Pensado Awards 2015: Winners, Recap & Review

September 1st, 2015 by Dan Gluszak

The 5 Co-Hosts for the 2nd Annual Pensado Awards: Randy Jackson, Young Guru, Chris Lord-Alge, Sylvia Massy and Justin Mendal-Johnson

The 5 Co-Hosts for the 2nd Annual Pensado Awards: Randy Jackson, Young Guru, Chris Lord-Alge, Sylvia Massy and Justin Meldal-Johnsen

In the late 1950’s, the Hollywood Walk of Fame committee called on a select group of music executives to compile a list of recording industry personnel who had made a significant enough impact to earn their very own star on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame.

Eventually, as it became clear that far too many of these individuals would never receive such immortalizing recognition, it occurred to the committee that perhaps the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had the right idea the past 30 some-odd years with the Academy Awards, and that it may be time for music and its creators to have their own annual night in the spotlight.

This marked the birth of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and the very first GRAMMY Awards in 1959. It was the start of an annual tradition for celebrating the artists who work with what is perhaps the only language capable of transcending borders, boundaries and backgrounds all at once, uniting people the world over on one common ground: Music.

Although the GRAMMY committee certainly covers a lot of ground (especially after considering the myriad of awards which do not get televised) categories like “Best Engineered Album” and “Producer of the Year” are merely the tip of the production iceberg. There is an entire community of people whose work is absolutely crucial to the health of the industry and that deserves to be recognized.

Dave Pensado and Herb Trawick can help with that.

Aside from bearing a behemoth discography peppered with some of pop music’s most massive hits of the last two-and-a-half decades, Pensado has managed to parlay his career as a juggernaut mix engineer into an almost commissioner-like role in the audio community at large.

With the 2011 startup of his weekly online show Pensado’s Place he and co-host Herb Trawick provide their eager viewers with in-depth tutorials and video interviews with some of music production’s most high-profile personnel. The show has built a steadily growing and dedicated fan base, garnering support from many prominent audio equipment companies and schools. With the addition of the Pensado Awards to his repertoire, Dave Pensado is giving those of us who live for audio something the GRAMMYs have not.

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The 2nd Annual Pensado Awards were held on Sunday, August 30th 2015 at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Los Angeles. The weather for the outdoor ceremony was nothing short of southern California dusk perfection, and the free alcohol and artisan pesto flatbreads were plentiful. If these perks, coupled with rubbing elbows with some of the greatest minds in music production history is your idea of a good night, then the Pensado Awards is where you want to be. Plus, what audio enthusiast wouldn’t appreciate seeing Chris Lord-Alge bring Tony Maserati onstage to present an award to Dave Reitzas for the “OMG! Mix of the Year” category?

The energy of the ceremony as a whole was comfortingly laid-back, with both hosts and presenters not taking themselves all too seriously as they stumbled through teleprompter mis-reads and a joked about a visually disorienting delay on the jumbotron feed. Barring a couple of ironic technical difficulties with the sound (this is a night for celebrating achievement in audio, right?) the production was of a high-level throughout, though it would be in the show’s best interest to iron out those kinks before next year.

The five-person cast of hosts seemed almost like the United Nations of audio, carefully hand-picked with intent to leave no genre or demographic unaddressed:

Chris Lord-Alge (who donned a t-shirt reading “Music Has Value”) is a household name in mixing. Sylvia Massy’s presence reasserted the fact that there is plenty of room for high-ranking women to make some serious (and heavy!) noise in this historically male-dominated industry. Randy Jackson’s 12-year run on American Idol has solidified him as one of music production’s most relatable faces. And Justin Meldal-Johnsen, whose expansive resume boasts names from Tori Amos to Nine Inch Nails, Beck to The Mars Volta, embodied the popular metamorphosis so many musicians make in going from the stage to the studio. Finally, Young Guru served as hip hop’s primary ambassador of the evening, articulately addressing the importance of education within the audio community on several occasions, a notion that was enthusiastically received by the audience.

One Legend to another: Quincy Jones helps honor Bruce Swedien at the 2nd Annual Pensado Awards

It’s hard to imagine any situation where Quincy Jones is present and not the guest of honor, though he may have been the most distinguished recipient of everyone’s gawking stares. The greatest emphasis from a ceremonial standpoint was placed squarely upon on the legendary Bruce Swedien, who received the “Pensado Giant Award”. After a short montage and a few anecdotes chronicling Swedien’s lifelong dedication to the art of sound, viewers watched in awe as he and Quincy reminisced unscripted about the old days, nearly brining audience members to tears with a heartfelt exchange of “I love you’s”—a true MJ fan’s rapture.

At this second ever Pensado Awards show, no spirit of competition was yet palpable in the air. Perhaps the promise of an annual event praising artists and producers will fuel the push for further creative innovation in a field that is already without boundaries.

Pensado and Trawick were the recipients of consistent praise throughout the evening, with nearly every acceptance speech touching upon the importance of the Pensado Awards and show in bringing the audio community together in an entirely new way.

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