Dan Holtz is a Nebraskan through and through.  Several years ago he and a few friends recorded 18 traditional and original songs, complete with stories about Nebraska’s pioneering and settlement days.  This week he returned along with Jeff Barker, who also was a part of the first CD, to record “Sail Away”.  The song celebrates the annual migration of the sandhills cranes through Nebraska.  Dan writes from first-hand experience of seeing this amazing spectacle.  If you’re a Nebraska history buff or would like more information on Dan’s latest song drop me an email or call and I’ll put you in touch with him.

Well I’ve long said there’s no two days alike around here (which generally is a good thing), but this month was quite out of the ordinary.  The second week found me setting up sound for the annual Desert Ministries Christmas program held at the Double Tree Hotel, downtown Omaha.  “Christmas In Our Hearts” has been presented the past 11 years.  The concert showcases a variety of performers who give residents of nursing home and extended care facilities the opportunity to attend a real Christmas performance.  Paul Falkowski, director of Desert Ministries, spear-heads the event each year.  The outreach of Desert Ministries touches countless lives through its daily programs, activities, and training for care-givers.  I encourage you to take a look at their website for volunteer opportunities and other ways you can be involved.

Upon coming back to the studio and unloading some sound gear, I repacked some install equipment and tools and headed out to a relative’s place to finish installing a sound system in their cattle sale barn.  It’d been quite some time since I experienced the clamor of a live auction, but it brought back some good memories of childhood days with my dad at the local sale barn.  Winter’s first blizzard put a crimp in the schedule, causing a two day postponement.  But everyone heard the auctioneer and sales manager the day of the sale, and even the cattle were entertained by speakers above the cattle holding areas.

Oh, did I mention it was an unusual month?

At Tesco Productions our on-going effort is to make our clients’ experience here the most enjoyable and beneficial as possible.  In the past few years we have been implementing an expanded headphone monitoring system.  As a musician you know how critical it is to hear properly – whether performing, jamming or recording.  For some time we have utilized a system that allowed the key parts of a group to be set independently by the individual musicians.  This was a great improvement over simple stereo feeds.

Most recently we expanded this by adding a “me monitor” option.  Each musician is able to set the volume of his/her microphone and/or instrument in their own headphone independent of any other musician or studio settings.  This can be done in addition to still having access to the main elements of the group.  It has proven very popular.  And a side benefit – as an engineer I can spend more time focused on my responsibility – getting you a good recording.  This is much easier to accomplish when everyone is performing at their best.