PreSonus, OpenLabs and ILIO’s throw a party in LA!!

Open Labs, Presonus and ILIO’s invite you to an open house event from noon to 6pm at our Open Labs LA Showroom!!

Product specialists from all three companies will be on hand all day to do one on one product demonstration and answer any questions.

Come view all of our products intergrated into complete workstations and mingle with some of our premier artists.

***Admission is free however there are only 65 slots available by RSVP. Parking will be valet only and there will be a $5 flat fee to park.

Please go to http://www.presonus.com/openhouse/ to RSVP

Open Labs LA  Showroom/3450 Cahuenga Blvd. West Suite 611/Los Angeles, CA 90068

Open Labs Announces Release of Open RiFF 2.0

From the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin, Texas, Open Labs, the recognized leader in innovative, computer-based Music Production Stations, is pleased to announce its first major software upgrade to its VST Live Host – Open RiFF 2.0.

This release of Riff 2.0 follows closely behind the launch of Open Labs’ newest Musical Production Stations, Gen6. As one of the three key elements of the Open Labs Musical Operating Environment, Open RiFF 2.0 offers all users increased functionality, ease of use and simplicity of work flow over the previous version, RiFF 1.3.

With Open RiFF 2.0, Open Labs users now have a familiar, search based sound browser which allows users to browse and audition sounds more easily. Using a singular search window, the thousands of sounds found in the Open Labs NeKo and MiKo lines can be identified by musical instrument, musical genre or familiar nicknames.

Along with this increased functionality, there has been a significant improvement in Midi control, which allows for ease of use in both live performance and with the stage control of instruments.

Nick O’ Toole, film composer and Tour Relations Director for Open Labs said, “Finally a VST host that allows Midi information to flow out to other devices. This kind of functionality has been a long-time coming for Production Stations. Being able to send and receive Midi information, including program change information and having control on a song-by-song, patch-by-patch basis is incredibly helpful for guys with complex systems on tour or in the studio. The artists have asked for this kind of functionality and Open Labs has delivered it.”

Open RiFF 2.0 also offers one-touch performance, which will allow Open Labs users to record Midi tracks in more of a simplistic manner. At the same time, the user does not need to have use an external mouse or keyboard to manipulate Open RiFF 2.0.

Open RiFF 2.0 will be included in all Gen6 Music Production Stations. For all 2010 A-Stock purchases, Open RiFF 2.0 will be available at no charge. For all 2010 B-Stock Purchases, Open RiFF 2.0 can be purchased for $29.99. For Open Labs users with Gen5 Music Production Stations, Open RiFF 2.0 can be purchased for $49.99. For any Open Labs users with Gen4 and older Production Stations, Open RiFF 2.0 can be purchased for $99. Detailed information about Open RiFF 2.0 is available at www.openlabs.com/openriff.

A live demonstration will be available on Open Labs’ live Ustream webcast, Thursday, June 10th, 2010 from 5:00pm-6:00pm, CST. The webcast can be viewed at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/openlabs.

PRESS RELEASE: Open Labs Unveil Gen6; the Newest Line of Products

Open Labs, a recognized leader in innovative Music Production Stations based in Austin, Texas, debuted their newest line of Production Stations today, Generation6. The Gen6 lineup includes the Gen6 MiKo QC6, the Gen6 NeKo QX6, the Gen6 MiKo LXD and the Gen6 NeKo XXL. The entire new Gen6 product line offers more power, more sounds and is more affordable.

All products in the Gen6 lineup feature processors from the 2010 Intel® CoreTM processor family and are based on Microsoft’s Windows 7 for true Open Platform Capability. The Q series lineup includes the MiKo QC6 and the NeKo QX6, which offer over 10,000 sounds, full DAW capabilities, a 15” touch screen interface, DVD/CD burning and internet capability and a 37 or 61 keyboard form factor.

The L series lineup, which are the pinnacle of Music Production Stations, include the MiKo LXD and the NeKo XXL. Both production stations offer over 15,000 sounds, full DAW capabilities, a 15” touch screen interface, DVD/CD burning and internet capability and a 37 or 61 keyboard form factor. The L series offers incredible control over production with the Alpha 2 controller, the bankable Mix Edit and the drum pad interface Bump MP. The NeKo XXL also raises the bar in audio by offering 24bit/192khz recording.

“We are very excited to be launching the most powerful Musical Production Stations we’ve ever produced,” said Victor Wong, Chairman and Co-Founder, Open Labs, “with our migration to Windows 7 we have spent months testing and retesting our proprietary software products as well as the most popular third party software and hardware products. We can assure our customers the same level of musical flexibility that they have grown to expect in our Production Stations and with our new offerings we can expand in ways which we have never been able to before now.

“Our software offerings will continue to flourish and our platforms will grow more robust with each release. This is a major transition for Open Labs and our ability to serve our customers and their musical aspirations,” said Wong.

The Q series Open Labs Music Production Stations come with Open Labs Gold Support Services which include: a one-hour “Get to Know Your Machine” session, two hours of technical training and warranty for parts and labor for one year. The L Series come with Open Labs Platinum Support Services which include the same level of Support Services as Gold Support in addition to seven hours of technical training.

The Gen6 MiKo QC6 is available for $3,799 USD and the Gen6 NeKo QX6 is available for $3,999 USD. The Gen6 MiKo LXD is available for $4,799 USD and the Gen6 NeKo XXL is available for $6,999 USD. All Open Labs production stations can be purchased directly through Open Labs at http://www.openlabs.com or through an authorized reseller listed on the Open Labs web site.

About Open Labs

Headquartered in Austin, Texas — at the crossroads of music and technology– Open Labs develops and markets cutting-edge studio and musical instrument technology. Since 2003, Open Labs has been the recognized leader in providing musicians and producers of all genres, with high-performance portable instruments that combine all the equipment found in a professional music studio with unsurpassed live performance capabilities. A-List artists currently using Open Labs products include: Timbaland, Jonathan Davis (Korn), Morris Hayes (Prince), Jesse Carmichael (Maroon 5) and Jimmy Nichols (Faith Hill) to name a few. For more information on Open Labs, please visit http://www.openlabs.com.

Grammy U and The Recording Academy(r) Texas Chapter to sponsor “Best College Band”

GRAMMY U and The Recording Academy(r) Texas Chapter will be hosting “College Battle of the Bands” this Saturday, April 24th from 5-9pm at Antone’s Night Club in Austin, TX. Bands competing include Ben Baxter, A Silent Canvas and DATABOY. This free show will feature a guest performance from The Bamaz.

Semi-Finals for the South will be the next day also in Austin. Other remaining College Battle of the Bands include: New England-4/28/10; New York- 4/29/10; North Semi-Finals in NYC- 5/1/10 and the Grand Finale in Las Vegas- June 11. For more information on the the competition, please visit http://www.collegebattleofthebands.com/.

Artists/O-Live: Endorsed Artist Maurice “Moe” Ager to Be on O-Live, 4/16!

Open Labs Endorsed Artist, Maurice “Moe” Ager, will be in the O-Live studio on Friday, April 16th. The 26-year-old producer has been crafting musical tracks since he was an 18-year-old freshman on the campus of Michigan State University, where he made his first musical track using an on-campus-computer lab and a trial version of FruityLoops audio software. Ager led the Spartans to the 2005 Final Four as a Senior and also led the Big Ten Conference in scoring.

Ager, a Detroit native and three-year NBA veteran considers music and basketball his dual careers, most evident by his recent
announcement of Moe Ager Productions, LLC and AgerMusic.com.

“Music has always been more than a hobby for me,” explains Ager, who has produced more than 1,000 musical tracks. “I consider myself a professional basketball player and a music producer. It was time for me to materialize my dream in establishing myself as a main-stream music producer and with Moe Ager Productions, LLC and AgerMusic.com, I’ve done just that.”

Ager, whose Web site was designed by Comitatus Consulting, specializes in hip-hop beat production while he is positioning himself to eventually produce music for network television shows and box-office films.

To find out more about Maurice, visit www.agermusic.com or go to http://www.openlabs.com/Maurice-Moe-Ager.html.

2010 ASCAP “I Create Music” Expo Coming Up!

ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) will stage its fifth annual ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO in Los Angeles April 22-24, 2010 where top songwriters, composers, producers and industry professionals will come together to share their knowledge and expertise on a broad range of relevant topics to music creators. The three-day event will take place at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, all three days.

The ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO is the premier conference for songwriters, composers and producers. It covers all genres of music and includes panels, workshops, master classes, keynotes, One-on-One sessions, song critiquing, networking events, product displays, state-of-the-art technology demonstrations, performances, and more. All music creators, producers, publishers and executives – regardless of their performing rights organization affiliation – will benefit from this unique creative event, which is designed around personal interaction, education and networking.

“When music is your life you need all the contacts, resources and guidance you can get to make it a career in today’s world. And, of course, creators are always looking for ways to hone their skills and master their craft,” said ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams. “The EXPO provides a unique environment for songwriters, composers and producers to learn from the best in the business on how to improve their art. The energy and inspiration generated by our community coming together in this way is remarkable, and is one of the reasons why the EXPO continues to be so successful.”

Panelists and performers for the 2010 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO will include Qunicy Jones, John Mayer and Bill Withers. Other music celebrities to participate in the EXPO include Justin Timberlake and Ludacris.

For more information about ASCAP, follow ASCAP EXPO on Twitter www.twitter.com/ascapexpo. For more information, please visit www.ascap.com/expo.

The DIY trend

Do it yourself!

A growing number of companies, organizations and individuals are coming to the realization that electronic technology is not so distant and incomprehensible.  Thus DIY workshops are forming across the globe. One such organization is Handmade Music. Handmade groups have sprung up in Brooklyn, Portugal, Canada, Amsterdam, San Fransisco, and right here in Austin Texas.

“Part party, part mixer, part Science Fair, and part performance, this is an informal chance for geeksters and the geek-curious to come together, relax, and discover new sounds. The evening is a gathering of inventors of new instruments & music technology. Featuring circuit-bent toys, custom software and patches, interactive digital & visual instruments, custom electronics, electricity-powered noisemakers, DIY robots and new acoustic instruments. And it’s open to everyone from hard-core hackers & newcomers to music lovers who want to learn about the DIY music scene.”

Here are some examples made at the monthly Austin workshops;

Artists: Open Labs Endorsed Artist Pushakey Combines Uppanotch with Uppademics

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 27th, Open Labs endorsed artist Pushakey will be working with his group Uppanotch as well as the students from Uppademics to create some new music. Pushakey will be making beats live while letting the students record a song using his MiKo. Stay tuned as there will probably be video of the event and possibly a webcast.

Uppademics seeks to tie in that innate knowledge of art to the scholastic endeavor, so that the student can not only build upon that talent, but also investigate their interests in engineering, law, and other academic fields. The project will encourage youth to explore their career opportunities without sacrificing their passions. The program is seven weeks long, and meetings take place every Saturday. Uppademics offers mentorship, academic assistance and artistic considerations (how an artist can evolve his or her art form). This includes but is not limited to the following: Thinking about professional musical training, how to make the best out of a studio session, improvisation, trying something new artistically and how to finance your endeavors. During the project, Pushakey and Uppanotch will introduce the students to various types of art from conception to creation, demonstrating the analogy between design engineering and creation of an artistic project.

For more information about Uppademics visit http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20381251163&v=info
For more information about Uppanotch visit http://www.uppanotch.com/
For more information about Pushakey visit http://www.myspace.com/pushakey

Cheap concert tickets!

From http://blog.learnvest.com

Find The Cheapest Concert Tickets Around

If you’re into music like we are, you get band emails and Ticketmaster notifications every time your favorite group comes to town. But, whether you listen to Alicia Keys or Animal Collective, it’s no fun when your concert is sold out.

The Problem.

When buying tickets to sold-out concerts, the best way to nab tickets is through a peer-to-peer ticket aggregation site like StubHub. The problem is, StubHub isn’t the only player in the game, and shuffling through the myriad of aggregators can be really time-consuming.

The Solution.

Instead, use a website that suggests concerts you might actually be interested in, and then searches all the major ticket aggregators like Ticketmaster, Live Nation, eBay, and StubHub for the best price. It’s a one-stop shop.

The Action.

Check out Livekick, a free service that keeps you in the know when it comes to ticket prices. Livekick continuously searches large ticket websites in order to provide all available prices. That way, if StubHub doesn’t have what you’re looking for, you don’t have to set off a wild goose chase to find a site that does. Think of Livekick as a Kayak for concert tickets.

It lets you search for artists directly, or import your favorite bands from places like iTunes, Last.fm, MySpace, and Pandora in order to receive customized concert suggestions. If you’d like, you can also receive personalized notifications of upcoming concerts so that you’re permanently in the loop. It’s simpler than receiving band alerts and then going out to search for tickets.

For instance, if you wanted to see Ben Folds perform in New Jersey, you could save $81 by using Livekick instead of StubHub—Livekick’s lowest price is $55, whereas StubHub’s is $136.

So, next time you’re re-watching Lady Gaga’s crazy new music video and thinking that it would be nuts to see her live, kick it back and let this website do its magic.

Artists: Solillaquists of Sound Residency in Austin, TX

Over the better part of a decade, Anti-/Epitaph recording artists Solillaquists of Sound have built a movement in their hometown of Orlando that’s transcended music alone. By contributing their skills, interests, and unique personalities to the city in which they live, Solilla’s four members have built a strong and long-lasting community of friends, family, and fans.

Just as they’ve always approached other facets of their career, with unorthodox methods, the Solillaquists of Sound are now introducing an outside-the-box approach to promote their latest album, “No More Heroes”. With the Hometown Heroes Tour, Solilla will establish themselves in some of the country’s most culturally vibrant cities through a month-long residency in each town. SoS will live in each community and integrate what they do into that place’s already existing art, music, and cultural scene. In essence, reinventing the way a group can tour.

“In the time that we spend in Austin, we hope to develop a relationship with the community that the normal, ‘one-day-in-and-out’ national tour schedule doesn’t allow,” says DiViNCi, producer/MPCist for Solillaquists of Sound. “Not just a ‘Hi, do the show, Bye’ routine, but a deeper connection with the fans and the scene that they have created/belong to.”

Starting February 27, 2010 SOS will be living and working in Austin for a period of four weeks, culminating with a showcase at this year’s South By Southwest Festival. In the weeks leading up to the event, Solillaquists will appear and perform at local events, promote the showcase through radio appearances and in-stores, teach classes, organize lectures, connect with art groups in the community and engage in recreational activities with fans.

And it doesn’t stop there – the Solillaquists plan to take this method of touring to other US cities later this year. The group will also be implementing this movement overseas, as they are relocating to France for a month immediately following their Austin adventure.

“The connection that we create with these cities and the relationships that we develop all tie into breaking down the wall between us and our fans,” says DiViNCi. “That element is going to play a massive role in the theme and direction of our next album.”

To read more, go here

Check out their music here!