First we won the prestigious “Network Sound Off,” as FOX network executives chose Stephen Arnold Music’s score to launch their new drama “Ride Along,” by the creators of “The Shield.” The :90 promo will debut during Super Bowl XLV.

In addition, we took home two Gold awards at the conference: “Use of an Original Composition in a Promo, New Orleans Saints ‘Big Thang,’” and “Sound Design, NBC DFW Sonic Brand.”

“It’s gratifying to get recognized in so many different ways,” Stephen says.“We always have a memorable time at PromaxBDA, but with the victory in Network Sound Off and two Golds, 2010 will always stand out.”

Yesterday’s session featured us against three other top music houses on stage competing for this high profile assignment.

Thanks to the Fox judges Brian Dollenmayer, SVP, On-Air Promotion and Creative Marketing, Matt Fife, VP-Creative Director of Special Ops, and 
Rick Laurenzo, VP, On-Air Promotion for the honor.

In other PromaxBDA news…We gave way our first iPad yesterday. The lucky winner was… Rich Klenk of WPCH-TV

Don’t forget to register to win an iPad of your very own!

UPDATE:  We’ve received so much interest in this giveaway, we’ve decided to extend the registration period until 2:00PM CDT Wednesday, June 30th.  The drawing will be held shortly thereafter.  Thanks to everyone for registering, and good luck!

It’s that time of the year again.  Time to head off to PROMAX/BDA 2010.  And guess what?  We’re giving away four spiffy new iPads – one each day of the conference and one via online registration (contest rules).

If you’ll be attending the conference, just stop by the Stephen Arnold Music booth (#L) and register to win. Then come by the booth each day at 3:15 pm and see if you’re a winner.  If you can’t make it to PROMAX (or even if you can), simply leave a comment below to register for the online drawing.

Still want more Stephen Arnold Music stuff, how about a double dose of knowledge courtesy of two sessions we’re involved with: “Sounding Off: Music, Sound Design & the Art of Sonic Branding” at Promo Bootcamp; and “PromaxBDA ‘Network Series’: Sound Off!” in which top music companies compete in real time for an actual Fox Network project.

Hope to see you there, and good luck!

The Vault by Stephen Arnold Music continues to add top tier talent to it’s Artist Collection. The most recent artist being nine-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer/pianist Diana Krall.

Check out “Sunshine Express”

The X-Mas Dinner Spread

I thought long and hard about what to bring, and frankly it stressed me out a bit. I started to think through what I had – a spare picture frame, photo-shop skills, a photo printer. All these things add up, but a final ingredient made everything come together: the desire for revenge.

I had been the brunt of a few jokes in the sales department, those strapping men who drive fast cars but gossip like school girls at the faintest hint of romance: I went to lunch with a girl, and weeks later, Arthur was still prodding me about the marriage plans. My walk from the creative wing down to the sales department became a passage through that affectionate verbal gauntlet common to most male workforce interaction.

Kim knows what I'm talking about...

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the interaction. However, I am not one for immediate retaliation either. If I feel the need to save face, I’ll smile, nod and laugh along, then later when you aren’t looking I’ll slap you in the back of the head so hard your glasses fall off. It’s more fun for me that way. So, in this vein, it dawned on me that the White Elephant gift represented a beautiful opportunity to bring things back around. And to do so tastefully.

I started scouting the company server to find an old funny picture of one of the culprits. Quite honestly, the possibilities, when mixed with a little photo-shop trickery, were endless. I knew who my targets were: Joe and Arthur. Andy, the new guy, might take it a little hard, not to mention the shortage of his pictures on the server, so I really had no choice but one of the top dogs.

Understanding how creative business works, I did a few mockups:

Here's Joe Faulkner with his good friend Joe Faulkner.

Arthur Casias on vacation in California.

However, an axiom I try to live by: natural is better. If you can find something that requires no manipulation and still meets your needs, it will almost always be better than something you have to tweak endlessly (for example, Arthur’s chin above). Knowing this, imagine how elated I was when I stumbled across this gem:

"I am Arthur, hear me roar." Photography by Paul West.

Ultimately, as the ringleader, it was Arthur who I felt deserved the proverbial slap in the back of the head, even though Joe and Andy participated in the friendly banter. So I printed the above photo, practiced Arthur’s signature twice, then dreamily signed his name across the left side with plenty of x’s and o’s. I wrapped it up and headed to the Christmas dinner, where I nervously wondered how everyone would react. Too much? Maybe…

But luckily, they loved it. Even Arthur. Predictably, he still gives me a hard time about said lunch date. But hey, that’s just what sales guys do. (Chest bump)

Arthur, Chad and Joe with Arthur's beautiful b&w head shot.

Stephen Arnold Music, Fair Day 2009

It was mad dash to see who could eat the worst fried food (hmm.. Fried Snickers, Fried Honey Buns, Fried Oreos, but the worst has to be Fried Butter – only in Texas!), win the most door prizes, or find the strangest gadgets known to man, my favorite being a rattlesnake lamp, something every mom, girlfriend or wife should get for Valentine’s Day.

SAM got the big idea we should do the Sky Coaster ride. We saw it from a distance. Let’s see – dangling two hundred feet in the air from a cable for twenty seconds before pulling the ripcord and falling back to the earth at 70 miles per hour, you say?  Count me in!  (Remember, I grew up in backwoods Jacksboro, TX, where wild Russian boars chased me on the way to school. But that’s another blog for another time…)

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It's Stephen Arnold Music!

I never said we were the brightest company at the Fair nor the funniest. You ride in teams of three, so Wheeler, Andy and I were first up, followed by the late great Joe Faulkner, Noah the intern kid (who had no choice), and Clay “I can program any computer” Lorance.

Andy is like nine feet tall so he rode in the middle, which meant either Wheeler or I would pull the ripcord. After a grueling fifteen round game of “Paper, Rock, Scissors,” I won and grabbed hold. Then up up up to the top we went and hung and waited until I pulled the rip chord, then down we came.  Andy turned 15 shaded shades of red, and although he is bald by choice, he lost any ability to grow his hair at the moment I pulled the ripcord. Wheeler was probably the most laid back of the bunch, and as tough as I tried to sound on the ground, I screamed all the way down.

Joe, Noah and Clay were next. Clay was smiling from ear to ear and Noah just acted as if he did this every day before getting out of bed, but never have I heard such screams of terror or cries for mercy as I heard from Joe that day. Except for maybe when he and Chad duke it out at the office. Speaking of, where was Chad during all of this?  He couldn’t even bring himself to watch. He was not only on the ground still, but he probably sat in a stall in the men’s room the whole time. At least Stephen, Kim and Corrie stayed to watch the whole crazy scene unfold, laughing good and hard at how ridiculous everyone looked flying by at 70mph.

You can see yourself – the creative team made a little video montage out of the two groups that took on the Sky Coaster. Check it out:

Much came from all of this –  a great story, an adrenaline rush that we talked about for another hour and the sudden feeling that the six of us ruled the world.  Let me add that Wheeler and I ruled the world a little longer that day because we also took on the Sky Arm coaster – another towering ride that is completely insane.

So what did we all learn? To get rid of Chad, ride the craziest ride you can. Actually, ride pretty much any ride. Then look in the bathroom stall afterward.

And of course, we learned that a half-day off with your co-workers can be time well spent – our team really had the chance to bond.

So without further delay, congratulations to:

Dave Medley of WLEX-TV  –   iPhone

Eric Christiansen of Film Garden TV   —   Laptop PC

Greg Suchanek of WHAG-TV   —   HDTV

To celebrate the release of our new syndicated news package “iNews”, we’ve decided to do another giveaway. This one is a little different, though.

As you may know, in the past we’ve given away some guitars. Considering the cross-platform nature of this new package, we’ve decided to go a slightly different direction this time. How does this strike you: an iPhone, a notebook computer, and an LCD HDTV!

Simply leave a comment below to enter the drawing. We’ll draw three names; the first will win the iPhone, the second gets the laptop, and the third name will take home the TV.

Click here for contest rules. Some restrictions apply.

Tuesday's Winner at Promax: Elad Marish, rOOm audio

Wednesday's Winner at Promax: VO talent, Debi Mae West

Thursday's Winner at Promax: Joe Falkner.... HE WISHES! Congrats to V.O. Talent, Gerry Gartenberg

And finally, we have the online winner. The drawing took place this afternoon at our studio outside of Dallas; you can see it here:

The winner is Ray Lambiase with Fox Business Network. Congratulations, Ray and thanks to everyone for your comments and participation – we hope you’ll keep in touch. After all, you never know when Stephen will go crazy and give away a few more of these beauties…

In the meantime, check out our growing music library, The VAULT. There are some big things in store over the next couple months…