Mixing Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers' The Live Anthology
ATC Loudspeakers Revealing The Truth


To say it was an ambitious project is an understatement. Veteran recording engineer/producer Ryan Ulyate, who has worked closely with legendary rocker Tom Petty and guitarist Mike Campbell since 2005, was charged with the task of compiling and organizing the individual songs from over 250 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concerts from their over thirty years together. After selecting only the "A+" material with Petty and Campbell, he then mixed five CDs-worth of material sequenced without regard to chronology. The challenge, apart from the sheer volume of the task, was to obtain a consistent sound from recordings spread across three decades made by different engineers using vastly different technologies. Ulyate relied on his ATC SCM 50 ASL three-way active monitors to reveal the truth in every mix, and the consistency he was able to achieve effectively makes The Live Anthology a time machine that zips backward and forward across the years to build five perfect Tom Petty and the Heartbreaks concerts.

"When we started compiling the tapes and files, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had been playing together for thirty years," said Ulyate. "It took me months to digitize and convert everything into a common format."
When it was all done, the engineer had filled some thirty terabytes of hard drive space with raw multitrack material. As he worked, Ulyate recorded rough mixes and developed an organization and rating system. All of the approximately 5,200 rough mixes went into iTunes for scrutiny by the co-producers of The Live Anthology, a tribunal comprised of himself, Petty, and Campbell. Only after the best performances were identified, would Ulyate spend time carefully mixing.


With the selections made, Ulyate secreted away in "Ryan's Place," his personal L.A. studio overlooking scenic Topanga Canyon. His Pro Tools system is a nearly perfect copy of Petty's rig, which allows the two to go back and forth without a hiccup. He mixes in the box and monitors on the ATC SCM 50 ASLs together with a Bag End Infrasub-18 subwoofer. Auratones provide a small speaker reference.


"No one knew the sequence of the songs while I was mixing them," Ulyate explained. "When I finished, Tom took them and played with sequencing for a few weeks. Because they were so consistent, he was free to arrange them any way he pleased, and in the end that's exactly what he did. Each disc is like an ideal performance, with song sequence forming the sort of emotional arc that takes you some place. While in reality the songs may be zipping from the late 1970s to the 2000s and back again, the tone between them makes those chronological transitions transparent."

Participating manufacturers of highly respected gear included: LA studio musician and pro audio developer PETER MONTESSI of A DESIGNS ; UK's Hi-end monitor manufacturer BEN LILLY of ATC LOUDSPEAKERS ; One of the brightest minds in handmade microphones of our dayDAVID BOCK of BOCK AUDIO; Blues Magoos drummer/engineer/pro audio designer GEOFF DAKING of DAKING; Creator of The new bridge between tape machines and DAWs CHRIS ESTES of ENDLESS ANALOG; Inventor/Producer GEORGE MASSENBURG (Lyle Lovett, Aaron Neville, Dixie Chicks) of GML, Lehmann Audio, Soundfield and boss man at Legendary all-tube recording equipment from Denmark, JESPER B. NIELSEN of TUBE-TECH Well done, James!

The West Coast Adventures of Kirkee B (Curt Bisquera)
Format: DVD
Instrument: Drum

There are handful of drummers that frequent major studios. There are even fewer drummers who get the first calls for live tours with major acts. Curt Bisquera aka Kirkee B (Elton John, Mick Jagger, Seal, Tom Petty, KD Lang) has had his share of both. Now with this well-produced DVD you can cruise with Kirkee B drumming on his open bed truck and taking you on a tour of some of the most legendary recording studios in Los Angeles like Conway, O'Henry, Record Plant and more. Oh yeah, Curt gives plugs to his friends at Paiste, DW, Pro Drum, SIR, Angel City Drums. Yeah baby!
Then there's the meeting and jam with legend Joe Percaro who tells the story of how Jeff discovers Curt and arranged his first gig with Boz Scaggs. According to Curt that started the slew of calls from producers and engineers. He recalls how Morris Day of Time Machine told him that after he's done with him, he can work with just about anyone. Not a bad start for a 19-year old who was making $1,500/week.
the we ride with Curt on his skateboard and visit his hood, making stops at other cats' private studios like JR Robinson and Luis Conte. Then it' back at Capitol Studio A with Lee Sklar and Al Schmitt - an All-Star Session as he lays down some original compositions. See if you won't get up and dance to the grooves Kirk and All-star friends offer in the studio. "It's simple. I get it on the first take and you send me a check," says Curt with a chuckle. This from the man who started in the business with the mantra that "There's only one Kirkee B and what he could offer no one else could. Take the tour of The West Coast Adventures of Kirkee B. We guarantee the FUN.

In Hi-Fi Stereo
Mindi Abair
Heads Up / Concord

Saxophonist, vocalist and writer Mindi Abair re-introduces vintage jazz, R&B and soul on her new album. Hi-fi Stereo features vocalist Lalah Hathaway, drummer James Gadson and more. Her songs have been featured on everything from Aaron Spelling’s hit “Summerland” to a Women in Jazz feature at the Grammys to Panasonic’s Jumbotron in Times Square. Jazz veteran Bobby Lyle took her card as he walked by one day in Santa Monica and hired her to record on his Power of Touch CD and tour with him. Since that time, Abair's impressive career as a sideperson has included touring and/or recording with a wide range of artists to include Mandy Moore and Lee Ritenour. More recently, Abair sat in with 80s pop icons Duran Duran for a handful of dates on their recent American tours; and joined Josh Groban as his opening act for his 2004 sold out fall tour.
The new album is collaboration with Matthew Hager (Simply Red, Scott Weiland, Mandy Moore), her friend from their days at the Berklee College of Music. The two cowrote nine of the new tracks on this album.
Co-produced by Abair and R&B mainstay Rex Rideout (who also lays down keyboards on enarly every track), the album is what you'd expect to hear on SNL or in a jazz club...though it grooves, it's a bit predictable, vintage meets new. Solid performances from a stellar line up to chill with. "It's a vintage sounding record, a modern take on a very classic sound," Abair says. Mindi has just completed filming “A Tribute to Diane Warren” on PBS that’s scheduled to air in June. She also contributed her talents to Keb’ Mo’s latest CD, due for release later this year, and you can see her in Adam Sandler’s newest film, Just Go With It, playing a saxophonist in the wedding band.

EarthGlow
David Benoit
Heads Up / Concord

April 22, marked the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. David Benoit's new album, Earth Glow is a fitting tribute and aims to capture the feeling of world harmony. A fitting tribute to earth, our blue planet. The title track was inspired by the stunning NASA photo of our planet which graces the cover. Benoit credits Clark Germain, his longtime engineer and co-producer on Earthglow, for creating the eclectic 11-track album. “I loved the world mix of exotic ethnic percussion, African voices along with Brazilian beats. With the aid of the computer sequencing program Logic Pro Benoit came up with new ideas. "To give the instruments a more realistic sound, I played everything in real time as opposed to step timing. Months later, with the same format, I came up with ‘Straightaway,’ ‘Unbelievable,’ ‘New Creation’ and ‘Sneaky As A Cat’ at my home studio in Palos Verdes, California,” says Benoit who blends these new sounds with his repertoire of over 30 recordings since the late ‘70s. Back in October of 08, Benoit took a much needed breather from the frenetic pace of life in Los Angeles and headed up to the mountains near Saratoga to become an artist in residence at Villa Montalvo. Finding peaceful solitude and discovering fresh inspiration in a small cabin near the non-profit Montalvo Arts Center, the five time GRAMMY® nominated veteran composer and pianist wrote “Botswana Bossa Nova” and “Will’s Chill,” two unique pieces unlike any he had done before. These became the foundation for the overall global music concept behind Benoit’s stirring and provocative new CD Earthglow, his first set of original material in four years.

Sessions with Grammy-winning producer/engineer Corin Nelsen for artist Ronnnda Cadle's new album took place at Northern California's Prairie Sun Recording. The initial guitar tracks were recorded with producer Will Ackerman (founder of Windham Hill Records) at his Imaginary Road Studios. At Prairie Sun, Corin spent a week in Studio B recording a host of world-class musicians including percussionist Denny Fongheiser (Heart, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, John Paul Jones), pianist Kori Linae Carothers, upright bassist Sam Bevan, guitarist Lawrence Blatt, guitarist Jeff Garver, eight-string electric bassist Edo Castro, and flugelhorn player Jeff Oster.

The current Heartbreakers are Mike Campbell, Scott Thurston, Ron Blair, Benmont Tench and Steve Ferrone

"Searching through all those takes was a big job to be sure and took weeks,"said Ulyate, "but it wasn't quite as daunting as it might seem.
Tom is a pretty tough critic and so it was easy to toss any song that was imperfect in any way, and we often knew that twenty seconds in. When we had 169 takes of 'American Girl,' we felt pretty comfortable skipping over the blemished ones." Rather than limit their picks to a predetermined number, Petty preferred to select all of the truly "A+" material and release it. Out of 5,200 takes of an extremely talented band, there turned out to be quite a few ideal ones!
"With so many multitrack recordings made by so many different engineers in so many different places on different equipment, getting a consistent sound that conveyed the feeling of a live show was my overriding goal and challenge," said Ulyate. "A lot of the time I was effectively fighting with engineers or the live situations they were faced with. For example, several of the recordings were obviously heavy on the mid-range. Compared to a flat recording, they sounded honky, with small, ugly guitars. So I had to do a lot of sculpting in the midrange"

He continued, "That's where the ATC monitors were especially helpful. They have the best midrange of any loudspeaker I've ever heard. A lot of speakers seem to have big black holes in the midrange, where it's impossible to tell exactly what I'm doing. With the SCM 50s, I can hear the difference between a 1 dB boost at 1.1 kHz and one at 1.2 kHz!" In keeping with the live feel of the album, Ulyate mixed at approximately 93 dB, an approach that would have been difficult without the non-fatiguing performance of his ATCs. To be sure of the consistency from track to track, he imported each finished mix into subsequent sessions so that he could A/B conveniently.

For more information on ATC contact Brad Lunde or Phone (702) 307-2700 or visit www.transaudiogroup.com

LasVegasProAudio.com a division of TransAudio Group, is the launch pad for the brands of tomorrow.

The goal of LasVegasProAudio.com is to provide unique equipment, useful information and long-term support to their clients.LVPA product line includes: Accusound Cable, Economy 50mm Shockmount,Enhanced Audio (Ireland), PAULY Superscreens (Germany)Sonodore Microphones (Holland)

“I really loved the vibe of ‘Will’s Chill,’” (referring to the great Will.i.am from Black Eyed Peas who was an influence. “When I started recording, I wanted the whole album to have that edgy, chill sound, with long loops and lots of samples, with a little piano in the mix. For obvious and very good reasons, Clark brought me back to myself and took these new, exciting ideas I had and put them in perspective as part of a recognizable David Benoit record. It’s got a lot of energy, but he smoothed it out and kept me in check. I think the intimacy of writing and recording in house, so to speak, without outside writers and producers as I had done in recent years, ensured that every note I intended actually appears on the album. Everyone involved had a blast recording Earthglow and exploring this new territory,” says David. Next up, I'm going to delve into the world of Nu-jazz, acid jazz and that whole Euro chill vibe. There's always so much out there to keep the creative energy flowing," says Benoit. Yeah....we can't wait!

Back to top

Watch Video Interviews with Top producers from Legendary Studios
studioexpresso in alliance with Record Production & Babblefish is pleased to bring you these interviews. Watch the video interviews by clicking on the producer names below.
Get your FREE Real One Player download



Matt Wallace Interviewed At his Delux Studios in LA for Record Production
L-R: Producer Matt Wallace, studioexpresso's Claris Dodge
Photo: Johnny Jaskot

Ken Allardyce - Sarm West, UK
Lenise Bent - Village Studios. LA, CA
Niko Bolas - Watersound Studios, Studio CIty, CA
Pete Byrne - Glenwood Place, CA
Andre Fischer - Village Studios, Los Angels, CA
Chris Fogel - Fig, Glendale, CA
Brad Gilderman - Little Big Room, Burbank, CA
Greg Ladanyi - Maple Jam Productions, Studio City, CA
Joseph Magee - O'Henry Studios, Burbank, CA
Scott Mathews - Tiki Town Studios
Oscar Paul - Roundhouse Studios, London
Greg Penny - Sphere Studios, London
Steve Parr - Hear No Evil Studios
Michael C Ross - Royaltone Studios, North Hollywood, CA
Rafa Sardina - Abbey Road, UK
Elliot Scheiner - Presense studios, CT NEW!
Al Schmitt Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA
Toby Scott -- coming soon!
Robert Shahnazarian Jr.-- Sony Music Studios, Santa Monica
Tolbert & Sutton - Studio Atlantis, Hollywood, CA
Matt Wallace - Delux Studios, Van Nuys, CA
John Wooler - Village Studios, Los Angels, CA

Back to top

Expresso Walk And Talk... .

The Filter cofounder Hopkins, Gabriel, CEO Roberts Tech Entrepreneur Peter Gabriel The 60-year-old rocker, who is starting to look like a hipper version of a wizard from a Harry Potter movie with his close-cropped hair and goatee, is the front man for The Filter, a six-year old privately held company in Bath, England, that provides recommendation technology for such clients as Sony Music (SNE), Nokia (NOK), and thePlatform, a Comcast (CMCSA)-owned operation that serves video to the cable giant's online properties. Gabriel isn't involved in the day-to-day operations of The Filter, which has 15 employees and says it expects revenues of nearly $4 million this year. But he is a lead investor along with Eden Ventures, a British venture capital firm. His representative on The Filter's board is his business manager, Mike Large. Gabriel attends board meetings and strategy sessions; Filter CEO David Maher Roberts, a former jazz drummer, calls him the company's resident "visionary." (Business Wee Article here)
New Releases and Interview with T Bone Burnett who will discuss his work as a film composer, music supervisor and producer with critic Elvis Mitchell on Saturday, April 24 at the San Francisco Film Festival. More recently he completed produciton work for Jakob Dylan’s new album Women & Country, which entered the Billboard Top 200 at #12 upon its release on April 6. The album marks the first time Jakob and T Bone have worked together on a record since Bringing Down The Horse, which spawned the rock classics, “One Headlight”, “Sixth Avenue Heartache” and “Three Marlenas” and sold more than 6 million copies. This new album has already garnered great reviews, and you can catch Jakob in concert on his current U.S. Tour. Willie Nelson's new album, titled simply, Country Music, is out this week and receiving some of the best reviews of Nelson's storied career. The Associated Press says the album "showcases Nelson at his best," Country Music was recorded in Nashville, TN and produced by T Bone Burnett.

Hypnogaja, Hip Hip Tweet! Hollywood Music In Media's "Best Alternative Award " winner, Hypnogaja, has over one million followers on twitter!!! Yep, the band that played their new single, "Welcome to the Future" live on the awards stage last year, are now one of the top ranked Twitter accounts (1,167,280 to be exact) and turning that networking muscle into marketing dollars. The band funded their recent SXSW trip and successful showcase by generating just four specific tweets for in-stream advertising companies. Additionally, they've licensed "Things Will Never Be The Same" to the Tapulous iPhone/iPod Touch game, Tap Tap Revenge 3 and fans of the game are now new fans of the band. The music video "The March" from the 2009 release "Truth Decay" LP has over two million views. Song placements include CW's America's Next Top Model, HBO's Sex And The City and Warner Bros.' FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage. The new Hypnogaja EP - Dark Star - comes out this Summer. It concludes the concept arc that began with the Truth Decay album and contains several new versions and remixes of the song "Dark Star" as well as unreleased bonus tracks and other remixes. One of the versions of "Dark Star" is a remix that features SLIMKID3 from The Pharcyde. The music video features members of the dance crew Kaba Modern (from MTV's Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew) including choreograpgher Yuri Tag. A digital 45 (double sided single) Welcome To The Future / On The Radio, was recently released and featured in the New & Noteworthy Rock section of Apple's iTunes store.

Mark Isham with Claris Dodge of studioexpresso at Catalina Bar & Grill

Mark Isham is not only recognized as a premier film composer (THE BLACK DAHLIA, CRASH, THE COOLER, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, NELL) but also a pioneer in electronic music, as well as a preeminent trumpet player. Mark has received Academy, Grammy, Emmy, Clio Awards and Golden Globe nominations, and most recently received the ASCAP Henry Mancini award for Lifetime Achievement. studioexpresso caught up with Mark Isham at Catalina Bar & Grill earlier this year. Part of the audience, sitting in the front row was non other than Chris Botti. Mark and band Houston Street (with Jeff Babko, Tom Brechtlein, and Doug Lunn) played various jazz grooves with Mark improvising with the sampled sounds of the band palying live. Catch this vibrant and engaging band (select shows at the Baked Potato) in LA when you can. Set includes Radiohead and Ornette Coleman. ReMix Contest Now this is your chance to get "between the notes" with one LA's top composer/musicians. Send an email to [email protected], and you'll receive and email back with a download link to "stems" of the Mark Isham/Holly Palmer collaboration "Every Kind Of Woman", complete with separate vocal, drum, and instrument tracks! Get remixing! The winning remix will be posted on Isham.com and announced in an email blast! You'll also receive a soundtrack signed by Mark! Ready, set, GO!!

EMI On the Verge Of Bankrupcy Earlier this year EMI put its iconic Abbey Road studios up for sale after reporting a pretax loss of STG1.7 billion ($A2.8 billion) for the year to March 31, 2009. However, it shelved those plans after a public outcry led to the site being put on a protected list by English Heritage and said it would instead seek an investor to help rejuvenate the loss-making studios. Adding to the company's woes, Pink Floyd successfully sued the company for selling individual tracks digitally and chief executive Elio Leoni-Sceti quit the group last month after just 18 months in the job. Charles Allen, the former chief executive of broadcaster ITV PLC, who was EMI's non-executive chairman, filled the vacancy by taking over as executive chairman. The legendary recording industry titan responsible for releasing albums by the likes of the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Coldplay is facing possible bankruptcy. The storied label is in danger of defaulting on its debt and being taken over by Citigroup (C), its largest creditor.Feverish talks to license its catalog or raise more money fell through, Reuters reported in April, largely because of the complexity of the financing deal. Wall Street Journal article estimates that EMI’s deal to license its artists to rival labels could earn them $150 million a year. The question is, is that enough to get Citigroup off of their backs? Struggling music group EMI faces being taken over by its bankers after failing to clinch a deal to sell the North American distribution rights for its artists to Universal Music Group or Sony Music. A source close to both sets of talks, who requested anonymity because the discussions were private, said hey fell apart after a failure to agree on price. EMI declined to comment. The collapse of talks leaves EMI battling to raise STG120 million ($A200 million) by mid-June to meet its commitments on loans from US bank Citigroup. Another source familiar with discussions said owners Terra Firma Capital Partners will talk to investors about raising the necessary funding.If funds can't be raised from investors and the loan goes into default, Citigroup could seize EMI and cause it to be sold or broken up. EMI has been struggling to stay afloat since it was bought by private equity firm Terra Firma for STG4.2 billion on the eve of the credit crunch in 2007, saddling the company with debt. Several big-name acts, including Radiohead and the Rolling Stones, quit the label amid the cutbacks and restructuring that followed. Terra Firma, led by British financier Guy Hands, still owes about STG3 billion ($A5 billion) to Citigroup because of the deal and relations between the two have soured. EMI has fared worse than the three other major labels - Universal, Sony BMG and Warner Music Group - amid the decline of CD sales and the rise of digital music downloading. Like the other major labels, EMI has been walloped by a worldwide decline in record sales. In 2009, it had 9.2% of the American recorded-music market, which was up from its 9% market share in 2008 but down from its 2006 share of 10.2%. On the bright side, EMI currently distributes one of the year's biggest-selling albums, Lady Antebellum's Need You Now. It has sold 1.5 million copies and is the only album released in 2010 to break the million-sold mark. In related news, former EMI A&R Executive Chris Anokute joins Motown in Los Angeles in May.

Ritenour Yamaha Contest Winner Sixteen-year old guitarist Shon Boublil of Montreal, Canada, was named the grand prize winner of Lee Ritenour's Yamaha Six String Theory Guitar Competition at the final competition held recently at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA. Thirteen aspiring guitarists from all over the world were selected to compete in the finals which awarded six top prizes, including the grand prize--a full scholarship to Boston's renowned Berklee School of Music, a guest star performance on the all-star guitar CD SIX STRING THEORY being released on Concord Records, a Yamaha guitar endorsement and more. Scheduled for release June 2010, the SIX STRING THEORY CD features along with Ritenour: B. B. King, George Benson, Steve Lukather, John Scofield, Pat Martino, Mike Stern, Neal Schon, Slash, Vince Gill, Keb MO, Taj Mahal, Joe Bonamassa, Jonny Lang, Andy McKee, Guthrie Govan, Joe Robinson and Kazumi Watanable. Sponsors for the LEE RITENOUR YAMAHA SIX STRING THEORY GUITAR COMPETITION include: Yamaha Corporation, Monster Cable, Concord Records, Berklee School of Music, The Broad Stage, D’Addario Strings, Jazziz Magazine, Music Connection Magazine.

Bonnie Raitt and Graham Nash Get Political
Experb Taken from an open letter they wrote to get Congressman/musician John Hall re-elected.
"As a songwriter, touring and recording guitarist, John knows how hard it can be for musicians, self-employed people, independent contractors or small business operators to find health insurance they can afford. He also has friends and family members who have been denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions, and fought to see that practice banned under the new legislation.Since we organized Musicians United for Safe Energy in 1979 together, John has eloquently spoken and worked for renewable energy and environmental protection. He sits on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and the Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment. His voice on behalf of clean water, endangered species, and climate awareness is invaluable in Washington.He also knows the importance of protecting intellectual property, be it music, movies, games or software. These creations are a source of positive balance of trade for our country, and we cannot allow them to be further infringed upon. John is also a strong advocate for music education in our schools, and for robust funding for the arts. Studies have shown that students have higher self-esteem, a lower dropout rate and higher SAT scores if they learn a musical instrument at a young age.Let's keep a musician in Congress, one who has put his own musical career aside to work on so many issues we care about. Please make as generous a donation as you can to www.johnhallforcongress.com"

The 15th Annual TEC LA Open, sponsored by Guitar Center Professional, is set for Monday, May 17, at the Malibu Country Club. This tournament, hosted by 20-time Grammy Award-winning engineer/producer Al Schmitt is celebrating its 15th year. Proceeds of the tournament support the House Ear Institute’s hearing health outreach services for audio professionals and the TEC Foundation’s TECnology Hall of Fame, recognizing the most historically significant audio innovations and inventors, held annually at the AES Convention. Please call Karen Dunn at (925) 708-0307 if you have any questions. You can also check out the Web site at www.tecfoundation.com for more information.

artist expresso-- Ask Claris


We hear from artists every day from all corners of the world -- France, Germany, Russian, Israel, Asia, Australia and Middle East asking how they can get heard or build their careers. We've decided to feature a letter or phone message each month and share our response with other new artists with similar needs or questions. Our goal remains to empower new artists and encourage them to find their voice and musical path. Most importantly, we're here to remind artists that it's a long journey, so enjoy the process. We encourage artists to provide a link to their music site when they cotact us..this way, if a producer or manager is interested, they can be contacted directly.

Artist: My name is Davo Davicci and Im a Berklee College Music Songwriter/Composer. I'm currently seeking representation. Recently, I've sold my jingles to clients from KJH930 AM Radio Los Angeles and writing songs for "Carlos Pena," the winner of Latin American Idol 2007. Some samples of my work can be seen at www.myspace.com/davodavicci. I've worked in all facets of music, from mixing to composition to arranging. I would enjoy talking with you and thank you for your time and consideration.
[email protected] http://www.myspace.com/davodavicci

C: Thanks for your interest in C Artist management and sharing the link to your music. Nice introduction!
Glad to hear you're taking the first important steps of getting educated and getting hands on experience. Enjoy the journey and don't rush it!



RIP Malcolm McLaren
1946-2010

l-r: McLaren and The original lineup of the Sex Pistols, early 1976. Left to right: Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook.

Malcolm McLaren, the impresario and promoter who once claimed to have invented punk rock died at age 64. His companion of many years, Young Kim, said he died of mesothelioma at a hospital in Switzerland. A former art student, McLaren found an outlet for his ideas about fashion, music and social provocation. In the 1970s he returned to his native London from New York, (where he had briefly managed the New York Dolls) and with his business partner and girlfriend at the time, Vivienne Westwood, they renamed their clothing shop SEX (now called World's End). In a 1997 article for The New Yorker, Mr. McLaren recalled, “We set out to make an environment where we could truthfully run wild.” On most days the shop did not open until the evening and closed within a few hours. The goal, Mr. McLaren wrote, “was to sell nothing at all.” Mr. McLaren set about putting together his own rock act of untested British youth, which became the Sex Pistols. Mr. McLaren briefly managed Adam and the Ants and then, with several ex-Ants, created Bow Wow Wow around a teenage Burmese singer, Annabella Lwin. The group recorded the hits “Go Wild in the Country” and “I Want Candy.” “I’m much more of a magician than a musician,” he told The Globe and Mail of Toronto in 1985. “I steal other people’s songs and try to make them better.” As a solo artist, Mr. McLaren released genre-defying albums like “Duck Rock” in 1983 and “Waltz Darling” in 1989, and remained a perennial presence in the worlds of art and fashion. He is survived by his son with Ms. Westwood, Joseph Corré, a founder of the lingerie company Agent Provocateur; a brother, Stuart Edwards; and a grandchild. Mr. McLaren spent much of the last 30 years trying to explain punk. “I never thought the Sex Pistols would be any good,” he told The Times of London last year. “But it didn’t matter if they were bad.”

There's a lot of people w/ knives and forks, & nothin' on their plates, just lookin' for somethin' to cut up.
-Bob Dylan

Distance lends enchantment to the view”
--Mark Twain

You may have noticed the stark black and white billboards in various intersections in the city of Angeles planted by RoarUSA
Roar's Founder and CEO Deepak Vasandani says, "Since our inception in 1994, the vision has been to build a lifestyle brand based on strength and success of our customers." Roar is currently carried in Canada, Macys, Dillards, Buckle, Metropark, select specialty boutiques, and online at www.ROARCLOTHING.com

On April 24 (1915) RoarUSA joins communities (half million Armenians live in the US) who observe and commemorate the first Genocide of the 20th Century. Politics aside, learn about history and give a Roar for human rights.


More info on the 1915 Genocide visit. http://armenianfilm.org/

Back to top