State-of-the-art, interactive touring
exhibit will showcase legacy of iconic music innovator
MURFREESBORO — “Les Paul’s Big Sound Experience,” a 53-foot-long
interactive exhibit, will visit MTSU Wednesday and Thursday, March 30 and 31,
for a stop on its nationwide tour celebrating the 100th birthday of the man
regarded as the father of the solid-body electric guitar.
The
stop, hosted by the Department of Recording Industry in MTSU’s College of Media
and Entertainment, will allow students and visitors to immerse themselves in
displays on music exploration, sound and technology innovations and hands-on,
interactive entertainment.
"I
am thrilled that MTSU has been chosen as the host of the Les Paul Experience, which
provides our students and visitors with a chance to learn about cutting-edge
technology and innovations,” said recording industry chair Beverly Keel. “Our
students learn about the innovations made by Les Paul as part of their
immersion into the history of the recording industry.”
The
1,000-square-foot traveling exhibit will be stationed in the parking lot
between the Bragg Media and Entertainment and the Honors College buildings. It
will be open to the public Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and
there is no admission charge.
A
searchable, printable campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap. Off-campus visitors should
obtain a special one-day permit from MTSU’s Office of Parking and
Transportation at http://www.mtsu.edu/parking/visit.php,
then park in the Rutherford Boulevard lot and ride the Raider Xpress shuttle
into campus for best accessibility.
In
conjunction with the Les Paul tour visit, Keel said her department has invited
internationally known music industry leaders to speak at the college,
including:
- renowned guitarist Harold Bradley,
a Country Music Hall of Fame member, who will speak at 1 p.m. March 30 at
the Keathley University Center Theater. Bradley played on hundreds of
sessions for classic hits, working with artists ranging from Elvis Presley
to Willie Nelson. He will talk about guitar playing, his career and his
interactions with Paul.
- engineer and producer Chuck Ainlay,
who will speak to students at 11:20 a.m. March 31 in Room 180 of the Bragg
Media and Entertainment Building. Ainlay, who worked with artists ranging
from Dire Straits to George Strait, has been named the Nashville Music
Association’s Engineer of the Year as well as “engineer with the most Top
10 hits” by Music Row magazine.
- musician Arielle Peri, who will
speak at 1 p.m. March 31 in the KUC Theater. The singer/songwriter has
performed with many artists, including Cee Lo Green and Alice Cooper, become
a role model for female musicians nationwide and is recognized for
building her own guitars.
Keel
said the Paul exhibit, along with the guest lectures, “will celebrate those who
have made the music industry better, through their guitar playing, producing,
engineering or technical innovations.
“While
students learn about Les Paul from lectures, books and videos, this exhibit
will bring their educational foundation to life and provide a better
understanding of all that Les Paul did to improve recorded music,” she added.
“It will also inspire them to achieve great things themselves."
Les
Paul’s Big Sound Experience has been crisscrossing the nation since last
summer, visiting universities, music festivals, special events and trade shows
in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Paul’s June 1915 birth.
Paul,
who died in August 2009, is legendary in music circles for his music and
musical inventions. His development of the solid-body electric guitar helped
create rock and roll's distinctive sound. He’s also known for his recording
innovations, including multitracking, overdubbing, delays and echoes, that
launched and still define recording methods today.
Paul,
whom Popular Science Magazine called “popular music’s Thomas Edison,” is the
only person so far to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The
Gibson guitar that bears his name is used by artists in multiple genres.
He and
his wife, Mary Ford, also had a stellar recording career in the 1940s and early
‘50s, charting 11 No. 1 pop songs, including their best-known hit, “How High
the Moon.” The pair also appeared on their own TV show in the late 1950s.
Artists
such as Slash, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Joan
Jett, Jimi Hendrix and many others have paid homage to Paul throughout their
careers.
To find
out more about Les Paul’s Big Sound Experience, including a video on the
exhibit, go to http://lespaultour.com.
This
visit is part of a yearlong series of special events celebrating the launch of
the renamed College of Media and Entertainment. For more information about the
college and its programs, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/media.
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