From writing music for prime time to directing bands on live TV, East Coast native Doug DeAngelis has proven he’s got the chops to get the job done. His most recent credits include Music Director for Comedy Central’s “Gong Show,” and composer for upcoming FOX prime time drama “Lie To Me.” An experienced musician, DeAngelis switches comfortably between the roles of composer, keyboard player, music director, and improviser. But one thing has remained constant over the years: his Roland keyboards. Whether he’s in the studio or on live TV, DeAngelis finds the sounds and usability of his Roland synths to be indispensable. We sat down with him recently, and he explained how Roland sounds help him create the perfect music for every TV moment. Here are some highlights of the conversation:

How did you get into music directing?

My first jobs in TV were music directing. My first show ever was a performance show like American Idol, but way before that. It was actually with Ed McMahon, and was called “Next Big Star.” But it’s just been in the last two years that I’ve been getting calls for live bands. It seems like people want to do that again now, which is cool. It started with MD’ing bands on the show as a small part, and now it’s more consistent, and it’s nice to see that back on TV. It had disappeared other than late night.

What projects are you working on now?

I just finished a pilot for a FOX series called “Lie To Me.” It will start in January, starring Tim Roth. So I’ll be scoring that.

What Roland gear are you using?

In my studio, I have a Fantom-X8, a Fantom-G6, a JP-8000, and I have a couple older synths, too, including the JV-1080.

Let’s talk about the Fantom. What sounds and features are you into?

I use my Fantom for everything, all the time. I love the pads, and I also use the pianos and the electric pianos all the time. A lot of the thematic material on “Lie To Me” was from the Fantom — it’s this kind of quirky, light, comedy theme music. I came up with a sound that was a bit percussive, using the random-pitch feature in the Fantom. I would layer different EPs on top of each other, but with random pitch stuff happening, and that gave it a quirky sound. The main character is really sarcastic and cynical — he’s a human lie detector, basically, and he can read your body language. So as people are constantly full of it through the day, he’s constantly reading it. So there’s this great sense of off-balance-ness coming from him as a character, which is what I was getting from these layers.

What makes you choose Roland keyboards as your mainstay?

I’ve always been a huge Roland user, ever since my JX-3P — that was my first synth. There’s always been something where Roland sounds just fit into recordings better than anything else. They sound so much more natural in a recording. Whether you’re working on records or scores, finding sounds that fit and feel natural is the most difficult thing. In film and television scores, your job is to support the dialogue, so finding sounds that sit well and let that focal point breathe is really difficult. And I’ve always found that Roland stuff just feels right. All the synths have subtle differences, and I have favorite things from all of them, and I use them all.

I love the keybeds, too. The touch is great — there’s a great interaction between your fingers and the keybed. It never sounds plastic or canned; it has a very natural, real feel and quality to it.

How do the Roland keyboards meet your needs for live performance?

The hardest thing about MD’ing is the lack of having any preparation whatsoever about what’s about to happen. On a television show, it’s a musical circus. Your job is to follow whatever the director and producers are telling you in the earphone, and they’re not always telling you the same things. So the hardest task is keeping your focus, watching what’s happening and scoring it live.

As a keyboard player, you need your gear set up right to be playing. That’s one of the reasons I love the Fantoms. I love being able to set them up in Live mode, and having two or three songs on each synth all the time. I had them laid out in zones, and it worked out really well. The ability to trigger everything with the pads is also very nice. So when I change patches, I don’t lose everything. I’ve always preferred Roland keyboards on tour, too.

What other features on the Fantom-G do you use live?

The Patch Remain feature in Live Mode lets you make patch changes without it clipping off the tails of the sounds, which is really nice. I also use a lot of the arpeggiator capabilities in it. Some music I wrote for the Gong Show was keyed around some sequenced phrases. I loved being able to just bump the bpm up and down while we were playing. I didn’t have to have the drummer play to a click or anything; I could just follow him. It’s really smooth!

You’re using V-Drums as well, right?

I have a Roland V-Drums kit on the Gong Show. The V-Drums are unique to the band in that they’re so different than what most people use on set. We’re able to be an all-direct band, which is a huge advantage. When we’re playing, our front-of-house mixer can go back and forth between music from popular CDs and the band seamlessly without there being any stage volume issues. There are three guitarists, keyboard, bass, and drums — and all of us are direct. And we’re able to pull off really, really unusual things that you wouldn’t be able to do with a normal live band, and the audience can’t tell the difference, which is great.

Do you rehearse songs for the Gong Show, or is it improvised?

It’s both. We rehearse a bunch of material for about a week before the shoot. And then in morning rehearsals on set, we rehearse through 24 acts that we’ve never seen before. The director usually runs it twice. So the first time I sort of figure out what we’re going to do, the second time we do it, and the next time, it’s live!