Earl Cohen
Producer/Engineer
www.earlcohenproductions.com

Earl Cohen has worked with a veritable “Who’s Who” of today’s top recording artists in his 35+ year career in the music industry. His credits have appeared on more than 80 million records worldwide.

Upon graduating high school in 1973, Cohen began mixing for live rock bands in his native Connecticut and toured all over New England. Even at an early age, his musical tastes were expansive. From British Rock to Motown, he was influenced by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye, etc. These musical influences helped to shape and define his listening spectrum.Cohen went on to study audio engineering at The Recording Workshop in 1980. Upon graduating, he worked at Jhana Sound Studios in Connecticut which led him to work with Michael Bolton, Cyndi Lauper, and Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals a/k/a The Young Rascals). While working on the top ten hit “Tragedy” with Jeff Cannata’s Arc Angel, Cohen also worked on the #1 dance smash hit “Avenue B” for The Major Thinkers with producer Ron Bacchiocchi . He continued to mix live shows throughout the early 80′s with various rock groups.

In the late 80′s, Cohen received a call from producer Kashif to work with R&B singer Johnny Kemp. The project lasted six months resulting in Kemp‘s gold single and #1 hit “Just Got Paid“, which remained at the top of the dance charts for eight consecutive weeks. This was Cohen‘s first gold single and #1 smash hit. Subsequently, many other R&B producers began calling on him. Shortly thereafter, he scored another R&B #1 hit “My First Love” with David and Wayne Lewis. While working with them on their LP for the following two years, Cohen scored yet another top ten hit with George Benson’s ”Let’s Do It Again“. At that time, he was introduced to producer Barry Eastmond. He worked with Barry for the next six years recording and mixing various artists resulting in many top ten hit records for the likes of Jeffrey Osbourne, Freddy Jackson, Keith Washington, Siedah Garrett, and a Grammy Award for Anita Baker’s ”I Apologize“. Cohen then met producer Joshua Thompson leading him to mix what would become Joe‘s smash hit “All The Things Your Man Won’t Do” which became a platinum single and #1 airplay for 1996. He then had another top 10 pop hit with “I Want To Know” which resulted in Joe’s LP going double platinum within a few short weeks. Cohen then had more top ten smash hits with “Don’t Be A Player” and “Faded Pictures” produced by Joe. He went on to win a Best Engineered LP Grammy Award for his work on “Ear-Resistable” for the legendaryTemptations. Later, Cohen recorded and mixed records for Usher, Tina Turner, and Olivia’s top ten hit “Bizzounce“. Around this time, He was asked to work with producer Kenny Smooth which lead him to work with Pink  back when she was in the group LaChoice. Cohen then recorded/mixed the top ten single “That Other Woman” with Changing Faces produced by Joe. From there, he worked with the Australian group Kaylan landing yet another gold single and top ten hit “Rock Me All Night“. During that time period, producer Brian Ressler asked Cohen to mix Nelly‘s smash hit “Hot In Herre“. Cohen later teamed up with producer Rob Fusari to record Destiny Child‘s smash #1 hit “Bootylicious“, and additional engineering for Whitney Houston‘s #1 dance hit “Love That Man“. The duo went on to work with Will Smith, O Town, Kelly Rowland, Jessica Simpson and international Russian superstar Valeriya.

In late 2006, Fusari and Cohen were searching for a female artist who played piano, wrote, and could really sing. Then came an artist named Stefani, who would later be known to the world as Lady Gaga. Fusari and Cohen were on the forefront of the next super star in the making. Over the next two years, they mixed and recorded over 20+ tracks forLady Gaga‘s multi platinum Grammy Award winning record “The Fame“. The rest is history.

Cohen just finished mixing actress/singer Cierra Ramirez title track “You Don’t Know” from Lionsgate Films upcoming movie “Girl In Progress” (April/2012 release) with producers Calvin Gaines and Timothy Temper (www.tempermusicgroup.com). Currently, Cohen is developing new and upcoming artists along with a hit-making team that will soon bring them to the top of the charts.

Early training

Ken Lavigne is a singer, composer, communicator and consummate entertainer.  Recognized early for the outstanding timbre of his lyric tenor voice as well as the ease and agility with which he sings, Lavigne undertook thorough vocal and music training in his native Victoria, BC, at the University of Victoria with Susan Young and Alexandra Browning-Moore and at the Victoria Conservatory of Music with Selena James.  Further study took him to Wales where he studied with Stuart Burrows and to New York for training with Joan Dorneman.

Classical & Opera performances

With his voice, his presence and his interpretive strengths, Lavigne had the option of taking the traditional route to a career in opera.  Following his 1998 debut in Massenet’s Werther, major roles followed in Nabuko, La Traviata,  Cenerentolla and The Barber of Seville with Pacific Opera Victoria, the Portland Opera and the Burnaby Lyric Opera.

Despite Lavigne’s recent branching out to cross-over solo concerts, he is still in great demand as an opera performer, not only in traditional roles such as Spoletta in the Pacific Opera Victoria’s 2005 production of Tosca, but also in new and sometimes controversial productions such as Victoria Philharmonic Choir’s 2007 interpretation of Handel’s Samson, presented in a post-war Palestinian setting.

Solo & Orchestral appearances

Ken Lavigne has a long and impressive list of solo concerts and Symphony performances over the short history of his career between 1997 and the present. In 2002, he was chosen to represent Canada at the Tipperary International Song of Peace Contest. His performance won first place and he subsequently had the honour of performing the same winning composition for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Jubilee Celebrations in Victoria BC.

As featured soloist, Lavigne has appeared with a number of symphony orchestras including the Vancouver Island Symphony, the Palm Court Light Orchestra and the Prince George Symphony . Each Christmas, Lavigne lends his talents to the partnership of the Pacific Maritime Forces Naden

Band and the Salvation Army.  He has been recently lauded for his interpretation of Stan Roger’s Canadian classic, North-West Passage, which he debuted in December, 2007 with the Naden Band.

Ensembles

The Canadian Tenors were established in 2004 with Lavigne as a founding member. He completed the inaugural BC tour with the group, after which he co-founded the successful trio, Romanza, which toured over a period of three years throughout BC and into Ontario with additional appearances in New York City and San Francisco.

Solo Cross-Over development

In 2007, Lavigne shifted his focus to independently producing solo cross-over concerts and CDs.  The concerts are highly-produced, professional evenings of entertainment, designed by Lavigne, with music ranging from ballads and musical theatre favourites to familiar classics and operatic arias. The music is interspersed with personal vignettes and background notes on the music delivered with the warm and audience-winning charm which, along with his strong flair for comedy, have become Lavigne’s trademarks. The concerts are backed by a small ensemble of Canadian musicians and often include other Canadian vocal and instrumental soloists.

Recordings

Lavigne’s recordings – his debut album, On the Street Where You Live and his second release, Believe – have sold in the thousands and selections from both have been featured on a number of CBC programs.  His third album entitled O’ Night Divine features  Christmas classics and was released November 30 2008

Ken Lavigne made his New York debut on the famed Carnegie Hall stage, accompanied by the New York Pops Orchestra under the baton of Simon Capet. This achievement was a dream come true for the singer, and after having received three standing ovations for his performance in New York, the debut has led to further engagements across North America. Including exclusive engagements with famed LA producer David Foster.

SS media co has been a life saver. I was on a deadline and needed a website within 2 days or less. They met my every need and demand.  SS media co worked around the clock for me and for that I am very grateful. These guys are the real deal! As you can see from my website, their work is amazing. I’ve had nothing but great reviews. I will 100 percent be using them again. They literally have been my website Angels and I cannot wait to see what else they come up with for me.

- Schara Taylor

Schara Taylor is one of Canada’s most promising upcoming pop-rock Artists. Over the past ten years, Schara has worked with some of the most critically acclaimed international and domestic musical producers. Currently, Schara is working on her self-titled debut album with Sean Hosein who has written and sold over forty million records worldwide and has worked with chart toppers the world over. She has also partnered with composer Jim Guttridge to compose and create a score for Nasser Entertainment Group where they are negotiating a five-picture movie deal. The first of which will feature Schara’s song, “ RIDE” for the upcoming feature film, DAWNRIDER, staring Donald Sutherland and Jill Hennessy. Schara’s unabashed emotion and powerful voice have captivated audiences. Coupled with her ability to craft catching pop tunes, she is an unstoppable force.
Her songs have garnished the attention of other well-known recording artists. Schara is 22 years old and is a perfect blend of East Indian, Scottish and Portuguese ancestry and was born in Credit Valley, Ontario in 1989.

Schara continues to work with music vocal coach; Judith Rabinovitch who also works with Sarah Mclachlan and Avril Lavigne Schara also worked with Juno award winner Bill Buckingham. Together they wrote and co-produced her second demo, “Looking for a Sign”. Schara also worked with Dane DeViller from Banana Toones. Schara at the age of 12 worked with 2002 Juno nominee, Composer, Producer and Songwriter, Syd Perez in Vancouver, BC. Collaboratively, Syd and Schara wrote three songs on her first demo.

Prior to working with Syd, her accomplishments took her to compete at the Shaw Discovery Talent Showcase in Vancouver, BC. Here, she performed in front of a live audience at the 2001 Pacific National Exhibition. This province wide musical showcase received more then 20,000 entries. Only 45 entrants were selected to perform in each category. Schara ranked amongst the top 5 competitors in her category of “Pop” music.

Schara also took home second place honours in both Pop and Folk categories in the 53rd Annual Chilliwack Lions Club Music and Dance Festival in March, 2001.

For the past several years she has been honing her vocal and musical talents in a myriad of ways. She has been studying and learning vocal techniques in both Pop Contemporary music as well as Classical Theatre.

Schara’s love of music also expands to include the piano and guitar. She began early at the age of five by taking piano lessons. She completed her fourth year of Royal Conservatory Piano.However only plays instruments for writing purposes. She also has been co producing her own music. Schara takes complete control of her destiny to become the pop diva that she desires responsibly. In every way she continues to grow by adding new musical dimensions to her already impressive portfolio.

We look forward to finding the right team that will help catapult Schara into her destiny of stardom.

Dress Up Like Steve Jobs Day!
They say the highest form of flattery is imitation. To honor the ongoing legacy of Steve Jobs, a few of us at iPhone Life decided to make September 9th the official “Dress Up Like Steve Jobs” day. We got a fantastic amount of response: from Time magazine to the Smurf filmmakers. People sent images from all over the globe, and you can see the full album at iphonelife.com/stevejobsday. We even got coverage on CNN, Time, and CBS. Here are our favorites.

- iPhone Life Magazine – Buyers Guide 2011 Issue

Today we picked up business cards we designed for Joseph W. Mazzuco Construction Inc. This marks the first set of cards we’ve designed with a QR Tag. I’m sure you’ve seen QR Tags on all sorts of promotional materials or products these days. QR Tags are an excellent feature for any business card or other print material.

SS Media Co designed the JWM Construction Inc logo and card layout

Once again ClubCard delivered an amazing product and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. The cards we’re printed using their Tree-Free printing method, which means they are printed on paper that’s made from post consumer waste.

Thanks again to Matt Dobo & the other fine folks at ClubCard, the best print shop in Vancouver by far!

Here’s what ClubCard says about the process.

Tree-Free Printing – 100% Green
Can printing be organic? We think so and share your commitment to eco-friendly ethically-produced, 100% post consumer waste content products. Your full colour job will be printed with soy inks utilizing stochastic screen (random dot pattern) technology (380 line screen equivalent) on a press that operates on its own reverse osmosis water plant. Used press rags are burned as fuel with no volatile organic compounds released and the remaining ash is then used in cement products. For a more economical option we suggest our premium offset option.

For more on QR Tags

http://keremerkan.net/qr-code-and-2d-code-generator/

Having gone over my limit, it pained me to send out each additional text; while each text was only $0.20 I can swear I remember a time where it was only $0.05 a text. Worse still, I’ve read many articles on actual estimates of text data compared to the $0.99 download on iTunes. We all know that carriers have jacked up prices for texting over the last couple of years. Send a text across a border and its even worse, just plain ridiculous if you ask me.

During this past week I took the time to look back at the announcement of Apple iOS 5 and specifically “iMessage”. At the time of the announcement, like most Vancouver residents I was stricken with Canucks Fever and our probable “sweep” of the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals. While, that didn’t pan out as we had all hoped…lets move on, I’m sorry I brought that up. Back to iMessage. I thought it was an instant messenger or way to text my iDevice using friends. Now upon further investigation, I see that it’s potentially a way around the carrier’s outrageous texting fees as you can text to any number, iMessage checks to see if the recipient is an iPhone and adjusts the appropriate format. Now, its unclear if this will work internationally but since you can use iMessage on your iPod touch or iPad over Wi-Fi I don’t see why it wouldn’t. I personally love anything that will stick it to the carriers even just a little.

For additional information here is this great article by Buster Heine Cult of Mac - original article

iMessage is Going to Be Huge! Here’s Our Hands-on Look at How it Works

Apple’s new iMessage app was one of the biggest surprises at WWDC yesterday. Once I got iOS 5 and Lion installed on my devices, I asked our Twitter followers what they wanted to know about the new OSes and we got a lot of questions about iMessage and how it works. There seems to have been a bit of confusion regarding the new service, so let me help explain how iMessage works on iOS 5.

iMessage is not a stand alone app. Instead, Apple converged iMessages and SMS Texts into one app called “Messages.” This is great because instead of having to switch between different apps, and worrying about how to get all your contacts synced up for both of them it’s all taken care of on the back-end.

What’s great about Messages is that you don’t have to know your friends Apple ID or tell your iPhone to send them an iMessage instead of an SMS. Your iOS 5 iPhone automatically checks to see if the phone number you’re sending to is an iPhone running iOS 5 and if the recipient is running iOS 5 it will send them an iMessage rather than an SMS Text. It’s incredibly simple and will probably save a lot of people some money on texting fees.

Once it’s been determined that a contact has iOS 5, your Address Book is update and a small blue chat bubble will appear next to the contact’s name in the future, indicating that they can receive iMessages.

If you’re still not sure whether you’re sending an iMessage to SMS Text, Apple has revamped the texting screen by adding a little bit more color. SMS message conversations are green while iMessage conversations are blue. Here is a screenshots of me sending a text to my girlfriend (who for some reason is still rocking a Palm Pre) and another screen sending a text to CoM Writer, Killian Bell who is using an iPhone 4 with iOS 5. Notice that the “Send” button on the SMS and the iMessage are different colors, as well as the outgoing chat bubble.

A few other odds and ends: Many people look to iMessages as a way to end their Texting Plans, but how can you keep from sending SMS messages on accident? Easy. iOS 5 allows users to turn off SMS messaging completely so that iMessages are the only protocol that can be sent. The reverse is also true in that you can turn off iMessage as well so that you’re only doing SMS.

Another question has been, “well what if I have an iPod Touch and no iPhone?” Users with an iPod Touch can send/receive iMessages by using their Apple ID. You even have the option of changing your “Caller ID” from your phone number to your email address.

Overall, iMessages are great. Being able to see when a message has been delivered and whether it’s been read or not really enhance the communication experience. The best part is that you don’t have to even think about them because if Apple is doing all of the work completely behind the scenes so that you won’t even notice. Using iMessages on multiple devices with the new support of iCloud ensures that you’ll never miss a beat when you’re working on both your iPad and iPhone.

Now that you’ve had a better look at it, what do you think? Will iMessages slowly replace your Texting?

The development of M3Artistry.com is the second project we have worked with Melissa M. Merstsky, we had previously collaborated on another project Wassabi Collective. M3Artistry.com showcases Melissa amazing talents in Makeup, Body Paint, Hair, Traditional Artwork & Music.

Our task was to take Melissa’s stunning artwork and create a site that would complement each individual piece but also capture the artists personality. If you know Melissa we think you’ll agree that we hit the mark very well. From the M3 Artistry logo we designed to the flow of the entire site, this site feels like home to Melissa M. Merstsky.

All photographs we’re taken by Melissa M. Merstsky.

The site was a complete rebuild and features a new fresh & elegant design. Shop Haden Reid now!

More about Haden Reid Boutique

Hadenreidboutique.com is an online fashion boutique established in 2008. The namesake Haden Reid comes from my two sons, Haden and Reid. I joined the fashion industry for the love of fashion and to provide emerging designer labels to all fashionistas searching for that little gem.

Haden Reid’s designer lines are worn by celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Ashley Tisdale, Audrina Patridge, Lauren Conrad and Vanessa Hudgens. I am always searching for upcoming designers and fashions, so check back often to view.

More about Haden Reid Boutique

Hadenreidboutique.com is an online fashion boutique established in 2008. The namesake Haden Reid comes from my two sons, Haden and Reid. I joined the fashion industry for the love of fashion and to provide emerging designer labels to all fashionistas searching for that little gem.

Haden Reid’s designer lines are worn by celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Ashley Tisdale, Audrina Patridge, Lauren Conrad and Vanessa Hudgens. I am always searching for upcoming designers and fashions, so check back often to view.