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1970-71 Eighth grade. Snuck a recorder into concerts by The Temptations and Sugarloaf. Created PlayDay, an 'end of the school year' party at Franklin Middle School, (PlayDay continues to this day) hired a local band to perform, used a friend's guitar amp as a P.A. for announcements and music outdoors. By age 14 Ric Major had already done his first live recording, promotion and pa gig. 1972-73 Began acquiring audio gear, mixed sound for BODINE FRIPP, working mostly St. Louis clubs at 16. 1973-75 As a member of concert promoting group Springfield Youth Incorporated, and as assistant to Springfield area promoter LEN TRUMPER, helped to produce concerts by Kiss, Ted Nugent, Eagles, Van Halen, Rush, Boston, Styx, Reo Speedwagon, AC-DC, Bob Seger, Charlie Daniels Band, Kansas, Dan Fogelberg, many more. 1976 Mixed sound for local combo KICKER, performed with Triumph, Ruby Starr, Axis w/ Vinnie Appice, Smokehouse. 1977-78 FOH (front of house) engineer for HURRICANE RUTH, Voted #1 midwest blues act by Midwest Prairie Sun magazine. The group performed with Taj Mahal, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Ramsey Lewis, Adrian Belew and others. 1979 FOH engineer for SLICK NEW FACE featuring 'Hurricane' Ruth LaMaster. Performed with Judas Priest, Off Broadway, Romantics. 1979-82 FOH engineer for MONTEREY, a large production nightclub act touring 20 states. The single "Lost Inside Your Love" / "Steady Tonight" was a Billboard magazine pick hit the week of 4/3/82. 1983-86 House engineer for 1518 East/Krickets, a 400 capacity Springfield nightclub. Some of the shows produced at 1518 East include Edgar Winter, Head East, The Guess Who, and Skippy Scooter's All Original Flying Rock Show, (Springfield's first showcase dedicated to the promotion of local original talent.) 1987-89 Freelance engineer, Springfield area. Helped record an album for local group 'He Said She Said', also mixed them at the second SXSW Music Showcase in Austin, Texas. Also supplied sound for many regional acts, as well as artists such as Ray Charles, Delbert Mc Clinton, Albert Collins, Lonnie Brooks, Ray Sawyer, Freddie Jones Band, Cub Coda, Lonnie Mack, Molly Hatchet, Siegel-Schwall, The Samples, The Urge, Koko Taylor, Foghat, Kingsmen. 1989-91 FOH engineer for Budweiser touring group CATS ON HOLIDAY. Helped to record Detective Work, The Prez, and Jump On It! for Cats. Cats toured 15 states, & served as LaToya Jackson's performing band at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Cats also performed with Bachman-Turner Overdrive, REO Speedwagon, The Romantics, Foghat, Kansas and others. Also mixed two songs for local band Soul Pudding that appeared on Patchwork, a local compilation CD released by Radio station WYMG. 1991-92 FOH engineer for CV LLOYDE Audio, a sound company in Champaign Il. Shows included a Cheap Trick tour, Aretha Franklin, Enuff Znuff, Matthew Sweet, Marty Stuart, Robyn Hitchcock, 38 Special, Kansas, R. Kelly, Geto Boys, Eddie Money, Peter Frampton, America, Material Issue, Jodeci, Head East, Ready for the World. Also recorded "Dance with your Ghost" with America Smith, and "Bliss Me'' and "Visions of a Mind" for Metal band Cyrus Bliss. Toured with America Smith to Los Angeles and performed at the infamous Whisky A Go-Go Club on the Sunset Strip. 1993-97 House audio engineer/talent buyer/promoter at The Atrium, a 1200 capacity entertainment center in Springfield. Shows included The Smithereens, Eddie Money, Adrian Belew, Collective Soul, Brother Cane, Charlie Musselwhite, Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer, Jackyl. Created the Atrium promotions Big Dance Wednesday & the Sunday Spin all ages dance event. 1998-2000 Freelance audio engineer, specializing in live sound and digital recording. Toured extensively with Nashville's indie legends The Floating Men, traveling to Atlanta, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, Indianapolis, Dayton, and elsewhere. Performed at the famous New York City nightclub The Bottom Line. 2001-03 Formed Middle Option Music, A company dedicated to quality multi track computer based recording. Specializing in on location recordings, Middle Option has released 3 live recordings for Nashville's The Floating Men, 7 cd's of music for Karel Keldermans, Carollineur at the Rees Carillon in Springfield Il. plus live discs for local group NIL8, Eva Hunter & more. In April 2004 Middle Option Music opened a private studio facility at 1027 West Dorlan Avenue in Springfield Il. This building is the current base of operations for track capturing and mixing of the music produced by Ric Major for Middle Option. Since the opening of the Middle Option studio, many demo projects, and several full length CD releases have been produced, while continuing the live sound mixing tradition begun by Ric Major in '75. 2007 Middle Option continues to provide Sound & Staging production for clients such as the Springfield Park District, the Springfield Parks Foundation, the Springfield Area Arts Council, Downtown Springfield INC. and E & F Distributors. The MOM Studio is very busy, recording projects for many local and regional musical groups and assisting in development of all things audio as it relates to the Local Music Scene....
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