Bob Shallit: Folsom startup to produce flat-screen speakers

Flat-screen technology has worked wonders for video. Now it's coming to audio.

This summer, Razor Audio Solutions, a Folsom startup backed by Velocity Venture Capital, will start producing high-end speakers so thin they can be hidden behind pictures on a wall.

"What you get is great sound without (looking at speaker) boxes that are ugly and obnoxious," says Tom Alberts, a former Intel executive who is Razor's CEO.

The Folsom company's strategy is to aim initial sales at the home theater market, with a six-speaker system starting at about $5,000.

Manufacturing will be done by Fulcrum Industries, a south Sac firm owned by Trong Nguyen, founder of the La Bou cafe chain.

The speaker technology, developed by Razor Audio founder Stanley Marquiss, departs from the standard "cone" system where air is pushed through speakers in a single direction.

Marquiss' alternative uses a thinner, double-driven "accordion" system to produce "world-class" sound in speakers that are only 1.5 inches thick, says Alberts. Each speaker is 12 inches square.

That makes them slim enough to be installed inconspicuously, even behind a painting. In that instance, Alberts says tiny pinholes would be cut into the painting by a laser, allowing sound to escape.

Obviously, not recommended for your Picasso originals.

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Pay to play: Write a check. Be a film star.

That's the deal – sort of – being offered at Thursday's fundraising auction for WEAVE, thanks to efforts by local entertainment attorney Scott Hervey.

As an organizer of WEAVE's "Jeans for Justice" fashion show, Hervey persuaded L.A. TV production company BHE and Folsom movie producer Redwood Palms Pictures to award "walk-on" roles to high bidders at this week's fundraiser.

Hervey also got his brother, BHE partner and actor Jason Hervey ("Wayne" in "The Wonder Years") to serve as the event's auctioneer.

How much will people bid to land a role in a BHE-developed TV show like "Scott Baio Is 45 … and Single"? Or to appear in a big-screen production from Redwood Palms?

Bring your checkbook as "this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," says Hervey, an attorney with Weintraub Genshlea Chediak and a longtime backer of Women Escaping a Violent Environment, which helps victims of domestic and sexual assault.

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Going wild: Speaking of Redwood Palms, it recently signed actor Rob Schneider to star in "Wild Cherry," a comedy that starts filming May 7 in Canada.

This is the ninth film for the Folsom firm, started by two former insurance execs, Mike DiManno and Scott Reid.

A story in this week's "Variety" reports that Schneider will play the father of a high school senior who's decided to lose her virginity to her football star boyfriend. When she learns the guy's intentions are less than pure, she and her friends exact a little revenge, "Lysistrata"-style.

Others in the ensemble comedy include Tania Raymonde ("Lost"), Kristin Cavallari ("Laguna Beach") and Rumer Willis ("Hostage").

Oh, the cast also could include you – if you're the highest WEAVE bidder.

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End of era: Another neighborhood institution is biting the dust. Land Park Leader Pharmacy is closing next month after 53 years of business, joining a long line of independent drugstores that have been shuttered, here and nationally.

In a note sent this week to customers, owner Joela Mueller and manager/pharmacist Gary Thomas say their lease is up in a Del Rio Road shopping center near the Sacramento Zoo, and they're not renewing because both are nearing retirement age.

The entire staff will move to the newly remodeled Rite Aid Pharmacy at 4980 Freeport Blvd. As of May 14, calls to LP Pharmacy will be routed to the Rite Aid. The independent store's personal services, including home delivery of prescriptions, will continue from the new location.

Thomas says he is contractually prohibited from talking about the deal until it closes. But the 65-year-old pharmacist says he's not planning to retire anytime soon.

"I have the best clientele in Sacramento, and I love what I do," he says.

About the writer:

• Reach Bob Shallit at (916) 321-1049 or bshallit@ sacbee.com. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.