Apr 22nd, 2008 · When The Helio Sequence set up in KEXP's studio with just one guitar, one drum kit, and two microphones, few expected such a full sound to emerge. Many challenges faced the band as it made Keep Your Eyes Ahead, yet its end result on CD and in the studio reveal focus and power.
Apr 21st, 2008 · Travis Shawn Hill wanted to prove you don't need a major record label to put out an album... or a band, for that matter. Using a home computer and a couple of microphones, the singer-songwriter from Santa Cruz, Calif. wrote and recorded more than a dozen songs in February and posted them online for this year's RPM Challenge. The album he came up with is called A Bright Wind, featuring the infectiously upbeat song "Sing."
Apr 20th, 2008 · In rural southwestern Virginia, Mary and John Peluso meticulously assemble microphones modeled after some of the world's legendary and infamous microphones, but at a price today's musicians can afford.
Mar 12th, 2008 · The dollar's slide against the euro means making goods in Europe for U.S. consumers is more expensive, so German automaker BMW is expanding its operations in America. Sennheiser, another Germany company which makes often-expensive microphones and headsets, has been manufacturing products in New Mexico for years and may expand U.S. operations further.
Nov 24th, 2007 · In a Reporter's Notebook, Robert Smith explains that he brought his young daughter to an airport to cover holiday air travel. The "real story," Smith says, is how he juggled a microphone and his young daughter.
Oct 23rd, 2007 · A new computer program promises to make music lessons more fun for kids. Students can play their flutes or clarinets into microphones attached to their computers, and the program -- called "smartmusic" -- can direct them, listen to their pitch and correct them as they go. Students say the real-time feedback on the screen makes practice much less boring -- and more like playing a computer game. But some people are skeptical that a virtual teacher can do for kids what a real teacher can.
Oct 18th, 2007 · Several years ago, influential bluegrass musician Del McCoury decided to do away with modern concert amplification and go back to the basics: three microphones. With his sons at his side, McCoury performs live and answers questions about his life in music.
Oct 16th, 2007 · In a quest to discover this election's version of "Soccer Moms" and "NASCAR Dads," NPR contributor Mo Rocca takes his microphone to the streets of Philadelphia. Rocca talks with Michele Norris about what he found, and we hear from a number of people in potentially desirable demographics.