Rock legend Pete Townshend received the Les Paul Award at the 28th annual Technical Excellence and Creativity (TEC) Awards last Friday night as part of the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.
John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful hosted the awards, which were given in 29 categories, honoring the best in audio technology and sound production.
After a video greeting from Paul McCartney and a letter of congratulations from Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend walked on stage to accept his award.
Townsend joked that he “had no idea how far Anaheim was from civilization,” then humbly paid homage to Les Paul and the companies that have pioneered so many advances in multi-track recording over the years.
Townshend watched with admiration as the TEC band performed “I Can’t Explain,” “The Seeker,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “The Song is Over,” and “Pure and Easy.”
During the final song, “Let My Love Open the Door,” he went on stage to share lead vocals with David Pack. The audience, which had remained politely seated during most of the evening, jumped to their feet, dancing and singing along in true rock and roll style.
The TEC band included guitarist Laurence Juber (Wings), bassist Phil Chen (Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart), singer Eric Burdon (the Animals), singer/songwriter Julia Fordham, singer David Pack (Ambrosia), drummer Narada Michael Walden (Mahavishnu Orchestra), bassist Tal Wilkenfeld (Jeff Beck, Chick Corea), and singer Bree Kennedy.
Slash was also on hand to present the evening’s other major award to Rose Mann-Cherney, President of the Record Plant. She was inducted into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame, and as the first woman to receive this honor, she was given an enthusiastic standing ovation by the industry crowd.
28th Annual TEC Awards Winners:
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Ancillary Equipment Waves Audio WLM Loudness Meter
Audio Apps Technology for Smartphones & Tablets Moog Animoog
Microphone Preamplifier Technology Apogee Electronics 8-Channel Mic-pre Module for Symphony I/O
Studio Monitor Technology ADAM Audio A77x
Recording Devices Zoom H2n Handy Recorder
Musical Instrument Amplification & Effects Technology Line 6 POD HD Pro Guitar Processor/Amp Simulator
Amplification Hardware/Studio & Sound Reinforcement Dangerous Music “Dangerous Source” USB Monitor Controller Computer Audio Hardware Universal Audio Apollo High Resolution Audio Interface
Musical Instrument Technology (Hardware) Moog Minitaur
Musical Instrument Technology (Software) Native Instruments Kontakt 5
Signal Processing Technology (Hardware) Rupert Neve Designs Portico II: Master Buss Processor
Signal Processing Technology (Software) Universal Audio Ampex ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder Plug-in
Sound Reinforcement Loudspeaker Technology Meyer Sound CAL Column Array Loudspeaker
Microphone Technology/Sound Reinforcement TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik M81
Microphone Technology/Recording Blue Microphones Spark Digital
Headphone/Earpiece Technology Sennheiser HD700 Headphones
Wireless Technology Shure Axient Wireless
Workstation Technology Avid Pro Tools 10
Sound Reinforcement Console Technology Avid VENUE SC48 Remote
Small Format Console Technology Rupert Neve Designs 5059 Satellite Mixer
Outstanding Creative Achievement
Record Production/Single “Somebody That I Used To Know”, Gotye
Record Production/Album Wasting Light, Foo Fighters
Tour Sound Production Foo Fighters “Wasting Light” Tour, Delicate Productions
Remote Production/Recording or Broadcast 54th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS
Film Sound Production The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros.
Television Sound Production Breaking Bad, AMC
Interactive Entertainment Sound Production Journey, Sony Computer Entertainment
Studio Design Project Dreamworks Animation Studios, Glendale, CA
Photos by Le Studio.
We would like to thank Jane Byer Communications Manager of the TEC Foundation for the credentials to cover the show.
