The sound engineers, editors, producers and other audio professionals behind Robert Plant’s Band of Joy, Adele’s 21, Roger Water’s “The Wall Live” Tour, Inception, and NBC’s Saturday Night Live were among the many winners at the 27th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards. The gala, co-presented by the TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio and NAMM, was held Friday, January 20, 2012, at the Hilton Anaheim.

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Al Schmitt and David Angress backstage in the Green Room.

Along with 27 awards for Outstanding Technical and Creative Achievement, an enthusiastic crowd of sound and music products industry professionals witnessed the presentation of the prestigious Les Paul Award to guitarist, composer and producer Steve Vai. The award was co-presented by Les Paul’s son, Russ Paul, and celebrated rock bassist Billy Sheehan.

The show was hosted by veteran bassist Will Lee (Late Show with David Letterman), and featured musical performances by Lee, the 2 Cold ChiliBone TEC Band, Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, Orianthi, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, CJ Vanston, scratcher DJ HAPA, and other veteran vocalists and session musicians.

Malibu, CA

With a near record turnout and support from firefighters, police officers and the community businesses and residents, the Santa Monica Firefighters Charity Golf Tournament was an overwhelming success!

Proceeds from this tournament go to the Santa Monica Firefighters Relief Fund.  In addition to supporting causes such as the Burn Foundation, Relay for Life, Children’s Hospital and a scholarship fund at the high school, the Relief Fund helps families who find themselves in unfortunate circumstances.  It supports the children and adults of the community and helps keep Santa Monica the great place it is to live, work and play!   A portion of the proceeds are also used to assist the families of Santa Monica firefighters who have been injured or killed in the line of duty.

Sponsors and donors included B.I.G. Bioengineered in Germany LLC, Doubletree Suites by Hilton, Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, Fastsigns, Honeywell, Hooters, Jewel Shop, Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union, Loews Santa Monica Hotel, M Street Kitchen, Oceana Santa Monica, Old Oaks Cigar Co., Rafinity, Roger Dunn Golf Shops, Santa Monica Daily Press, Securitas Security USA, Shore Hotel, South, The Huntley Santa Monica, The Lobster, Urth Caffe, Viceroy Hotel and Whole Foods.

Chaired by the ever-popular Academy Award-winning supervising sound editor, Per Hallberg,  the Motion Picture Sound Editors hosted  celebrated their third year with a successful fund-raising golf tournament at Malibu Country Club in September.

Sponsors for this event were Avid, CSS Studios, Disney, Dolby Labs, Motion Picture Editors Guild, NT Audio, Sony Picture Studios, 20^th Century Fox Studios and Universal Sound Studios.

One of the most talked about additions was the exciting helicopter ball drop!  Players assembled on the patio in the late afternoon as the helicopter landed on the fairway, picked up the bucket of balls and then dropped them over the hole.  It was fun and exciting and helped raise more funds for the Ethel Crutcher Scholarship Fund.

Malibu

16th Annual TEC LA Open

With the biggest turnout in years, the 16^th Annual TEC LA Open played host to many new sponsors and players at the newly renovated Malibu Golf Club in June. Presented by the TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, the popular audio industry event was sponsored by GC Pro, Harman and Sterling Audio. Along with the usual contests and games, this year the winner of the Closest to the Pin contest had a chance at a Million Dollar Shootout!

16th Annual TEC LA Open

The dynamic duo of Honorary Chair, Al Schmitt, and Master of Ceremonies, Ed Cherney, once again graced the stage and kept the festivities lively at the 19^th Hole.Sponsors included Avid, Design FX Audio, the Grammy Museum, Iron Mountain Film & Sound, Neumann, Ocean Way, PMI Audio, the Producers & Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy, Record Plant, Sennheiser, Shure, studioexpresso.com and the Mastering Palace.

The Village Studios, West Los Angeles

Ultimate Ears’ Goal:  Introduce their In-Ear Reference Monitors to the top engineers and producers in the business.  From start to finish, KMD Productions managed UE’s sponsorship of the P&E Wing 10^th Anniversary Celebration—an important annual music industry event with more than 500 industry VIPs in attendance.

KMD Productions organized and implemented this experience for UE, introducing many of those top engineers and producers to the UE representatives on hand. Situated between the chocolate tasting room and the coffee bar, the UE room was packed to overflowing most of the evening, and a good time was had by all.

Anaheim, CA

The sound engineers, editors, producers and other audio professionals behind Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown, U2’s 360° Tour, Twentieth Century Fox’s Avatar and NBC’s Saturday Night Live were among the many winners at the 26th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards. The gala was held at the Hilton Anaheim as a special event of the 2011 NAMM Show.

In addition to 25 awards for Technical and Creative Achievement, an enthusiastic crowd of sound and music products industry professionals witnessed the presentation of the prestigious Les Paul Award to famed guitarist, composer and producer Lindsey Buckingham.

(L-R) Al Schmitt, Ken Caillat, Lindsey Buckingham, Elliot Scheiner

Also highlighting the evening were musical performances featuring Ambrosia’s David Pack, guitar legend Larry Carlton, Dixie Dregs’ Steve Morse, Night Ranger’s Jeff Watson, Pablo Cruise’s David Jenkins, keyboardist Jimmy Nichols, Public Enemy bandleader Brian Hardgroove, and other veteran vocalists and session musicians.

Malibu, CA

Academy Award-winning Supervising Sound Editor and Honorary Chairman, Per Hallberg.

Hosted by Motion Picture Sound Editors and chaired by Academy Award-winning supervising sound editor, Per Hallberg, participants celebrated their second year with a successful fund-raising golf tournament at Malibu Country Club.

Sponsors for this event were CSS Studios, Disney, Dolby Labs, GC Pro, Iron Mountain & Sound, Motion Picture Editors Guild, NT Audio, Sony Picture Studios, Sterling Audio, 20^th Century Fox Studios, Universal Studios and Yamaha Commercial Audio.

Hollywood, CA

An enthusiastic crowd rocked the tables at the Second Annual Recording Industry Poker Tournament, held at The Village Studios. Hosted by GRAMMY^® Award-winning engineer David Reitzas, this Texas Hold ‘Em charity poker tournament brought together more than 100 of the music industry’s top producers, engineers, musicians and audio manufacturers with proceeds benefiting Sound Art L.A. Sponsors included Bricasti, Antares Audio Technologies, Audio-Technica, Blue Microphones, Brainworx, EastWest Sounds and Studios, FXpansion USA, Focusrite Novation, KRK, Millennia Media, Mojave Audio, RealTraps, SPL, Summit Audio, Telefunken Elektroakustik and Tonehunter.

Malibu, CA

Close to 100 audio professionals came out to play at the 15th Annual TEC LA Open Golf Tournament, held on May 17, at the Malibu Country Club, Presented by the TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio the ever-popular event was sponsored by Guitar Center Professional.

(L-R) David Dubow, Jane Scobie, Mr. Bonzai, Karen Brinton, Rose Mann Cherney, Shivaun O’Brien, Guitar Center representative, Karen Dunn, Rick Plushner

It was a fun day for all, filled with chair massages, sake, barbecue, and some golf thrown in! The event was presided over by Honorary Chairman Al Schmitt, who was joined on stage for the evening’s festivities by Master of Ceremonies Ed Cherney. Sponsors included Focusrite Novation, Iron Mountain Film & Sound, Ocean Way, Record Plant, Shure, PMI Audio and the Producers & Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy.

Oakland, CA

The MUST 4th Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament included a poolside BBQ lunch, incredible on-course events, beverages and prizes, live and silent auctions, musical entertainment and a delectable buffet dinner, all at the exclusive Sequoyah Country Club in the Oakland Hills. This year, the tournament raised $55,000 for the MILE program in the Oakland Unified School District.