Dave Gets Nominated!

Talk about a hoot! A belated Millennial Christmas present to end all presents, out of the blue. Wow! A Grammy Nomination! Holy Mackerel!

I suspect any of you reading this have had the same fantasy – you’re in the middle of a recording project, things are going really well for a change, and all of a sudden you have this flash. “You know,” murmurs a little voice in the back of your mind, “this could be Grammy Material.” Grammy Material! A chill runs down your spine. “You could actually win a Grammy for this, I said, I SAID, WIN A GRAMMY!” preaches that little voice. Visions of them calling your name, you walking down the aisle, striding up onto the stage, Jennifer Lopez grinning at you in her skimpy little dress, holding out a Golden Gramophone . . . Oh, the acceptance speech you’d give! The endorsements you’d do, the promotional tie-ins you’d get, the contracts you’d sign, the new studio in the chateau in Nice you’d lease! Makes you giddy, eh?

So, when I found out that I’d been nominated for a Grammy, I was floored. I’ve had the fantasy any number of times, of course, just like you. But most of my work is really way, I said, I SAID, WAY outside of the realm of NARAS’ interests. There is no category for “Best Audio Ear Training Drill Set,” for instance.

Actually, my friend Curt Wittig was the one who was nominated. It was his gig. I helped. I also was the one who bugged Curt and everybody to do the production in surround. I supplied some of the gear, helped with setup, kept the log, made soothing comments, watched the clock and annotated the score. For this and other small favors, Curt and Orchestra 2001 were kind enough to give me Producer and Co-engineer credits. Lucky for me, but that’s life in the Fast Lane!

All this happened in 1997 and ’98. The album was released in December, 1998, I think. Amazon.com flagged it as a Really Neat classical release, and that was the last I thought about it. A nice gig. A fun gig. A good gig for the resume. Great music, great players, great hall. Decent equipment. What more could you ask for? Fame? Fortune? Don’t be silly!

For me, it was back to loudspeakers, writing, teaching and listening tests. Life goes on.

I was at a Members’ Dinner of the American Loudspeaker Manufacturers Association in Las Vegas, just after New Years and just before the Consumer Electronics Show, when they told me. I thought it was a joke, somebody pulling my leg (my wife Carol Bousquet, maybe – she used to be the director of ALMA and has a wacky sense of humor). Then somebody across the table, from Polk Audio, I think, said, “No, it’s true. You were nominated for a Grammy this morning.” The adrenalin kicked in and I not-very-gracefully sprayed dark Brazilian beer all over the nice white linen tablecloth!

Later that night, I logged on to Grammy.com to see it for myself: “Category 84: Best Engineered Album, Classical. George Crumb: Ancient Voices of Children, et al. David Moulton & Curt Wittig, engineers.” Like I said, a chill runs down your spine! Summmmmbich!