afaceinthecrowd
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Shooting Stars: LRH & the Mission Holder's Kristallnacht—My “Take”
“It’s time for everyone to sit back, relax and enjoy…All! That! Jazz!” Bob Fosse
Over a few installments…not sure how many yet, probably 3 or 4…I hope to, as best I can, say what I wanted say when I first posted here almost a year ago. Having ESMB to post stuff on and all Y’all to read and comment on has done me a world of good. I hope something in this is helpful to someone else now or on down the road.
Thank you, blownstaffmember, for making the comment that led to me to realize that this was something I needed to do…thanks a whole bunch for your superb rhetorical question, “Was there anything that elron did that wasn't sophomoric?”
For anyone that comes across this thread somewhere down the river and hasn’t read the first two parts of my “Take” on the Apollo Stars it may be helpful, for full “context”, to do so before reading this.
http://www.forum.exscn.net/showpost.php?p=373064&postcount=74
http://www.forum.exscn.net/showpost.php?p=393190&postcount=84
If anyone out there has additional information, “seasoning” or a different “Take” I’m all ears.
Looking back on all this now and what came after, my “Take” is that the “Power of Source” story may well be the story of the "tipping point" that led to the Mission Holder’s Kristallnacht.
Part One
Ron, The Music Mogul
"The Situation”
The initial Test Lacquer Masters from several World Class Mastering Studio Labs were dispatched, post haste to the Apollo where Hisself, his electronics/recording geek Dan Auerbach, his audiophile Son-in-Law, Jon Horwich (Action Aide, Head of the Action Bureau Flag where all Flag Missions were prepped, briefed, “fired”, operated and debriefed) and a small cadre of “insiders” listened to them on El Ron’s personal and very expensive, Studio Quality, State of the Art sound system.
As said in my narrative in the 2nd link above, the POS Master Tape was one serious goat rope. El Ron insisted that the Master Discs (one for manufacturing each side of an LP vinyl disc) be cut “flat”…straight to the Lacquer Master with no Sound Engineering. This was done in face of the fact that the exacting, sequential and well established “Tech” for LP production was to get everything down per established parameters on a Master Tape. The generally accepted Master Tape “recipe” was for what is essential to be in the “pre-mixed” ingredients to best perform Master Mix and the next steps of a very technically exacting process.
POS had not been recorded that way…it had been recorded El Ron’s way…Hisself’s “New Technical Breakthrough In Sound Recording”—“ClearSound”, if I recall correctly. According to the Mastering and Recording Engineers there was nothing “New” about ClearSound. El Ron’s “ClearSound” was, in essence; a Master Tape Recording that was recorded on First Class “Live Performance Recording” equipment (with the exception of some of the mikes), in a too “Live” room and not a Studio, by an obviously inexperienced amateur engineer, trying to have it sound "live" without the technical knowledge or experience of how to do such. Unless the Engineers were allowed to do their job and “engineer” the Master Tape—or, better yet, a new Master Tape recording was done technically correct—the resulting vinyl disc would be one helluva turkey.
The Professional Sound Recording Engineers critique rendered El Ron a very irritated and frustrated Demonic Cult Leader. But, as always, Hisself bounced…err, that is to say…bounced back.
“The Why”
Source knew the source of the problem. After all, Hisself had “dealt with those ‘Hollywood Birds’” before. But, this time, El Ron El Rey was in the driver’s seat, this time El Ron El Rey was writing the checks and they were gonna do it El Ron El Rey’s way. Period.
Against the consensus of some of the finest record production folks in the world that the “Power of Source” was truly a P-O-S, El Ron found the “Real Why” that unlocked the door to the handling; they were wrong and Hisself was right.
With the caveat, “We don’t want our name on this,” the Mastering Studios said they would be happy to have all the money El Ron wanted to spend (waste), the way Hisself wanted to spend (waste) it, for as long as Hisself wished to (and their patience and sense of humor remained intact).
Thousands of upon thousands dollars (1974 $) of Lacquer Masters upon Lacquer Masters from a host of Mastering Labs were rushed to Flag and out of the stacks, finally, El Ron had an “A” and “B” side of POS that Hisself deemed as an acceptable reproduction “true” to the ClearSound Master Tape. Every one of those Lacquer Masters had been cut exactly the same…“Deadstick”…no boost, no EQ (“marrying” of tonal frequency of instruments), no mixing, no sound engineering—all knobs, dials and settings at “Flat” or neutral.
“The Bright Idea”
With the sweet taste of victory over the “Hollywood Sound Boys”, El Ron went hard after the next beach head…the Hollywood Music Industry.
In customary El Ron/CofS fashion, dummy shell-corporations were set up; “Source Music” (recording company), “Source Records” (record production company) and Tone 40 Music (music publishing company). Specifically selected Missioanires were well outfitted, briefed and fired to “look the part” of young, well financed and energetic record industry execs—Missionaires that El Ron personally trusted but were, as also customary with these types of ops, Hisself’s vassals and had no experience whatsoever in the Music Business or how Hollywood worked—all they knew was what El Ron told them they knew. Strategically located Hollywood offices were taken and outfitted, cards and letterhead printed, phones installed.
Poof!
El Ron was back!
El Ron had returned (?) triumphant to Hollywood!
In a few days or so:
Part Two
L. Ron Clouseau
Peace.
Face
“It’s time for everyone to sit back, relax and enjoy…All! That! Jazz!” Bob Fosse
Over a few installments…not sure how many yet, probably 3 or 4…I hope to, as best I can, say what I wanted say when I first posted here almost a year ago. Having ESMB to post stuff on and all Y’all to read and comment on has done me a world of good. I hope something in this is helpful to someone else now or on down the road.
Thank you, blownstaffmember, for making the comment that led to me to realize that this was something I needed to do…thanks a whole bunch for your superb rhetorical question, “Was there anything that elron did that wasn't sophomoric?”
For anyone that comes across this thread somewhere down the river and hasn’t read the first two parts of my “Take” on the Apollo Stars it may be helpful, for full “context”, to do so before reading this.
http://www.forum.exscn.net/showpost.php?p=373064&postcount=74
http://www.forum.exscn.net/showpost.php?p=393190&postcount=84
If anyone out there has additional information, “seasoning” or a different “Take” I’m all ears.
Looking back on all this now and what came after, my “Take” is that the “Power of Source” story may well be the story of the "tipping point" that led to the Mission Holder’s Kristallnacht.
Part One
Ron, The Music Mogul
"The Situation”
The initial Test Lacquer Masters from several World Class Mastering Studio Labs were dispatched, post haste to the Apollo where Hisself, his electronics/recording geek Dan Auerbach, his audiophile Son-in-Law, Jon Horwich (Action Aide, Head of the Action Bureau Flag where all Flag Missions were prepped, briefed, “fired”, operated and debriefed) and a small cadre of “insiders” listened to them on El Ron’s personal and very expensive, Studio Quality, State of the Art sound system.
As said in my narrative in the 2nd link above, the POS Master Tape was one serious goat rope. El Ron insisted that the Master Discs (one for manufacturing each side of an LP vinyl disc) be cut “flat”…straight to the Lacquer Master with no Sound Engineering. This was done in face of the fact that the exacting, sequential and well established “Tech” for LP production was to get everything down per established parameters on a Master Tape. The generally accepted Master Tape “recipe” was for what is essential to be in the “pre-mixed” ingredients to best perform Master Mix and the next steps of a very technically exacting process.
POS had not been recorded that way…it had been recorded El Ron’s way…Hisself’s “New Technical Breakthrough In Sound Recording”—“ClearSound”, if I recall correctly. According to the Mastering and Recording Engineers there was nothing “New” about ClearSound. El Ron’s “ClearSound” was, in essence; a Master Tape Recording that was recorded on First Class “Live Performance Recording” equipment (with the exception of some of the mikes), in a too “Live” room and not a Studio, by an obviously inexperienced amateur engineer, trying to have it sound "live" without the technical knowledge or experience of how to do such. Unless the Engineers were allowed to do their job and “engineer” the Master Tape—or, better yet, a new Master Tape recording was done technically correct—the resulting vinyl disc would be one helluva turkey.
The Professional Sound Recording Engineers critique rendered El Ron a very irritated and frustrated Demonic Cult Leader. But, as always, Hisself bounced…err, that is to say…bounced back.
“The Why”
Source knew the source of the problem. After all, Hisself had “dealt with those ‘Hollywood Birds’” before. But, this time, El Ron El Rey was in the driver’s seat, this time El Ron El Rey was writing the checks and they were gonna do it El Ron El Rey’s way. Period.
Against the consensus of some of the finest record production folks in the world that the “Power of Source” was truly a P-O-S, El Ron found the “Real Why” that unlocked the door to the handling; they were wrong and Hisself was right.
With the caveat, “We don’t want our name on this,” the Mastering Studios said they would be happy to have all the money El Ron wanted to spend (waste), the way Hisself wanted to spend (waste) it, for as long as Hisself wished to (and their patience and sense of humor remained intact).
Thousands of upon thousands dollars (1974 $) of Lacquer Masters upon Lacquer Masters from a host of Mastering Labs were rushed to Flag and out of the stacks, finally, El Ron had an “A” and “B” side of POS that Hisself deemed as an acceptable reproduction “true” to the ClearSound Master Tape. Every one of those Lacquer Masters had been cut exactly the same…“Deadstick”…no boost, no EQ (“marrying” of tonal frequency of instruments), no mixing, no sound engineering—all knobs, dials and settings at “Flat” or neutral.
“The Bright Idea”
With the sweet taste of victory over the “Hollywood Sound Boys”, El Ron went hard after the next beach head…the Hollywood Music Industry.
In customary El Ron/CofS fashion, dummy shell-corporations were set up; “Source Music” (recording company), “Source Records” (record production company) and Tone 40 Music (music publishing company). Specifically selected Missioanires were well outfitted, briefed and fired to “look the part” of young, well financed and energetic record industry execs—Missionaires that El Ron personally trusted but were, as also customary with these types of ops, Hisself’s vassals and had no experience whatsoever in the Music Business or how Hollywood worked—all they knew was what El Ron told them they knew. Strategically located Hollywood offices were taken and outfitted, cards and letterhead printed, phones installed.
Poof!
El Ron was back!
El Ron had returned (?) triumphant to Hollywood!
In a few days or so:
Part Two
L. Ron Clouseau
Peace.
Face
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