Pete Townshend, will be presented with the prestigious Les Paul Award on January 25th at the 28th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, at Southern California's Anaheim Hilton during the 2013 NAMM Show. Presented by the TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, the TEC Awards recognizes outstanding achievement in professional audio technology and production. The Les Paul Award, named in honor of the legendary musician and inventor who died in 2009, is presented annually to honor individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio and music technology. Russ Paul, the son of Les Paul, will make the presentation to Townshend on behalf of the Foundation.

 

Over the past 21 years, recipients of the award have included such legends as Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, and Al Kooper, among others.

 

The TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio is a public benefit corporation headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to presenting the TEC Awards, the Foundation has helped fund programs, including those of H.E.A.R. and the House Research Institute, that educate audio professionals and music listeners about safe hearing in the music environment.

 

Pete Townshend explained that contrary to popular belief, the damage to his hearing didn't occur on stage with the Who, but on his own, alone in his home recording studios over the years: "What hurt my ears was not guitar, it wasn't. It was recording. It was living in the recording studio. And it was getting drunk; making great songs at home, and listening to it over and over and over and over again, like, real masturbation stuff. Y'know, I've written a great song, and a bottle of brandy, listen to it again, and really, just blowing my brains out in the studio as well. Y'know, I never gave myself a rest."

 

Pete Townshend's autobiography, Who I Am, will be published on October 8th.

 

Pete Townshend's Who I Am book appearances include the following stops:

October 8 - New York, NY - New York Public Library (private event)

October 9 - New York, NY - Union Square Barnes & Noble

October 10 - Philadelphia, PA - Philadelphia Free Library 

October 11 - Ridgewood, NJ - Bookends 

October 12 - Boston, MA - Barnes & Noble in Prudential Center

 

November 1 - Sunrise, FL - BankAtlantic Center 

November 3 - Orlando, FL - Amway Center 

November 5 - Duluth, GA - The Arena At Gwinnett Center 

November 8 - Greenville, SC - Bi-Lo Center 

November 9 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum 

November 11 - Pittsburgh, PA - Consol Energy Center 

November 13 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center 

November 14 - Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center 

November 16 - Boston, MA - TD Garden 

November 20 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre 

November 21 - Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place 

November 23 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre 

November 24 - Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena 

November 27 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center 

November 29, 30 - Rosemont, IL - Allstate Arena 

December 2 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena 

December 5 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden Arena 

December 6 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center 

December 8 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center 

December 9 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena 

January 28 - Anaheim, CA - Honda Center 

January 30 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center 

February 1 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena 

February 2 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center 

February 5 - San Diego, CA - Valley View Casino Center 

February 6 - Glendale, AZ - Jobing.com Arena 

February 8 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel / Casino 

February 12 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center 

February 14 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center 

February 16 - Louisville, KY - KFC Yum! Center 

February 17 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center 

February 19 - Hamilton, ON - Copps Coliseum 

February 21 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 

February 22 - Atlantic City, NJ - Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall 

February 24 - Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Arena 

February 26 - Providence, RI - Dunkin' Donuts Center

Ross Halfin