Events Archives - Zone Recording Studio

Jim Boggio Memory

Blair Hardman — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 03:37:41 +0000

Jim Boggio was a frequent visitor to Zone Recording in Cotati. Besides being hired for his accordion playing, he was the voice of numerous radio and TV commercials.

This is his obituary from The San Francisco Chronicle, 1996:

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/OBITUARY-Jim-Boggio-2958216.php

Take a trip down memory lane with this accounting of the …

History of the First Cotati Accordion Festival

Written by Virginia Sager Jansen in 1991

Jim led the popular groups “The Sonoma Swamp Dogs” and “The Gypsy Jazzers”, and his humor and infectious laughter made him a friend to thousands around the world. Jim was also co-founder of the Cotati Accordion Festival. (see history below)

To memorialize this extraordinary man Blair Hardman led a committee that commissioned a life-size bronze statue of Jim playing the accordion and laughing his wonderful laugh. It was installed in La Plaza Park in Cotati, and is the only life size bronze statue of an accordionist in the world.

The artist Jim Kelly of Sebastopol, did the modeling and the foundry, Bronze Plus also of Sebastopol, did the casting. It was finished August 22nd, 1997, in time for the annual Cotati Accordion Festival.

Original Accordion Festival Committee: Left to Right. Back Row: Eric Kirchmann, Rebecca Browne, Jim Boggio, Marian Kelly, Linda Rook, Pat Vulgaris, Vivian Weissenburger, Barbara Harris. Front Row: Richard Cullinen, Clifton Buck-Kauffman, Keith Blackstone. Not present: Steve Balich, John Olsson and Sean O’Connell (photographer).

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO make a successful musical festival with a unique concept? When asked to write the history of the first Cotati Accordion Festival, this writer went to the two men responsible for the origination of this event: Clifton Buck-Kauffman and Jim Boggio. It didn’t take long to discover exactly “what it takes”: imagination, great talent, commitment to community service, involving important support groups, and acquiring the help of a dedicated volunteer committee. The job demanded hours of work each day for some three months on the part of Buck-Kauffman and Boggio; and yes, the “calling in of favors” from good friends and business associates. It took innovation (and in this writer’s judgment, courage!) as initially, there was no money. Most importantly, it was because of the love of and respect for the accordian and Cotati, that this festival came into being.

Jim Boggio is a well-known, local, musical artist; band leader; pianist; instrumentalist, with the accordion being his specialty; and producer of shows – “among other things.”

Boggio recorded an accordion album, Accordion to the Blues at the Cotati-based recording company, Prairie Sun Studios. Now, it SO happened that a co-owner of these studios was Clifton Buck-Kauffman, a longtime Cotatian. (Incidentally, Clifton’s grandparents were the Legarretas, early Cotati chicken ranchers. The studios are on the site of the old hatchery.)

Buck-Kauffman thrives on civic involvement: City of Cotati Community Service Commission (1991 Chair); Cotati Chamber of Commerce (Board Member); Cultural Arts Council of Sonoma County (1993 Prexy); a booster of a wide range of local civic activities among other things. Get these two men together and things happen!

When Buck-Kauffman heard Boggio’s accordion album, he was dazzled. The multicultural diversity of accordion music triggered his imagination! Following the recording session, the two men were talking things over at the Tradewinds (a local watering hole in downtown Cotati.) Buck-Kauffman asked Boggio, “What do you think of the idea of having a Cotati Accordion Festival?” Both men grinned – Boggio “loving the idea.” Once the latter realized Buck-Kauffman was serious, he was off and running. The two made a deal: Boggio would be handling the musical end securing the musicians, planning the program, orchestrating the entire musical production and so on. Buck-Kauffman would handle the rest: staging; arranging for the sound equipment, posters, banners and signs; T-shirt sales; vendor booths, etc. As with any community endeavor, funding was a problem. Buck-Kauffman put it this way: “As for obtaining the services of the performers that first year, it was difficult finding people who were willing to work for almost nothing. (Now, musicians are piling out of the woodwork – everybody wants to play the Cotati Festival.)” For financial help, Buck-Kauffman turned to the organizations he served: the City of Cotati, the Chamber, and Sonoma County’s Cultural Arts Council. The coordination and cooperation of these three groups were the needed dynamics that guaranteed the first festival’s success. Private contributions were solicited. A local man, Dr. Richard Gaston, donated $500 toward the event. When one gets support from people like that … those who just believe in an idea … “I can recall that day to this day!” Buck-Kauffman and Boggio, however, bore the major burden of the costs. Out-of-pocket money, coupled with donated performance/work time, respectively, added up to a hefty sum.

Buck-Kauffman and Boggio credit several persons for having worked “above and beyond”: Rebecca Browne (currently Cotati’s Chamber of Commerce President) handled the printing of the program booklets, copy and advertising. Tom Torriglia, was/is a San Francisco-based public relations man, and a leader of the well-known bay area group,Tlwse Darn Accordions. It was Torriglia who arranged the extensive publicity resulting in unprecedented attendance for such an event held in Cotati. Barbara Harris was/is Executive Director of the Cultural Arts Council of Sonoma County. It was at her suggestion that the festival be not a one day affair, but two. She also gave of her expertise and energy. Lou Soper, first president of the Bay Area Accordion Club, contributed much to the production end of the event. Boggio was/is a member of the Bay Area Accordion Club and as such called upon many of that group for help. Behind-the-scene support came from Marian Kelly, Peter DiBono and the membership in general. Pat Ryan and Stanley Mouse, artists, created the design for the posters and T-shirts, respectively. Al and Carla Hines of Hines Signs in Cotati did the banners and signs. Guy and Susie Dynek of Paragon believed in the project to the extent that they “advanced” the cost of the T-shirts. A committee of some eighteen additional local volunteers gave much time and energy to make this project a success. Additionally, the City of Cotati generously allowed the Festival to take place in La Plaza Park, which helped bring back the street festival ambiance for which Cotati is well known. Each day they opened the event with an accordion parade. At one point in the show accordionists at large were invited to join in a Lady of Spain-A-Ring, an event in which all present could join in the playing of Lady of Spain (in the key of C).

The Cotati festival was presented as a community service, free to the public. It was held in the downtown plaza under the oaks. The response was overwhelming. “We were amazed at the reception and response to our idea. It tickled the fancy of music lovers locally, nationally and internationally!” recalled Buck-Kauffman. Boggio put it a different way, “The thing that struck me was all those smiling faces. People of all ages dancing, listening, tapping their feet — all with smiles on their faces.”

Much to the elation of those responsible (and to the surprise of the skeptics) the first outdoor Cotati Accordion Festival was conducted and concluded on a highly successful note.

If you are looking for more information about professional audio recording, call Zone Recording Studio today at (800) 372-3305 or email us at blair@zonerecording.com.

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Speak Like An Adult

Blair Hardman — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 04:16:15 +0000

Many young people are hampered in business, academia, and social situations by something they may not be aware of . . . a speech pattern that is often seen as a marker of immaturity, subservience and even stupidity.

For girls this is sometimes referred to as “the little girl voice,” and is comprised of a high pitch, an upward inflection at the end of sentences (like a question), a low energy or “croaky” sound (fry voice), and the overuse of “like” and “totally” as verbal filler.

For boys it ‘s known as the “dude” voice, which also has the “uptalk” inflection, fry voice, a monotone, lots of verbal filler and a tendency to mumble.

Our “Speak Like An Adult” Workshops and private lessons are being offered by voiceover coach Blair Hardman at Zone Recording in Cotati, CA.

If you, or someone you know, has this verbal virus, and would like to remove the blocks it can put in their lives, call 707-664-1221 or email blair@zonemusic.com for more information about vocal workshops and private speaking lessons.

At Zone Recording, we also do Digital Recording workshops, where we cover all aspects of recording “from the song to the shrink-wrap”, and Voice Over Workshops for beginning and advanced students.

This skit from the hit show 30 Rock is a perfect, and fun example of the little girl voice.

For more information, read this transcript from the NPR radio program This American Life.”

Act Two. Freedom Fries.

Ira Glass

Act 2, “Freedom Fries.”

So the comments that we get from our listeners are usually nowhere as vicious as what Lindy West gets on a daily basis. But for a while now, the women on our staff have been getting emails like this one.

Quote, “The voice of Chana Joffe-Walt is just too much to bear. And I turn off any episode she’s on. A quick bit of research, found an appropriate description, which is vocal fry. How can This American Life have this on the show? It escapes me.”

If you have no idea what this is about, here’s a clip of Chana.

Chana Joffe

And Thompson kept hearing that term school-to-prison pipeline.

Ira Glass

OK, hear the way that her voice kind of creaks on the word pipeline? That’s vocal fry.

Chana Joffe

Pipeline.

Ira Glass

But it’s not just Chana. A man wrote us in November. Quote, “Vocal fry is a growing fad among young American women. Miki Meek provides a vivid and grating example of this unfortunate affectation.” Miki, by the way, sounds like this.

Miki Meek

She’d never experienced anything outside the church. And she basically checked out on Will and the kids.

Ira Glass

Somebody wrote us about Alix Spiegel, who’s been on our show many, many times– now co-hosts the NPR science program Invisibilia. Quote, “Perhaps Alix could cover the vocal fry epidemic. It would be really interesting to hear her take, as she is clearly a victim herself.” For the record, here is Alix.

Alix Spiegel

Because Roxanne was the only one supporting her young daughter, she had to be able to work.

(HOST) IRA GLASS: Elna Baker, Mary Beth Kirchner, Starlee Kine, Yowei Shaw. When investigative reporter Susan Zalkind was on our show last year with the story of the FBI shooting a man connected to the Boston Marathon bombers, she sounded like this.

Susan Zalkind

But Ibragim also got arrested for beating a guy unconscious over a parking space at a mall in Florida.

Ira Glass

A woman wrote in, quote, “The growl in the woman’s voice was so annoying that I turned it off.” A man wrote, quote, “Listen, I know there’s pressure to hire females, in particular young females just out of college. And besides, they’re likely to work for less money. But do you have to choose the most irritating voices in the English-speaking world? I mean, are you forced to? Or maybe, as I imagine, NPR runs national contests looking for them.”

The term vocal fry started to get wide usage in 2011 after a study of 34 college students at Long Island University found that 2/3 of them had it, usually at the ends of sentences. A reporter wrote a story about that study at the website of Science magazine.Gawker, Huffington Post, Boing Boing, and other sites linked to it. And within days, it became the most popular article ever published on the Science magazine website in its 15 years. Other media glommed on.

Matt Lauer

Something called vocal fry that is creeping into the speech patterns of young women. NBC’S chief medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman is here to explain. Explain–

Ira Glass

This story on The Today Show raises the possibility that talking this way harms young women’s voices. Since then, many researchers have said this doesn’t seem to be true. The Today Show story also says this only affects women.

Matt Lauer

But is there anything equivalent in men?

Nancy Snyderman

No, there isn’t. And you know what’s interesting is–

Ira Glass

There’s now robust evidence that men do this too. And like a lot of the other coverage, The Today Show story pathologizes vocal fry. It says that it’s some kind of problem instead of just the way that some people talk.

And it teaches viewers to spot it. Today Show host Matt Lauer starts the segment saying that he’s never heard of this, and ends it saying he’d never noticed it before, and now he’s going to be on the alert for it.

Nancy Snyderman

That’s it.

Matt Lauer

Well, that’s the first time I actually heard it in Kim Kardashian.

Nancy Snyderman

Yeah, you have to really listen. And Kim Kardashian really sort of has it.

Matt Lauer

I will start to listen–

Nancy Snyderman

You’re just not going to be hip enough to be there.

Matt Lauer

I’ll listen more carefully.

(HOST) IRA GLASS: The Today Show story and other stories treat vocal fry as if it’s a new phenomenon, on the rise, a fad, an epidemic. But as a linguist at the University of Pennsylvania, Mark Lieberman, has pointed out, there is still no evidence of that, pro or con– no evidence that it is more common now than it’s always been.

What’s striking in the dozens of emails about vocal fry that we’ve gotten here at our radio show is how vehement people are. These are some of the angriest emails we ever get. They call these women’s voices unbearable, excruciating, annoyingly adolescent, beyond annoying, difficult to pay attention, so severe as to cause discomfort, can’t stand the pain, distractingly disgusting, could not get over how annoyed I was, I am so appalled, detracts from the credibility of the journalist, degrades the value of the reportage, it’s a choice, very unprofessional.

Stephanie Foo

Lately, in the past year and a half maybe, every time I get together with female radio producers, it’s just like comparing war stories.

Ira Glass

That’s Stephanie Foo, one of the younger producers here on our show.

Stephanie Foo

It’s just listing off, oh, somebody said this about me, my voice this week. Somebody said I sound like a stoner 13-year-old. Somebody said that my voice sounds like driving on gravel. Somebody said they wanted to kill themselves hearing my voice.

Ira Glass

Listeners have always complained about young women reporting on our show. They used to complain about reporters using the word like and about upspeak, which is when you put a question mark at the end of a sentence and talk like this. But we don’t get many emails like that anymore. People who don’t like listening to young women on the radio have moved on to vocal fry.

Chana Joffe

I just feel like, my voice, really?

(HOST) IRA GLASS: This is producer Chana Joffe-Walt. Remember, I read a letter from a listener who found her voice too much to bear. Chana says that it’s fine with her if somebody has a problem with her reporting or her writing or her interviewing, but her voice?

Chana Joffe

I’m just trying to speak. Literally the way that the voice comes out of my mouth bothers you? What am I supposed to do about that? And even now as we’re speaking about it, I am noticing every single time I do it, and then hating every single time I do it, and trying not to do it. But trying not to do it is impossible because it’s the way that I talk, because it’s my actual voice. It’s crazy making.

Ira Glass

It’s funny. Until we started talking about it for this story, I never even noticed it in your voice.

Chana Joffe

And now you notice it every single–

Ira Glass

Yeah. Have you noticed that I do it too?

Chana Joffe

Not until right now.

Ira Glass

Yeah, yeah, even as I say these words.

Chana Joffe

And I didn’t notice it when other women do it either until I started to read about the phenomenon of vocal fry. And then I did notice it. And I find it annoying now when other people do it. I mean, I don’t notice it all of the time. But if I am thinking about it and hear other people do it– other women do it especially– I become like a woman who hates women.

Ira Glass

Wow, it’s like you’ve absorbed the messages of your oppressor.

Chana Joffe

I hear it in you now.

Ira Glass

Yeah. I get criticized for a lot of things in the emails to the show. No one has ever pointed this out.

Chana Joffe

That’s completely unsurprising.

Ira Glass

Oh, do you think it’s just sexism?

Chana Joffe

Yes. I think it taps into some deep part of people’s selves where they don’t want to hear young women, including me. It taps into that in me.

Ira Glass

A few years ago, a linguist named Penny Eckert from Stanford University heard a young woman on NPR and was surprised to hear somebody speaking in such a casual style with so much vocal fry about serious news. And she thought, well, she shouldn’t be on NPR. She doesn’t sound authoritative.

Penny Eckert

When I played it for my students and asked them how they thought she sounded, they said she sounded great. And they thought she sounded authoritative. Then I knew that I was behind the curve.

Ira Glass

So she did a little study– a preliminary study. She played clips of aMarketplace reporter named Sally Herships for 584 people, and she asked them to rate how authoritative the reporter sounded. The results, people under 40 heard it very differently than people over 40.

Penny Eckert

The younger people found that quite authoritative, and the older people did not.

Ira Glass

So if people are having a problem with these reporters on the radio, what it means is they’re old.

Penny Eckert

Yeah, I think old people tend to get cranky about this stuff anyway. But the media are just all over it. I mean, I’m constantly getting requests from media. And they want to talk about the crazy ways that young women are speaking. And the first thing they do is attribute it to young women, even though young men are doing it too. So it’s a policing of young people, but I think most particularly young women.

Ira Glass

She says the same thing happened with upspeak and with the word like. Reporters would call her about these things. They’d point to them as a problem with young women when young men do all that also.

She says people get worked up about this stuff, but it’s just part of life. As we age, we fall out of touch with how younger people speak. Her advice to everybody, including herself– get over it.

Coming up, know what people really love on the internet? Little baby animals. So why would they be yelling at each other about that? That’s in a minute from Chicago Public Radio when our program continues.

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What You Need to Know For the 57th Grammys

Blair Hardman — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 21:45:34 +0000

photo from: billboard.com

The Grammys are airing this Sunday Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. on CBS. If you have not been paying attention, it’s okay because we have all of the insider information you need for this upcoming ceremony. The Grammys are one of the biggest nights for music, and features the year’s biggest artists and top songs.

You can find the full list here from TIME Magazine Online. However, the most favorable artists this year are Beyoncé, Pharrell Williams and the renowned new artist Sam Smith. With 53 nominations in total, Beyoncé is the most-nominated woman in the Grammys’ history. Some of the other notable performers include: Beck, Drake, Eric Church, Gordon Goodwin, Iggy Azalea, Jack White, Jay Z, Miranda Lambert, Sia, Tom Coyne, and Usher.

Some of the keynote performers are Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Madonna, with her new single “Living for Love.” Likewise, Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney will debut “FourFiveSeconds.” Other performances include, Beyoncé with John Legend for the Selma song “Glory,” and Mary J. Blige and Sam Smith are anticipated to perform a duet.

For clarity, Song of the Year honors songwriting, and Record of the Year refers to the actual recording. A song worthy of winning Song of the Year is the kind of track that sounds just as good stripped down and played acoustically as it does in an arena live. Likewise, a worthy Record of the Year focuses more on the quality of the production, engineering and performance.

According to TIME Magazine online, “a ‘new artist’ is defined for the Grammy process as any performing artist or established performing group who releases, during the eligibility year, the recording that first establishes the public identity of that artist or established group as a performer.”

Be sure to keep an eye for for Iggy Azalea as she tries to be the first woman to win best hip-hop album, making it a night that could be historic for many other female artists. Nicki Minaj is also looking to claim her title as the first female rapper to win the Best Rap Song with her acclaimed hit “Anaconda.”

While Beyoncé is in the running for multiple awards, 2014 was the year of breakout artists including Sam Smith, Ariana Grande and her streak of summer hits, and Meghan Trainor with her distinctive style and incredible influence.

According to the Grammys, Sam Smith is nominated in four of the most important categories, and with the success of his first single, “Stay With Me,” he is very likely to take home a win. Likewise, Meghan Trainor is in the running for both Song of the Year and Record of the Year, while Ariana Grande is up for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with “Bang Bang.”

Those are some of the must know topics for this year’s Grammys. Zone Recording Studio of Cotati, California has all of the information you need with this highly popular event.

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Hip-Trip, a Frank Hayhurst Benefit: Sonoma County Musicians Celebrate and Support One of Their Own!

Blair Hardman — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 22:50:56 +0000

WHAT: “Hip-Trip” Benefit dinner, dance party, and silent auction

WHEN: Sunday, March 23, 2014, from 5 to 9:30pm

WHERE: Sebastopol Community Center at 390 Morris St in Sebastopol

ADMISSION: $10 donation at the door

DINNER: From 5 to 7pm. Rasta Dwight’s BBQ chicken dinner or veggie options, with plates from $5-$15. Snacks, desserts, Lagunitas beer, fermented drinks, and fine wines available all night long.

JAZZ CABARET: From 5 to 7pm. Randy Quan and Tim Haggerty’s Collaboration, featuring guests Sarah Baker and Allyson Paige.

DANCE: From 7 to 9:30pm. Gator Nation, Uncle Wiggly, Blue Moon, Soul Fuse with Michael Barclay, Danny Sorentino, Levi Lloyd, Onye Onyemaechi, Gailene Elliott, Preston Bailey, the Bootleg Honey’s and the Legendary Bronze Hog.

WHY: Benefit to raise funds to help local musician and music community advocate Frank Hayhurst with medical expenses.

Frank is no stranger to helping others facing similar financial concerns. About 25 years ago, alongside Zone Recording owner Blair Hardman, Frank co-founded “Musicians Helping Musicians”. And, since then he has organized dozens of benefit concerts in support of musicians and their families facing health crisis situations.

Now, with the Hip Trip Benefit dinner, the community has a chance to return the favor by helping one of its own musicians.

On Frank: Frank Hayhurst, (aka Francis Rico Hayhurst), North Bay Area musician, music community advocate, and shamanic author, teacher and guide to the sacred sites of the world, underwent total hip-replacement surgery on February 7th, 2014, at Sutter Hospital in Santa Rosa, California.

Frank reports:

“I am totally, profoundly grateful! Everything about the surgery went extremely well, and I was up standing two hours after the surgery – with a strong feeling of YES! in my body, where before there had been unrelenting pain! I’m also grateful that I was able to get insurance that covered the majority of the costs associated with the surgery. After my music store, Zone Music, closed in 2010, I went a number of years without any insurance coverage, and even now, being self-employed, just having basic insurance is a major luxury.”

We are all too familiar with the reality that health insurance covers only a selection of procedures and therapies, and that individuals are personally responsible for all other health related expenses. For Frank, his biggest additional expense is rehab and physical therapy. Acupuncture, loss of income and additional necessary therapy is not covered by insurance.

If you are one of Frank’s fans, and would like to help out financially – but can’t make it to the party – please make a donation here:

www.gofundme.com/76y4tc

If you are interested in being a volunteer, please contact Dodi at: dorothyo@sonic.net

For additional information, please contact Blair Hardman at:

blair@zonemusic.com or 707-664-1221.

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