Event Recap: The 3rd Annual Pensado Awards

The third annual Pensado Awards took place this past Saturday, August 20th. See below for a list of winners and a slideshow from the event. All photos by Chris Schmitt Photography.

Saturday, August 20th, 2016 marked the 3rd Annual Pensado Awards, the second of which I’ve had the pleasure of attending for SonicScoop.

This year started off with a pre-ceremony VIP soiree held in the “Main Street” area of Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, under a setting California sun. Upon arrival I began making my way through this pre-show reception along with the other 1,000 some-odd attendees, rubbernecking every which way to see what music industry heavyweights were in attendance this year.

Rubbing elbows with the giants of music production while waiting on line for the complimentary open bar is par for the course at an event like this one (not to mention the delectable hors d’oeuvre which seemed to appear magically on a silver tray under your nose every few minutes like clockwork.) Needless to say, Dave Pensado and Herb Trawick sure know how to throw a party.

The Hosts

A few of the event’s hosts pause for a photo opp with Pensado and Trawick. Left to right: Gavin Lurssen, Herb Trawick, Chris Lord-Alge, Taryn Manning, Dave Pensado and John McBride.

In keeping with the trend set by 2015’s ceremony, the 5-person cast of hosts was diverse and expertly curated. Marking his third year on the job (and needing no introduction) Chris Lord-Alge was a comforting and familiar face—not to mention this year’s recipient of the “Pensado Giant Award”.

Hip Hop’s representative for the evening was 26-year-old Derek “MixedByAli” Ali. Ali’s work as Top Dawg Entertainment’s resident mixer/engineer has solidified his place at the forefront of rap production, and he has worked closely with Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg, just to name a few.

If the name Samantha Maloney doesn’t ring a bell, the artists she has played drums for certainly will: Maloney has been mercilessly crushing drum kits since the early 90’s for everyone from Hole to Mötley Crüe to Eagles of Death Metal.

Having covered their bases for mixing, engineering, and music performance within the hosts, Pensado and Trawick appointed Gavin Lurssen of Lurssen Mastering to embody the art of mastering for the evening. If you’ve got a full year to spare, you might be able to read through 10% of Lurssen’s credits on AllMusic. If not, just know that his discography spans everyone from Hans Zimmer to Alice Cooper to Elton John to Foo Fighters to The Who.

The evening’s fifth host has one foot in the entertainment industry and the other foot in jail—specifically, the fictional Litchfield Penitentiary of Orange Is The New Black. Actress, singer/songwriter and fashion designer Taryn Manning explained just how integral Pensado and Trawick had been to her successes in music before bringing the pair to the stage for the first time at the end of the evening.

The Main Event

The live audience at the event numbered over 1000 guests.

The ceremony itself was, for the most part, a well-oiled machine this time around. Having been surprised to notice a few kinks in the audio and video feeds at last year’s ceremony, I was happy to see these issues ironed out.

The light-hearted and profanity-riddled award presentations and acceptance speeches created a jovial atmosphere that seemed to make the whole crowd feel at ease throughout the night.

In a lot of ways, being an audience member at the Pensado Awards reminded me of hanging out in a good friend’s (really, really nice) backyard. This atmosphere was exemplified come the ceremonies end when the hosts, presenters and industry heavy-hitters could been seen casually mingling with the attendees and guests around the grounds during the afterparty.

An interesting twist to this year’s ceremony was the inclusion of a few brief live performances to support the evening’s “Celebrate The Guitar” theme. First up was Phil X of Bon Jovi and Triumph, taking us through an intense, whirling medley that included sections of Zeppelin and Queen songs, among others. Following Phil X was Ethan Farmer on bass, supplier of low frequencies for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. Closing out the performances was Michael “Fish” Herring, guitarist for Prince, Celine Dion and Christina Aguilera.

The Awards

Chris Lord-Alge claims the “Giant” award in his signature style.

The most notable of all awards was the Pensado Giant Award, presented this year to Chris Lord-Alge. (Last year this award went to Bruce Swedien—big enough shoes to fill?)

CLA’s award was commemorated via a 5-or-so minute video montage featuring some of music’s biggest artists who, one after the next payed homage to his unparalleled work as a mixer. Paul McCartney, Steven Tyler, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Pink, and Chris’ acclaimed brother Tom Lord-Alge were among some of people who submitted videos.

Award for the most bewildering fun fact from the video: Can you believe CLA churns out approximately 500 mixes a year?!

CLA’s mother Vivian, a jazz singer and pianist who is credited for piquing her son’s interest in music from a very early age, was even in attendance all the way from New Jersey.

This year’s Pensado Awards took up the cause of David Platillero, a promising young audio student who was the victim of a tragic auto accident, now in hopeful recovery from the incident.

Perhaps the biggest recurring theme of the night was #WeStandForDavid, devoted to the story of David Platillero, a Tennessee native and student of the Blackbird Academy who was struck by a car earlier this year and suffered severe spinal cord damage. Platillero and his family face a terribly daunting (and expensive) road to recovery, and it’s possible David may be paralyzed for life.

Taken by Platillero’s selflessness and infectious enthusiasm for pursuing a career in audio production, Pensado and Trawick made it their business to make a difference in his recovery. On several occasions throughout the night, the award presentations halted and attention was directed to #WeStandForDavid, at which point audience members could simply text in donations and see them appear on the jumbotron feed moments later.

The program booklet for the night highlighted David Platillero’s story: “Our hope is that by the end of the evening we can present David’s father John some real relief for the years of rehab they are facing. By standing for David, we stand for the best in our community.”

Summing it Up

It is unmistakably clear that what Dave Pensado and Herb Trawick have brought to the audio community is unparalleled in scope and scale, and arguably, necessary as well.

Sure, the GRAMMYs acknowledge producers and engineers in a celebration that is largely devoted to praising musicians and writers—without whom, producers engineers would be out of a job. But in its ability to draw detailed attention to the work of those on the other side of the glass at such scale for one night, the Pensado Awards Show remains the only institution of its kind to date. Because of that, the love and appreciation that the attendees showed to the evening’s curators seemed practically tangible. On behalf of all of us, thank you Dave and Herb.

The hosts on stage, welcoming winners.

At the ceremony, the following winners were announced:

• OMG! Mix of the Year: Josh Gudwin/Andrew Wuepper for “Sorry” (Justin Bieber); Vance Powell for “Tennessee Whiskey” (Chris Stapleton)
• Game Changer of the Year Award: Dave Cobb
• Break Thru Songwriter: Brody Brown
• Master of Mastering: Joe LaPorta
• Tracking Engineer: Steve Genewick
• Best Non-English Song: JJ Lin, “Twilight”
• Outstanding Brand:  Indaba Music
• Break Thru Mixer Award:  Delbert Bowers
• Live/FOH: Wilberto Madera (Pitbull)
• Spin Doctor DJ Award: Henry Fong
• AIR Award (Best Assistant, Intern or Runner): Shamir Nicholas, Chris Galland and Wesley Seidman
• Outstanding Achievement in Sound for Visual Medium Award: Straight Outta Compton
• Pensado Giant Award: Chris Lord-Alge
• Dave Pensado Educator Award: Learn from Legends, Recording Connection
• Herb Trawick Visionary Award: Xfer Records

Dan Gluszak is a freelance producer/mixer/engineer based in Los Angeles, California. He also doubles as a touring and session drummer.

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