December Meeting Notice

December 2006 Meeting Notice

ABSTRACT

This is a special event in anticipation of the holidays.  We will be screening a film about an inventor whose technological vision was far ahead of his time. As this is a holiday social event, the meeting will start at 6pm, where refreshments will be served.

DESCRIPTION:

"Sound Man, From WWII to MP3"

Jack Mullin's influence extends from the creation of tape following World War II to the rise of the iPod in recent times. Sound Man sheds welcome light on the career of this neglected pioneer, responsible for the innovation described as "a musician's dream."

A Bay Area engineer turned WWII soldier, Mullin came upon a certain recording machine during his expeditions in Europe. The contraption, known as magnetophone, was to become the lynchpin for the U.S. recording industry, allowing the voices of Bing Crosby and Les Paul, among others, to be saved for future generations. From then on, it's only a step to the shift from records to tapes and the growth of Ampex, one of the early titans of the Silicon Valley. Having helped
revolutionize the entertainment world, Mullin, quietly living with his family, was happy to stay out of the spotlight.

Sound Man's subtitle, "From WWII to MP3," indicates the important contributions of this fascinating personality, finally given deserved tribute. Director Don Hardy has assembled a vast array of interviews (including musicians Les Paul, Greg Kihn, Chuck D., and Stephen Stills, Bing Crosby's widow Kathryn, Mullin's friends and family) to bring us the story of this essential player in the music industry, a true "sound man."

DIRECTIONS:

http://www.meyersound.com/about/directions/index.htm

Address:

2832 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley

OTHER INFORMATION:

- Guests can park in the fenced lot at the corner of San Pablo Aveue and Heinz Street, adjacent to Meyer Sound's main office building.

- Guests will enter from the theatre entrance at the rear of the building. From the parking lot, guests should walk out the Heinz Street gate, make a R onto Heinz St., continue to the corner, make R onto 10th Street. Walk past the concrete block building on the corner and you will be at the rear entrance. "Larry the O" will be there to greet guests, starting at 6PM.

- Guests will be able to access the Pearson Theatre, bathrooms, and the lunchroom where the refreshments will be served. Access to other areas is not allowed and will be blocked off.

- Visitors going beyond the reception desk must sign non-disclosure agreements.