Those in the music industry know of the infamous NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) trade show that happens every January in LA(Anaheim).

Photography by Kenny Schick – Kenny is a music producer, engineer, singer songwriter & photographer, living in Nashville TN (from the Bay Area CA)  (see more photos here)

It is described as “the world’s largest trade-only event for the music products industry”, and you have to have a pass to get in. It’s mostly sellers and buyers of music related products/new products showing and buying gear, but there are all sorts of performances and famous people sightings too. In June, there is also Summer NAMM Nashville —it is the little brother(or sister—not sure if NAMM is male or female… let’s call it ‘gender neutral’ and say ‘sibling’), and like it’s bigger sibling, there is also lots of cool gear and famous people to be seen.

The Summer NAMM Nashville is a bit more geared toward industry meeting and professional development. Along with all the booths of gear, performances, and mingling, my favorite part of the NAMM show(s) is the educational opportunities/events—here, there are panels, discussions and all sorts of meetings of minds with the intention of bringing forth ideas about where the industry is headed in terms of technology, education, artist promotion, etc.

Most of my days at Summer NAMM Nashville were spent at panels about music and recording technology, the future of recording, and ideas for artist promotion. One of my main goals was to meet folks here in our new adopted city who are in my industry and love music as much as I do, so I spent most of June 28th – June 30th hanging out in the Music City Center in heart of our great city.

TEC Tracks

Well what did I learn and who did I meet? I started out at a TEC Tracks panel called ‘Crafting A Hit Record’, hosted by Chandra Lynn (Glow Marketing & founder LinkedIN).  On the panel were mastering engineer Andrew Mendelson (Georgetown Masters), singer-songwriter Jeffery Steele, and record producer Tony Brown (record_producer). It was a lively discussion from the perspectives of writers/performers and those on the production side—plenty of great studio stories and live performance perspectives on what works and what doesn’t—a good lesson in learning from mistakes and sticking to your guns!

Summer NAMM Nashville 2018
Crafting A Hit Record with Chandra Lynn, Andrew Mendelson, Jeffery Steele, Tony Brown

Next, I attended ‘The New MIDI for a New Generation of Project Studios’ panel. Here, our host pianist composer Joseph Akins, along with Singer Songwriter/Producer John Kurzweg, Producer Ryan Prewett, and Producer Scott Gerow, discussed new directions and ideas for how MIDI is used in today’s modern world of production. Perspectives came from folks like me who use midi to augment and blend with real instruments to folks like Ryan who use almost all MIDI in production.

Summer NAMM Nashville 2018
The New MIDI for a New Generation of Project Studios – Joseph Akins, John Kurzweg, Ryan Prewett, Scott Gerow,

Another panel I stayed for at Summer NAMM Nashville that day was called ‘Getting Paid and Credited—Lessons in Self Preservation’. This was very interesting and informative, and addressed the issues of how credit is often not given in the digital age, as there is not so much focus(as in the past) on albums with album notes etc., combined with the fact that it’s pretty much the wild west in terms of distribution/dispersion of music. This is not just the case for songwriters and performers, but for producers and engineers too—we often get jobs based on our past work, so it’s important, damn it!

Moderated by Producer Jeff Balding, panelists Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood, Jaxsta’s (official music credits) Dick Huey,  Audio Engineer Gebre Waddell, and Recording Artist Hunter Hayes had compelling insights. Two companies, Dick Huey’s Jaxsta and another company, Sound Credit are trying to help make data bases to better handle this issue.

Summer NAMM Nashville 2018
‘Getting Paid and Credited—Lessons in Self Preservation’ Jeff Balding, Dave Haywood, Dick Huey, Gebre Waddell, Hunter Hayes

I attended the opening night party at Summer NAMM Nashville where American Eagle Awards were given to Chick Corea and Manhattan Transfer for their contributions in music… great performances by Chick Corea, the Manhattan Transfer, and flutist Hubert Laws.

Friday, I went to the Studio Engineering Summit featuring Chris Lord-Alge’s studio heros! yay! featuring Julian Raymond and Nick Raskulinecz, producers who have all done records all of you know, it was just fun and exciting for me being such a studio geek…plain and simple as that! Also on the panel was Doug Wimbish, bass player from Living Color…. super great dude.

Summer NAMM Nashville 2018
Studio Engineering Summit featuring Chris Lord-Alge’s studio heros! Julian Raymond, Nick Rasulinecz, Dough Wimbish

Next up was the Studio Owners Panel moderated by Sharon Corbitt-House with panelists Aubrey Preston, Juanita Copeland , Producer David Kalmusky, and Pat McMakin . Many of the coolest studios in Nashville(and the world) were discussed, as these folks have been in charge of several of them from Ocean Way to The Sound Kitchen to Sound Emporium, and new studios like David Kalmusky’s cool Addiction Sound. And of course, there was a discussion on the saving of infamous RCA Studio B—thank you Aubrey Preston!

Summer NAMM Nashville 2018
Studio Owners Panel Sharon Corbitt-House, Aubrey Preston, Juanita Copeland, David Kalmusky, Pat McMakin

Also at the TEC Tracks booth, where I seemed to spend the better part of 2 days, was the Future of Studio Technology panel. Moderated by Journalist and Author Dan Daley, the panel included Craig AndertonBobby Holland, John Bigay,  and Dan Boatman. This was interesting to me, as I was around to see the time when we had to go to a studio just based on the size and complexity of the machinery that captured sound—those big ‘ol 2 inch tape machines and boards were no joke!

As a super early adopter of the ‘home recording’ revolution(I got an ADAT in the early 90’s which was the beginning of the ability to make album quality music at home accessible), this is always interesting to me, as it represents the democratization of recording, but on the flip side, sometimes the dying of a craft I hold dear. There was a lot of spirited discussion sort of aimed at talking about how a studio can now (almost) be an iPhone or a tablet.

Summer NAMM Nashville 2018
Future of Studio Technology Panel Dan Daley, Craig Anderton, Bobby Holland, John Bigay, Dan Boatman

NAMM U

By Saturday, I was experiencing the ‘shell shock’ that can happen at Summer NAMM Nashville (usually the first day in LA, haha), but there was more to see and do! This day was spent next door to the TEC Tracks booth at the NAMM U Retail – Idea Center Booth. I started out at DIY Tips for Marketing and Social Media Success… great discussions moderated by Laura Whitmore, with Kate Richardson, Dan Wise, and Sarah Command. Lots of discussion about cross promoting and partnerships, as well as being real and personal. Also, curating playlists on Spotify, etc., and coming up with ‘disruptive’ ways to become noticed in this saturated arena.

Summer NAMM Nashville 2018
DIY Tips for Marketing and Social Media Success, Laura Whitmore, Kate Richardson, Dan Wise, Sarah Command

Next up was Success Secrets for Independent Songwriters and Artists, moderated by Thornton Cline. On the panel were Bryce Hitchcock, Brenda Best, Trammell Starks, and Jenny Slate Lee. Again, discussing the tough terrain to navigate getting your music out to the world and how to find different avenues to get through the masses to achieve success.

Summer NAMM Nashville 2018
Success Secrets for Independent Songwriters and Artists, Thornton Cline, Bryce Hitchcock, Brenda Best, Trammell Starks Jenny Slate Lee

Now being the studio and production nerd I am, my day at the NAMM U booth was centered around being right up front for the Pensado’s Place Live at Summer NAMM session. Always with spirited discussions about audio geekery and great stories about recording sessions, Dave Pensado, and Herb Trawick joined up with Blackbird Studio owner John McBride for a super fun session. John’s story of the origins of Blackbird and the development of it’s academy alone were worth ‘the price of admission’.

Summer NAMM Nashville 2018
Pensado’s Place Live, Dave Pensado, Herb Trawick, John McBride

VINTAGE KING

After this session, I wandered around stunned a bit more and tried to win some cool music gear as I usually do at these events, but I had one more event to attend in Berry Hill at my favorite music porn shop, Vintage King! Here was the destination for awesome gear, more panels, and… FREE BEER! Despite the oppressive heat outside where the panels were held, there was more captivating discussion during a panel moderated by Warren Huart(Produce Like A Pro) with panelists Jeff Balding, Ryan Freeland, Ryan Hewitt, and Kim Rosen. Following this was a session with Joe Chiccarelli interviewed by John McBride, back in his Blackbird Studios neighborhood.

Summer NAMM Nashville 2018
Joe Chiccarelli, John McBride

And just like that, my time at Summer NAMM Nashville came to an end, my head filled with ideas and knowledge, and my wallet filled with cards of folks I’d met. You can get tickets to NAMM and Summer NAMM Nashville by becoming a NAMM member. Also if you know someone who is a member they have the power (but limited numbers), to get you in. You can also apply for a ticket by registering to get your ticket – there is criteria for being able to get one, you have to be in the music industry as a professional or a teacher etc… they will give you a nay or yay on being approved and then you can buy a ticket, usually $50. It’s so worth it, there is so much to see, new technology, new products, new people to meet. This year at Summer NAMM Nashville, the public were allowed to attend on Saturday with a $20 ticket at the door. Lightening100 Radio also gave away $10 tickets on their show – and did live coverage of the event throughout the days.

Kenny Schick is a Producer, Multi-Instrumentalist, Recording Engineer and Singer Songwriter at Basement3Productions located in Nashville and the Bay Area California. If you are interested to know more about Kenny Schick or work with/record with him contact him here. He specializes in Producing Singer Songwriters and his main aim is to have artists retain their uniqueness and individual sounds. He tries to keep up to date with new gear and has all the tools you might need to produce world class music.

Lera Lynn Plays Well With Others Album Release June 22, 2018 @ 3rd and Lindsley Nashville

Photography by Kenny Schick – Kenny is a music producer, engineer, singer songwriter & photographer, living in Nashville TN (from the Bay Area CA)  (see more photos here)

We were lucky enough to go to the special live broadcast of Lera Lynn Plays Well With Others CD launch Friday evening, June 22, 2018, as WMOT and World Cafe present a special record release of the concert.

You can watch the whole thing here at NPR

In our quest to discover some of the amazing artists here in our new home town of Nashville, we stumbled upon an artist named Lera Lynn (check out her website). Now why we have not discovered this amazing artist before now is a bit of a mystery, and why every one of the artists who co-wrote with her on her on her new album Plays Well With Others and also performed with her at her June 22nd show have not been on our radar before now is also surprising.

The show was at 3rd and Lindsley and was broadcast live on WMOT and World Cafe and was hosted by NPR’s Ann Powers. The album, co-produced by John Paul White (Civil Wars) and Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes) includes duets with Lynn by many notable performers, such as John Paul White, Rodney Crowell, Peter Bradley Adams, Nicole Atkins, Andrew Combs, and Dylan LeBlanc, all of who performed live with Lera at this very special show.

This was one of those very special nights where everything came together to make it one of those shows that will live on our list of ‘favorite shows ever.’ It was one of those evenings where there is a perfect mixture of beautifully crafted songs combined with some of the most emotive and technically executed vocal work one could wish to hear. Being familiar with John Paul White’s formidable talents, his contribution to the evening was amazing as one would expect, but for us, a real stand out was Dylan LeBlanc, an artist we had not yet heard of—we will be digging deep into his music!

This collection of songs is amazing, and I’m looking forward to hearing the recorded version after enjoying the live show so much. Every single one of these artists is now on our list of artists to check out, and I can’t recommend enough that all lovers of good music also check them out!

Check out the photos from the show by Kenny SchickContact me if you want larger higher rez images with no water mark.

Comrades in Song – Americanafest Basement East Nashville 6/21/18

Photography by Kenny Schick – Kenny is a music producer, engineer, singer songwriter & photographer, living in Nashville TN (from the Bay Area CA)  (see more photos here)

Americanafest put on a one-of-a-kind tribute show where distinguished members of the East Nashville community pay homage to each other’s bodies of work through song.

Americanafest Artists who preformed included Carl Anderson, Reuben Bidez, Kirby Brown, Creamer, JP Harris, Jon Latham, Nikki Lane, Ruby Boots, Mando Saenz, Kashena Sampson, Zach Schmidt, Caroline Spence, Patrick Sweany, Allen Thompson, Seth Walker, Emily West, Brandy Zdan and more special guests. The evening’s festivities was hosted by Whiskey Wolves of the West with production and musical direction provided by Chase McGillis. Everyone was so awesome! What a great event!

Last nights Comrades in Song Americanafest show at Basement East last night was an awesome way to support, enjoy and for us discover local East Nashville artists and they are all beyond amazing.

Stand outs were definitely Whiskey Wolves of the West – who played with every artist including Emily West (we didn’t even realize who she was at the time – she was on America’s got Talent 2014 – so happy to see she’s performing still and sounding fantastic we really like her). Then Creamer – omg – is amazing in so many ways… the guy brings back the intensity and beauty of the 70s artist in voice and style and we just fell in love with him. We can say that coz were were there in the 70s hehe. So I’m currently obsessing about him. He moved to Nashville to record his first solo album (which he’s just about to release) so hopefully we’ll get to see him perform out and about a lot! You can also follow him on instagram and facebook.

We are pretty excited about attending our first Americana festival this year – seeing as we are in Nashville now. We’ve always mean to go but it was always so far to go from California and with hotel rooms etc etc we never quite made it before. So we are going all out and trying to figure out how to be able to go to as much as possible as there is a LOT. We even splurged on getting tickets to the awards show at the Ryman. Everyone said it was well worth it so we are super excited about that… Jason Isbell is up for an award again of course and he’s a favorite of ours and we’ll also be seeing him at the Ryman in October for a whole week.

IF you would like to use any of the photos below please support and reference Kenny Schick at Basement3Productions

If you would like high rez versions without water marks please send us an email here

More about Americana Music Festival

When in Nashville, we’ll do as much as we can – life is short and the music here is awesome and so wonderfully diverse!

B3PMusic Clients laying down vocal tracks at ToneFreq studio with Kenny Schick and Steve Glaze.

Erin Bentley, Kurt Gunderson, Martha Groves Perry,
Brandi Starks, Vic Martin

One of my B3PMusic California Tips back to California May-June, 2018

As we live in Nashville now and I have a lot of clients in California, every couple of months I fly back there and hang with them and do some recording. I get the best of both worlds that way.

Photography by Kenny Schick – Kenny is a music producer, engineer, singer songwriter & professional photographer, living in Nashville TN (from the Bay Area CA)  (see more photos here)

Contact Kenny if you would like High Rez photos without water marks

Maddie Medley, Abe Partridge, Nik and Sam, Kirstie Lovelady, EG Vines

The Basement – Nashville 1 May, 2018

Photography by Kenny Schick – Kenny is a music producer, engineer, singer songwriter & photographer, living in Nashville TN (from the Bay Area CA)  (see more photos here)

Contact Kenny if you want high rez with no water mark