HomeNews Geauga man helps create production company
original at http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2009/02/03/news/nh437504.txt
Geauga man helps create production company
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 11:45 PM EST
By Betsy Scott
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When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
So says the old adage, and one local optimist has taken it to heart.
In December, Grammy-winningBurtonTownship resident Michael Bishop and 26
others at Telarc Records learned they would lose their jobs, effective March
31. The cuts were the result of restructuring by Beverly Hills-based Concord
Music Group, which bought Beachwood-based Telarc three years ago.
Concord is
changing its business model to outsource the production functions that have
been done in-house for the last 30 years, Bishop said. But he isn't bitter.
In fact, he and three other co-workers took the opportunity to create their own
company — Five/Four Productions, which is taking on work from Concord and anyone else looking for
top-of-the-line recordings.
"It frees us up to do many projects we wouldn't have been able to do
before," said Bishop, who was chief recording engineer for Telarc.
Five/Four Productions commenced operation last month by recording a project
with Franz Welzer-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra for Deutsche Gramophone, a
competitor of Telarc. The group has a number of other gigs lined up, involving
orchestras from around the country.
Five/Four also will help meet production needs for outsourced Telarc and Concord projects.
"While this isn't a situation we would have chosen, we are very happy we
have a good working relationship with Concord Music Group, and we're looking
forward to helping to make both our businesses successes," Bishop said.
"We're making the world's best lemonade."
Along with Bishop, the fledgling company is composed of Bill
McKinney of Middlefield, Robert
Friedrich of Beachwood and Thomas
Moore of Shaker Heights, all former key production members of
Telarc Records and audio specialists with Grammy-winning experience across
multiple music genres.
Bishop will serve as recording engineer/producer for Five/Four, the name of
which was derived from the initial plan for five members, cut down to four when
one of them was retained by Concord.
"Also, the uncommon 5/4 time signature made famous by the Dave Brubeck
Quartet in the 1959 jazz hit, 'Take Five,' seemed to fit us well, especially
with having worked with Dave Brubeck on so many projects," Friedrich said.
The Five/Four quartet has 14 total Grammys among them. Bishop has seven of his
own and is up for two more at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
"Telarc branded an identity — a particular sound and quality," he
said. "The heart of what has maintained that production value is going
with us into Five/Four Productions."
For details about Five/Four Productions, visit http://recording.pro,
or contact the company at
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or (510) 545-7991.
