XM Satellite Radio Live — A Look Behind the Scenes
Topics covered in this article
 XM's Live Performance Studio — flawless acoustics in a beautiful space. |
On a recent visit to XM Satellite Radio's headquarters in northeast Washington, DC, several Crutchfield employees had the chance to tour the XM facilities and meet some of the programming directors and DJs. As part of the daylong visit, we also had the opportunity to visit the state-of-the art Live Performance Studio.
 Visitors and employees can check out the performances through the glass wall. |
An intimate but sophisticated performance space
The Live Performance studio at XM features flawless acoustics and a half-million dollar control room — truly an ideal environment for a live performance. The studio can accommodate approximately 50 people, including an orchestra of up to 40 performers. The space is used for live performances, recording for record labels and XM shows, mixing, and remastering. It is also available for rental.
The performance space utilizes an assortment of acoustically diffusive and absorptive surfaces (glass, metal, ceramic, wood, and Fiberglass), spaced and angled according to precise mathematical calculations. The result is a warm signature sound, simulating a chamber concert hall. One wall features a ceiling-to-floor glass window that allows visitors to view working sessions. An extensive theatrical lighting system can be used for live television broadcasts as well. Like all XM studios, the performance suite has a suspended floor and floating walls, eliminating any bleeding of sound or transmission of digital artifacts from neighboring studios.
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| Wynton Marsalis inaugurated XM's Live Performance studio on May 21, 2002. The control room features some of the most sophisticated recording gear available. |
The "zero-environment" control room
The custom-engineered control room showcases a cutting-edge audio system. The "zero-environment" space can be manipulated to simulate the characteristics of virtually any acoustical environment. The audio monitoring system consists of 25 midbass drivers, 45 high frequency drivers, and 10 subwoofers. A total of 7,550 watts from 80 independent amplifiers feeds the drivers, with one amp per driver. Guest engineers and house mixers can set up the system to their individual preferences, whether it be two or three channel stereo, five channel surround, or 5.1 channel theatrical surround mode.
Guest performers
To add even more variety to its 101 channels of digital entertainment, XM regularly invites artists from all genres to give live simulcast performances in the studio. Wynton Marsalis inaugurated the live performance studio on May 21, 2002. Artists who have performed this year include Kathy Matea, Melissa Etheridge, Joe Satriani, John Welton, Berlin, Jon Anderson, Jeff Tate, Ben Folds, Julia Fordham, Apples in Stereo, and Supergrass.
Performance Review: Tony Terry and Glenn Jones
On Tuesday, April 15, 2003, a group of Crutchfield employees were treated to a live performance by Tony Terry and Glenn Jones, two well-known R&B performers with numerous top-ten hits between them. The performance was simulcasted live on XM's Urban Adult Channel, "Suite 62."
Tony Terry, an athletic and imposing figure dressed in stylish black pants and a black short-sleeve shirt, sang first. Accompanied by solo piano, Terry rendered a sweet and soulful version of "If," originally recorded by the legendary '70's pop band Bread. Though some of us in the audience were previously unfamiliar with Terry's work, everyone was blown away by the depth and range of his voice. He seemed to move effortlessly from smooth phrasings to quavering falsetto flourishes. Everyone in the audience turned to each other at the end of the song as if to say, "Damn! That guy can sing!"
Terry and Jones are close friends, and Terry had fun teasing Jones in between songs. Terry joked that "he grew up listening to Glenn," though the two men are roughly the same age.
Glenn Jones was up at the mic next. Jones is something of a curiosity — a former gospel singer turned R&B artist, he has the soulful face of a gentle, but powerful baritone in a hand-clapping choir. But his hip-hop garb of red, baggy sweatpants, designer white t-shirt, and red bandanna on his head gave him the look of a streetwise rapper.
Jones introduced his first song, "Here I go again," which was his first #1 single, released in 1993. His rich, resonant voice delivered the lyrics without sentimentality or irony. Jones is a large man, and he would occasionally step back from the mic and let loose a bone-tingling vibrato from his barrel chest. It was a beautiful performance.
Tony Terry came back up and sang "With You," a cut from his 1991 release Tony Terry. He dedicated the song to his 14 year-old daughter. Glenn Jones followed up with a ballad, "In You."
Both Terry and Jones saved their best for last. Terry electrified the ladies in the room with a sexy rendition of "In the Shower," which includes the memorable line: "Seeing you soaking wet would make it all complete." Glenn Jones closed things down with an up-tempo "I've Been Searchin' (Nobody Like You)" as the audience clapped along.
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| Tony Terry (far left) and Glenn Jones (with red bandanna) with Suite 62's Shirley Hayes in the XM Performance Studio. |
On Tuesday, April 15, 2003, a group of Crutchfield employees were treated to a live performance by Tony Terry and Glenn Jones, two well-known R&B performers with numerous top-ten hits between them. The performance was simulcasted live on XM's Urban Adult Channel, "Suite 62."
Tony Terry, an athletic and imposing figure dressed in stylish black pants and a black short-sleeve shirt, sang first. Accompanied by solo piano, Terry rendered a sweet and soulful version of "If," originally recorded by the legendary '70's pop band Bread. Though some of us in the audience were previously unfamiliar with Terry's work, everyone was blown away by the depth and range of his voice. He seemed to move effortlessly from smooth phrasings to quavering falsetto flourishes. Everyone in the audience turned to each other at the end of the song as if to say, "Damn! That guy can sing!"
Terry and Jones are close friends, and Terry had fun teasing Jones in between songs. Terry joked that "he grew up listening to Glenn," though the two men are roughly the same age.
Glenn Jones was up at the mic next. Jones is something of a curiosity — a former gospel singer turned R&B artist, he has the soulful face of a gentle, but powerful baritone in a hand-clapping choir. But his hip-hop garb of red, baggy sweatpants, designer white t-shirt, and red bandanna on his head gave him the look of a streetwise rapper.
Jones introduced his first song, "Here I go again," which was his first #1 single, released in 1993. His rich, resonant voice delivered the lyrics without sentimentality or irony. Jones is a large man, and he would occasionally step back from the mic and let loose a bone-tingling vibrato from his barrel chest. It was a beautiful performance.
Tony Terry came back up and sang "With You," a cut from his 1991 release Tony Terry. He dedicated the song to his 14 year-old daughter. Glenn Jones followed up with a ballad, "In You."
Both Terry and Jones saved their best for last. Terry electrified the ladies in the room with a sexy rendition of "In the Shower," which includes the memorable line: "Seeing you soaking wet would make it all complete." Glenn Jones closed things down with an up-tempo "I've Been Searchin' (Nobody Like You)" as the audience clapped along.