Charles de Montebellos Recording Studio is the Garment Districts Hidden Jewel

CDM Sound Studios, NYC Supports Musicians & Anti-hunger Advocates

Those of you who are familiar with Manhattans garment district know that it begins from about 40th Street, stretches across Broadway, 6th, 7th, and 8th Avenues and extends as far south as Chelsea. The shops are brimming with gorgeous clothes and jewels for you to buy and the only catch is, you usually have to get the goods wholesale. But as the saying goes, once you go wholesale youll never go back to retail -- well maybe not. If you walk to the center of the district along 6th Avenue, eventually youll pass Macys department store at 34th Street and if you stop exactly at 875 6th Avenue, youll wind up at a shop filled with designer handbags. However, if you turn the corner on 31st Street and look for the same building number, then take the elevator to the 8th floor youll wind up at one of the recording industrys best-kept secrets - CDM Sound Studios.

In 1998, Charles de Montebello opened the doors of CDM Sound Studios with a vision to transform it into a formidable, cutting edge resource for both audio and video projects. Outfitted with state of the art equipment and cutting edge technology, the service line includes; recording, mastering, and digital editing. Theres also talent search, auditions and bookings, direction and production of voice over and narration for commercial radio spots and pre-recorded tours and audio books. More technical abilities include, time stretching and pitch shifting of speech and music, digital editing of media types including, DV, CD, DAT, mini disc, cassette, reel-to-reel, vinyl and more. Finally, mastering services feature; ADR, sound design, sound effects, restoration and audio mixing for eventual authoring to DVD, CD Audio or CD ROM. But beyond all these technical features, the CDM hallmark is the professional and laid back environment. According to de Montebello; in addition to our technical know-how, its the environment that sets CDM apart from other audio shops in town. When artists arrive at our studio, they step into an unpretentious and comfortable space, where they can relax and ease into their sessions." He goes on to say, production quality and attention to detail are key factors in the successful relationships we have with the producers and our corporate clients."

A true testament to the adage word of mouth is the best advertisement CDM has secured a loyal clientele even without a major marketing campaign. Satisfied customers include Acoustiguide, The City of New York, ASCAP, New Yorks Metropolitan Museum and audio book publishers Random House and Simon and Schuster. Adding to the studios cachet is the caliber of talent that has come through the doors and settled into the recording booth. Among the many notables are living legends like Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, Law and Order SVU star Chris Meloni and Sopranos stars Joe Siravo and Steve Schirripa. These days, screen siren Kathleen Turner (Romancing the Stone" and Body Heat") and audio book executive Charline Spektor have made CDM the home of their new radio talk show American Dialogue." The shows genesis came out of their frustration with the current administrations seemingly hegemonic domestic and foreign policies. So armed with moxie and a list of phone numbers, these women rang-up a galaxy of political stars and marched them one by one into CDM Studios, to ask them tough questions that they and countless other Americans want answers to -- like why has the democratic voice gone eerily silent? To date, they have interviewed Congressman Charles Rangel, journalist Bob Herbert, Judge Judy of The Peoples Court and Senator George Mitchell. The show airs weekly on the National Public Radio network and is supported by Long Island Universitys WLIU 88.3 FM. At Turner and Spektors request American Dialogue" is engineered exclusively by de Montebello himself.

Obviously CDM Studios is a great place for star gazing but because of its unpretentious culture and reasonable prices, CDM is also accessible to up and coming talent and just about anyone who has need of the service. In 2002, de Montebello decided to give back to New York Citys creative community by making CDM Studios a key contributor to The AMcK Initiatives arts and anti-hunger advocacy mission. CDMs support is integral to the Initiatives day-to-day operations.

So there you have it, a shameless plug for our sponsor, or at least a not so subtle gesture of appreciation. While Im at it readers, please be reminded of our concert and food drive, which is re-scheduled to Saturday, June 28th. The event is supported by; Jeff Bridges and End Hunger Network, Friends of the United Nations, the Village Voice, CDM Sound Studios, Rock The Vote, Ben & Jerrys, WB Mason, Sundance Corporate Caterers and Street News - of course. Admission is $20 plus one or more non-perishable food items and all non-perishables will be donated to The Food Bank For New York City. Additional information about the event is available on-line at www.theamckinitiative.org. And if youre interested in CDM Sound Studios visit the website at www.cdmstudios.com.

© 2003 The AMcK Initiative, Inc.