HISTORICAL EVENTS HIGHLIGHT 117^th AES CONVENTION

SAN FRANCISCO: Long before Elvis Presley and Johnny Rotten began exasperating parents and driving fans into hysterics, American-born pianist/composer George Antheil performed concerts that drove European audiences to fistfights and riots. Bad Boy Made Good, a 72 minute documentary written by Paul Lehrman and directed by award- winning filmmaker Ron Frank relates the story of Antheil’s meteoric rise, catastrophic fall and his attempt to create "Ballet Mécanique," a piece which was technologically 75 years ahead of its time.  On Thursday, Oct. 28, 4:30 – 6:00 PM., the West Coast premiere of this exciting new film will be hosted by MIX Magazine columnist /screenwriter Lehrman, as a highlight of the events coordinated by 117^th AES Convention Historical Events Chair Bill Wray. The Convention will be held at the Moscone Center, Oct. 28 – 31, 2004

“Historical Events Chair Bill Wray has succeeded admirably in his search for riveting illustrations of our industry’s significant, but often obscure accomplishments,” Convention Chair John Strawn said. “The surprising and occasionally poignant nature of these presentations will provide memorable additions to the accounts of men in audio.” Other intriguing examples from the archives of professional audio to be revealed at the Convention include:

Friday, Oct. 29, 4:30pm – 6:30pm: BAY AREA ELECTRONIC MUSIC PIONEERS: INNOVATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO MUSIC SYNTHESIS, AUDIO SIGNAL PROCESSING, AND ELECTRONIC MUSIC: Organizer Gene Radzik has assembled a distinguished panel including Don Buchla, John Chowning, Roger Linn, Max Mathews, Tom Oberheim, Dave Rossum and Dave Smith who will explore significant California – based developments in the evolution of electronic music from the 1960’s to the present day. Demos of various technologies will follow a Q&A session. Note: This event will take place at Recombinant Media Labs, 763 Brannan St. (6 blocks from the Moscone Convention Center).

Friday, Oct. 29, 2:30pm – 3:30pm: CLASSIC MICROPHONES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF RADIO: Presenter Barry Brose of Highland Laboratories will demonstrate some of the old classic microphones - how they were built, how they look, how they were used and how they sound. The demonstration includes carbon, condenser, dynamic and velocity microphones. He will also discuss the invention of the cardioid microphone.

Saturday, Oct. 30, 12:30 pm – 1:30pm:THE BIRTH OF RADIO BROADCASTING: Charles Herrold and The First Radio Station: Author Mike Adams will relate the story of an obscure San Jose inventor who built a radiotelephone in 1909. Using six carbon buttons as components of a water-cooled micophone, Charles Herrold broadcast entertainment and information ten years before licensed broadcasting and the first use of the word “radio.”

Saturday, October 30, 5:00pm – 6:00 pm: ENIGMA AND THE “ULTRA SECRET”: CRACKING WWII CIPHERS AND THE COMMON ORIGINS OF COMPUTERS, DIGITAL AUDIO, INTERNET SECURITY AND DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT: A fascinating conjunction between cryptology, and the foundation of modern computing, cracking the code of the German Enigma Machine was pivotal to the Allied victory. Presenter, Jon Paul, Curator of the Crypto-Museum, will reveal how the quest to break the Enigma and other Axis cipher machines led directly to today’s digital computer and digital audio technology.

Sunday, October 31, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm: “MY EARLY EXPERIENCES FOUNDING, FUNDING, GROWING AND SELLING AUDIO COMPANIES”: Over the past 20 years, Presenter Peter Gotcher has been involved as a founder, venture capital investor, board member and business advisor for a number of audio-related companies. Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Digidesign for 13 years through its IPO and acquisition by Avid, he will profile several success stories and provide advice on the issues faced by audio entrepreneurs including: starting companies, obtaining funding, managing growth and achieving liquidity.

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A complete schedule of AES 117^th Convention events is available at: http://www.aes.org.

Formed in 1948 by a group of concerned audio engineers, the Audio Engineering Society counts over 12,000 members throughout the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Japan and the Far East. The AES serves as the pivotal force in the exchange and dissemination of technical information for the industry. For additional information on the AES 117^th Convention please visit http://www.aes.org.