Musician Turned Mixer Makes 'Hanukkah Metal Magic'

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Stentor Productions) - Just in time for the holidays, award-winning musician-turned-engineer Paul LaPlaca has mixed Hanukkah Gone Metal, the new CD by NYC metal masters Gods of Fire, which will be released today. The recording was inspired by Major League Dreidel, which asked the band to write the theme song for last year's Dreidel Tournament. "I was instantly intrigued by this project," commented LaPlaca, founder of Stentor Productions. "The Christmas music market is so saturated right now, it's a no-brainer to release a Hanukkah-themed project. And this album is just so well done! It's reverent, historical, tongue-in-cheek and phenomenally well-written. Plus, it ROCKS!"

"While asking around for the right candidate, Paul's name consistently came up," said Gods of Fire guitarist Seth Diamond. "He turned out to be a perfect fit, delivering a mix above expectations and below budget." Gods of Fire will hold their album release party this evening at the Full Circle Bar, to be followed by performances at the Knitting Factory on Dec. 12th and Fontana's on Dec. 17th.

LaPlaca's involvement in the project deepened when he discovered that all the keyboards on the recording were handled by Diamond. For live shows, however, the band would ultimately need another player to perform those parts.

"I jumped at the chance!" added LaPlaca. "After spending several weeks on the mix, I knew the songs inside and out so it was no problem."

With the recent advances of digital recording technology, LaPlaca has been slowly building his own production company and he has found himself increasingly behind the mixing board, switching from the role of a musician to that of a producer/engineer. His company website lists a variety of audio services and a network of pro session players.

"I've always been interested in audio technology," says LaPlaca. "It's a very natural extension to go from performance to recording."

Since moving to NYC in 1994, LaPlaca has kept himself busy in the industry. He has toured with ZO2 opening for Kiss and performed with Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist Chris Caffery. LaPlaca is also a two-time winner of the Western New York's Hottest Guitarist Competition. Currently he is hard at work on several new projects, including a tribute album featuring members of Quiet Riot, WASP and Don Jameson from VH1's "That Metal Show."