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Pensado Awards Announces Winners

Inaugural awards show, “recognizing the faces behind the sound,” reveals honorees in 16 categories

Live ceremony was highlighted by presentations from Neil Young and Sir Paul McCartney

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, California, was the place to be on June 28, 2014, as a standing-room-only crowd gathered for the inaugural Pensado Awards, an award show created by the producers of the acclaimed online video series Pensado’s Place. A live video production of the ceremony is now online on the Pensado’s Place YouTube channel at http://youtu.be/sB7r2u2EWRs. The ceremony hosted a crowd of over 600 recording industry figures – some as proud nominees, some as presenters, some there to simply be a part of the evening – including Martina McBride, Neil Young, Rami Jaffee (Wallflowers, Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam), Manny Marroquin (Bruno Mars, Rolling Stones, Imagine Dragons), Jack Joseph Puig (Florence + the Machine, U2, Lady Gaga), Ron Fair (Christina Aguilera, Black Eyed Peas, Keyshia Cole) and many more. A special highlight was a taped tribute to the winner of the Pensado Giant Award from Sir Paul McCartney.

Co-hosts included singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb along with producer-engineers Chris Lord-Alge (Muse, Pink, Foo Fighters, Avril Lavigne, Green Day, Daughtry, Paramore, Black Eyed Peas), Marcella Araica (Britney Spears, Madonna, Pink, Duran Duran, Keri Hilson) and Young Guru (Jay Z, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey).

In recent years, developments in music and technology have changed the landscape for producers, songwriters, engineers and musicians, encouraging artists and composers of all types to hone their craft. The Pensado Awards acknowledges the following talented individuals and their work:

Game Changer Producer of the Year: Alex da Kid
Break Thru Songwriter: Kendrick Lamar for “Swimming Pools”
Spin Doctor DJ Award: DJ Ali and MAKJ
Outstanding Achievement in Sound for Film, Television and Gaming: Saturday Night Live and Alan Meyerson for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
OMG! Mix of the Year: Tony Maserati and Manny Marroquin
Unique Project Studio: HeartsRevolution
Break Thru Mixer: Drumsonic Daniel
Best Non-English Song: Jeff Kung for “Suspended Memories”
Tracking Engineer: Ross Hogarth
Master of Mastering: Brad Blackwood
Live/FOH: John McBride
AIR Award (Best Assistant, Intern or Runner): Ghosts Web of SoundCap Audio
Outstanding Brand: Universal Audio/UAD and Vintage King Audio
Dave Pensado Educator Award: John McBride
Herb Trawick Visionary Award: Steven Slate and Alex da Kid
Pensado Giant Award: Al Schmitt, presented by Neil Young with a special video tribute from Sir Paul McCartney

A full list of nominees can be found at http://pensadoawards.com/award_categories.html.

Herb Trawick, the Co-host/Executive Producer and Creator of Pensado’s Place, stated, “It was truly thrilling to be able to honor these winners and the rest of the nominees with the inaugural Pensado Awards. We thank them for their contributions to the industry.”

Dave Pensado (Co-host of Pensado’s Place, GRAMMY®-winning mix engineer, Teacher) added, “So many talented individuals go unnoticed every year in the music industry, and the Pensado Awards was able to honor a few of these figures and congratulate them on a job well done. The show was a huge success, and we are excited at the prospect of doing it all again next year.”

About Pensado’s Place
The hour-long weekly web series Pensado’s Place was created nearly four years ago. Co-hosted by legendary mix engineer Dave Pensado (Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey, Elton John, Michael Jackson and more) and show creator Herb Trawick, Pensado’s Place includes interviews with top music industry artists, engineers, producers, mixers, and record executives, as well as in-depth tutorials in production, engineering and mixing. Pensado’s Place has positioned itself as “the most influential show for audio engineers,” mixers and producers (Forbes Magazine) in just three years. Pensado’s Place is more than just a show, as it highlights the very best in the industry of music, gaming, sound identity on film, and audio equipment, with a presence in live events. As a leading educational resource, Pensado’s Place is helping build the next generation of audio greats.

Photo Caption 1: Pictured L-R, front row: Pensado Awards Co-Host Lisa Loeb; Pensado Giant Award winner Al Schmitt; OMG! Mix of the Year winner Manny Marroquin; and Leon Pendarvis, Saturday Night Live musical director, recipient of the award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound for Film, Television and Gaming. Pictured L-R, back row: Game Changer Producer of the Year winner Alex da Kid; and Break Thru Mixer winner Drumsonic Daniel. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for The Pensado Awards. © 2014.

Photo Caption 2: Pensado Award winners and presenters gathered on stage for the ceremony’s finale, with Dave Pensado (podium left) and Herb Trawick (podium right). Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for The Pensado Awards. © 2014.

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