Surround Music Awards 2004 - Part Two Multi-Grammy winning recordists Al Schmitt and Ed Cherney once again brought their breezy, engaging personalities to their roles as co-hosts, shown here with David Anthony, Executive Producer of the Rolling Stones' 'Four Flicks' from TGA DVD, which garnered three awards for Best Concert Video, Best Additional Features, and Best in Show.
Schmitt and Cherney's freewheeling, seat-of-the-pants banter, which had been so integral to the past two Surround Awards, was noticeably reigned in this time around, evidently in favor of a more streamlined, polished event. While the evening moved along at a brisker pace, I found myself missing some of the spontaneity of years past, especially Al and Ed's wry commentary that helped keep the show from becoming too formal. Nevertheless, there were numerous eruptions of unscripted warmth this year - such as the obvious onstage affection following the presentation of Best Menu Design for the late Frank Zappa's 'Babysnakes' DVD release from Eagle Rock Entertainment. Shown left-to-right are Keith Lawler, graphic designer for all Zappa family projects, Frank's wife Gail and son Dweezil, with Schmitt and Cherney.
Legendary rocker Peter Frampton (right) captured this year's Surround Visionary honors, an Editor's Choice award celebrating artists who recognize and embrace future technology rather than relying on past formulas. Presenting the award was pro audio luminary Bob Ludwig, who did the mastering work for Frampton's own multichannel re-mixes of his 'Frampton Comes Alive' and 'Live in Detroit' albums. Frampton's approach on these discs was to use surround to enhance the live performance and audience ambience around an essentially conservative two-channel presentation of the music itself.
In contrast, the Surround Maverick Award is specifically oriented towards cutting edge artists who fearlessly explore the most creative possibilities of multichannel presentation. This year's winner was Composer/musician BT (right) for his dense, atmospheric soundtrack for 'Monster'. BT's award was presented, appropriately enough, by the film's writer/director, Patty Jenkins, who said she looked forward to collaborations on many future projects.
Recognition honors for the Most Adventurous Mix went to the multichannel version of Beck's 'Sea Change', released in both SACD and DVD-Audio formats by Universal/IGA/Geffen. Accepting the award for Beck was Courtney Holt (right), receiving enthusiastic congratulations from presenter Poet Name Life.

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