A Wicked Good Time for MusiCares Foundation

For those of you who couldn’t make it out to our first annual Cakewalk fundraiser, you missed a great night. Throughout the evening, Cakewalk employees took the stage at the Lansdowne Pub (right next door to historic Fenway Park) to show off their talents.

    Mike FM

Boston’s 93.7 Mike FM was the MC for the night, bringing with them a bundle of awesome prizes for the raffle and giving away free stickers and tees. One lucky raffle winner won the grand prize featuring Cakewalk’s V-Studio 100 portable music studio, a Fender Stratocaster™ with a face plate signed by Blink 182, and Shure headphones. Here’s a brief rundown of the night:

    magnolia

Magnolia killed the opening set as Cakewalk Graphic Designer Dan Kaplan rocked out with his six-piece and bandana. With influences ranging from traditional folk music and Americana to the more contemporary indie rock and pop – Magnolia has a refreshing, unique sound of their own. Be sure to check out their virtual CD release party on June 11, 2010.

    baby made rebel

Cakewalk Quality Assurance Rep Josh Langberg’s band, Baby Made Rebel really turned up the volume in the next set, delivering a stellar performance. Cakewalk Tech Support Rep David Guerette also made a cameo appearance on the tenor sax for a few songs.

    Los Sugar Kings

Los Sugar Kings with Cakewalk Director of Education Dan Abreu had everyone in the crowd clapping along to their Latin inspired beats. They also gave free dance lessons! Dan showed off his amazing musicianship, switching between sax and keyboards, during the set.

    lunchbox2

Even with a man down, the cover band Lunchbox couldn’t be stopped. Cakewalk Account Manager Zac Kenney took on guitar parts intended for 2, played them blindfolded with his hands behind his back, and still made it look cool. Cakewalk International Account Manager Matt Koelsch wowed everyone with his vocals throughout the set; he even managed to out-Zeppelin Robert Plant when they covered “Good Times Bad Times.” 

    DJ Scotty Steel

DJ Scotty Steel kept us all energized through 1:00am spinning hits from the 80’s, 90’s and more.

    DJ Josh

DJ Josh closed it up with a chest pounding mix of electro, IDM, and EBM to keep the glow sticks moving until the lights started flashing and the bartenders finally kicked us out.

All joking aside, it was an amazing night with plenty of great tunes and whole lot of fun!

In total we earned over $800 for the MusiCares Foundation.

The money which will go towards their first annual Grassroots Giving Campaign and it’ll provide critical care and services to musicians worldwide.  Here’s how a few dollars donated to MusiCares could help musicians in need:

$25 Buys groceries for an elderly or disabled artist on a fixed income
$50 Pays part of a gas bill for a client recovering from carpal tunnel syndrome
$100 Pays for a month of medication for an uninsured diabetic client
$150 Provides a basic dental exam, cleaning and X-rays for a horn player without insurance
$500 Provides a vocal examination and rehabilitative treatment for a singer with polyps on her vocal folds

Thank you to all who helped make this event a huge success! We hope to see you next year.

Cakewalk Rocks for MusiCares Foundation

Save the Date! Two weeks from Sunday, Cakewalk hosts it’s 1st annual fundraising event for the MusiCares Foundation. Throughout the event, Cakewalk employees will show off their talents, performing in a diverse line up of bands and DJ’s. A charity raffle will be held with a chance to win a Cakewalk V-Studio 100-powered Recording Bundle featuring a Cakewalk V-Studio 100 portable music production studio, a Fender Stratocaster with a face plate signed by Blink 182, and Shure headphones.

CakewalkRocks_blog

One hundred percent of the proceeds raised at this event will be donated to the MusiCares Foundation.

Join us at the Lansdowne Pub (next to Fenway Park) in Boston, MA. A $5.00 cover will be charged at the door and Boston’s 93.7 Mike FM will MC the event, all for a great cause!

Visit our MusiCares Event page for more information on the night’s set list and raffle prizes.

Doing Heavenly Work With the V-Studio 100

Dale Ramsey - Great GatheringDale “Rambro” Ramsey is one of the most respected producers and engineers in the business.  His RamTrax Entertainment studio in Atlanta has worked on projects for some of the biggest names in music, from Justin Timberlake to Stevie Wonder to P. Diddy.  His client list reads like a Who’s Who of musical talent, and it keeps Dale hopping.

But sometimes he has a client with a somewhat ‘higher calling.’

Early this month, Dale traveled to Columbia, SC with his V-Studio 100 to record a major religious event called “The Great Gathering.”  For the first time in more than 45 years, the three major Methodist denominations within the African-American community met collectively, holding a three-day conference to discuss and address some of the major issues currently plaguing our nation.

From March 1-3, congregations from the African Methodist Episcopal (AME), African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion) and Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Churches met at the Carolina Coliseum with the goal of “Focusing on solutions. Change through the heart for the earth and humanity.”

“I was working in my studio with Dr. Greg McPherson, the music director for the opening day of the conference,” Dale explained, “and he mentioned a three-day event that might take place the following week up in Columbia.  He said he might be able to use my help in recording an orchestra on the first day.  I didn’t have a lot of details and it wasn’t set in stone at that point, but I said I’d help if he needed me.”

Continue reading “Doing Heavenly Work With the V-Studio 100”

Artist Appearances at NAMM 2010

NAMMVisit with Cakewalk at The NAMM Show 2010 from January 14 through January 17 in Anaheim, California! Stop by our new booth location (Hall A, #6700) to see live demonstrations on SONAR 8.5, the V-Studio 100 and the V-Studio 700. Be sure to grab an official Cakewalk Passport then take a short tour of our booth, to win a free t-shirt and be eligible to win a V-Studio 100!

Also, Cakewalk will be hosting a series of special artist presentations and performances throughout the show. Our confirmed artist appearances (dates and times) are as follows:

Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010
2:00-2:45 Justin Lassen
4:00-4:45 Javier Colon

Friday, Jan. 15, 2010
11:00-11:45 Steven Slate
1:00-1:45 Cori Yarckin
3:00-3:45 Casey McPherson of Alpha Rev
4:00-4:45 Norman Matthew
5:00-5:45 Justin Lassen

Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010
11:00-11:45 Norman Matthew
12:00-12:45 Steven Slate
1:05-1:45 The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
2:00-2:45 Shifty and the Big Shots
3:00-3:45 Cori Yarckin
4:00-4:45 Javier Colon

Visit our Special Event page for more information: http://www.cakewalk.com/events/namm2010/

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)

Continue reading “Cakewalk's Top 5 Live Performances of 2009”

Motown Records: 'The Best of William Goldstein'

Recording artist, composer and award-winning producer William Goldstein is celebrating the Motown Records release of ‘The Best of William Goldstein,’ now available worldwide. This SONAR 7 fan is credited with over 50 film and television projects. His scores include those of FAME, Guys and Dolls, The Miracle Worker, and Twilight Zone. Since 1975, Goldstein has composed music for numerous documentaries, mini-series, television specials, concert scores, and professes the arts of ‘Improvisation and the Creative Process’ in his own masterclass. He is also the founder of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, California. With no sign of slowing down, Goldstein in currently working on two musicals in New York City as well as working on a variety of film projects. To hear the new album and learn more about the accomplished William Goldstein, visit http://www.williamgoldstein.com/.