Author: DOuG pRATt

Reed Page, R.I.P.

Worcester / Acton – Bryant “Reed” Page, Jr., 61, of Worcester, formerly of Acton, died suddenly Nov. 14, 2012. He was the beloved son of Bryant and the late Thelma Page of Acton. Reed is also survived by his three sisters, Tenley, Belinda, and Madi. He leaves behind four nieces, Briana, Kelsey, Ruth, and Taryn; three brothers-in-law, Peter, Donnie, and Joe, his lovely ex-wife, Shawn, several cousins, and many beloved friends.

A former ABRHS (Acton-Boxborough Regional High School) student, Reed obtained degrees from Leslie College and Harvard University. Reed worked for over a decade at Harvard after obtaining his Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering and Biology. He was a lifetime student of the struggles and the beauty that life brings. Reed dedicated much of his adult life to counseling, mentoring, supporting, and teaching hundreds of individuals battling addictions. Reed was very respected and loved by his community of brothers and sisters.

Reed was born with an intellect and genius that was enviable. His interests were varied, very passionate, and he was happiest when engaging in such loves as music, nature, and the company of good friends. He was in a band with several lifelong friends and was gifted with an amazing voice. He was awed by nature’s majesty and magnificence – sunsets, the stars, trips to Africa with members of his family, camping in Maine, the ocean, and everything about Hawaii.

Reed had a phenomenal wit and a sharp sense of humor with a huge grin and a belly laugh to match. No one could hug like Reed. He was devoted to his friends, his brothers, and sisters, and his family and he has left an indelible mark on every life and heart he touched.

Relatives and friends are invited to visiting hours on Mon., Nov. 19th from 4-7 p.m. at the Acton Funeral Home, 470 Massachusetts Avenue, (Rte 111) Acton, MA 01720. Funeral service will be held on Tuesday, November 20th at 1 p.m. at the Acton Congregational Church, 12 Concord Road, Acton, MA 01720.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorial donations to the Perkins School for the Blind (in honor of his niece, Briana). To donate online: www.perkins.org ; by mail: Perkins Trust Office, 175 North Beacon Street, Watertown, MA 02472. Guest book www.actonfuneralhome.com

Published in Worcester Telegram & Gazette from November 17 to November 18, 2012

Groovy Beatles

[flv:http://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Video/Beatles/BeatlesVinyl.flv 512 285]

Today’s second official Beatles announcement!

Beginning November 19 and continuing into December, high-end audio retailers in several U.S. cities will host listening events for The Beatles’ stereo vinyl remasters. Each retailer will present the new Beatles vinyl on completely hand-made British hifi systems, with demonstrations of audible improvements in the new vinyl on a variety of turntables and associated equipment. A guest speaker will also accompany the events. Confirmed locations include:

San Francisco: 7pm, Monday, Nov. 19 AUDIO VISION SF (1603 Pine St., San Francisco, CA 94109)
Los Angeles: 5pm, Tuesday, Nov. 20 AHEAD STEREO (7428 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036)
Atlanta: 7pm, Monday, Nov. 26 AUDIO ALTERNATIVE (895 Indian Trail Rd., Ste. 15, Lilburn, GA 30047)
Dallas: 6pm, Tuesday, Nov. 27 AUDIO CONCEPTS (11661 Preston Rd., Ste. 280, Dallas, TX 75230)
Austin: 7pm, Wednesday, Nov. 28 WHETSTONE AUDIO (2401 East 6th St., #1001, Austin, TX 78702)
Chicago: 6pm, Monday, Dec. 3 PRO MUSICA (2236 North Clark St., Chicago, IL 60614)
Boston: 6pm, Tuesday, Dec. 4 GOODWIN’S HIGH END (899 Main St., Waltham, MA 02451)
New York: 7pm, Wednesday, Dec. 5 IN LIVING STEREO (2 Great Jones St., New York, NY 10012)
Philadelphia: 7pm, Thursday, Dec. 6 COMMUNITY AUDIO (8020 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19118)
Washington, DC: 6pm, Friday, Dec. 7 IQ HOME ENTERTAINMENT (10890 Fairfax Blvd., Fairfax, VA 22030)

I will not be buying the new vinyl pressings of the Beatles’ catalog, but I may attend the presentation at Goodwin’s in Waltham, outside of Boston. Although the stereo USB Apple is my ultimate dream format, it will be interesting to see if this new box set undercuts the going rate on eBay for the 1982 Beatles LP box set from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. I have several of the individual MFSL titles, and they suffer from an annoying 60 Hz hum that sounds like it came from a grounding problem in the Ortofon cutting head. This is the only flaw in an otherwise sterling presentation. The 24-bit FLAC copies are, of course, completely free of hum, hiss, snap, crackle, or pop of any sort that isn’t on the original recordings. The splices in She Loves You have always bugged me, for example, and I’m not fond of the fake stereo used in I Am the Walrus.

The Beatles Live! Project

http://youtu.be/K1V51dgZe-8

(That suspenseful music sounds more like Batman than Beatles!)

Official Beatles announcement:

The first stage of the development of THE BEATLES LIVE! PROJECT, an Apple authorised project, has begun!

Digging deep into the world’s TV and radio archives and fans’ basements and attics, the hunt is on for never-before-seen media captured during The Beatles’ concert tours dating back to October of 1963—when the name Beatlemania was coined—and continuing through The Beatles’ final concert in Candlestick Park (August 29, 1966). The project has commissioned global research teams and developed social media tools to collaborate with the public, concert goers, and students—in every location where The Beatles performed!

The ultimate goal: to combine footage, images, music interviews, and stories in a definitive, emotional and visceral feature film about Beatlemania.

This cultural phenomenon not only brought the world together through song, but helped usher in what is now recognized as a golden age of contemporary music.

Production company OVOW Productions Inc. has assembled a global team of archivists, collectors, information specialists, artists, social media strategists, amateur media groups, Beatles fan clubs, writers, academics, and film restoration experts to support the activities in the field. The research will be active through December of 2012.

The Footage Exploration Challenge
Were you there? Were your parents there? Your grandparents? Now, fans from all over the world can become a true part of Beatles history by contributing their original footage, photos, or audio recordings of The Beatles in concert.

Visit http://www.TheBeatlesLiveProject.com/ to upload your media and stories, and to learn more about the project.