TOP PRODUCERS
SPEAK OUT!
by THE G-MAN, Immedia Wire Service

Read attendee comments!
Read Gabrielle Hewson's Article!

What if you could play a song for the producer of hits by Prince, Dwight Yoakam, Vanessa Carlton, Donald Fagen, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Manson, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre? Would you leap at the chance?

More than 200 artists did just that at the premier event from Leslie Waller's Los Angeles Music Productions (LAMP). Entitled "Top Producers and Engineers Reveal All!" the day-long sessions occupied the entire Hollywood Knitting Factory.

Top Row (L to R): Keith "KC" Cohen, Pete Anderson, Robin Danar, Rogers Masson, Carlos Warlick, Dave Aron. Bottom Row (L to R): Matt Forger, Michael C. Ross, Joe Warlick. Girl power, event instigator, and Programs Director of Los Angeles Music Productions: Leslie Waller

Producer David Brownstein delivered an interactive keynote address called "Create Your Signature Sound." This inspirational session led into a panel discussion moderated by Moses Avalon, author of "Confessions of a Record Producer: How to survive the Scams and Shams of the Music Business." The pros on the panel have credits on some of your favorite albums: Keith Cohen has produced or mixed songs by Prince, Madonna, Seal, and Kylie Minogue. Michael C. Ross has worked with Christina Aquilera, Vanessa Carlton, and Lisa Loeb. Robin Danar has engineered records with Paul Simon and Donald Fagen.

Excellent contributions also came from Carlos Warlick (Will Smith, Ice Cube, Tupac), Rogers Masson (Marilyn Manson, Emmylou Harris, The Hellecasters), Dave Aron (Snoop Dogg, Sublime, Kurupt), Joe Warlick (Dru Hill, Dr. Dre, Diana Ross).

Matt Forger (Michael Jackson) and Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakum, Michelle Shocked, k.d. Lang, Meat Puppets) offered the most tangible evidence of a producer's contribution by playing songs in both demo and finished versions. It was a treat to hear Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" in its raw form, before all the re-arranging and polishing. Yes, it appeared to be a great song on the demo, but it was not in releasable form.

Special notice should be given to Pete Anderson, not only because many of us think he's a sonic genius, but because he was by far the most entertaining, outspoken, and forward-thinking person in the building (or in the city, for that matter). Whether flat-out calling major record company executives "stupid" or predicting the end of the five major corporate music distributors within a very few years, Anderson consistently garnered laughs, gasps, and strong applause.

The most amazing part of the day was still to come: you could sit in with the producer of your choice as they played one of your tracks and critiqued it. Worth the price of admission? You bet.

But wait, there's more. An artist showcase concluded the event with performances from Tehran, Ronna Jones, John Adam Band, and the exciting pop-funk of Rachel Owen, whose sounds make you smile and shake your hips. 

Feel bad you missed it? Don't worry -- more LAMP events are already being planned. Check www.lamusicproductions.com for details.

The G-Man's 2nd album, ELECTRO BOP, was just released on Delvian Records. Hear samples at www.gmanmusic.com