TASCAM's CD-A580 Helps Dan Vargas Re-Discover LA PunkThe early Los Angeles punk scene has amassed a lot of publicity over the decades, as have notable figures whose music, art, media, and literature helped shape the influential cultural movement. To help bring the popular ‘70/80s generation music to still more listeners, Producer/Recording Artist Dan Vargas elected to digitize a collection to not only make this music more accessible, but to also preserve the nature of a generation’s artistic endeavors. To help with the process, Vargas employed the versatility found in the TASCAM CD-A580 Cassette Recorder/CD Player/USB Flash Drive Player/Recorder.

Many affiliated fixtures of the ’70/80s LA punk scene remain under-documented and relatively unknown; Dan Vargas is one such artist. Music on Fire is his latest venture. It is a self-released debut LP, written and engineered by Vargas at Safe at Home Studios in Long Beach, CA. The Los Angeles native cut his teeth in the scene’s salad days as a producer / manager working with artists such as Legal Weapon, Odd Squad, Sludge, The Brat, and Cambridge Apostles. He discussed his experience using the TASCAM CD-A580 on his latest initiative—known as the Eddie Ayala Project.

“Renowned East L.A. musician Eddie Ayala passed away in November 2023,” Vargas reports. “Eddie, who was a mainstay as a lead vocalist and frontman (Los Illegals, Orbit, Odd Squad, and Cactus Flower) also had a large unreleased catalog of recordings that he accumulated throughout the years. These recordings existed primarily in cassette format, along with a few CDRs. After his death, I was given access to these recordings in the hope that I could digitize them for Eddie’s loved ones.”

“These cassettes were in all different conditions,” Vargas added, “coming from three sources and stored in different environments. I tried to use a conventional cassette deck, but some of the tapes were weathered and wouldn’t play. I needed a more robust solution and the CD-A580 is an easy and efficient tool for projects such as this. I transferred multiple cassettes and CDRs directly into my workstation and the playback results were great. I used the CD-A580 to transfer 21 cassettes and three CDRs in real time.

This amounts to roughly 120 songs, including rehearsal and studio takes—all of which remained unheard for decades.” Vargas shared his thoughts on the CD-A850’s attributes he found most appealing. “The cassette function of the CD-A580 is exceptional because the sound quality delivered a faithful audio reproduction of the music. Even though some of the tapes were not well kept and over 30 years old, the CD-A580 transport system was able to play, fast forward, and rewind the tapes effortlessly. In some ways, I think the CD-A580 rescued the music that couldn’t be played on a regular cassette deck.

Eddie’s music is his legacy and the CD-A580 brought back the songs that he sang and now the world can hear.”

With many electronic products, questions arise. Hence, responsive and capable support services are crucial for keeping projects on schedule. Vargas shared his experience with TASCAM’s customer support services. “To be honest, the CD-A580 is a very intuitive piece of studio equipment and as a result, I didn’t require any support. I will say, however, that past experience has demonstrated TASCAM stands ready to assist their customers and they have always been very responsive.”

Before turning his attention to the business of the day, Vargas offered these final comments, “The CD-A580 is an incredible tool for use in any home or professional studio’s arsenal. Its audio performance is excellent and it’s a well-made, robust piece of equipment. I experienced nearly effortless transfer of both cassette and CDR content with top-notch A/D converters. Coupled with TASCAM simplicity, this project was all music and no fuss. The CD-A580 was a central fixture throughout the project, and I couldn’t be happier.”

To learn more about Dan Vargas, visit https://musiconfire.space/. A celebration of Life for Eddie Ayala will be held September 22 at the Pacific Island Project in Highland Park, California.The post TASCAM's CD-A580 Helps Dan Vargas Re-Discover LA Punk first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

It’s ‘business as usual’ at Live Nation despite DoJ antitrust lawsuit, and 3 other things we learned on the company’s Q2 earnings callLive Nation addressed the antitrust suit, the slowdown in stadium activity, and the impact of the Paris Olympics on its live events
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‘This is just the beginning. There’s still so much potential for Afrobeats and Amapiano in the coming years.’MBW's Trailblazers series meets Camillo Doregos and Mark Mac, co-founders of Africa focused management and booking company, DC Talent Agency
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Report reveals Financial, Career Challenges Faced by SongwritersA new report examines the challenges faced by songwriters. "Songwriters Take The Stage" is based on the first-ever survey of over 300 songwriters, providing insights into their needs and offering recommendations for support.
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Stationhead adds Voice Notes to enhance artist-fan connectionsSocial streaming app Stationhead has added a new way for artists to stay connected fans. With Voice Notes, artists share audio messages, promotions, and more with their superfans directly on their fan channels.
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Everything artists need to know about free music app TREBELSome music listeners are getting tired of racking up subscription bills every month to hear their favorite bands. The free music app TREBEL offers great benefits to artists and listeners so everyone can enjoy music offline for a change.
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Live Review of Kacy Hill in Los AngelesContact: niquita@biz3.net

Web: kacyhill.com

Players: Kacy Hill, vocals; Valerie Franco, drums; Daniel Lape, guitar

Material: Kacy Hill sang plenty about disappointment at The Lodge Room. Ironic, given that the show didn’t seem to disappoint anyone in attendance. The concert featured opening acts from Hamond and Love Spells. Kacy Hill was performing in support of her new album, BUG. Lyrically, the new material struck a chord with the fans. The lyrics were undoubtedly one of the stars of the night. Hill mentioned that after her last tour, she considered leaving music behind to pursue a career in software engineering, as many struggling musicians do… She spoke of doubt and disatisfaction—feelings that come through loud and clear during the set. Look no further than the tune “Damn.”

Musicianship: Hill wasn’t just playing music; she was telling a story. Even the imagery of bugs, sometimes flying, sometimes eating or running in circles, played into one of the many themes of the night—insignificance. Small creatures in a big world. There’s also plenty of fun to the melancholy, too.

There’s a joyfulness to the playing, sometimes serving as just the right contrast to any down-and-out, smooth lyricism. The playing is as strong as the songwriting. When Hill picks up a saxophone, the concert takes extra flight. Her bandmates, drummer Valerie Franco and guitarist Daniel Lape, also made the stories come to life just right. 

Performance: Franco brought the house down. Talk about a drummer and a voice connecting. Franco knew how to bolster the lyrics and singing, letting her drums provide sounds of thunder even for the most peaceful of melodies. It’s hard not to watch and listen to Franco at work and not be all smiles. There’s a vulnerability to Hill on stage that’s reflected in her body of work, which now spans four albums. She’s honest with her crowd, and that honesty is clearly appreciated among her fans, who seemed to hang on every lyric.

Summary: Given the audience’s reception, hopefully, Hill has forever left behind the thought of a career in software engineering. She writes about lows, but she performs them at such highs. What a warm show about cold feelings. Keep the contrasts coming, Kacy Hill.The post Live Review of Kacy Hill in Los Angeles first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Bill Ackman massively scales back expectations for the IPO of his Pershing Square USA, from $25bn to $2bnAckman confirms that IPO will be priced at less than a tenth of original $25 billion target
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As Spotify readies $18 per month ‘deluxe’ tier, do consumers care about high quality audio?Luminate study sheds light on what consumers really want from streaming
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Music Votes: Major Industry Partners Join CoalitionMusic Votes, the groundbreaking coalition of music voting and activism nonprofits, has announced a wave of major industry partners ranging from ASM Global to Wasserman and Bandsintown to the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) pledging to support its three steps to solve obstacles to voting: voter registration, ensuring the correct voter ID, and voter turnout.
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Streaming Data for Musicians: Unlocking Success in the Digital AgeExplore the most important streaming data for musicians and what they need to understand for success in the digital age. This guide highlights key metrics and provides insights on leveraging. Continue reading
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Frequency Factor: Rethinking Your Engagement StrategyUnfortunately, even daily fan engagement might not be enough to connect with your audience effectively. Here's how to better understand how often to reach out to improve audience relationships.
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Live Review of Aigel in Los AngelesThe Echoplex  Los Angeles, CA

Web: instagram.com/aigelband

Contact: susan@susanvonseggern.com

The Players: Aygel Gaysina, vocals, mixer; Llya Baramiya, mixer

Material: Aigel is a DJ duo that creates rave music, with mostly dark, trance-type beats that mesmerize and captivate the listener into submission. That said, submission was not needed on this warm, summer evening as the audience, willfully and willingly, accepted the thundering bass loops that filled the Echoplex. Gaysina sang and pranced around the stage with gleeful abandon and Baramiya did his magic finger-work on his mixer. Sometimes happy tunes, and sometimes not-so-happy dark tunes, the music had the audience jumping and dancing to every beat.

Musicianship: Gaysina has an impressive voice with an equally impressive vocal range, and can work the mixer like the expert that she is. Baramiya had a separate mixer going as he improvised many musical notes and tones. Setting off the looper along with so many other bells, sounds and whistles, he was the impetus that kept the train rolling. He worked so well within the tunes that he gave them that extra push that made everyone want to dance, bump and grind. Together they made the whole night gel in impressive style.

Performance: They hail from Russia, but music is the great unifier, a universal language.  Therefore, the fact that the lyrics are in Russian is no great obstacle for the listener. Claiming that her English was not too good, Gaysina kept the whole audience entranced for the whole night. We might not be able to understand every single word that she sings but, ultimately, the audience liked what she was doing. The Echoplex crew were also on point with smoke and exceptional lighting. 

Summary: Gaysina and Baramiya are consummate music lovers and it shows with the enthusiasm and effort they put out on stage. All over Europe in early June, their recent tour took them to Helsinki, Berlin, Warsaw, Belgrade, and Istanbul, just to mention a few. And just so we wouldn’t feel left out, they managed to grace the States with their presence, hitting New York and Chicago, and then ending the tour with mid-June dates in San Franciso and finally Los Angeles. See you next year.The post Live Review of Aigel in Los Angeles first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Gloria Gaynor sues music producer for alleged copyright infringement, breach of contractGaynor alleges that producer named in lawsuit is falsely claiming to own the rights to a number of her works
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Apple Music has added Radio Monitoring: Track Your Radio PlaysApple Music has added radio monitoring. Activity on 40,000 global radio stations can now be tracked within the free Apple Music For Artists portal.
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