Jason Freese (Green Day, Jewel and Watershow) discusses the place for soft synths and hardware for composing and performance and why he prefers the Fantom-G8 and Jupiter-80. Related links and articles: New Product: V-Combo VR-09 All-in-One Stage Keyboard Classic Roland Synths MIDI: The Essential Standard Turns 30
On Friday, July 13 we caught up with Serj Tankian at his Harakiri Release Party to discuss his new album and his creative work flow. He shares with us his writing process, his use of loops, and his use of the iPad for developing songs. Serj also mentions his iPad application, “I Am Serj,” that fans and musicians can download [...]
Jeremy Dawson of Shiny Toy Guns recalls how being a “Yes” band has helped seize opportunities to play in the biggest shows. His advise to new and existing bands comes from his personal experience from touring the world. He stresses the importance of having a work-sleep balance and having personal time. According to Jeremy, “You will self [...]
Music Director for Far East Movement, King Kanobby explains the process behind taking original songs from the album recording and turning them into a live show. As the MD, he works closely with Kev Nish, Prohgress, J-Splif, and most of all Dj Virman to develop a performance out of music that is created in a studio with non-traditional instruments into a concert worthy [...]
We took sometime with Russell Graham on his break from rehearsals for the 2012 BET Awards to discuss his set-up and work flow. He explains the challenges involved with live TV productions and accommodating various artist on the same show. According to Russell, he’s keeping it simple for the awards by using a VP-770 and two JUPITER-80s. Related links and articles: Roland [...]
Usher’s band members, Valdez Brantley and Aaron Spears, take a break from their BET Awards 2012 rehearsal to show us their chops on the Jupiter-80, Fantom-G6, and TD-15KV drum kit. Related links and articles: The Benefits of Electronic Drums Learn to Play Electronic Drums New Product: Add Triggering to Any Drum Set with the BT-1 Bar Trigger Pad
In part 2 of our sit down with James, he talks about how Radiohead, Rick Wakeman, Duran Duran, Nick Rhodes, Wendy Carlos, and Klaus Schulze inspire him and why they are synth pioneers. James also breaks down how the JUPITER series synthesizer is forever etched in popular music. By the way, could anyone tell us the name of the album by Klaus Schulze that [...]
Last week we had a chance to sit down with James Dewees, keyboard player for “My Chemical Romance” to discuss how he landed his current gig. It turns out that James has been involved with several bands including Coalesce, The Get Up Kids, New Found Glory, Leathermouth, and Reggie and the Full Effect. Playing, writing, and even singing in these [...]
We’ve just released Air Recorder, the perfect iPhone/iPod Touch recording app for any Roland instrument outfitted with a Roland Wireless Connect adaptor, purchased separately. Use Air Recorder to record audio wirelessly from your Roland instrument, or record using your iOS device’s built-in mic. You can also use the free Air Recorder to wirelessly send songs [...]
