My cell phone rang one night. I was sitting on the couch mindlessly scrolling through the endless channels on TV and it was Ron asking me, "where are you?” Not, “how are you?” or “what's going on?” No. Only, “where are you?” Having a travel schedule as demanding as his, we always started our conversations this way. I surprised him and said I was home in LA and shot back, "where are you?” "Never mind", he said. “Turn on ESPN and tell me what ‘it’ sounds like.” As I changed the channel, of course I realized he was in a broadcast truck working an event and once again wanted to know how "it" sounded and what we could do to improve "it". His pursuit of "it" was never-ending, and will always remind me that his passion to make "it" sound better than anybody else is why Ron Scalise and I became friends.

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Both NYC Production Facility & Artist Studios Outfitted With Blue Sky Systems Large & Small

One of the most formidable jazz musicians of this generation, 20-year-old pianist extraordinaire Eldar received a “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” Grammy nomination for his 2007 release, Re-imagination. Eldar’s third outing for Sony Masterworks was produced, recorded and mixed by Kirk Yano at Yano’s Planet2Planet Studios in New York City over the course of a month in late 2005/early 2006. Grammy-award-winning engineer, mixer, producer, musician, and studio owner, Yano was an early adopter of Blue Sky and has outfit his production facility with several monitoring systems throughout, including the Sky System One 2.1 and Big Blue 2.1 systems. After working on the Blue Sky’s throughout the course of the record production, Eldar became a fan of Blue Sky as well. He recently added a Blue Sky EXO system to his home studio “lab” in New York City—comprised of an Apple MacBook Pro, Pro Tools, a piano, and a handful of keyboards—where he not only creates, composes, and rehearses, but also listens to music and watches movies.

Hit The Ground Running, Inc. (HTGR) is a leading boutique music supervision company based in Los Angeles. Jason Alexander founded the company in 2001, and Kier Lehman and Rudy Chung have been part of the team since 2003. HTGR has overseen the music for several award-winning TV programs such as CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, Everybody Hates Chris, Entourage, Cold Case, Without A Trace, and studio films including Flicka and Goal, along with various documentaries and independent films.

The guys hooked up a couple of Blue Sky EXO Systems to handle their day-to-day listening requirements. We spoke to Rudy Chung about HTGR, how the writer’s strike is hurting business, and what they dig about the EXO system.

How did ‘lil’ Joe Barresi from Staten Island New York rise up the proverbial music production ranks from classical guitar student, to studio gopher, to sought-after production architect? ‘A lot of fucking hard work’ might be Joe’s answer had the question been posed. But truth be told, his kudos-laden career is a result of more than just plain elbow grease. Joe’s tireless (and at times fanatical) work ethic is at the core of his stellar rep—that, and a diehard quest for great tone, great songs, great performances (from artists that can actually play their instruments), and the melding of old school technology and production values with the tools of today. And with that criteria in mind, it’s no surprise that he’s been involved (as a producer, engineer and/or mixer) on some of the most important hard rock, metal and punk bands of the last 15 years including Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age, Bad Religion, The Melvins, Skunk Anansie, Turbonegro and Clutch.

Gregory Allen got his start in the gaming industry back in 1991 as Senior Sound Designer at Interplay in Southern California. During that 7-year stint, he provided sound editing/sound design for many film and TV projects as well as audio content for several groundbreaking games including: Descent 1 & 2, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Fallout 1 & 2, and the Baldur's Gate series. A move to Germany with C&G Entertainment led to more music, film/TV, and game composition/production credits working with a host of companies like Electronic Arts, Activision, Sega and THQ. In early 2004, Allen joined Electronic Arts Los Angeles (EALA) as Audio Director, setting up and managing a 22-person audio team that helped support projects such as Medal Of Honor Pacific Assault, Medal Of Honor Airborne, and Goldeneye Rouge Agent (which won a Motion Picture Sound Editors award for Best Game Audio in 2004). In 2005, he migrated to EA Chicago as Studio Audio Director, working with a small team on the award-winning Fight Night Round 3 and Def Jam Icon games. In 2007, EA moved to a new facility in downtown Chicago where Allen helped design nine new audio rooms including a Mix and Foley room outfitted with nearly every Blue Sky system available from the smaller MediaDesk 2.1 and 5.1 systems to the newest I/ON in-wall/on-wall monitors.

Hum Music creates original compositions and music licensing opportunities for top clients that include Lexus, Apple, Coke, and Visa, and has collaborated with some of the music industry's biggest names and hottest new talents, including DJ Sasha, Juliette Lewis, John Doe, Blackalicious, Gwen Stefani, Paul Van Dyk, M.I.A, and Mocean Worker to name but a few. HUM also creates complete online and live music branding initiatives for major retailers such as American Eagle Outfitters, and is involved in numerous other creative projects bringing together the worlds of music and advertising, including a current remix project featuring the early work of Johnny Cash. We spoke with engineer Scott "Drew" Danuser about how he got into the business, creating sound for picture, monitors, and the state of the music industry.

DJ Muggs, Mac Columnist, Electronic Arts & ESPN Audio Pros All Tout The Merits Of EXO: The Compact System With The Big Sound And Small Sticker Price.

Now Shipping! Blue Sky’s new I/ON Passive Studio Monitor is more than the typical in-wall or on-wall speaker, offering distinct features and benefits, far exceeding what has come to be expected from passive studio monitors and in-wall or on-wall speakers. I/ON’s fully sealed box design—solidly constructed out of acoustic-grade MDF (not plastic)—is 5 times heavier than the typical 6.5" 2-way in-wall speakers. I/ON offers easy in-wall or on-wall installation with consistent performance no matter how it is mounted and the sealed enclosure provides the correct acoustic volume every time.

ESPN’s X Games 13 rolled through Los Angeles this summer—at both Staples and Home Depot Centers—offering up the best in skate, surf, bike and car extreme competitions. For some it was ‘Lucky 13’, like 2006 Winter Olympic gold snowboard medalist Shaun White, who took home his first X Games gold on the skateboard vert ramp. For others, the annual event was just plain bad luck. Hundreds onsite and at home watched Australian skateboarder Jake Brown plunge over 40 feet from the Big Air ramp at Staples Center—and walk away with virtually little injury.