engineering Society, is an organization for these people, who don’t get much recognition from the general public. However, inside the recording industry, they are celebrities.
AES puts on a trade show in New York City every autumn. This year was the 119th convention, and it took place in the Jacob Javits Convention Center from October 7th through October 10th. Due to the proximity to Boston, most of the MP&E faculty and quite a significant number of MP&E majors make the trip down there every year, and this year was no exception.
An AES show consists of two general entities. There’s the trade show floor, which has hundreds of pro audio companies and retailers with some sort of booth set-up, from a simple cafeteria table covered with tablecloth to elaborate multi-floor mini-castles. Here, the companies show off their new products for the winter season, as well as their pre-existing flagship products. The hope is to create a buzz within the pro audio community, as well as hopefully land distribution agreements with retailers and large volume buyers such as top studios and educational institutions. The products and the companies represented at AES are definitely catering more towards the real professional audio engineer, while a trade show by NAMM (International Music Products Association), though it includes top pro audio gear, is driven mainly by prosumer equipment, as well as musical instruments.
This year’s AES in particular didn’t have much in terms of exciting and/or surprising new product announcements. There was one very interesting development, though it wasn’t a piece of pro audio equipment. A web-based network and service, www.eSession.com, allows you to see the availability of top session musicians and engineers, and a way to contact them to hire for your projects. Everything is done remotely and all files are transferred via internet, and eSession.com seems to suggest a whole new landscape for recording music. More and more, the idea of renting out a monstrous studio for a week or more to cut records seems like a thing of the past. The official launch for eSession.com is November 1st, and the recording industry will be keeping a close eye on its progress for sure.
The other half of AES includes the seminars, panels, and workshops. This is the primary reason and interest of the students who attend AES, with seminars ranging from very technical white paper presentations on the inner workings of a product, to panels of famous producers, to hands on workshops on certain techniques and new product functionality. The quality of these seminars varied wildly. While some were really productive and insightful, others degenerated quickly to dead end topics like analog v. digital and how Pro Tools is evil. Also, some of the audience participation for Q&A segments was disrespectful; during a mixing presentation by the venerable Bob Clearmountain, people in the audience would talk about themselves, and in the end not have any questions or interest in what Mr. Clearmountain had to say. It’s unfortunate, but one of the side effects of more accessible pro audio gear is that more and more people think they are audio engineers, even when they haven’t a clue what to do.
Also, for members of the greater Berklee community, AES New York also means there’s an alumni dinner, which current students are also invited to attend. It’s a nice opportunity for old students and faculty to catch up with old friends and colleagues, as well as for networking among all in attendance. Also, the MP&E department awards a Distinguished Alumni Award every year, and this year Ken Lewis (’91) won the honors. He has engineered and performed for artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Usher, Janet Jackson, and many others. In addition, he hosts the website ProToolsMixing.com. Also, there was one Berklee alumnus, Andrew Koss, who recently opened a studio in Times Square, and he invited all of us at the alumni dinner over to his amazing new studio, www.taintedblue.com.
All in all, AES New York is quite an amazing experience for current students. The right workshops are very educational and inspirational, and there are plenty of opportunities for networking, especially as a Berklee student. As current MP&E student Nathan Bierdeman puts it, "The workshops stand out as the apex of the holistic AES experience. Not only is the technical side of music production addressed by some of the industry's greatest, but also the artistic and political sides as well."
To view this article in the Groove itself, please visit the Groove web site, where a PDF of the issues are available for download.
Journalism Outline
The Groove Student Newspaper at Berklee College of Music
· "In Memorium: Walter Harp"
Article, Groove Vol. 17 Issue 4, December 5, 2005
· "Bringing the Real World Experience to School"
Article, Groove Vol. 17 Issue 4, December 5, 2005
· "The Marketing Design Group"
Article, Groove Vol. 17 Issue 3, November 15, 2005
· "Modern Day Re/sonance: The Electronica Club"
Article, Groove Vol. 17 Issue 3, November 15, 2005
· "A Convention for the People Behind the Glass"
Trade Show Review, Groove Vol. 17 Issue 1, October 17, 2005
· "Attempting Street Cred"
Editorial, Groove Vol. 16 Issue ?, February ?, 2005
· "The Boston Hip-Hop Alliance"
Article, Groove Vol. 15 Issue ?, February ?, 2005
· "Music Business Journal"
Article, Groove Vol. ? Issue ?, February 14, 2005
· "Music Business Majors Tour NAMM"
Trade Show Review, Groove Vol. 16 Issue 7, February 2, 2005
Co-written by Ross Gruet
· "Finally Woken"
CD Review Article, Groove Vol. ? Issue ?, December 8, 2004
· "Encore?"
CD Review Article, Groove Vol. ? Issue ?, December 8, 2004
· "New York, New York"
Cover Article, Groove Vol. 16 Issue 5, November 24, 2004
Co-written by Cynthia Morgan
· "An Evening of Birnbryer Peace"
Concert Review Article, Groove Vol. 2 Issue 4, November 10, 2004
· "Preventing Your Dog From Eating Your Homework"
Article, Groove Vol. 2 Issue 1, October 13, 2004
· "100 Miles and (No Longer) Runnin'"
Article, Groove Vol. ? Issue ?, September 29, 2004