T Bone Burnett, Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel, Alison Krauss, Robert Plant head lineup of honorees and presenters
Comedian Bob Sarlatte to Host at Pro Sound Industry Gala
September 29, 2008—San Francisco, CA—The 24th Annual Technical Excellence and Creativity Awards, the world’s foremost recognition of outstanding achievement in professional audio production and product innovation, will be held this Friday at the Westin St. Francis on San Francisco’s Union Square.
Presented by the Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio, this year’s TEC Awards will recognize outstanding achievement in 26 categories of professional audio production and product innovation. In addition, T Bone Burnett, one of the most prolific musicians and producers of American roots music, will be inducted to the TEC Hall of Fame, and Ray Benson, founder and leader of Western Swing stalwarts Asleep at the Wheel, will be honored with the prestigious Les Paul Award for the creative application of audio technology. The Les Paul Award is sponsored by the Gibson Foundation.
The awards ceremony will be hosted by Bob Sarlatte, a San Francisco-based comedian, commercial actor and radio/television personality. His numerous network TV credits include more than 20 appearances on Late Night with David Letterman. Sarlatte will preside over presentations by a roster of music and sound industry veterans, including renowned artists Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, who will induct T Bone Burnett to the TEC Hall of Fame for his achievements as a musician, composer and producer for more than three decades. The Les Paul Award will be presented to Ray Benson by a surprise guest to be announced at show time.
“This will be a truly memorable TEC Awards”, said Hillel Resner, executive producer and president of the Mix Foundation. “We are grateful to Alison and Robert for helping us honor T Bone’s many accomplishments. Besides our impressive lineup of presenters, don’t be surprised if Asleep at the Wheel revs up the bus for the second half of the show!”
Raising Sand, last year’s acclaimed album by Krauss and Plant and produced by Burnett, is also nominated for Creative Achievement in Record Production, along with albums by the Eagles, John Fogerty, Shelby Lynne and White Stripes. Awards for creative achievement will also be presented in eight other categories, including Interactive Entertainment Sound Production, introduced last year to recognize the achievements of sound creators in the burgeoning video game field. The award is being sponsored this year by the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), a global, non-profit organization established to advance the interactive audio industry. Paul Lipson, president of G.A.N.G., will co-present the award.
Other confirmed presenters form a galaxy of Bay Area and national musical and production talent, including musicians Michael Carabello (Santana), D’Wayne Wiggins (Tony! Toni! Toné!) and Jeff Watson (Night Ranger); popular San Francisco radio personality Renee Richardson, platinum producer Al Schmitt and renowned tour sound mixer Howard Page, among others.(For a complete list and biographies of the TEC Awards nominees, visit www.mixfoundation.org. )
Tickets to the TEC Awards may be purchased by contacting Karen Dunn at 925-708-0307 or [email protected].
The Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization headquartered in Walnut Creek, California.Funds derived from the TEC Awards and other Foundation activities are donated to organizations working to promote safe listening practices including House Ear Institute’s outreach campaign to teenagers and numerous audio education scholarships.
The TEC Awards is sponsored by Mix magazine, the professional audio industry’s leading international monthly, published by Penton Media. Other top-tier sponsors include the Gibson Foundation, Harman Pro Group, American Music and Sound, Guitar Center Professional, Meyer Sound, RODE Microphones, Sennheiser Electronics and Universal Audio. For complete list of sponsors, visit www.mixfoundation.org/tec/08sponsors.html.
24th Annual TEC Awards Presenters (as of 9/30/08):
Michael Carabello is a founding member of Santana and the only conga player in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He recently toured with The Doobie Brothers and recorded with the Steve Miller Band. He is currently performing with the Greg Rolie Band.
Stephen Hart is a multi-talented recording engineer, mixer, producer, project co-coordinator and formerly chief engineer at Fantasy Studios, whose credits include David Bowie, Santana, the White Stripes, John Lee Hooker, and Stevie Ray Vaughn.
Paul Lipson is the President of the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), sponsors of the TEC Award for Interactive Entertainment Sound Production. He is also VP of Business Development at Pyramind, Inc., where his music and audio production team has worked with numerous A-list clients in interactive entertainment, film, and television sectors.
Keith O. Johnson is an audio scientist who has made significant contributions in recording technology, optical memory, keyboard sampling, microphone technology, the compact disc, and who is a multiple Grammy winner to boo. Known in the industry as the “Professor.”
Howard Page is Senior Director of Engineering for the sound company Clair. With decades in the live pro audio business, Page has mixed tours for acts such as Van Halen, Phil Collins; Bee Gees, James Taylor, Paul Simon and Mariah Carey. He has also been the audio designer and director for hundreds of large, multi-act shows.
Claytoven Richardson is a gifted singer, instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, and session musician who has performed with artists including Elton John, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Aretha Franklin, among many others
Renee Richardson is a compelling voice familiar to the Bay Area as on air personality with the KFOG Morning Show on 104.5 FM, playing world-class rock for Northern California.
Gene Semel is Senior Manager, Sound Group at Sony Computer Entertainment America. Gene spent many years of his professional career in post-production and sound design for television and films. He worked closely with the TEC Awards and Mix Foundation to introduce the Interactive Entertainment Sound Production award in 2007 and acts as the chair of the awards steering committee.
Jeff Watson is a remarkable guitarist best known as a member of the band Night Ranger, whose speed picking technique led him to work with arena rock legends Sammy Hagar and Ronnie Montrose.
D’Wayne Wiggins is a founding member of Oakland’s Neo-Soul group, Tony! Toni! Toné!, with five number one Billboard R&B hits. In 1995 he discovered and signed a group called Destiny’s Child to his own Grassroots label, launching them to become the best selling girl group of all time.