Stephen Mejias

As CES approaches, the e-mails and phone calls pour in. Though the temperature here in New York City remains in the mid-fifties, we're snowed under by invites to dinners, demos, and other assorted press events. We mark our calendars, make reservations, create itineraries. As it continues, I wish that all the talk and preparation would come to a sudden end. I wish we were there already, in Vegas, listening to music.

My favorite part of preparing for CES is creating a demo disc. Each year, Jon Iverson, Wes Phillips, and I trade discs, taking some pleasure in sharing the music we most love. Over at Sonic Flare, people are discussing their CES demo discs.

Josh Ray writes:

So CES is coming up and it struck me that I don't have the perfect custom demo CD. Then I began thinking, is there such a thing as a perfect demo CD?

The perfect demo CD is, I suppose, the one that holds those special songs that make you really want to just sit there and listen. Or the ones that make you want to get up and dance. The songs should be close to your heart, you should know them well. For our purposes, of course, these songs should also reveal something about the gear. Does it sound as though Tunde Adebimpe is whispering in my ear? Can I hear Thurston Moore's fingers sliding across the strings? Are Russell Leetch's brilliant bass riffs as clean as they should be? Those sorts of things, I guess.

Mostly, however — and I admit this is silly — I love surprising CES exhibitors and attendees with something they've never heard, something they certainly didn't expect to hear. And I do hope that I can surprise people with something they too enjoy. I didn't mean to clear that entire suite. Who knew that The Fucking Champs would have that kind of effect on people?