By George Petersen

This pre-NAMM week is pretty slow on news, so I figure I’d launch a personal crusade…

Everybody who produces audio is blessed with a talent to create and the ears to separate the good from the… well… not so good. And these days, just about everybody who works in audio has access to the tools to make great recordings–just add talent on both sides of the board and magic can–and will–occur right before your (eyes and ears). Affordable, accessible gear offers the TECHNOLOGY to make it all happen. There’s a lot of great music and artists out there waiting to be uncovered, but for most, this will never emerge due a lack of money and/or access to gear and tech talent.

Here’s where the recording community can come in. Since so many of us have access to gear and know how to use it, why not not devote a session–at least once a year or so–to helping out someone who is talented and could use a break, but otherwise would have no chance to get their music out.

This puts you in the gloriously enviable position of grandmaster label boss/A&R head: Certainly, there’s plenty of needy talent out there to select from, whether at a club, coffeehouse, church choir, school recital, streetcorner, local orchestra or whatever. It’s all up to you to do that good deed, discover and encourage someone with talent—even if it’s just knocking out a quick live to 2-track demo or embellishing someone’s guitar/piano +vocal performance with a few quick overdubs to fill it out. A quick mix, burn a couple CDs to go and they’re on their way to stardom—or at least a better gig.

Lawyers refer to such occasional voluntary good deeds as “Pro Bono”–essentially unpaid work done for the public good–and if that oft-maligned caste of legal practicioners can do a freebie every once in a while, certainly those of us in the music biz could do the same. I’m not implying or suggesting that recording pros need to take an oath of poverty (beyond what we norally experience, anyway) or turn down paying gigs, but doing a good every once in a while could be great thing. Besides, it could be YOU that discovers and gives a break to tomorrow’s rising star. Imagine…

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

I just got an e-mail from South African engineer Peter Thwaites (whose credits include co-engineering Paul Simon’s Graceland with Roy Halee, as well as working with Pavarotti, Johnny Clegg and Savuka, Mutt Lange, Trevor Rabin and many others). Thwaites referred me to some consumer/pro speakers from South African manufacturer Vivid Audio and designed by a staff that includes ex-B&W engineer Laurence Dickie. The line consists of four freestanding systems, with elongated ovoid enclosures cast in a carbon fiber-reinforced polyester compound that’s available in five colors. The speakers look cool and have some intriguing design aspects and tout some impressive specs. Check ‘em out at: www.vividaudio.com.

When not working on Mix stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Check ‘em out at www.jenpet.com.

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