News

NEW YORK – Academy Award-winning actor, Grammy-nominated musician and standup comedian Jamie Foxx added on-air host, contributor and executive producer of a satellite radio station 24/7 comedy, entertainment and lifestyle program to his resume. This new radio show features routines from a variety of comedians, guest appearances by stars from the worlds of entertainment and sports, and skits and interviews recorded on the run by the comedian on his HHB FlashMic.

BERKELEY, CA – On February 14, Céline Dion will embark upon her “Taking Chances” world tour of over 100 show dates, following her record-shattering, multi-year resident show in Las Vegas. The tour opens with a benefit concert for Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa, and will bring the world’s best-selling female artist to 85 cities in North America, Asia, Australia and Europe before the final stop in Florida in January 2009. The tour includes a stop in Tokyo, which features the largest Meyer Sound MILO system with a record 168 MILO line array loudspeakers.

OLD LYME, CT – The Plain White T's cultured a fan base for nearly a decade with persistent, well-attended tours and a handful of well-received albums before releasing "Every Second Counts" on Hollywood Records in 2006. Its runaway hit – "Hey There Delilah" remained at the number one spot on Billboard's Top 40 for two weeks and recently earned the band two Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals. The band is selling-out shows around the world with Sennheiser evolution wired and wireless microphones.

Since its introduction, the Blackline Series has been known for sound quality and reliability for live music venues, nightclubs and installations worldwide. Martin Audio is now introducing Blackline+, which features improvements to provide a higher level of performance.

BUENA PARK, CA – When the time came to retire an increasingly unreliable analog console at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs, Fla., the introduction of the Yamaha LS9 digital audio console was perfectly timed to be a serious alternative. With five diverse choirs and no full-time sound engineers on staff, the different needs of the traditional and contemporary choirs and the ever-increasing expectation of great audio spurred the decision makers to carefully consider just how much the Yamaha LS9 would be suited to the role of primary mixer at the church.

ASPEN, CO – The Wheeler Opera House, a world-class theatre located at the epicenter of downtown Aspen, recently installed a new digital Soundcraft Vi6 console at front-of-house. Built in the 1880s, the Wheeler is a Victorian proscenium-style theatre restored most recently by the City of Aspen in the early ’80s. Improved once more with its new Soundcraft console, the Wheeler offers a unique show-going experience as an intimate 500-seat house with acclaimed natural acoustics and picturesque setting at the base of Aspen Mountain.  

LAS VEGAS – Having established itself as the loudspeaker brand of choice for high-end entertainment venues with the Alpha Concept system, Dynacord’s star continues to rise in the entertainment capital of the world thanks to an installation at the Venetian’s new TAO Beach club, designed and installed by Bob Athey and Frank Heinrich of FBP Group.

AKG Acoustics has announced the debut of the newest version of its HiQnet System Architect software running AKG’s HUB 4000 Q Network Concentrator, enabling new possibilities for audio system networking and control. This software upgrade allows the AKG IVM 4 and the HUB 4000Q network concentrator to create the world’s first computer-controlled in-ear monitoring system.

ANAHEIM, CA – From Toronto’s Air Canada Centre to the Honda Center in Anaheim, Dane Cook’s 25-city transcontinental “Rough Around the Edges” tour blazed new trails for comedy acts.  It was a one-man stand-up show, yet the tour packed arenas that normally host NBA franchises and rock music supergroups.  Audio production for this sold-out tour was no laughing matter. Every syllable of the rapid-fire comic banter had to be fully articulated at every seat, a serious challenge in massive arenas jammed with more than 20,000 fans.

MORRISVILLE, NC – Faced with a traditional problem that many churches encounter with their audio systems, Cooper Cannady and the installers from Raleigh Music Brokerage came up with a simple but unique solution.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Originally a chapel known as Grace Church built during the gold rush year of 1849, Grace Cathedral has survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and several incarnations to become the third largest Episcopal cathedral in the nation. Well-known religious figures such as the Rev. Martin Luther King, Billy Graham and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have all spoken there.