| A Day with Al Turner | Print This Article |
For those who don't know, Al Turner is not only an amazing pocket player who Grooves with a capital G; he's played with numerous R&B stars, including the legendary Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and many more. He's also Eden's first endorser. After more than a decade with Eden, we asked Al to appear in an upcoming print ad. Al jumped at the opportunity and was kind enough to fly into Chicago the day before appearing in concert with Kem, Motown's hot, rising R&B star.
Last Wednesday (June 15), Special Projects Coordinator Lane Baldwin met Al at O'Hare Airport early in the morning. Before going to the shoot itself, the two headed up to Mundelein to U.S. Music's corporate headquarters. First stop was the second floor, where Al met Marketing Director Kevin Lello and Graphic Designer Extraordinaire Steven Jablonski. Below is a photo Lane snapped while (from left to right) Steve, Kevin and Al discuss the concept for Al's ad.
Next stop was to meet Christopher Browne, our Inside Sales Manager. Chris took time out of his busy schedule to give Al the "Fifty Cent" Tour of the factory floor. Below are a few photos from their walk through the factory. In the first, Chris (pointing at the tweeter hole) and Al are standing next to a stack of Eden cabs in the making. The second and third shots were taken on the final assembly line while Chris and Al checked out a run of Nemesis Cabinets. The final shot of this series is of Al as he takes a call to coordinate a European tour he would be joining in less than a week.
After the tour, it was time to head into Chicago to meet photographer Dan Machnik. Dan does a ton of work for U.S. Music, as well as numerous bands and artists. This was his first shoot for Eden and we can assure you it won't be his last. After discussing concepts and wardrobe, Al headed to the dressing room while Lane and Dan set up the equipment for the shoot. Dan then snapped several hundred frames of Al posed with the same rig he uses on tour - a WT800 with two D410XLT cabinets. We don't want to give anything away, so we're not going to show you any of the "real" photos. However, below is a shot of Al and Lane, taken at the very end of the session.
Al and Lane both had a great time at the shoot. "It was the easiest shoot I've ever done," said Al. "Dan made me feel at ease right away. I wish it was always this easy."
Lane echoed Al's sentiments. "I've never directed a shoot before," he said. "Dan was extremely patient with me as I tried to explain what we wanted. After that, All I had to do was drink sodas and crack jokes to make Al laugh. Dan did all the hard stuff."
After the shoot, Lane interviewed Al over dinner. This interview, combined with several others completed via email and telephone, will be the basis for August's feature interview on our web site. After dinner, Al headed back to his hotel to make a few dozen phone calls and get ready for a TV appearance and concert the next day. Lane picked up a quadruple espresso for the three hour drive back to Danville.
All in all, it was a long day, but a very productive one. Keep your eyes peeled for Al's Eden ad, coming to a bass magazine near you. You might also want to keep an eye out for more ink on Al. We're sworn to secrecy so we can't tell you what's coming up, but with a new solo CD and a tour with Kem, Al's got a lot going on that's worth talking about.
Check out Al's website for tour dates, and to order his CD. You'll be glad you did.
And if you need a great photographer, send Dan an email.