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EveAnna Manley and the History of Manley Labs
Manado, Indonesia Xmas 2003
| Interviews with EveAnna |
 
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Manley Poised for Expansion Article from Pro Sound News 1/2001 |
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Check out this video
interview of EveAnna at the HE2003 show on Secrets of Home Theater
and High Fidelity! |
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| October 2006 The Absolute Sound: 13 Questions for EveAnna Manley | |
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| October 2007 HVT interview with EveAnna Manley in DUTCH |
EveAnna Manley has been referred to by some as "The Manley Tube Queen" and even "America's Goddess of Thermionic Emissions" although she more humbly prefers the title of "The Tube Chick", as, at years old, she is hardly old enough to see herself as a full-fledged Queen or Goddess... well, f@#k it. She's da boss....
EveAnna was actually born in Las Vegas (!) but stumbled out of Vacuum Tube lineage as her father, Albert J. Dauray, owned the famous guitar amplifier company, AMPEG, in the late 1960's. EveAnna grew up in Atlanta listening to vacuum tubes and tales of the tube. She and her sister Stacey graduated from the prestigious Westminster Schools. EveAnna was very active in both the music and art programs in high school and then wound up as a music major at Columbia University with a mid-fi system driving her parents leftover AR-2ax speakers. While she did have a blast stealing roadsigns with the Columbia Univeristy Marching Band, and getting to even more trouble as President of her co-ed fraternity, Iota Epsilon Pi, the combination of yucky depressing winters in New York City and all those sunny and cheerful tunes and flicks coming out of Southern California beckoned her westward in her VW bug for a semester's sabbatical in 1989 to sort out exactly what she wanted to do in the music industry.
EveAnna got a lead from one of her father's ol' Ampeg employees about "two crazy South Africans running a small tube amp company out in Chino". Although this did not seem too appealing to her at first, she went to meet David and Luke Manley at VTL.
EveAnna started on the bottom-most rung at VTL and soon worked her way through absolutely every phase and detail of construction, testing, prototyping, engineering, purchasing, sales, service, and production management in the company. She has worn many hats (and still does!) In 1993 Luke took over VTL while David and EveAnna founded Manley Laboratories, Inc. as a separate entity in their new 11,000 sq. ft. building. EveAnna donned a sales hat and got Manley Labs going. Things got rolling...........
However, in 1996, David Manley took off and moved to France leaving EveAnna in de-facto charge of Manley Labs. She, Hutch, and Baltazar took over the pressing R&D duties. Some of the most important products at Manley were created and some of the most important "fix-ups" of the older products took place during this period. The ads took a new direction under EveAnna's eye-catching yet sometime quirky direction-- but hey, they worked... Evident in company sales doubling during 1996-1999. In June 1999, the official company changes finally took place. And on we go.... stronger than ever. (Insert trite new millennium expression here...)
Hangin' out in Barcelona May 2005. Incredibly I have had this pair of Varnets since 1997. Bought 'em in Paris....
Just for kicks... Attending to all the details of running this multi-million dollar company with its 50 employees, thousands of customers, and of course, authoring this massive website leaves little time for too much else in EveAnna's life, although she does pretty much remember to feed her tropical fish and her dog, Max, on a regular basis, if she is home and not traveling around the world somewhere. EveAnna took some photography classes at Chaffey College and completed a total restoration on a 1969 VW BUS in which you can sometimes see her delivering gear around Hollywood. Currently, she is restoring a rat-infested house and a 1969 VW Bug. Maybe she'll do a whole barrio suburb next, who knows... She does eat lots of sushi. Occasionally EveAnna will pick up her saxophone but mainly likes to blast loud music through her Tannoy Westminsters or Churchills for her neighbors to enjoy while she takes that "midnight jacuzzi" or while she hunts possums in her backyard.....
EveAnna owns thousands of CD's and LP's. She listens to a lot of off-the-wall music but she has a particular passion for 60's & 70's pop tunes, especially the One Hit Wonders she grew up with. Click here to see what she typically carries around with her on her iPod.
EveAnna has a vacuum tube surround sound system in her bedroom. Everybody should.
Her recording studio is currently rented out as rehearsal space to some of the guys who work for her who have a band called Manteca.
EveAnna climbed Mt. Whitney in July, 2000. Other than that she sits and types all day. MAY 2006 NEWS ALERT: The Vanimal quit smoking and has been recently spotted working out at LA Fatness. Holey Mageral. FEBRUARY 2008 NEWS ALERT: The Vanimal is in rehab to get her broken leg working again.
May 2006
"I work out at the gym every day so that I can consume healthy foods such as these......"
Deep Fried Coke! Krispy Kreme Chicken Sandwich! Deep Fried TWINKIES! --L.A. County Fair 2007
EveAnna is very much into things mechanical, and this shows in her vehicle collection: 1991 Alfa Romeo 164L, 1974 Alfa Spider, 1972 Ford Pinto, 1969 VW Bus and '69 Bug. Well, put it this way: she also has a great mechanic, Dave at Summit Automotive in Marina Del Ray, and her 4 free annual 200+100 mile tows she gets with her AAA "Premier" membership get used. It's kinda scary when you get to know your tow truck drivers personally. (Thanks Chris!) EveAnna's broken wrist (12/2000) recovered well enough to pull the clutch on her 1991 Harley-Davidson FXLR again. She rode that machine across the USA and back (August-October 2006). You can read about that journey and other motorbike trip adventures here. She still keeps her first bike, a 1977 Kawasaki KE100 enduro, just for teaching visiting friends and young corruptible family members how to ride....
June 2003
EveAnna is a member of the Hollywood Sapphire Group, a social engineering society which predates the AES, well it actually founded the AES. They meet once a month and talk about cutting lacquers and tell jokes and learn about all kinds of nifty jewel-box ideas for CD packaging.
In typical form at CES 2002. Photo by Gene Pitts.
Giving Back: For three years, EveAnna served on the California State University Northridge Audio Technology certificate program advisory board and taught the Analog Repair Methods class (with focus on vacuum tube technology, of course). EveAnna also was the guest lecturer at Stanford University's EE122 Analog Laboratory class in May of 2001 to expose those EE kids to the wonders of vacuum tubes. In April 2002, EveAnna did a special guest appearance at The Recording Conservatory of Arts and Sciences in Tempe, AZ and rambled on about tubes and compression and getting that first job... In 2003 the Stanford University AES Student Chapter booked EveAnna for another speaking engagement. May 30, 2003 EveAnna was a panelist for the Cal Poly Music Business Event, for the Music Industry Studies program there. This event was also broadcast live on the web.
"Leave the park a better place than you found it." -- C. Bock, Founder, Belize Diving Club
(8/2006 Rest in Peace, my dive buddy.)
Throwin' that mysterious TUBES RULE GANGSTAH sign in Venice, Italy 2002.
In the girls' bathroom at Electric Lady Studios 2001.
Some alternate views of EveAnna-- Self Portraits
Disclaimer: I did not write the following commentary. It did the email circuit. I just grew up in it...
I Can't Believe We Made It!
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids
in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, or 70's, probably
shouldn't have survived.
Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint.
We had no childproof lids or locks on medicine bottles, doors, or
cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.
Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking ...
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special
treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors!
We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in
it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one
actually died from this.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down
the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the
bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back
when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell
phones. Unthinkable!
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all,
no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound,
personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms.
We had friends! We went outside and found them.
We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but
us. Remember accidents?
We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to
get over it.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it
would happen, we did not put out any eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rang
the bell or just walked in and talked to them.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't
had to learn to deal with disappointment.
Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade and
were held back to repeat the same grade.
Horrors!
Tests were not adjusted for any reason.
Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected.
The idea of parents bailing us out if we got in trouble in school or
broke a law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the school or the law. Imagine that!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem
solvers, and inventors, ever.
We had freedom, failure, success, and
responsibility --- and we learned how to deal with it.
And you're one of them!
Congratulations.
Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids
before lawyers and government regulated our lives for our own good !!!
The Vanimal cooks with GAS:
