By Clive Young. The late Israel Kamakawiwo'ole is probably one of the least known artists ever to have an album go double-platinum. Facing Future, the Hawaii native’s early Nineties CD, is an unusual mix of stridently local-oriented music, but it is best known for something entirely different: his simple medley of "What a Wonderful World" and "Over the Rainbow.” Dan Kois' new book, appropriately titled Facing Future, tells the story of the artist’s career, but it kicks off with a prologue (reprinted below) that recounts the weird, late-night session which captured the trademark medley.

Renowned bassist Tom "T-Bone" Wolk died of a heart attack on February 27. Best known for his work with Hall & Oates (he often co-produced their albums as well), Wolk also had a stint as a member of the Saturday Night Live band, and worked with a variety of artists over the course of his career, including Squeeze, Jellyfish, Carly Simon, Billy Joel, Shawn Colvin, Elvis Costello and Willie Nile (who he co-produced as well). Columnist Rich Tozzoli interviewed Wolk recently in the November 2009 issue of Pro Sound News, reprinted here in memorium. Wolk's smooth, low tones will be missed.

By Clive Young. Social media is always a popular topic at PSN, primarily because it’s useful for getting our daily headlines out fast (they always appear on Twitter and Facebook with links to the full stories on this site). That said, it’s also useful for passing along audio bargains we’ve heard about and breaking news from other sources (for instance, London’s Financial Times broke the story that Abbey Road Studios was for sale at 1 AM on a Monday morning, so we linked to it ASAP until we could bring you PSN’s coverage later that day). And of course, social media can also help one share the web’s true forte: amusing weird stuff obliquely related to the topic at hand. With that, here’s some of PSN’s February 2010 tweets, excluding the tons of daily www.prosoundnews.com headlines. Remember to follow us on Twitter at @ProSoundNews!

By Clive Young. There’s been a lot of concern in recent years over the FCC’s handling of the wireless frequencies that pro audio gear uses every day. With the coming introduction of TV Band Devices that will operate in the same wireless spectrum as most of the pro audio community, people who rely on wireless mics, production intercoms, personal monitors and the like are increasingly scared that their equipment won’t work when they need it the most. Well, you can finally have a say in the matter—but the deadline is March 1.

By Clive Young. While we use Twitter to announce when PSN's daily news headlines are live at the website, that’s just the beginning. We also point you to cool pro audio stuff around the web; give you up-to-the-second news reports from events like AES and NAMM; look for potential interviewees for articles (if you want to get into the pages of PSN, this is a great ‘in’); chat a bit and, heaven forbid, even crack the occasional joke. We still bring you breaking pro audio news every day, but we're not above posting a photo link to a cat hilariously sprawled across the capstans of an old Studer tape machine. To give you an idea of what we’re talking about, here’s a sampling of “tweets” starting in mid-January (minus the daily headlines), presenting the good, bad and just plain weird.

By Clive Young. At the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim earlier this month, it was business as usual. There were product announcements, aging rockstars and their cohorts, packed aisles full of tire-kickers, and lots of music. Perhaps the most striking thing, however, was the fact that the show really was “business as usual.”

by Mel Lambert. In the week that James Cameron’s Avatar crested $1 billion in box office receipts, 3D delivery and playback was the prominent theme at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Samsung, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, JVC and even Vizio unveiled new 3D-TV receivers (some models even convert 2D content into immersive 3D), while ESPN, Fox Sports, DirecTV and Discovery Communications (in partnership with Sony and IMAX) plan to launch 3D-TV networks. And several brands will offer 3D-capable Blu-Ray players, while Panasonic introduced its first fully integrated, pro-quality 3D camcorder. Graphics-card guru Nvidia also unveiled 3D options for laptop and desktop PCs.

Raw materials in a staging area of sE Electronics’3000 square meter factory and headquarters in Shanghai.  All stages of manufacturing are performed onsite,save for electroplating of some metal parts. Workers manually prepare capsule housingsin the sE Electronics factory.Computer controlled CNC lathes

Full Compass founder and CEO Jonathan Lipp with the 1975 vintageClone Tone console he built for a local TV station.Full Compass founder and CEO Jonathan Lipp with the 1975 vintageClone Tone console he built for a local TV station.Full Compass

By Frank Wells. A museum of audio history that is part of the lobby at Full Compass’ new headquarters (see separate story) served as a springboard for a conversation with founder Jonathan Lipp, reminiscing first about the Madison recording facility that housed a home-built 8-track recorder and hosted such artists as Ben Sidran and guest engineers, including a young Bruce Botnick. Full Compass began as an offshoot of the studio in 1977. The studio was closed in 1980.

By Mel Lambert. Los Angeles, CA--Following its recent seminar spotlighting sound design for Star Trek, Motion Picture Sound Editors/MPSE attracted a standing room-only audience for its latest offering, Watchmen – Superhero Sound, during which re-recording mixers Chris Jenkins and Frank Montaño, together with supervising sound editor Scott Hecker and composer Tyler Bates, detailed their intricate work on director Zack Snyder’s epic realization of the famed graphic novel.

By Clive Young. Every year at Pro Sound News, we run a story on what to get your favorite live sound roadie for the holidays. We look around for useful and sometimes goofy items that are small enough to fit in a road case drawer, and which are as applicable to guys running PTA meeting audio as to their brethren tackling 50,000-seat stadium shows. This year, there was so much stuff that we’ve split the story into four parts—and today, we highlight Great Suggestions from a Roadie's Mom.

By Clive Young. Every year at Pro Sound News, we run a story on what to get your favorite live sound roadie for the holidays. We look around for useful and sometimes goofy items that are small enough to fit in a road case drawer, and which are as applicable to guys running PTA meeting audio as to their brethren tackling 50,000-seat stadium shows. This year, there was so much stuff that we’ve split the story into four parts—and today, we highlight Advice From The Pros.

By Clive Young. Every year at Pro Sound News, we run a story on what to get your favorite live sound roadie for the holidays. We look around for useful and sometimes goofy items that are small enough to fit in a road case drawer, and which are as applicable to guys running PTA meeting audio as to their brethren tackling 50,000-seat stadium shows. This year, there was so much stuff that we’ve split the story into four parts—and today, we highlight both Musical and Unusual Presents.

By Clive Young. Every year at Pro Sound News, we run a story on what to get your favorite live sound roadie for the holidays. We look around for useful and sometimes goofy items that are small enough to fit in a road case drawer, and which are as applicable to guys running PTA meeting audio as to their brethren tackling 50,000-seat stadium shows. This year, there was so much stuff that we’ve split the story into four parts—and today, we highlight Practical Presents.

By Clive Young. Built during the Great Depression, New York’s Radio City Music Hall has become one of the best-known venues in the world, and much of that stems from the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular, featuring the high-kicking Rockettes. The show is performed well over 200 times annually between November and year’s end in the 5,900 seat venue; as a result, it plays to more than a million people every holiday season. Ensuring that every seat hears every note of the show, Radio City upgraded its audio system a few years ago to stay in step with the times.

By Clive Young. Everyone loves the hardware that built Rock ‘n’ Roll. Guitars used by famous musicians wind up in museums; consoles that recorded classic tracks change hands between studios for jaw-dropping sums; and people gladly pay the Hard Rock Café for a cheeseburger, Coke and fries, just so they can sit next to a mic once used by the bald guy in Midnight Oil. We’re all prone to pine for the good old days now and then, but when it comes to music hardware, you probably haven't heard much rhapsodizing about legendary vinyl mastering lathes. Until now.

By Clive Young. Packaged media ain’t what it used to be. Much of this is due to the popularity of digital delivery systems like iTunes, but you can also point a finger at the reduced importance of music in today’s world. Songs are becoming a side dish to another experience, whether it’s cleaning house, working out or pseudo-wailing on Guitar Hero. Now, as the holiday retail season descends on us, it seems in some cases, the songs are secondary to the packages they come in, too.

By Mel Lambert. Los Angeles (November 2, 2009)--The recent SMPTE Annual Technical Conference & Expo included a fascinating session that addressed two critically important aspects affecting both content providers and broadcasters. Hosted by Tom Scott from Onstream Media, Audio Issues in the Digital Environment considered lip-sync errors that are produced during just about every stage of production, post and delivery to air/cable, while a separate discussion focused on how broadcasters wrestle with consistent loudness levels for the consumer. The SMPTE Conference & Expo was held at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel from October 27 thru 29, following a specially organized one-day Seminar on Advanced Media Workflows and MXF.

By Mel Lambert. A recent Motion Picture Sound Editors' seminar entitled Star Trek--The Sound Show enabled a packed audience in Los Angeles to hear how the complex soundtrack evolved in the hands of its talented sound crew.