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Cakewalk's Top 5 Live Performances of 2009

HOB BostonWith the return of U2, Madonna and AC/DC to the stage, 2009 was another successful year for performance venues nationwide. The Cakewalk staff had a busy year as well, attending all sorts of concerts and festivals. Continuing on our quest to name our favorites of 2009, here are our choices for the ‘Top 5 Live Performances’. You can see our picks for the Top 5 Singles of 2009 in a previous post.

Anthony Conte: Ben Folds with the Boston Pops, Aimee Mann, Pete Yorn, Matthew Sweet, Cake

Carl Jacobson: Oneal Armstrong @ The Middle East (Boston, MA), DJ Z-Trip & Chuck D at the Shepherd Fairy Exhibit Party @ ICA (Boston, MA), The Pat Martino Trio feat. Tony Monaco @ Scullers (Boston, MA), Kokayi @ CMJ Showcase (NY, NY), Some traditional Appalachian band from West Virginia on the streets in the Mission District of San Francisco in September 2009

Keith Albright: Third Day, Casting Crowns, and Natalie Grant @ SoulFest (Gunstock Mountain, NH), Michael W. Smith, Todd Agnew

Tara Zanett: Journey (and Heart!), No Doubt, AC/DC

Steve Cox: Stevie Wonder at the 25th Anniversary Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame Concert @ Madison Square Garden (NY, NY)

Josh Langberg: DJ Hell @ Resolute Warehouse (Brooklyn, NY), Skinny Puppy @ the Palladium (Worcester, MA), Raster-Noton, Alva Noto & Byetone @ Make It New (Middlesex Lounge – Cambridge, MA), Nitzer Ebb @ the Paradise (Boston, MA), Xanopticon @ The Armory (Somerville, MA)

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Cakewalk's Top 5 Singles of 2009

kings of leonMore than half of Cakewalk’s employees are musicians, many of which record and perform on the side. They’ve come to Cakewalk from different musical backgrounds, sharing their experiences and tricks of the trade as they go. It’s no surprise that those behind the scenes at Cakewalk have a wide range of musical tastes from electronica to hip hop, punk to country.

We thought we’d share with you our choices for the ‘Top 5 of 2009’. In no particular order, here are our picks for the ‘Top 5 Singles’  released this year:

Anthony Conte (VP of Sales): Fireflies – Owl City, Meet Me At The Equinox – Death Cab for Cutie, I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris – Morrissey, Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys) – Jay-Z, 1901 – Phoenix

Carl Jacobson (VP of Marketing): 1901 – Phoenix, Ancestor’s Call – Huun-Huur Tu / Carmen Rizzo, Scars (Featuring Kelis) – Basement Jaxx, Scumbag Blues – Them Crooked Vultures, Money (Feat. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge & Z-Trip) – N.A.S.A.

Keith Albright (Software Engineer): Heaven Is The Face – Steven Curtis Chapman, Until The Whole World Hears – Casting Crowns, He Is – Mark Schultz, Lo How A Rose E’er Blooming – Sting, Magnificent – U2

Tara Zanett (Event Coordinator): Love Story – Taylor Swift, That’s Not My Name – Ting Tings, Already Gone – Kelly Clarkson, Use Somebody – Kings of Leon, I Know You Want Me – Pitbull

Matt Koelsch (MI Accounts Manager – Worldwide): Use Somebody – Kings of Leon, Kids – MGMT, 1901 – Phoenix, Sleepyhead – Passion Pit, Hometown Glory – Adele

Dave Malaguti (QA Engineer): Zero – Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nothing to Worry About – Peter Bjorn and John, The Wanting Comes in Waves – The Decemberists, While You Wait for the Others – Grizzly Bear, Oh No – Andrew Bird

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Voting Now Open for Cakewalk's 'Your Music Anytime, Anyplace' Songwriting Contest

OurStage_420x229Inspiration can happen anytime, anyplace and we want to make it easier for you to capture those ideas as they happen. Cakewalk has come together with Intel  to provide some of the best songwriters and producers on the Ourstage circuit with an ultimate mobile studio!

Now through November 21, 2009,  log on to Ourstage.com and submit your original music to enter. The Top 20 submissions in the Rock and Urban genres will be selected by music fans. Out of those 20, six winners (three in each genre) will be chosen by our panel of industry professionals and will receive a complete mobile music production studio worth over $3,000 including:

• Intel Core i7 Mobile processor-powered laptop
• Cakewalk’s V-Studio 100 portable recording solution
• SONAR 8.5 Producer digital audio workstation
• Rapture virtual instrument
• Cakewalk MA-15D studio monitors

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Artist Impression: Producer & DJ Sharkey on V-Studio 100

Sharkey has performed and produced with such heavyweights as Eminem, Everlast, Mickey Petralia, Mario Caldato Jr., Jedi Mind Tricks, The Black Eyed Peas, and Wyclef Jean. His first solo album “Sharkey’s Machine” featured guest appearances by Cannibal Ox, The Pharcyde, Grand Puba of Brand Nubian and Cherrywine from Digable Planets.

2008’s Monster Maker with C-Rayz waltz was a critically acclaimed foray into the world of alternative hip hop.  In 2009 he’s set to release Dastardly with 2009 Grammy-nominated artist Kokayi.

Based in Maryland, but doing regular sessions in NYC, Nashville, and LA, not to mention DJ sets, we thought Sharkey might appreciate a sneak peek of the V-Studio 100…but we didn’t expect him to try to walk away with it.  Watch the video to hear his impressions and more.