Eric Daniels & Monte Nueble

Mariah Carey Keyboards

Mariah Carey Album Cover (Photo)

To call it a comeback would be an understatement. Mariah Carey’s return to the top of the charts in the wake of Glitter was nothing short of spectacular. The Emancipation of Mimi has already surpassed the six-platinum mark, and her Adventures of Mimi tour is packing the largest venues around the world.

We visited Mariah’s tour rehearsals in Los Angeles, and sat down to talk shop with her talented keyboard team: Eric Daniels and Monte Nueble. Here’s what they had to say about getting the gig, sharing the keyboard parts onstage, and lbuilding their new Roland rigs for the Adventures tour.

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Eric Daniels

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You’ve been working with Mariah for many years. Tell us the story of how you first got into the band.

Eric: It was an audition. Randy Jackson was the music director, and he called and said, “Learn everything on ‘Hero’ except the piano and drum parts.” Back then I had a Roland D-70, which was my favorite keyboard for many years, and I used it to execute the whole song: harp glisses, tremolo strings, timpani, everything. I had it all mapped out and orchestrated. At the end of the song, Randy said, “Okay, you got the gig!”

[Ed. Note: Eric was no newcomer to the scene; he had previously worked with Larry Graham, Janet Jackson, Anita Baker, TLC, and others.]

Larry Graham was your first connection to the big time. How did that happen?

It was a total fluke. My friend Wilton and I were going to college at the time, and we decided to cut school one day and go to Larry Graham’s house; we were his biggest fans. So we walked up to his house, knocked on the door, and his wife answered. “Do I know you guys?” We said, “No, but we’re your husband’s biggest fans.” She laughed, and let us in. So we went in, and he had this white, 9-foot grand piano. I started playing, and he comes out from the back and goes, “You sound good. Come on back and let’s jam.” We ended up jamming in his studio for about four hours. Afterward he looks at both of us and asks, “What are you guys doing tomorrow? Wanna go on the road?” And that’s how I got in… a complete fluke. So we went on tour. When we came back, we recorded a song called “One in a Million You,” which went to Number One for several weeks.

How did you get the gig with Janet Jackson?

I played on the TV show Comic Strip Live for about three years, and the day the show ended, I got a call from Rex Salas asking me to audition. Janet is an icon, along with Jimmy and Terry, so I had all of those classic sounds programmed on a Roland D-50. I went to the audition, and it was grooving — a great lock. At one point I turned around and Janet was standing behind me, giving me the thumbs up. So that’s how it started with her.

In preparing for the new Mariah Carey tour, what gear did you choose and why?

I got a new V-Synth XT, a Fantom-X, and some cards. It was a fresh start in terms of keyboards. I thought, “What do I prefer to have in my palette?” Usually it’s Roland stuff. I love the road-worthiness of Roland gear. I mean, when the D-50 came out, I used that keyboard exclusively in concerts in split mode. That was my only keyboard for years. Just from that experience, Roland became my favorite. And consistently, Roland has made great-sounding keyboards.

The V-Synth was a new experience for me, and I spent a lot of time with it and the manual. I must say, I am amazed at the architecture. It really seems like it takes things to a new level in synthesis, and I’m excited about it. I’ve programmed about every synthesizer out there, and fundamentally they’re all about the same, but the V-Synth is like nothing else. For this tour I’m using it for a lot of esoteric things, ethereal pads, glisses, and things that aren’t the norm.

Is the Fantom-X your go-to board for more standard sounds?

It is, and it’s also the brain for my entire rig. It sends MIDI messages to everything else from its Performance mode. I love the Fantom-X’s graphic display. It makes things so much easier. Since I’ve filled up all my SRX slots, I’ll probably be adding a Fantom-XR to my rig in the future so I can add more cards.

How do you and Monte divide your keyboard parts?

On this tour, I’ve been designated as the “piano guy,” which I’m excited about. So that’s my primary role, but Monte and I share a lot of the keyboard duties onstage.

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Monte Nueble

Monte
What’s new since last we spoke with you?

I’m getting into my Fantom-X more for this go-around. With every tour I learn something new. It’s cool, because this album [The Emancipation of Mimi] is one of her biggest ever, so it’s good to be a part of something that’s this hot.

Tell us about the keyboard rig you’ve put together for this tour.

Roland is pretty much all I’ve been using. Gotta stick with what’s working for me, you know. The D-50 and Alpha Juno were my first real keyboards, and I love the sounds in ’em. I think I’ve gotten a lot of work over the years by having those sounds. And now with the Fantom-X and V-Synth, I’ve been incorporating those into my rig more and more. So now I’m using all four Roland synths equally. The Fantom-X and V-Synth are monsters. I’ve really been enjoying myself with these keyboards. I’ve been staying up ’til like four in the morning with those ’boards learning new things that I didn’t know they could do.

What role is the V-Synth playing for you on this tour?

I’m using it for key bass and for some bell-type sounds, but mainly for bass because it’s so meaty. The “Physical Bass” and “Double Kick Bass” patches are amazing. There’s a Stevie Wonder-type bass in there too that’s great… “Smooth Bass” or something like that.

I noticed that the bass player has a Roland JD-8000 in his setup. How do you two work out the bass lines?

If I’m playing key bass, he’s playing electric bass as a double. But I’m only playing key bass on a few songs for this tour. If I’m out with Snoop or somebody else, though, I tend to play a lot more key bass.

Are your four synths MIDI ’d together and being layered or remotely controlled during the show?

No, they’re all independent. I’m not using MIDI at all on this tour. I use the Fantom-X for its own splits and layers, but everything is being used separately without MIDI .

Are you enjoying collaborating with Eric on this tour?

Oh yeah. Eric is a great player and programmer. I’ve learned a lot from him over the years.

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Keep track of Eric, Monte, and Mariah on tour at www.mariahcarey.com.