It was Wednesday evening when I opened an e-mail from Bill Evans, my editor (and friend). "This is a super big deal," he wrote. "Can you go to this party in Van Nuys on Saturday?" "Absolutely," I answered. It really doesn't take a lot to get me to a party. I was promised good music, celebs and an open bar. What more could I ask for?
Well, within another day I got a clear picture on what to expect. The party was to be held at Fonogenic Studios in Van Nuys, Calif. The studios are owned and operated by Rami Jaffee and Ran Pink.
Of course, I know of Rami from his days with The Wallflowers, and that he is now playing keys for the Foo Fighters. I figured that the players would be of the same or similar caliber as Rami. Basically, a room full of "A" listers.
The party was dubbed "the CCCCP (Constantly Changing Cultural Carnival Party)." Cerwin-Vega was supplying all the speakers for front of house and monitoring, and Dennis Mays (of Fleetwood Mac and much more) would be mixing the event. It all sounded good to me. So, on Saturday I picked up my girlfriend, and we drove to the gig.
We got there late (what else is new), and the party was in full swing. The main studio where the music was being performed held about 200 to 250 people. The stage was full of players (including guest singers Minnie Driver and Daryl Hannah) and the whole thing sounded great.
Cerwin-Vega sent over two of their CVA-118 active subs and four CVA-28 active 3-way tops. The system sounded just amazing for its size.
Cerwin-Vega has always been known for bass, and the CVA-118s did not disappoint. But the little CVA-28s really performed exceptionally well. These small boxes are loaded with two 8-inch woofers and a compression driver mounted in the center of one woofer. The 28s are powered by a 400 watt 3-way amplifier.
Overall, the boxes are not only powerful, but very warm and smooth. The compression driver mounted in the 8-inch woofer seems to eliminate any harshness that one might expect.
There were also a variety of CVA-28s used for the stage monitors and side-fill monitors. The drummer had a CVA-115 sub with one CVA-28 as his monitor rig. I can only imagine that there was plenty of bass punch and clean highs for the drummer.
The most impressive part of the sound was the fact that Dennis Mays was not only mixing, but was mixing through a small Mackie board with limited aux sends. I think that Dennis was less-than-excited to be working with such a limited mixer. Nonetheless, he had it sounding quite amazing.
Other than the sound, the playing and singing was top notch. With all the players on stage, it sounded something like Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review. Or at least how I imagined a show like that would sound.
I did meet with Rami a few days after the party, and he agreed that the event had that Dylan kind of vibe to it. It was definitely a fun time for everyone. This was the third or fourth party of this type held at Fonogenics, and I think Rami has plans for many more.
I also spoke with Tim Dorwart, CEO of the Stanton Group (CV's parent company), and Dan Bruck, the company's worldwide director of marketing, about Cerwin-Vega's plans for the future. After talking with them, I got the feeling that we may see an expansion of the CVA powered line in the not-to-distant future.
"The Cerwin Vega Active system is just so clear and punchy," Rami said. "We've been tracking sometimes with the PA on (instead of headphones) for a better recording vibe and the sound doesn't suffer." Rami is intent on fostering a creative vibe similar to the scene at L.A.'s Kibitz Room in Cantor's Deli where the Wallflowers got their start. "Our studio parties are important to state of art in LA. There's so much great music and art and people that just need a place to play and see it. We are creating that environment!
"When we have our music and art parties that room packs in 100s of people so the CV speakers can work their magic."
