A Little Something Different

Well, some of you know, that I play drums for a bluegrass artist, Bethany Dick and we played in Ft. Myers Florida last night. This band is so much fun to play with, and it is fun for me because it is not a genre that I grew up in like the rest of the guys, so I continually find myself being educated about all things bluegrass. Well, on the bus last night, they introduced my to something called “Eefing.” O man is this backwoods Appalachian at its finest. It’s kind of like bluegrass scating. Very strange to say the least, but for a good example refer to this video……

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Why would I rather sling a rock at a giants head than throw a towel on someones feet?

U2 in 3d

So I went to see U2 in 3d at the IMAX theater yesterday.  For those of you who haven’t heard about this, U2 recorded their Vertigo tour stop in Buenes Aires, Argentina on IMAX film, in 3d.  So I have to say that it was pretty awesome.  I didn’t change my life, but it was one of the coolest things I have seen on film.  From a technology standpoint, it was impeccable.  The sound was perfect, and would be panned according to your view of the screen.  If the camera shot shifted to Larry from behind the drum kit, then all of the drum would be panned correct, and the band on stage would be panned as well.  If Bono walked across the stage in front of you, then his vocal would pan across with him.  Pretty stellar.

What is it about U2 that makes them so much bigger than a band?  I mean they have written some songs that have become world wide war chants, songs of hope and a better tomorrow.  It’s crazy.  And why do I cry every time I watch them perform Where the Streets Have No Name? I mean forget all of the political musings, and obscure theological references, there is something deeply stirring about their music and performances.  Any thoughts?

NAMM Show 2008

So I made the pilgrimage to Anaheim, CA last week to the winter NAMM show.  For those of you who don’t know, this is THE music trade show.  Every vendor who makes any product that could in any way shape or form be used in anything having to do with music, has a booth at this thing.  Instrument makers, instrument case makers, music stands, lights, sounds, PA– pretty much any thing, really was there.  This is also where all of these vendors release their new products for the year.  Reviews soon to follow.

But I have to take a moment here and tell you what I really enjoyed seeing…..  that was the 85,000 people that came to this thing, and I would say, 75,000 who thought they were celebrity musicians.  In actuality, there were probably around 150 celebs in the music world who showed to pimp their endorsers latest products.  I saw Tony Levins, Leland Sklar, John Blackwell, Slash, Joe Satriani, Rikki Rocket just to name a few.  Aside from these guys, the amount of rock hair in this building was astounding.  There hasn’t been a collection of leather in one building like that since the end of the Oregon trail drive in the 1800’s.  I have come to the conclusion that I could have gone, and not seen a single product or vendor, and just people watched!!  It was quite a site to behold.  I think everyone needs to find a way to the winter NAMM show in LA, at least once in their life to say that they have done it.  It is the Grand Canyon of Music.

Reason 4 VS Ableton Live 7

 

So I get asked this question quite a bit from aspiring and starting programmers, ” what should I get, Reason or Live?”  So I thought I might take a stab at addressing some of the pro’s and con’s of both as I see it.  I by no means claim to be an expert, but through trial and error, I have determined what makes the most sense for me as a programmer and drummer.

Reason 4:

This is the latest installment of Reason, the wildly popular music creation software.  The concept is that you have a virtual rack that you can then add different rack mounted instruments and effects units to create midi based music.  If you have been around music for a while, and understand signal flow to some degree, the interface is somewhat intuitive.  The scope of Reason is all encompassing from a music creation perspective, so not only can you use it to program beats, you can use it to create every instrument in the band.  I programmed an entire record for someone using Reason, I did all the drums, bass and keys on the record using it.  As a programmer from the drummer perspective, I like Reason because I think it comes with pretty decent stock sounds already that you can use for creating beats right out of the hat.  Some of the sounds are individual instruments, and some are preset loops.  I like the interface, and the usability of the program.  Where it falls short to me is incorporating Reason as a live instrument on stage, meaning, actually playing the beats that you have created from the program during a live set.  It seems like it was really created more as a creation software, not really a playing software.

Live 7:

This software hails from Germany, and was created out of the rave scene in Europe.  DJ who were doing really long sets of playing beats needed some kind of software that would interact and be as flexible as  turntables.  So the concept is, there are 2 side to the program.  One is the Clip page, which looks like a large grid where you can load many different audio clips into the program, and then through some pretty amazing algorithms, you can play those clips at any tempo at any time, and fire them off and have them come in on the next downbeat.  Brilliant in my perspective.  Second is the Arrange page which acts more like a conventional, linear recording software, like pro tools or logic.  This is a feature that Reason does not offer.  Live somes stock with quite a few, really good sounding plug ins, then they offer a ton of great combos, chains of plug ins that developers have created to really creep out and wack out your sounds.  Live is the ultimate software for playing loops and sequences because of the design of the software.  On the creation side of things, it does offer 3 instruments that come stock with the program.  Between these 3 you can do drums sounds which do come with the program, and some synth stuff as well that allows you to do keys, and guitars. The creation side of things seems to be a little clunkier than Reason, but you can still get it done.

So here is my conclusion:

I use both…… maybe not what you wanted to hear.  I actually use quite a few different programs to create, my theory, the more weapons in your arsenal, the better. But not matter what I use to create audio files with, I ALWAYS PLAY THEM WITH LIVE! That is the only program I trust to open on stage with me when I play because of how well it runs.  It was designed specifically for that.   So if you had to buy one program as someone who plans on using the software to create, and then play the audio as well in a live situation, I would vote for Live.

Again, I don’t claim to know everything about both of these programs, but these are my findings as a working programmer and drummer.  I hope it helps in some form or fashion.

Mr. Piper

So I am unashamed in my respect for John Piper.  There are is no one else who challenges me in the way that he does.  I was re-reading his book “Brothers we are not Professionals” which is a fantastic book, and in my opinion, required reading for anyone in vocational ministry.  “Leadership” is kinda a hot button topic these days, and it seems like there are so many people who have so much to say about it in the church today.  Most of what I’ve seen and read I could take or leave.  But I love this quote from Dr. Piper.

” The goal of Christian leadership is to muster people into joining God in living for his glory.”

In a world that is so goal oriented, and check list ready– this somehow settles me into a much bigger story.

Ableton Live 7!!

So I just upgraded to Ableton Live 7.  Not a whole lot different, however there is one feature way worth the price for me.  You can now change time signatures between scenes!!  Not everyone may be as excited as I am about this little feature— but it might help preserve what little hair I have left.

Just so you know………

In case you didn’t know who Abe Jr. was before now, you should watch this video.  This is Abe recording on one of my friends records, Taylor Mesple.  Watch this mess, as Abe records this super groove on the first take……  nasty…..

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Can you explain what happens in your worship service with resources and talent?

Well…..

I am on a roll tonight. For all of those naysayers who tell me I never post anything new…. you’re right. But here is a video you should watch. This is my favorite drummer Abraham Laboriel Jr, playing with a French artist, Mylene Farmer. He plays drums, and then…… wait for it…………. you’ll see why he is the man.  Oh, one day to have that kind of mojo…….