This year, we had a host of great performances in the booth.  The Makepeace Brothers and Yellow Marbles are two great up and coming groups based in the LA area. They both performed 10-minute sets on Thursday.  Friday brought us 2 a cappella groups – a new group called Pentatonix who won the first competition on the TV show “ The Sing-Off” and the second was Shure Artists Take 6, who are now celebrating 25 years as a group.  Both of their performances brought an amazing amount of energy and a large audience into our booth space.  On Saturday, we welcomed famed producer Eddie Kramer for a discussion of how he used and continues to use Shure products to work his magic.  Last but not least, a great local LA artist named Britany Christian performed short demos for our newly introduced wireless line GLXD.  We are very thankful to all the groups who spent some of their time with us at NAMM.

Other artists that came by to visit included Sheila E., Sinbad, Christina Perri, Tony Royster Jr., and Actor/Musician Charles “Chip” Easton who plays Deacon Claybourne on the hit TV show “Nashville.”

Ryan Phillips and Adam Russell from the group Story of the Year also came by to interview yours truly as part of a documentary called “Who Killed (or Saved) the Music Industry?”

Since I have started Tweeting, I have been followed by a number of artists. One in particular, 10-year old Claire Stevens, came out to NAMM with her family.  She is a singer/pianist/guitarist who is writing her own songs and is determined to be a big artist someday.   She already has a 5 song EP that she recorded and her parents bought her a Super 55, which she has used at many performances including some at various House of Blues venues.  Keep an eye out for Claire because you can tell she loves to perform and now she has her eye on our wireless products.

OK, so here’s where the “+” comes in from the title.  After a successful NAMM show, I stayed in the area to catch The Who perform in Anaheim.  Definitely a BIG +!  The group Vintage Trouble has held the opening slot on their tour for the last few months and they know how to get people moving.  I’ve been fortunate to see The Who about 5 times now and it continues to amaze me how much energy they still have for performing.  Pete Townshend moves like someone half his age. Roger is still swinging around his vocal mic (now a Beta 58A) and had a big hand in the arranging of this presentation of Quadrophenia for this tour.  The encore consisted of several of their biggest hits.

The next day, I went up to the LA area to visit a few artists and management companies.  I got to catch Simon Phillips recording some new tunes with KSM27’s all over his toms as well as Kenny Aronoff playing at The Baked Potato with the Bombastic Meatbats, Chad Smith’s group.  What a great way to spend time in LA.  Loved every minute!

There’s another part of NAMM season that keeps us on our toes, though. By then, products we’ve launched in the past year or so have been rigorously evaluated by users and industry experts alike, and it’s time to hear their thoughts. How do we know what they think? There are the reviews. And then, there are the awards.

We’re thrilled to have received the following awards recently. They inspire us to keep pushing the envelope year after year.

TEC Awards

The TEC Foundation recognized Axient® Wireless Management Network for Outstanding Technical Achievement in the Wireless Technology Category.

ProSoundWeb and Live Sound International Readers’ Choice Awards

Axient was named Wireless Microphone System of the Year. KSM9HS won in the Condenser Microphone Category, and PSM®1000 received its second Readers’ Choice Award as the sole winner of the In-Ear Monitor System Category.

Musical Merchandise Review’s Dealers’ Choice Awards

MMR polled more than 650 retailers across the country about their favorite products. The SM58® received the Microphone Line of the Year trophy at NAMM last month.

Pro Audio Review’s PAR Excellence Awards

The Pro Audio Review editors, contributors, and subscribers named ULX-D™ Digital Wireless System a winner in the Wireless Microphone Systems Category.

Music & Sound Retailer 27th Annual Music & Sound Awards

The Music & Sound Retailer editorial team stopped by our NAMM booth to award the KSM9HS the Best Cabled Microphone of the Year and ULX-D Digital Wireless the Best Wireless System of the Year.

Pro Sound Network’s Best of Show Awards

The Pro Sound News and Pro Audio Review editorial teams recognized the new GLX-D Digital Wireless System with a Best of Show award at NAMM.

Chris Lyons introduces GLX-D Digital Wireless, which features LINKFREQ, next-gen battery technology, and the first guitar pedal receiver from Shure.

Chris Lyons introduces BLX Wireless, which offers legendary sound right out of the box.

So I thought a bullet point format might work well for this.  I may ad a few short comments, but most of them will speak for themselves:

• My first show as an AR rep was to visit Slaughter at park West in Chicago.  The band we’re nice guys, invited me right up onstage to see their gear.

• Taking a road trip to Summerfest in Milwaukee to visit Destiny’s Child.  I brought some Shure shirts with to swag the crew and Beyonce put one on when she arrive before soundcheck!

• Many nights of hanging with one of the best photographers in the industry – Paul Natkin (www.natkin.net)

• Attending many awards shows including The Grammy’s, the Academy of Country Music Awards, The Latin Grammy’s (the 2^nd Annual was supposed to happen on Sept 11, 2001), the Country Music Awards, The Gospel Music Awards and the American Country Awards over the last 16+ years.

• Traveling to Switzerland (my first time out of the US) for the Montreux Jazz Festival.

• Seeing and meeting so many artists at the NAMM show each year.

• Working with some artists since the beginning of their careers: Le Ann Rimes, Jo Dee Messina, Dierks Bentley, Korn and many more.

• Meeting and working with legendary artists like The Pretenders, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, Natalie Cole, Alison Krauss & Union Staion and The Who, to name a few.

• Being tricked by Tony Iommi – I met him at a gig early on in my AR career with endorsement paperwork in hand.  After handing it to him he said “I need to look this over.” A half an hour later, he came back and said “I can’t sign this.”  My face went blank – I was speechless.  He said jokingly “You should see the look on your face…I signed it.”

• Lobbying congress and the FCC on behalf of Shure to protect wireless products and the frequency spectrum they operate in.

• Watching The Who do a 2 hour pre-show rehearsal at the Palace at Auburn Hills, MI a day before their show.  It was myself and 3 other people in an Arena.  Shortly after they finished we shot an ad with Pete and Roger.

• Co-producing a Shure show for the National Sound Contractors Convention with Ed Thigpen and friends plus a 20 minute Blue Man Group set in the middle.

• Many days and evenings of hanging/working with some of the best AR reps in the industry at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) and the Modern Drummer festivals over the last 16 years. (You all know who you are!)

• At one of my previous bosses’ request, shaking Elton John’s hand after a sound check and thanking him on his choice of microphone.

• Seeing and Meeting Cheap Trick for the first time (on the same night) at The Metro performing the album Heaven Tonight. Killer show!!

• Coming up with a plan to open an AR office in Nashville and having that plan be accepted, put into action, and succeed beyond my expectations.

• Visiting some amazing Nashville area studios like Dark Horse Recording, Blackbird Studios, and Ocean Way.

• Having artists and engineers play me songs before anyone else gets to hear them and see them become hits.

• Seeing Rufus & Chaka Khan in Nashville.  Great show – deepest groove/pocket I’ve ever heard live!

• Shaking B.B. King’s hand and wishing him a Happy Birthday before a show in Chicago at The Riviera.

• Working with drummers who I grew up following:  Dave Weckl, Peter Erskine, John “JR” Robinson, Simon Phillips, Ndugu Chancelor, and many more.

• Arranging a group photoshoot with all the drummers listed above and a few others like Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, Rod Morgenstein, and Trilok Gurtu.

• Visiting the set of the movie “A Mighty Wind” to watch them shoot at scene that made it to the extra’s on the DVD. (it’s the music video scene with the large Lava Lamps)

• Taking the guys in Spinal Tap over to the NAMM show floor for a quick tour. Then watching them perform for what has been the hippest NAMM show performance since.

• Remembering several Grammy performances I saw on site: Aretha filling in for Andrea Bocelli singing a classical song, Alanis Morrisette signing “Uninvited” backed by a string orchestra, Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”, several Lady Gaga performances, and The Beach Boys with Maroon 5 and Foster The People

• Remembering all the great crew people behind the scenes at all of the awards shows who pull off major accomplishments to make these shows happen every year.

• Right Place, Right time -Finding about The Civil Wars and reaching out to form a relationship. Seeing them rise to perform at The Grammy Awards in less than a year.

• Hearing stories everyday from artists and engineers on how using Shure products have helped their careers and in some cases, changed their lives.

• Having a family, both at Shure and at home to share these moments with.

I know there are a few that I’m forgetting but these stick out.  I am so thankful everyday to be working and be allowed to visit with so many great people in this industry.   I hope to be doing this a long time as I feel I was meant to do it.  I move forward, with anticipation of the next great moments.

And now…back to work.  I have to come up with questions for my Jason Mraz video interview next week.

Calling all Artist Relations reps!  What are some of your memorable moments?

Ryan

Wireless Systems

• Axient Wireless Management Network
  2012 NAMM “Best in Show—This Year’s Hottest Products” Gotta Stock It Award
• PGX Digital Wireless
  2011 TEC Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement, Wireless Technology
  2011 Music & Sound Retailer Music & Sound Award for Best Wireless System
• ULX-D Digital Wireless
  2012 Pro Sound Network Best of Show Awards: NAMM Edition

Personal Monitoring

• PSM 1000 Personal Monitor System
  2011 Music & Sound Retailer Music & Sound Award for Product of the Year
  2012 ProSoundWeb and Live Sound International  Readers’ Choice Award

Wired Microphones

• Beta 181 Ultra-Compact Side-Address Microphone
  2011 TEC Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement, Microphone Technology / Sound Reinforcement
  2011 Music & Sound Retailer Music & Sound Award for Best Wired Microphone
• KSM42 Large Dual-Diaphragm Vocal Microphone
  2012 ProSoundWeb and Live Sound International  Readers’ Choice Award for Best Product, Condenser Microphones
• SM58 Vocal Microphone
  2011 Musical Merchandise Review Dealer’s Choice Awards for Microphone Line of the Year

Earphones

• SE215 Sound Isolating Earphones
  2011 PCMag.com Best of the Year Award

Okay, success celebrated. Back to the grindstone.

January 19-22, 2012
Anaheim, CA – Anaheim Convention Center

From our new products, awesome booth and even more awesome Shure staff, we had an amazing 4 days.  We even brought in some of the most recognized names in the music industry to sign autographs and perform in our booth.

The very first day, Thursday, we had producer/engineer Ken Caillat in for an Q & A about his experiences with Shure products and more.  Directly after that, his daughter Colbie Caillat jumped onstage to sing and then signed autographs for fans.

Following Colbie was a new group from the southern California called The Makepeace Brothers who sang a few short songs for a host of attendees. They had great 4 part harmonies and have performed with endorser Jason Mraz in the past.

After the show closed for the day, a few of us made our way over to the Hilton for the 3rd Annual Worship Night which Shure has been a part of since the beginning.  Israel Houghton & New Breed opened the show and endorser Lincoln Brewster closed it out.  It’s always great to see this event well attended.

Friday’s lineup was pretty stellar!  It kicked off with Heavy Metal group Meshuggah who were followed by Lincoln Brewster.  After that, Alice Cooper showed up and were immediately followed by Korn.  Two humongous lines encircled the booth for both acts…it was quite a site to see.  Jonathan Davis, “Fieldy”, and “Munky” all came to greet fans.

Following the close of Friday in the booth, I was invited by my contact at Meyer Sound to be a guest at their table for the TEC Awards where Shure won for 2 new products – The Beta 181 side address condenser microphone as well as the PGXD  Digital wireless systems. Meyer also won an award for their new MINA sound systems.  Congrats to all the TEC award winner!

Saturday, the one and only Rob Halford or Judas Priest, a longtime Shure user came in to sign and stayed past his allotted time for fans.  Following Rob was a new group called Dawes who sang a couple of songs and then signed.

Many other artists stopped in to say hello including Sheila E., Sinbad, Herbie Hancock, drummer Steve Smith, Richard Patrick of Filter, drummer Kenny Aronoff, and many more.

It is so awesome to have so many great new products to show everyone this year !  We have such a knowledgeable and engaging staff that love taking people through our products.  Keep visiting this blog as well as our main website for more details as the year goes on.

Enjoy the pix!

Ryan

Joe and lzzy from Halestorm

Artist Schedule 2012

Colbie and Ken Cailet

Colbie Cailet Sings

Korn at the Shure Booth

Lincoln Brewster Performs at Worship Night

The Makepeace Brothers

Lincoln Brewster Signs at Shure Booth

The Line for Rob Halford

Paul Jackson Jr.

Hannah Ford and Nik West

Ryan Smith with J. Devil

Chris Lyons introduces Shure ULX-D, a breakthrough digital wireless system that incorporates a collection of technological innovations into one easy-to-use professional wireless system.

• Transparent 24-bit digital audio quality
• RF performance
• Advanced setup features, such as intelligent scanning
• The rechargeability of the Lithium Ion battery offers up to 12 hours of use on a single charge

Find out more about the ULX-D Digital Wireless.

Michael Johns introduces our first open-back headphone models: the SRH1440 and SRH1840. Designed for critical mastering, monitoring and unparalleled audiophile listening, the SRH1440 and SRH1840 deliver a unique sound signature that enables listeners to achieve and produce their best quality mix.

Shure SRH1440 Professional Open Back Headphones

Shure SRH1840 Professional Open Back Headphones

John Born introduces the A300SM Shock Mount. Recently called the “Sexiest Shock Mount Ever” (recording hacks), the sleek and stylish A300SM uses advanced materials to provide exceptional isolation and shock protection for the KSM353/ED Ribbon Microphone. Most notably, in place of the traditional elastic bands the A300SM uses wire rope.

Find out more about the A300SM and the KSM353/ED Premium Bi-directional Ribbon Microphone.

Chris Lyons introduces the new MX150 and MX153, both fully compatible with all Shure wireless systems. The discreet MX150 lavalier offers uncompromising sound quality and is available with cardioid or omnidirectional polar patterns. The MX153 provides outstanding clarity in an extremely comfortable over-the-ear design and is available in 3 colors.

MX150 Subminiature Lavalier Microphone

MX153 Earset Headworn Microphone

Previewed at last year’s NAMM show, Axient is now shipping through Axient Certified Dealers. The system features new-to-the-world technologies that drive a range of innovative wireless system capabilities. Axient constantly scans for problems, always keeping a second, clean channel available—delivering control, convenience and confidence in wireless audio transmission for mission-critical events. Capabilities include interference detection and avoidance, spectrum management, advanced power management (thanks to a rock-solid rechargeable system), frequency diversity, transmitter remote control, and Wireless Workbench 6 software.