Mackie once again teamed up with the fine folks at Redhook Ale Brewery for a fine day of summer music. Mackie is a proud sponsor of the 2009 Haul Ash Biking and Brews event. Haul Ash commemorates the 1980 eruption of Mt. Saint Helens - but, most importantly, gives bikers a chance to go cruising with their friends and knock the rust off their bike that has been sitting all winter.

Participants ride from the Redhook brewery in Woodinville, WA to Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. Then, it's back to Redhook for an afternoon of live music and, yes, brew.

When the tired bikers returned from their 41-mile trip, Mackie was there with the sound stage all set-up for some tunes. This year, we took this opportunity to test drive the all-new HD1531 High-Definition Powered Loudspeakers. A pair of each were used for either side of the PA, along with four SWA1801z subwoofers and a host of SRM450v2 loudspeakers for wedges.

The sound was simply amazing. The articulation and clarity of these new loudspeakers was evident from the start. Even when the last band was rockin' it and the volume had been increasingly advanced, the HD1531's were as clear as day. And it was a clear day, so that worked out.

Resident Coloradoan and tech support militant, Tom Meyers, ran the show from FOH using the TT System32 (TT24, DS3232 Digital Snake and LP48 processing). A great time was had by all. There was great food, great beer and kids in boxes...what else can you need?

Posted by Mackie at 10:28 AM | Permalink

Mackie is, once again, proud to sponsor the 2009 Capitol Hill Block Party, taking over Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood July 24-25. The Block Party is an annual music festival that draws upon and showcases the best indie and underground rock in the US, with a special focus on its Northwest artists. Launched 12 years ago, the Block Party has evolved into Seattle’s most anticipated outdoor party. With over 40 bands on 3 stages, great food, and plenty of cheap beer, this is by far the best block party ever. Anywhere.

“This ain’t no burnt-wiener-and-potato-salad kind of block party. No, this one is more like a sweaty, boozy, scaled-down version of Sasquatch, only during the dog days of summer and right in our own backyard.... The Block Party has grown from an endearing street fair to a monster takeover of the now hotter than ever corridor of Pike between 12th Ave all the way down to Broadway.” Seattle Weekly

Partial proceeds from The Block Party benefit two excellent non-profits: Home Alive, which encourages violence prevention, and The Vera Project, a youth run all-ages venue and recording studio in Seattle. In fact, one of the three major venues at CHBP is the Vera Stage.

This year, the Vera Stage will host Mackie’s all new HD Series High-Definition Powered Loudspeakers. Come and hear the world’s first high-def loudspeaker system, boasting more power and better clarity than any competing speaker out there. The Main Stage will also involve a ton of Mackie gear and the main PA system will be from our sister-company EAW. More details on the exact gear will be announced soon.

Besides providing sound for the event, Mackie and its companion brands (Ampeg, Blackheart and EAW) will also be featured in the backstage VIP area. There will be an Ampeg demo tent where artists can get their hands on the latest Ampeg gear. The crowd can also visit the Blackheart booth to demo the great all-tube guitar amps made by Blackheart.

Connect up with Capitol Hill Block Party to learn more about:

• Line-Up
• Ticket Pricing
• Dates, Times, Parking
• Lots of other stuff

There are several ways to get connected:

Posted by Mackie at 10:32 AM | Permalink