Up to our ears in ideas... and jobs!

It's been a long while between updates here, but certainly not for lack of activity.  The jobs have been pouring in and there's plenty to report about the last 1 1/2 months at Tapeworks, now that we have a chance to take a breath - albeit, a short one!

May the Fourth Be With You P.2
Chief Engineer Bill Ahearn was hard at work on producing some viral video magic for the second straight year: Star Wars, Lego, Tapeworks, and "the kid with the incredible Lego collection" joined forces earlier this month to sound-design and score the follow-up to last year's monster viral hit, "The Fastest and Funniest LEGO Star Wars story ever told".  Once again, we enlisted the guitar-shredding prowess of our friend Jimi Bell, and if you thought the first video was metal-tastic, you'll love the newest video, which you can watch here.  Thanks to Bill's son, Zack Ahearn, for lending his voice to the project!



Stony Brook Invades Hartford
On the weekend of April 10/11, Tapeworks was home to a couple of marathon recording sessions with the Stony Brook Vocalists, who were recording their debut album with engineer Chris Lennie.  Their energy and enthusiasm were contagious and we got some great results from their work.  Check out their website for details on album availability and release updates, as well as audio and video clips of the group's live performances in the meantime.



It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Golf Season....
Last week, famed Sportscaster and ESPN anchorman Chris Berman was in our studio recording promos for the upcoming 2011 PGA Travelers Championship.  The event will take place at the TPC Highlands golf course in Cromwell, CT during the week June 20-26, and feature a bevy of renowned PGA pros, including Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, John Daly, Hunter Mahan, and 2010 winner Bubba Watson.  We were honored to have Mr. Berman's "Boomer"-ing baritone filling our halls once again!


Whew!  We've already had a full-season's worth of excitement, and Spring is only half-over.  Can't wait to see what the next month will bring...

Just The Beginning..

My name is Haylee and I am the newest addition to the Tapeworks crew. I started working at the studio on Monday, March 21st. I wanted to work here because I have a passion for music and the entertainment world. I've wanted to be involved in this industry ever since I was a little girl. Naturally, when I had the opportunity to work at Tapeworks I jumped at the chance.

Things got off to a quick start when I was introduced to Ernie Sabella, the voice of Pumbaa, of the Lion King, who was a big part of my early childhood. Looking back, I must have watched the VHS tape a thousand times! I couldn't believe my ears as I listened to him going through a voice over session.

Also, in my first couple of days, the legendary actor Brian Dennehy stopped by our studio to do some session work. It was very exciting to be in the company of a respected Hollywood star.

I always knew that the Tapeworks had a great reputation, but I was so impressed when Jeanine Basinger, a noted film critic, graced our studio to do a live national NPR broadcast following the death of Elizabeth Taylor.

The thing I like most about Tapeworks is that every day is a new adventure. Given Doug's thirty plus years of experience, you never know what or who to expect next.

Renowned Film Scholar LIVE from Tapeworks

It was our pleasure this morning to host renowned film historian, Jeanine Basinger, as she took part in an NPR broadcast discussing the legacy of the late Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor, and void left by her recent passing. The show was a round-table interview featuring Ms. Basinger, and Chief Film Critic for the NY Times A. O. Scott. It was produced for the WBUR-Boston radio program On Point with Tom Ashbrook.

Lemmon Days at Tapeworks

The past couple of weeks, we have had the chance to work on a couple of projects with Connecticut's own, Chris Lemmon. He and his wife, Gina Raymond Lemmon, own Stone Manor Productions, and are working on two separate, yet connected projects: A documentary entitled, "Day By Day", in association with John Rosas Productions, and a piano album that Cathy Barlow is helping to produce.

The documentary, "Day By Day", based on the book written by Christine Frisbee, is about children living with a sick brother or sister and the impact it has on their lives. Chris, who will also serve as host, wrote both the script and soundtrack for the film.

The second project is an album of all original music, written and performed by Chris Lemmon. The classically trained pianist gained international acclaim during a performance with Shirley MacLaine of Gershwin's, "I've Got A Crush On You" at the 1988 AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Jack Lemmon. The album is a musical account of Chris' journey to adulthood and reliving the memories of his past through his music. The album will share the title of Chris' written tribute to his father, "A Twist Of Lemmon", and will contain 11 original pieces - including the title soundtrack for the documentary, "Day By Day."

We've had a lot of fun working with them - and the treats they always bring!

Music and Interviews

Over the weekend here at Tapeworks, the control room was the location site for Milling About - a blogtalkradio.com feature hosted by entertainment reporter, Robin Milling. This week's interviewee was a close friend of the studio - Grayson Hugh .

The 40 minute interview, which will air on Friday, February 25th, contains three songs performed by Grayson and his wife (Polly Messer, providing vocal harmonies), and showcases some of his newer piano/vocal work as well as an old favorite.

It will be a program you won't want to miss - included in the interview is a very uplifting story about Grayson's recent return to recording and performing his own music, and how he has never been in a better place in his life. It is surely one that anyone involved in the music business can learn from.

Remotes and Radio

So despite all the crazy weather we've been having, things are still bustling along - as are we - from one corner of the state to the other!

First Bill got to take a drive up to "UConn country" where he met with Women's Head Basketball Coach, Geno Auriemma, in snow-covered Gampel Pavilion to record him for a radio spot due out in March. (Can you imagine having to clear the snow off of that roof?)

Then Chris hit the road on the last weather-filled morning CT has seen so far, (which, if you can believe, was only a lengthy 4 days ago) to head down to Norwalk Hospital where he recorded one of the doctors and two very moving patient testimonials.

Now back to the studio (and connecting us back up to Storrs), high school student, Mike Casey, who attends E.O. Smith and The Greater Hartford Academy for the Arts recorded a jazz CD in which all of the proceeds will be donated to Horns For Kids - a charity which supports music education in CT.

Anxiously awaiting what should hopefully be just around the corner - Spring! I think we are all well-deserving of that!

A 2010 Wrap-up From the "B" Room

As we get ready for whatever excitement 2011 will bring us, this feels like as good a time as any for reflecting on my "rookie season" at Tapeworks.

In the eight short months since joining the crew here, I've seen many of the ways in which a pro studio earns the kind of reputation that this place has had for so many years. I've learned that a successful audio engineer needs to be constantly aware of many elements within a recording session. That means learning tendencies of clients and being able to anticipate their next requests. It also means constantly weighing the factors of fatigue, productivity and "finance efficiency" against each other when working with studio talent.

It also means multitasking. I was amazed to discover how much multitasking is required to run a successful session between multiple locations simultaneously. Let's just say that my "involuntary stopwatch reflex" has become finely tuned as a result of these sessions.

2010 also brought some very cool new developments to our "B" room, which made the leap this year from functional control room to a miniature version of our "A" room. The end of the year saw the introduction of our brand new Mackie Onyx 1620i Mixer, which combines the necessity of a 16-channel analog mixer with a Firewire digital output. With functional ISDN and phone patch lines running into Studio B, we can now do all kinds of multi-client (and multi-location) sessions from either room at Tapeworks (yes, the "B" room even has a snazzy stopwatch!).

It was a great 2010, and we're looking forward to an even better 2011!

Happy New Year!