(Continued from p.3) Grammies

the stage. The whole thing was better watched on TV than live. Even then, long on FX, short on sub- stance, quite limited in musical range and perfor- mance quality. High points for me were Sting's per- formance, Elton John with the Backstreet Boyz, and Joshua Bell and the string band.

One musical bonus that wasn't at all apparent on TV was the incredible musicianship of the sidemen playing. The venue has a reverb time of at least five seconds and a wicked low-mid frequency slap com- ing back at the stage about a second and a half late. Yet the time-keeping and ensemble focus of the players was phenomenal!

The party was something else. Six banquet rooms each with its own catered spread, open bar and band! We caught a set of Eric Burdon and the New Animals, with John Mayall, and it was simply the best club rock 'n roll I have ever heard! Then we caught a Latin Jazz set with the Pete Escovedo Orchestra featuring Poncho Sanchez, Tito Puente and Dave Valentin. They were incandescent!

Sorry I can't tell you more. We had to quit while we were ahead, or die! Next year, I'll join the Academy just so I can go to the party again. Thanks, NARAS!

-Dave Moulton

PS: Check out our new website: MoultonLabs.com. Thanks

Note: This report is condensed from a more exten- sive article soon to be published in Recording Magazine.