Ray Benson
Ray Benson — bandleader, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and studio owner — will be honored with the prestigious Les Paul Award at the 24th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, to be held Friday, October 3, at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. Sponsored by the Gibson Foundation, the award will be presented by a surprise guest.
Best known for work with Asleep at the Wheel, Benson and the band have tackled almost every style imaginable — from honky-tonk, Big Band and rockabilly to folk, country and standards. Benson is also a talented producer and studio owner of Bismeaux Studios in Austin, a state-of-the-art facility with a huge control room, a vintage API console, tons of outboard gear and the latest digital systems.
BOB SARLATTE TO HOST
Tickets for the 24th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards are now on sale (available at mixfoundation.org or call 925/939-6149). Comedian Bob Sarlatte will host the show, backed by the all-star 2Cold Chili Bone TEC Band. Sarlatte’s career took off as an announcer, writer and regular comedy contributor on the first David Letterman Show for NBC in 1980. He then went on to appear on the Late Night version of that program more than 20 times, and has followed Letterman’s show with guest spots on the CBS version, The Late Show. He has also appeared in or voiced-over 5,000 radio and TV commercials and cartoons, as well as numerous TV series.
