July 16, 2012

Serj Tankian: My Creative Process

OV Valle [Roland US] Artists GAIA, JUPITER-80, keyboards, Serj Tankian, SH-01 0 Comments

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 from the iTunes app store. The app allows you to remix and dissect songs from three of his solo albums, including his newest release Harakiri.

Harakiri, Serj’s newest solo album (Reprise Records/Serjical Strike), is the follow up to 2010’s acclaimed Imperfect Harmonies. The album is the third solo release from the System Of A Down frontman. Serj produced Harakiri himself at his home studio in Los Angeles. Here he discusses how the record came about and his thoughts on solo projects by musicians in general.

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July 12, 2012

Jeremy Dawson: My Advice to New Bands

OV Valle [Roland US] Artists FANTOM-G7, Jeremy Dawson, JUPITER-50, JUPITER-80, keyboards, R-1000, Shiny Toy Guns 0 Comments

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 destruct” if you do not make this a priority.

On their new album titled III, Shiny Toy Guns employs the sounds of the Jupiter-50, Jupiter-80, and Fantom-G7 and recording on an R-1000 48-track recorder.

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July 11, 2012

King Kanobby: Prepping for a live show with Far East Movement & DJ Virman

OV Valle [Roland US] Product News FANTOM-G7, Far East Movement, JUPITER-80, keyboards, King Kanobby, VP-770 0 Comments

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 spectacle. For these live shows Kanobby calls on the Jupiter-80, VP-770, and Fantom-G7 to deliver those dance thumping sounds Far East Movement is known for.

For more on King Kanobby follow him on Twitter @KingKanobby

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July 3, 2012

Downtime with Russell Graham at BET Awards Rehearsal

OV Valle [Roland US] Artists BET Awards, JP-80, JUPITER-80, keyboards, Russell Graham 1 Comment

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.

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June 29, 2012

Usher’s Band Members, Valdez Brantley & Aaron Spears Jamming

OV Valle [Roland US] Artists Aaron Spears, BET Awards, drums, keyboards, TD-15KV, Usher, V-Drums 0 Comments

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.

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June 6, 2012

James Dewees – How I Joined My Chemical Romance

OV Valle [Roland US] Artists GAIA, James Dewees, JUPITER-80, keyboards, My Chemical Romance, RD-700NX 0 Comments

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 bands coupled with an awesome personality and hard work ethic have ultimately propelled his career forward. James currently rocks the Jupiter-80 synth, Gaia SH-01 synth, and the RD-700NX digital piano in his rig. Stay tuned for more of James in future posts as this is only part one of our interview.

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May 23, 2012

Roland Goes Wireless

Joe Sparacio [Roland U.S.] Product News keyboards, wireless connect 0 Comments

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 from your iTunes library to your instrument, play along, and record the entire performance back into Air Recorder.

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