The Inside Connection: Today's #1 Source for the Music Industry

The Long Island Music Hall of Fame Induction Gala

Officially Recognized By Their Own
by Mike Ferrari Girls Spotlight INDUSTRY Music Island-based Music House www.musichousemastering.com. Return 1-MANHATTAN-Jeff_Daniels.jpg' align='left'> size="2"> Hall of Fame had its first star-studded Induction Gala at the Patchogue Theater on October 15, complete with a VIP red carpet, major media coverage and celebrities galore. Considering that it was the first of its kind on Long Island, the event went fairly smoothly, albeit a bit long, not unlike the Academy Awards or the Oscars.

However, what seemed different were the genuine and humble acceptance speeches from the inductees. Most were visibly moved by the award and induction and the fact they were finally receiving recognition from their hometown.

Though the organization doesn�t have a physical home as of yet, there are traveling exhibits of memorabilia and there are a few "incubator" offers on the table from various townships that the Long Island Music Hall of Fame is entertaining. For information, go to www.limusichalloffame.org.

Rock and Girls Rule
Founded by Gail Silverman (Revolutionary Records/G-Spot), this traveling women-in -music showcase came to Long Island on October 7 at Lefty's Candlelight Lounge in Lindenhurst. It featured an eclectic lineup of Long Island and NYC-based female acts including Iridesense, the Chores, Rewbee, Sea of Static, G-spot, Lorraine Ferro (Loudlife), Loki the Grump and Jimmy Krack Corn. Most of the bands were art rock or punkish in nature, save for Jimmy Krack Corn with their blues-infused, hard rock style.

The J from Radio Xposed and I (representing the Indie Connection show) handled the MC duties. Also in attendance were the Long Island Roller Rebel girls, a local roller derby team.

The event was a benefit for Habitat for Humanity�s Women Build Suffolk Chapter, who were also on hand at the event, including a display of the projects the group had completed on Long Island. For more information, contact Gail Silverman by phone at 646-336-0041 or by e-mail at gail@revolutionaryrecords.com.

Concert Series at Katies of Smithtown
The Inside Connection presented another of its Spotlight Series live music showcases at Katies of Smithtown. Katies is a nice multi-level bar where the bands performed both upstairs and downstairs.

The night started out with Silent Generosity in the lower level and My World upstairs, both playing acoustic sets.

Featuring bassist/cardshark Angelo Marino, our first Poker Jams winner, Queens-based Bound By Substance was the first of the fully electric bands to take the stage upstairs. The band recently pulled some Warp Tour dates and are wrapping up production on a video for their song "Mediate" at Field 10 studios.

Former cover band singer and recent Rockstar contestant Jill Gioia did an acoustic set that leaned toward ballads. I prefer her punchier material like "He�s My Bitch," which was a popular staple on the radio a few years back, but her fans seem to dig the new sound.

Turning things back to electric, the three-piece band Pull revved things up with a hard-rocking sound that infuses a bit of funk. Consisting of Dan Mintzer on drums, Jamie Suriano on bass and Jerry Kops on guitar and lead vocals, the band whipped its sizable following into a dancing frenzy.

Z02 was another great hard-rocking band that showed true stage presence and professionalism, demonstrating why they were chosen to open for Kiss and Poison on a 40-city national tour. Featuring brothers Paulie Z on vocals and guitar and David Z on vocals and bass, the two trade off vocals and harmonize nicely, and are solidly backed by their drummer, Joey Cassata. They were seriously impressive from the moment they kicked off their set to their finish.

Alien Canopy closed out the night with a slightly psychedelic blend of rock. Even though the crowd waned just a bit due to the late hour, the band still gave 100 percent in their performance. They are finishing up their second release, Probe, which should be out this winter, and have a previous release, Pipe Dreams.

Look for the next Spotlight Concert show this month on our website, www.insidecx.com.

INSIDER
House Mastering
Demystifying the Process

Mastering is probably the least understood yet most important part of the recording process, especially for an independent artist. For Michael Dominici, owner of Long Mastering (5507-10 Nesconset Hwy., Suite 178, Mount Sinai, NY 11766), it�s his specialty.

As a musician and songwriter, Dominici had an interest in recording his own music. Soon, other artists wanted him to record them, and since he enjoyed recording so much, he decided to open to the public.

After mastering a live album of The Concert for World Peace, which featured some big-name artists, Dominici made a name for himself mastering jobs for various record labels.

What exactly is mastering and why is it so important to the recording process? Dominici says that independent artists need to understand that all commercial recordings are mastered. Whether the music is recorded and mixed at another studio or even at home, it needs to be optimized to play its best on a multitude of playback systems. This involves the right amount of EQ, multi-band compression and/or limiting needs to bring up the overall dynamics. The final result is that the music will be clearer, punchier and more refined.

Like everything else, it requires a great deal of skill to achieve the results the song needs. It also requires specialty gear, which Music House has invested a great deal of money in obtaining. Interestingly, Dominici says that all the editing is done digitally until processing, when he then uses analog gear to give "warmth" and "air" to the sound. After this, the song is converted back to digital using only the best 24/96 converters, so that a CD master can be made to industry standard, ready for pressing. The biggest reward, says Dominici, is when a client calls or sends an e-mail stating how they cannot believe how good their music sounds after he has mastered it.

Dominici says a musician needs to know that before mastering it is very important to make sure that no compression or limiting is applied to the final mix, and make sure the maximum level is no higher than -3 to �6 dB. He tells clients that are unsure what mastering can do for them to just try one song. He guarantees that if you have one song mastered by a reputable mastering engineer, you will have all your material mastered forever. It makes that much of a difference.

Dominici has mastered over 300 albums during the past few years and is proud to say his clients are extremely happy and continue to use Music House and recommend his services. You can find out more at their website:

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