15th Anniversary Festival Commemorated on Surround DVD, CD and VHS Releases
April 25, 2003 – Boulder, CO – MerleFest Live! The 15th Anniversary Jam, the debut DVD release of the Merle Watson Memorial Festival, was mastered and authored in Boulder by Airshow Mastering and its authoring partner, Zapp Labs.
The multi-format project was recorded and videotaped at the April 2002 festival in Wilkesboro NC, and produced for regional release coinciding with the 2003 festival in April. National release is scheduled for June, 2003.
Since 1988, the Merle Watson Memorial Festival, which honors the memory of Doc Watson's son and performing partner, has attracted a stellar lineup of acoustic and roots musicians. In recent years, attendance at the Wilkesboro, NC festival has swelled to over 60,000. The 15th anniversary productions capture what many consider most special about this popular festival: the variety of artists playing with the legendary flatpicker Doc Watson. Featured groupings include Doc Watson, Alison Krauss, Nickel Creek and Earl Scruggs; and the GRAMMY™-winning combination of Doc Watson and banjo player David Holt.
"We were delighted to participate in this inaugural DVD production," said David Glasser, Airshow founder and chief engineer. "Over the years, we've mastered releases by Doc Watson, from his rockabilly days, the years with Merle, and playing with other great contemporary musicians. It was fun to help bring some magical musical moments to life in a new way."
Michael Sheehan and Bill Blankenship of Acoustic Specials handled all video recording, editing and post production. Said Sheehan, "The Festival asked us who we would recommend, and without hesitation we said 'David Glasser at Airshow.' David brought to the project great technical skill and a love for the music. That's the combination we wanted."
Mixing was overseen by dobro player and producer Jerry Douglas. David Glasser mastered the two hours of audio in both 5.1 surround and stereo. The DVD-9 carries both a Dolby Digital surround audio stream and a PCM stereo version in 16 bit/48kHz resolution. The DVD was authored by Neal Thompson of Zapp Labs.
In addition to mastering work by many of the great modern American roots artists, Airshow Mastering has been recognized for its handling of some of the epochal restoration projects of recent years. In February, Glasser and Matt Sandoski earned GRAMMYs™ for their work on Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: the Worlds of Charley Patton (Revenant Records), the year's Best Historical Recording. It was the lab's second GRAMMY™: Glasser and Charlie Pilzer were also recognized in 1997, for the Anthology of American Folk Music (Smithsonian Folkways). The company operates studios in Springfield, VA as well as Boulder. For more information on Airshow Mastering call Ann Blonston at 1-888-545-9035 or visit their website at www.airshowmastering.com.
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Press Contact:
Ann Blonston, Airshow Mastering (303) 247-9035
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