Santa Monica, CA (January 18, 2024)—For 26 years, the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus has been the premiere non-profit mobile recording facility providing hands-on experiences for students of all ages. Now Friday through Sunday, the bus will be parked in Santa Monica, CA, outside Apogee Electronics, open to the public to offer tours and insights into what the bus can do.
Visitors are welcome to come see the bus from 10AM-6PM, Friday, January 19 through Sunday, January 21, at Apogee Electronics Corporation, 1715 Berkeley Street in Santa Monica, CA. On Saturday and Sunday, emerging artists will be recording and mixing original songs inside, following in the footsteps of celebrities like Wyclef Jean, Fergie, RZA (Wu-Tang Clan), Machine Gun Kelly, and others who have recorded and mixed their music within the Bus. On Saturday, January 20, Ella Rose will be recording and mixing on the Bus from 10AM-6PM, while Reggie Becton will do the same on Sunday.
Apogee jamX Interface Debuts
Speaking to Mix in advance of the three-day event, Lennon Bus founder/executive director Brian Rothschild noted, “The John Lennon Bus has been made possible over these years by a collection of sponsors like Apogee and people like Apogee’s CEO, Betty Bennett, who have always been real fans of the Bus and its mission. We go to a lot of underserved communities, taking the finest [equipment] that the industry has to offer, out to places where maybe they don’t typically get to see and experience that. Thanks to Apogee, we’ll be giving Apogee Duet interfaces to many of the school districts and school systems that we’re going to be visiting this year.”
The newly updated mobile recording studio features a Dolby Atmos mixing space and the latest gear and technology for audio and video production. As a noted sponsor of the Bus, Apogee Electronics has recording equipment in use inside, such as the Symphony Mk II, the manufacturer’s flagship interface, used as part of the Atmos setup. The multi-channel audio interface features Apogee’s best AD/DA conversion, modular I/O (up to 32 inputs and outputs), a touchscreen display and optional microphone preamps. The Symphony Mk II offers three different connectivity modules to choose from: Thunderbolt, Pro Tools + (Dante u0026 Pro Tools), and Waves SoundGrid.
The Bus first hit the road in the late 1990s as an offshoot of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, dedicated to providing opportunities for both professional and amateur songwriters around the world, proceeds from which help support the Lennon Bus. The Lennon Bus travels across the U.S. and Canada year-round, providing free tours and workshops at schools, colleges and universities, festivals, on tours with headlining artists, and at major industry conferences. The Lennon Bus is made possible by Yoko Ono Lennon and its sponsors.
