Ann Mincieli's Interview for WOMEN BEHIND THE CONSOLE: Inside The Process

On January 14, 2011, Making Music Herstory presented the panel WOMEN BEHIND THE CONSOLE: Inside the process, live at the NAMM show. Ann Mincieli, one of the 5 panelists, was not able to attend due to the snowstorms on the East Coast. Fortunately Lisa Chamblee Hampton asked some questions so that we could still gain some insight from Ann.

LCH: Working as an assistant engineer you have a lot of responsibility but you also have time to observe. Can you tell us what you learned from being an assistant engineer for Mariah Carey?

AM: I learned so much about vocals- how to stack, EQ, and blend. Also learned about the vocal mechanics and the physics of how you can place your tone- whether it’s in your chest, your head tone or how to make your tone fuller. It helped me as an engineer be able to teach microphone technique to artists that I record or show them how to round their vocal tones off so they are fuller and more airy by switching to head tone.

I also learned how to lock two 3348′s up using the remote controls. That machine was the coolest machine! You could digitally copy from one track to another, trim your punches and it had a cross fade switch. Back then we would be running 96 tracks at one time. Then the engineer would blend the stacks down to 2 channels and then you would increment up with vocal slaves. So essentially you can have 150 tracks running all blended down to 96 tracks. Nowadays Pro Tools has spoils us! Back in the day it was so much harder to record. At least with the 3348 you had a rehearse key in case you messed up a punch; you could undo it. I also learned how to be very organized. Her engineer at the time, Dana Jon Chappelle, was very organized with recalls, writing up track sheets and tape labels. Wow! We don’t even have that anymore!

LCH: Can you sum up/describe all the things you do with Alicia Keys?

AM: Wow! On any given day I can do just about anything and everything for Alicia. From Engineer to Album Coordinator, Studio Director to Programming, Tour Programming and Editing, Studio Designing, Piano Plug-in Design (Alicia’s Keys, Native Instruments)…the list goes on and on. During the last tour I stood out there on the bus and helped with so many things.

The most gratifying thing is that we HEAR COLORS and SEE SOUNDS. We aren’t recording just to record, we are gear-heads and we manipulate our sample libraries and gear to color the sounds, theme and vibe of the songs. Whether it’s a gritty guitar part, finding gear on eBay to recreate a tone- just being able to research and make those choices are just as rewarding; as well as being able to hire all the session musicians. At the end of the day we are painting a picture and a theme for each song.

LCH: You just had the Grand Opening of Jungle City Studios in NYC. How does it feel to be a studio owner?

AM: It feels incredible! It’s just one GOAL that I had for many years. I wanted it to be way more than just a generic studio. I wanted a piece of ART. You guys will see a lot of the studio unveiling in the coming weeks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY11_4n8bsg

A FULL HOUSE AT WOMEN BEHIND THE CONSOLE: INSIDE THE PROCESS PANEL AT THE 2011 NAMM H.O.T. ZONE

Los Angeles, CA January 25, 2011– On Friday, January 14, 2011, Making Music Herstory presented the panel discussion, WOMEN BEHIND THE CONSOLE: Inside the process at the NAMM H.O.T. Zone to a packed room of music professionals and students. Moderated by Producer/Engineer Lisa Chamblee Hampton (Prince, George Duke, Justin Timberlake), the event revolved around the four panelists: Grammy and Tony nominated Singer-Songwriter Brenda Russell (The Color Purple, Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige), Platinum Producer/Engineer Sylvia Massy (Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., Prince), Live Broadcast Engineer Jeri Palumbo (NFL, CBS, FOX), and ASCAP Award winning Engineer Marcella Araica (Timbaland, Keri Hilson, Britney Spears).

“Our goal for producing this event was to be able to showcase the outstanding contributions of these women to our industry. We did that today,” says Chamblee Hampton. Provided with a slideshow of discographies, photographs and audio snippets from projects they have worked on, each panelist shared recounts of their songwriting, production and engineering adventures. With the panelists representing a variety of careers in the business, the audience was taken on a journey from Broadway, to the studio, all the way to the Super Bowl!

Brenda described her work on “I’m Here” from the popular Broadway show, The Color Purple and her R&B hit song, “Get Here”. Marcella recalled her journey from student to platinum mix engineer- working with pros like Timbaland, Missy and Danja. Jeri told us all about the massive live audio demands of Super Bowl week and also explained some different live audio engineering positions and responsibilities. Sylvia shared production stories about her work with Rock band Tool and the legendary Johnny Cash, and gave helpful gear recommendations.

The panel concluded with Q/A with the audience and subjects ranged from the importance of obtaining an education in recording versus being self-taught, to how to build your business, favoring analog and/or digital recordings, and gear usage.

Watch the broadcast archive now at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/women-behind-the-console. The event was powered by: PreSonus, Glyph, and Native Instruments with additional promotional support provided by Mix Magazine, Audix Microphones, Daisy Rock Guitars and Women's Audio Mission. There is also an interview posted with Ann Mincieli, the fifth panelist who was absent due to the East Coast blizzard, where she talks about her work with Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys.

Cordell Jackson: America’s Female Music Pioneer By Sakae Kidd

Rock and Roll lovers all over Memphis Tennessee know Cordell Jackson. But Jackson is most famous for paving the way for women in the music industry. She was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi on July 15, 1923 as Cordell Miller. Cordell took an interest in music when her father encouraged her to play. Young Cordell learned how to play the guitar, piano, and upright bass. At the age of twelve she was performing on her father’s radio show with his band the “Pontotoc Ridge Runners”. Later she added the mandolin, banjo, and harmonica to her list of instruments. But she's known for playing her trademark Hagstrom electric guitar. She married William Jackson in 1943 and started a new life in Memphis. In 1947 with the purchase of her recording equipment, Cordell became a woman of many firsts. Jackson wanted to sign with Sun Records label, but was unable to break into the label's established group of male artists. With the advice and assistance from RCA Records' Chet Atkins, he suggested she form her own record label to release her music under. In 1956 Jackson founded Moon Records and released her first single under her Moon label, "Bebopper's Christmas." In her home studio she served as an engineer, producer, and arranger, releasing and promoting singles. Artists under Cordell’s label consisted of herself and a small group of rock and roll, rockabilly, and country performers that she recruited from several Southern states. Jackson made music history as the first female recording engineer in the United States. She is counted as the first woman to write, sing, accompany, record, engineer, produce and manufacture a record. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s Jackson remained active in the music scene. Discovering her Moon singles were collector's items, Jackson revived Moon Records in 1980. In the early 80's she released a compilation album on vinyl with the labels 1950's singles titled “The 50's Rock on the Moon of Memphis Tennessee: An Oddity.” In 1983 under Moon she released a four song EP of instrumentals called “Knockin’ at 60.” Throughout the 80's she began to do more solo performances in Hoboken, Memphis, Chicago, and New York City nightclubs. New material was recorded on her label with Memphis musicians Colonel Robert Morris and Bob Holden. Morris and Holden coined her the nickname "Rock-and-Roll Granny." "If I want to wang dang rock 'n' roll at 69 years old dressed up in an antebellum dress, it ain't nobody's business but mine." says Cordell. Jackson released her last album in the late 90's titled “Cordell Jackson: Live in Chicago," on Bughouse Records. Jackson’s Moon Records label was the oldest continuously operating label in Memphis at the time of her death on October 14, 2004. Her original 1950s vinyl singles compiled on “The 50's Rock on the Moon of Memphis Tennessee: An Oddity” album have been displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Cordell is a heroine to any woman who has or wants to pursue a career in the music industry. She knocked down the barriers of a profession that was seen as a “Mans World.” Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordell_Jackson http://www.steamiron.com/cgrrl/cordell.html

Making Music Herstory Shares a Perspective of Women In Music at Apple Store

Los Angeles, CA, March 31, 2010- On March 23rd, in celebration of National Women’s History Month, Executive Producer Lisa Chamblee-Hampton and contributing artist Jennie Laws gave Las Vegas a taste of ‘Herstory’ at the Apple Store in Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops during the Made on a Mac: Making Music Herstory presentation.

The in-store event was an astounding success. Chamblee-Hampton expressed, “Having a venue like Apple to share our content was incredible. The audience was very receptive to our project and really enjoyed the music. We showed how we create audio and video content on a daily basis using Macs and how that positively affects our brand building process.”

The presentation included video biographies of participants like Chamblee-Hampton, Lenise Bent and Jennie Laws, samples of music from Jennah Bell and Ladysugar and a video summary of the Making Music Herstory project. Jennie Laws, a singer-songwriter native to Toronto, Canada captivated the audience with her live acoustic performance. With just her voice and guitar she treated everyone to a soulful serenade. Jennie personified the level of talent involved in Making Music Herstory with her musical showcase.

Throughout her discussion, Chamblee-Hampton communicated how building content with Apple computers and applications has increased her success as an entrepreneur in the entertainment business. Some of the applications Lisa and the team use to create Making Music Herstory content are Logic for music pre-production, Pro Tools on the Mac platform to record live musicians, Final Cut Studio for video editing and Keynote for presentations. They also use Glyph Technologies hard drives for their video assets and PMC studio monitors when mixing.

Audio Engineer Chamblee-Hampton has worked on several Grammy nominated projects for the likes of Prince, George Duke and Justin Timberlake. The Making Music Herstory brand represents a unique opportunity to produce content that uplifts, inspires and creates music from a 360° female perspective.

For more information or media inquiries please contact Lisa Chamblee-Hampton at 818.602.1888 or fyi@makingmusicherstory.com and for more information please visit http://makingmusicherstory.com.

MMH at Apple In-Store Event

Las Vegas, NV– On March 23, 2010 from 7-9 PM Executive Producer Lisa Chamblee-Hampton and contributing artist Jennie Laws will be giving Las Vegas a taste of ‘Herstory’ at the Apple Store in Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops during the Made on a Mac: Making Music Herstory discussion.

In celebration of National Women's History Month, Chamblee-Hampton will share her experiences of Making Music Herstory, a production company that creates music with a completely female perspective. As a longtime Mac owner, Chamblee-Hampton has used different applications to build content for the Herstory brand. To showcase some of the talent of Making Music Herstory, Toronto-born singer-songwriter Jennie Laws will be performing as part of the presentation.

“I’m looking forward to explaining how this independent project has grown and how using Macs makes creating music and documenting our journey possible,” says Lisa. “Plus, Jennie Laws is a magnetic performer and artist- this will be an unforgettable event!”

Lisa Chamblee-Hampton is also an audio engineer who has worked on several Grammy nominated projects for the likes of Prince, George Duke and Justin Timberlake. As an all-female production, Making Music Herstory has some of music’s most talented artists, songwriters, producers, musicians, and engineers creating music. http://www.makingmusicherstory.com

For more information or media inquiries please contact Lisa Chamblee-Hampton at 818.602.1888 or fyi@makingmusicherstory.com and for more information about the schedule please visit http://www.apple.com/retail/theforumshops.

Glyph Technologies Becomes Sponsor for Making Music Herstory

We are so thankful to have support from the best hard drives in the industry! We just recently recorded at the Village using the GT050Q to track and mix our sessions. Then the sessions got transferred to the brand new SSD Portagig, to do edits and mixing. The level of performance of these drives is simply superior to any other drives out there, and we are proud to trust our Masters to Glyph!

Lisa Chamblee-Hampton Endorses Glyph