Performer Magazine: October/November 2019

THE MUSICIAN ’S RESO URCE

OCT/NOV ‘19 FREE

BUILD A HOME STUDIO FROM SCRATCH LEARN TO USE REAPER LIKE A PRO LEVERAGE YOUR METADATA UNDERSTAND SONGWRITER SPLIT SHEETS INTERVIEWS EMILY WOLFE ERIC KRASNO FAREED HAQUE COLD WAR KIDS

The Chats Punk is Alive and Well and Living Down Under

F E E L I N G

T H E

CONFIDENCE TO PLAY AT YOUR BEST

Focus on your passion.

Knowing nothing will get in your way.

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Once you’ve played them, there’s no looking back.

GREAT TONE . LONG LIFE

TM

GORE, Elixir, NANOWEB, POLYWEB, OPTIWEB, great tone-long life, “e” icon and other designs are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates. © 1997-2018 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

VOLUME 29, ISSUE 5

TABLE OF

14

CONTENTS

ERIC KRASNO

18 22

COVER STORY

FAREED HAQUE

by Taylor Northern

by Taylor Northern

EMILY WOLFE

by Alexandra Lane

26

THE CHATS

by Sarah Brooks

30

COLD WAR KIDS

by Zack Dictakis

DEPARTMENTS 4. LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 5. BOOK REVIEW: Hard to Handle [Black Crowes Memoir] 6. Insurance Tips for Bands 9. Data Advice for Indie Artists 12. Exploring Split Sheets for Songwriters 34. A Songwriter’s Guide to Reaper 38. Tony Succar’s Home Recording Tips 40. GEAR REVIEWS: Yamaha, Focusrite, Novation, BAE and more…

47. My Favorite Axe: slenderbodies PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 3

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

LETTER

from the editor

Volume 29, Issue 5 PO BOX 348 Somerville, MA 02143 CONTACT Phone: 617-627-9200 Fax: 617-627-9930 PUBLISHER William House Phone: 617-627-9919 bill@performermag.com EDITOR Benjamin Ricci ben@performermag.com DESIGN & ART DIRECTION Cristian Iancu

As much as things change, they stay the same.

Music is in an odd state of flux. As ephemeral YouTube and SoundCloud ‘hits’ come and go, our superstars are getting younger and younger, reflecting the growing trend that the primary consumers for new music (aka ‘the kids’) want to listen to music by their peers, more so than music from artists say 5-15 years older than them (us old fogeys). Increasingly, ‘proper’ music journalists are baffled by the likes of Billie Eilish, and wonder (often obnoxiously) how a 17-year-old could possibly have anything of value to offer to the world of music. And why the darn kids aren’t taking Bon Iver more seriously. And why no one’s playing guitar anymore, galldurnit!!

Now, while my old ass may agree with the general sentiment that a lot of our contemporary music has become ‘disposable,’ I’m not sure that’s a dirty word, or even necessarily a new trend. I mean, how many one-hit wonders can you remember with fondness from your own salad days? I flip through my old tapes and CDs and lovingly remember the bands that came and went (and in many cases, disappeared before they even had a chance to enjoy their fleeting success). So, am I worried that today’s kids are burning through music at an alarming rate? That it won’t mean anything to them because they don’t own a physical product, and therefore haven’t ‘properly’ bonded with the music the way my generation (and those older than me) did? Nah. As Papa Pete used to say, the kid are alright.

As to the second point, that today’s consumers are gravitating to output from their peer group…yeah, so? Look, George Harrison was just a teenager when the Beatles exploded. Do you think he really knew anything about the world? Did that invalidate his ability to generate great pop music? Of course not.

Kids want to see themselves represented in what they consume. It doesn’t take a genius to see that. As this generation ages, they may very well discover the music that came before. That’s great. And if not, who cares? This is their era, let them enjoy it. Youth is not wasted on the young, as some might want you to believe…

Which brings us to The Chats, this month’s cover stars. What can I say about this band, other than they’ve further renewed my faith that as long as young people have access to guitars, beer and an abundance of free time, the kids will indeed be alright.

Benjamin Ricci ABOUT US / Performer Magazine, a nationally distributed musician’s trade publication, focuses on independent musicians, those unsigned and on small labels, and their success in a DIY environment. We’re dedicated to promoting lesser-known talent and being the first to introduce you to artists you should know about.

MUSIC SUBMISSIONS / We listen to everything that comes into the office. We prefer physical CDs, cassettes and vinyl over downloads. If you do not have a physical copy, send download links to editorial@performermag.com. No attachments, please.

Send CDs to: Performer Magazine, Attn: Reviews, PO BOX 348, Somerville, MA 02143 CORRECTIONS / Did we make a heinous blunder, factual error or just spell your name wrong? Contact editorial@ performermag.com and let us know, cuz we’re big enough to say, “Baby, I was wrong.”

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS / In the words of our esteemed forefathers at CREEM: “NOBODY WHO WRITES FOR THIS RAG’S GOT ANYTHING YOU AIN’T GOT, at least in the way of credentials. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be sending us your stuff: reviews, features, photos, recording tips, DIY advice or whatever else you have in mind that might be interesting to our readers: independent and DIY musicians. Who else do ya know who’ll publish you? We really will...ask any of our dozens of satisfied customers. Just bop it along to us to editorial@performermag.com and see what comes back your way. If you have eyes to be in print, this just might be the place. Whaddya got to lose? Whaddya got?”

4 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Bob Dobalina editorial@performermag.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Alexandra Lane, Benjamin Ricci, Chris Devine, Greg Delaney, Jason Peterson, Matthew Moran, Michael St. James, Sarah Brooks, Taylor Northern, Tony Succar, Zack Dictakis CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Neil Bradley, Rodrigo Villordo, Matthew Siskin, Mark Abernathy, Brooke Robinson, Whitney Hensley, Danny Clinch, James DeWalt, Matthew Walter ADVERTISING SALES William House Phone: 617-627-9919 bill@performermag.com © 2019 by Performer Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any method whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher.

The magazine accepts no responsibility for unsolicited recordings, manuscripts, artwork or photographs and will not return such materials unless requested and accompanied by a SASE. Annual Subscription Rate is $30 in the U.S.; $45 outside the U.S.

BOOK REVIEW

Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes [A Memoir] Steve Gorman with Steven Hyden

(Da Capo Press)

The Black Crowes’ drummer details the wrecks, drugs, and rock and roll of one of the most intriguing bands of the ’90s - and beyond.

B

y most rock metrics, The Black Crowes are a resounding success.

Their first two albums (Shake Your Money Maker and The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion) swaggered on the scene in the early ’90s with a distinctive sound and brashness reminiscent of a Southern Rolling Stones. Pre-dating the grunge explosion, the Crowes navigated that brave new world as well as the preceding glam metal era, becoming staples on MTV and throwing down hit after hit (even scoring a few later in their career) that remain in regular radio rotation to this day.

But what is made clear time and again by drummer Steve Gorman in his often hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, and many times frustrating memoir is this band could have been legendary. The frustration comes not from the book’s prose or with Gorman himself but with the constant series of self-inflicted wounds that stymied the band in its heyday and prevented it and ultimately its fans - from enjoying the fruits of its labor.

Gorman documents these wounds and their

main culprits, lead singer Chris Robinson and his guitarist brother Rich, in excruciating detail, showing the rise and gradual fall of the band as a result of the brothers’ inability to just enjoy being in a successful rock band. The reader is left as powerless as Gorman to understand the Robinsons’ self-destructive tendencies and near-constant infighting.

While that self-destruction permeates the book, there is a liveliness that carries it through, particularly in its descriptions of Gorman’s beginnings in the band (then known as Mr. Crowe’s Garden). Gorman’s enthusiasm for drumming and joining a band - even one as dysfunctional as the Crowes - is contagious, especially as he details how he willed himself to be a drummer despite only having air-drumming experience prior to his twenties.

As anyone who watched the Crowes’ VH1 Behind the Music, listened to Gorman’s riveting episode of co-author Steven Hyden’s Celebration Rock podcast, or checked out his current radio show know, Gorman has charisma and good humor for days. This quality shines through the darkness

of the book. One can imagine the same material in the hands of the Robinsons as a bitter collection of score-settling, and the fact that Hard to Handle rejects that path is a testament to Gorman and Hyden’s good choices.

The sections in the book detailing The Black Crowes’ incredible but ultimately doomed collaboration with Jimmy Page truly shine, with a glowing behind-the-scenes look at the legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist that is almost never presented. It is moments like these, along with other aspects of recording, touring, and meeting musical heroes, that shed light on why Gorman kept returning to the Crowes despite the misery they often caused him.

Luckily for readers, Gorman’s torment at the hands of the Robinsons makes for extremely entertaining reading and a reminder that, even in the most successful bands, outward appearances can be deceiving. But, like Gorman himself discovers, being in a tormented band can still be worth the ride.

Jason Peterson PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 5

MUSIC BUSINESS Benjamin Ricci

WHY DO VENUES REQUIRE BANDS TO HAVE LIABILITY INSURANCE?

W

e’ve written numerous articles on insurance for musicians, covering everything from basic terms and phrases, to specific details about liability coverage and policy requirements. We’ve also asked our readers to write in with any insurance-related questions they may have, so that we can help provide answers for bands trying to navigate the business end of their affairs.

We recently received this question, and it’s a good one that’ll hopefully apply to a lot of working artists out there.

“Why would a venue or event require my band to show proof of insurance before booking us for a gig? Doesn’t the venue carry its own liability insurance? So, wouldn’t we be covered under that? I don’t understand why my band would also need a policy just to perform at their venue or at their event.”

Excellent question, and not an uncommon one. Think of insurance like this: it’s meant to be in place in case of the “what-ifs.” What if the venue owner is negligent and the unthinkable happens – say a tragic fire breaks out that would have otherwise been avoidable. Should the victims of that fire be responsible for medical bills, etc.? No, you’d think not. This is why insurance (and also why lawsuits) exist (see: our previous article on the difference between an insurance claim and a lawsuit for more info).

Or “what if” the building they own (or stage

6 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

they provide) is structurally unsafe and they knew about it, and took no measure to secure the structure. Then another accident occurs. You’d rightly think that any claims and lawsuits would go against the venue in such a case, yes?

Well, let’s flip the tables. “What if” your band causes bodily harm to an event attendee.

Now, it might have been an accident, or it might have been a malicious act. In any event, it’s not unheard of for the attendee to go after the venue or event organizers for damages. You’ve likely seen headlines to that effect. But you’ve also probably seen headlines where actual artists are named in lawsuits and claims. In these cases, if the band is found to be at fault for damages, then can you now see why a venue would want them to carry a liability insurance policy?

It should come as no great shock that everyone is out to protect their own interests, and obviously that’s going to include venue owners and show organizers. So yes, while they likely (or at least, SHOULD) be carrying their own insurance, it’s pretty clear why they might also want (read: require) performers to show proof of insurance before bookings, as well.

Think of it this way. If there are lots of drivers on the road, how would you determine who should have to have an auto insurance policy if two cars were to collide? Well, doesn’t it stand to reason that ALL drivers should carry their own policies, just in case? You never know when another driver might swerve into your lane, causing an unavoidable collision involving your vehicle. If both drivers are insured, the process of

photo by glasgowbury

making both whole again (and depending on your state, placing proper fault), goes much smoother.

Same concept for live events – you can’t predict who might be at fault for damages if things were to go wrong at a show, so shouldn’t it follow that all possible parties that could be at potential fault, protect themselves and get coverage?

At the end of the day, it shouldn’t surprise you that clubs, venues and festival bookers want to cover their butts. They’ve got enough logistical issues to deal with, and insurance is certainly going to be a top priority (at least to those who have their acts together), especially if they want to secure funding from outside sources.

So, the next time you get a request to show proof of insurance, you’ll know why. Trust us, it’s in everyone’s best interest just to play it safe and make sure you have good coverage in place, rather than end up in a situation where the unthinkable happens and the fingers of blame are pointed at you, without any protection.

CONCLUSION You’ve heard us repeat it a million times, but to be sure, always check over your policy and ask your provider to answer any questions you may have. They have the answers, trust us.

The best policy (no pun intended) is consult a professional whenever you’re in doubt. Stay safe out there and look for more tips in the months ahead.

And in the meantime, check out kandkinsurance.com – you may qualify to get a quote or even purchase insurance online.

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MUSIC BUSINESS

INDIE DATA: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE BIG TO REAP THE BENEFITS FROM GOOD METADATA AND CONSUMPTION DATA PRACTICES

A

rtists who are selfmanaged, or working with smaller teams or labels, often hear about the data we provide to labels and distributors and ask some variation on the question, “Why do I have to worry about this?” on top of all the other concerns of a working musician. It doesn’t take long to show why data can help them make good decisions, but then they face the next obstacle: where to get access to the data, when so few services provide it in helpful forms, and how to make sense of it.

These obstacles can be overcome, with just a little care and planning. But before we get to our advice on how to use data as an independent artist, it’s worth breaking down what we mean by

“data,” where it comes from, and how artists need to understand it to thrive in this digital age.

Data Is Everything Don’t worry, we’re not saying data’s all that matters, that it’s omnipotent. What we mean that every online device, transaction, communication, interaction, even emotion, is recorded somewhere, in some form.

Your mobile phone, smart speaker, TV, smart fridge, online food company, train operator, parking lot CCTV, coffee shop, office building, laptop, and email provider all record billions of lines of data about where you are and what you are doing. So before you’ve had time to ask who had a good weekend, there is a data trail of when you got up, what meal you’re planning for tonight, how you feel about the local election candidate,

how often you miss your train, how much caffeine you need to feel human, the amount of litter you drop or bin, your favorite parking spot, and the private correspondence you finished off at your desk.

Retailers, influencers, broadcasters, sports teams, churches, even politicians we are discovering, are using whatever data they can get their hands on to attract, guide, encourage, or confuse you into listening to their message, and the same is very much true of the music industry.

No matter how we feel about the way data is being generated, collected, and used, it is happening and is not going to stop any time soon.

So, artists, managers, promoters, agents, labels, distributors, and curators all need to learn how to embrace and benefit from the rich vein of music information that is out there.

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 9

MUSIC BUSINESS Data Is Different Not all data is equal and not all data is important, so knowing the difference is vital to an effective career in music.

The first thing to get straight is that Metadata and Consumption Data are very different things.

The first is catalog information relating to a release of music, the label, artist(s), composers, genres, identifiers, street date, copyright details, royalty splits and digital assets (tracks, packshots etc.) that ensure the “work” is properly listed, sold, and paid for.

Consumption data includes all forms of sales, streams, downloads, video views, radio spins and live or public performances of the work. This can range from a few record shop sales of a deluxe vinyl album to 10 million YouTube views of your latest single, from an in-store performance to 100 superfans or 10,000 streams on a Hot Hits playlist.

Just to be clear, when someone says they are working with “millions of lines of music data,” it’s probably just metadata. If it’s billions, then it’s consumption data, from which you can determine the size of your audience, their demographics, location, preferred devices, favourite playlists and daily listening habits.

10 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

Data Has Value Anyone who says they can guarantee to pick the next hit, just from data alone, is selling you snake oil, and anyone who says they don’t need data to inform their gut feel about a band is a fool (one winning pick lets them gloss over all the ones they made that failed). But the two forces together, that combination of guts, determination, patience, endless practice, and meaningful information, can allow you to make excellent decisions and potentially thrive in the music industry.

Let’s look at a simple example of how data can change the way we approach a decision, in this case what playlist to pitch hardest on Spotify.

In the following example, we can see two folk playlists with a slightly different average track streams per day (ATSPD) benchmark. This is calculated from the average number of streams each track generates per day while on a playlist.

Fresh Folk (see figure 1) generates a decent number of streams per day. However, tracks are cycled through very quickly, so on average a track can only expect to be on here for 7 to 14 days (its lifespan). If we multiply the ATSPD 1,625 by the maximum track lifespan of 14 days, you can expect to get about 22,750 streams from your time on this playlist.

If we compare this to another popular playlist in this genre, Nordic Folk (see figure 2), we can see the ATSPD of 504 is less than a third of Fresh Folk. This number makes this playlist seem less promising. But here’s where it gets interesting: The retention of tracks is a lot higher, at about 380 days.

So, if we do the same calculation, it’s easy to see the return on this playlist is over 190k streams, which makes it worth fighting to get on to.

Both flavors of data can unlock similar insights that help you focus on what matters most, in a sea of possibilities. Here are just some of the ways you can improve your metadata and do more with your consumption data.

Good Housekeeping Keep your own metadata database ( just a spreadsheet will do) with song titles, alternate titles, writers, ISRCs, ISWCs, UPC’s etc. so if there are ever disputes you will hold an authoritative set.

Understand what all the data points mean and how they are used – read music blogs, listen to podcasts, visit trade shows and speak to others in the business about data.

Make sure data is consistent across all platforms. Find your content on every service,

Understanding Data Find a few similar artists, preferably performers who are where you’d realistically like to be in two years.

What are they doing that you are not?

Where are they getting traction with fans?

Know where your fans are, and just as importantly, where you need to develop new fans.

Are there nearby regions or cities that would let you build a tour, if only you had more fans there?

Are there similar cities or markets that might respond well to your music?

Know the true “worth” of a playlist addition, and what lists are worth your valuable pitching time. A few things to keep in mind: Millions of followers do not necessarily equate to millions of streams.

Not all playlists are equal, so target ones that generate decent daily streams and will keep you

on for longer (low churn rate).

It’s better to find an engaged, long-term audience on a smaller playlist versus racking up some streams as a flash in the pan on bigger lists.

Track how you are performing on each DSP. Is one doing better or worse and in what territories?

Can you learn from how and where people are listening?

Take Action Feedback insights you glean and ask questions of your label, distributor, or booking agent. Use your data to back up your questions.

Highlight areas of success and areas for improvement, and set meaningful, incremental goals for yourself with measurable results.

Watch out for “spikes” in social media, video, and streaming data and ride the wave by pushing your valuable insights in front of tastemakers, playlist curators, and radio pluggers. Data can be persuasive, so make your case if you see things heating up.

Keep Being Creative All

this

talk

of

metadata,

demographics, playlist churn rates, and the like may make your head spin. In truth, some music analytics reports feel like you need a PhD in data science to understand them. It shouldn’t have to.

You should focus on your music, not mastering statistics.

Here’s where you should press your team, be it an indie distribution platform or manager or small label, to help you get data clarity. At Ei, we to serve up the information artists to make informed decisions and push ourselves to find the right level of granularity. We listen to our clients and work hard to present what we know in an understandable and usable way. You need to make sure your pick a team that does the same, so you can focus on being the amazing creative force you are and spreading your art to those who appreciate it. Data should help, not hinder you, in this, letting you respond to your fans and predict your potential audiences in an informed way.

MUSIC BUSINESS

check it, and keep all the links in your spreadsheet.

Make sure data is consistent and accurate when sending to PRO’s, SoundExchange, etc.

Work with labels or distributors that can provide deep granular analytics, not just topline numbers. You’re looking for people that use listener-level data, not internet scraping tools.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Greg Delaney is the founder of Entertainment Intelligence. Learn more at https://entertainment-intelligence.com

audience

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 11

MUSIC BUSINESS

SPLIT SHEETS, GETTING PAID AND YOU

I

An Interview with SongSplits CEO Todd Wright f you read this fine magazine, you have read about split sheets. As a songwriter/producer and someone who does music licensing for a living, I just can’t impress upon you enough how important this tool is for your future, for your future money, specifically. It is the document that publishers and licensors use to pay you. Cash, man. In fact, for some co-writers, we have started calling it a “cash sheet.” It’s amazing how the tone changes in the studio or writing room when you ask everyone if they’ve filled out their “cash sheet” and signed it.

For those of you who are new, let’s refresh.

Basically, a split sheet is a written agreement between the songwriters and/or producers of a song outlining the percentage of ownership and authorship in the song. On the songwriting side, this also includes outlining publisher and PRO collection percentages. On the producer side, it includes the same information and whether or not samples are used, and what percentage of the song that entails. In all cases, a split sheet should also outline the date the song was finished being written and/or recorded and who owns the master.

It does not take a lawyer to execute a split sheet, and it is not a contract - it is an agreement between all parties. So, it basically costs nothing and you have no excuse not to get in the habit of using cash sheets, err, umm, split sheets.

However, it’s paperwork, and musicians of all kinds simply hate paperwork, it’s why we got into this business in the first place. Right? There are some issues to deal with. Is the actual sheet in a Word document, a PDF? How many physical copies should you make, do you scan it when signed, and who should get those copies? What if there’s a change or additional writer?

Paperwork. It sucks. But again, it’s a “cash sheet” -- if it was a bit easier to deal with, wouldn’t that be worth your time?

Enter SongSplits, a cloud-based, free, online split sheet platform. I spoke to Todd Wright, CEO of SongSplits, to give me some insight into how they are addressing these challenges and what the future may bring.

I usually start with any founder in music tech by asking about their life in music. Are

12 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

MUSIC BUSINESS you a musician or songwriter? How did you get into this part of the industry?

I started out loving music. I was partially creative, a mediocre (at best) guitar player. I guess due to my upbringing, I didn’t take that route at first.

I spent ten years in traditional finance, it was safer. I dealt with interesting people for sure, but because they weren’t in music, it just didn’t fit me completely. It turns out I had a client in the music business and he asked me to come join him in a business management capacity - to merge my skill set in the financial world with my passion about music. I learned the ropes, and then started a music-focused business management company getting involved with the James Brown estate, and working with a client repping some of the Rolling Stones catalog.

Over time, I grew the practice, working with producers, songwriters, and artists. But, time and time again, I started to see disputes and clarification issues over splits through requests from Kobalt and UMPG. Their spreadsheet says one thing, but our says another. Sometimes it’s just a name spelling that’s off, or one missing collaborator, like 10 instead of 11, or one percentage point. So, it was affecting the management side when someone like Kobalt would come with unreconciled balances or licensing that can’t be completed.

I needed to find a solution for my own business and also figured if we could solve this thing it could assist others in preventing these disputes in the future. SongSplits was born.

How many members does SongSplits have currently?

As of 2019, more than 250,000 songwriters have their work registered in the SongSplits system.

We’re doing well in Canada, and are expanding

globally in the U.K. and Europe. We’re also very excited about gaining more traction in Africa, which has multiple countries emerging quickly in the modern music business.

Do all members who have splits or shares have to be members of SongSplits?

Yes, and it’s a free account for everyone. We do this so that you see what songs you have an interest in and can feel comfortable it won’t be lost or amended without you knowing about it by notification. We also provide a way for your team–publishers, attorneys, and managers– to have access to your splits.

What are the main benefits to an online split sheet platform?

Great question. First, the obvious benefit of having a digital storage solution takes away the headache of literal paperwork – a lot of people don’t even have a printer at home anymore.

Second, by having all parties on a split sheet involved in the same entry rather than just one party controlling the paperwork, it builds trust.

Everyone can feel comfortable by seeing exactly what the splits are, and if there are changes agreed upon, everyone gets a notification to accept those changes.

Is this just a platform for split sheet paperwork?

It is our primary focus. But additionally, users can upload the lyrics to a song and attach that to the same entry as the split sheet. We also just rolled out the ability to actually upload the song file as well. This way all of your assets are all in one place. And it’s all still completely free.

What is your best advice on getting songwriters (especially bands/artists) to actually follow through on the split sheet

process?

Within our platform the writers can not only start a split sheet, but also modify the splits and make notes on why. The ability to modify makes it a lot easier, so it can be changed (and other writers can be added or amended).

My advice is that maybe the song doesn’t have to be 100% finished, but once it’s locked in and it’s been decided who is involved and at what percentage, that’s the time to get that information in order and then we can confirm through the system and set the roles. Again, it can be amended, and everyone involved is notified.

Just start getting into the habit, be polite, and don’t make it too serious, but get it done.

Any new features you’d like to tease us with?

Of course! We are always working on ways we think we can make the entire process of dealing with songs better. Some of those include portability, and different ways to share information with clients and directly with PROs. We hope to have some news on that soon.

My real goal here goes beyond just paperwork; it’s to build this ecosystem and help improve it.

We’re not just trying to do a split sheet -- yes that’s the core of the platform and the DNA of the music business -- we really are trying to improve the confusing processes of PROs, registrations, copyrights, and licensing as well.

Try it out for free here: https://songsplits.com ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael St. James is the founder and creative director of St. James Media, specializing in music licensing, publishing, production and artist development.

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 13

SPOTLIGHT

KR

14 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

SPOTLIGHT

ERIC RASNO

Guitar Icon on the Creative Process, His Insane Gear Collection and How He Survives 4-Hour Shows

E

ric Krasno has been known as the soulful guitarist for both Soulive and Lettuce for going on two decades now. We recently had a chance to chat with him about a wide range of topics, from his earliest roots to his signature Ibanez guitar, and everything in between.

Where are you from?

I grew up in Connecticut till I was about 13 or 14 and kind of just moved around and then landed in Brooklyn. After college, I went to Berklee for a little while then transferred to Hampshire College in Massachusetts, but most of my life I lived in the suburbs in New York. I’ve been in NYC for 20 years and I just moved to LA in February.

I was about 13 when I picked up bass and then I started played guitar when I was about 14 or so.

I had messed around and tinkered around before that, but that was before I had really seriously started playing.

Were you formally trained at a music school or have any teachers along the way?

Yeah, I studied with a guy named Yuseef Lateef in

Danny Clinch

college and he was the one that really inspired me to become a musician, he was one of my heroes.

He played with all the jazz guys: Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderly, he’s a legend. So, I got to work with him and I met the Lettuce guys back then at Berklee – started playing with those guys and then Soulive formed as I finished college and we started touring right as a I graduated from college.

Once you figured out you wanted to go pro, how many hours were you practicing? Were there any instructional DVDs that you were watching?

Man, I have no idea how many hours I practiced (laughs). There was no sort of thought or regiment to it, it was very much if I was inspired I would play. Instructional DVDs weren’t really a thing so much for me, but I got to be around people that played, definitely meeting the Lettuce guys helped, we all went to the 5 week summer program in college. It’s basically a summer program for high school kids to go and play music. So, meeting them and meeting other kids who were as passionate as I was, they were on such a high skill level and we all loved to hang and really just gravitated towards playing with each other. We wanted to explore this realm of improvising over funk music, like we all thought that was a fascinating path. Herbie Hancock had

Taylor Northern

done it in the 1970s where he combined James Brown with jazz music. We were trying to chip away and make our own version of that. We had pulled inspiration from Aquarium Rescue Unit, Grateful Dead, even Phish.

You’ve mention John Scofield as an inspiration. You’ve played with him a number of times. How did you first link up with him and what have you learned from that relationship in terms of being a professional musician?

He saw Soulive perform and I was probably one of his biggest fans. It was right around the time he made a record called A Go Go, which to me was kind of in an iconic era, it was during the time he was doing stuff with Medeski Martin and Wood.

He was touring around that time and saw us play at a festival and just really dug it and the next time we played, he came and sat in with us. The rest is history, we asked him to play on our record and he did and it’s become a relationship that has been ongoing for 20 years now. I talk to him quite a bit about creative stuff and business stuff, all of it.

What I would say about him is that he’s not only an amazing player and great songwriter, but can reinvent himself with the times and he’s always pushed his sound forward. He doesn’t try to rest on his laurels, I’m definitely his biggest fan.

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 15

SPOTLIGHT

When you get an idea, are you like a Miles Davis where you actually write out notation to your songs? How do you communicate your musical ideas to your band members?

I definitely don’t write it out, per se. I usually try to record my demo -- I’ve been into recording for a long time, I had my first little four track

being a touring musician?

Yeah, we were very close. Kofi was really about the music and he was in it for the love. He was the most humble kind of person and to be on his level of musicianship and have his demeanor and attitude was really inspiring for me because it made me want to be the best musician I could be

“Every record I make has got a different aesthetic.” machine as a kid, so I always demoed my songs.

I would play all the parts so that’s how I become a multi-instrumentalist, I guess you could say.

Guitar and bass are my main thing, but I can play enough of the other things, like keys and drums to get my ideas down. That’s what led me to producing records, I’ve always been fascinated with recording and arrangement.

and also show love for everybody. Cause a lot of the times, musicians with that skill level, talent and who have been on the road for so long are jaded, but everywhere he went, he always had his flute with him and was just ready to play. He was always inspiring himself, but spread that to all of us. So definitely one of my favorite musicians of all time is Kofi.

Let’s talk about Soulive for a minute. Your last LP Cinematics was released in 2018, but prior to that it had been a few years. Why the gap between releases?

Well, during that time I made a solo album and I toured for that extensively, also been producing records for Aaron Neville. I started a record label and produced London Souls and Nigel Hall, I produced tons of records in that time period.

Soulive is still alive but definitely not our primary thing. We all love doing it, so it won’t die, but we all had to make room for all the other things were doing.

You guys have some mile long shows, you play for a good 2, 3, sometimes 4 hours. How do you condition yourself for such long performances?

You don’t really, when you get to the end, you pass out and then relax for three days. There’s a lot of prep as far as figuring out what songs we’re gonna do and who’s going to play what on what, but we’re kinda conditioned by doing it every year.

The fact we’ve done it all these years prepares us for the next one.

Cinematics had a very retro appeal to it, like the songs would fit perfectly in a ’60s spy film. Overall, your records have a vibe that sounds good on vinyl and even cassette.

Do you prefer to release stuff on analog formats? What’s your take on being a retrooriented act in a constantly changing music business?

Every record I make has got a different aesthetic.

Cinematics we kinda went at it, basically tried to make a movie theme sounding record and it’s definitely dusty and vinyl. I don’t know if you heard my newest record that’s about to come out, but it’s got a whole different style and production.

It’s under the name Kraz, it’s a concept album and there’s an animation to the entire thing. There are two singles out and you can get a feel for what it’s about.

You’ve performed with Questlove, Marcus King, Derek Trucks, just to name a few. One of my favorite performances was with Kofi Burbridge. He actually passed away earlier this year. Were you a friend of his? What kind of lessons did you learn from Kofi about 16 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

Who are some of your favorite new artists?

I really like Nick Hakim, his latest album is called Green Twins. Right now, I’m working with an artist named Son Little, I love his records.

Marcus King is great, I’ve gotten to work with him a lot. There’s quite a few...

Oh man, pretty much everything (laughs), I have so much shit - I have so much stuff in my studio, I’ve got Supro amps, 65 Super Reverb that I use a lot, a bunch of Mesa stuff, Fender Vibrolux, Fender Twin. I have so many freakin pedals its insane, I just collect stuff. I just found this pedal in Japan called Godvibe that’s basically it’s an old Univibe pedal and its modified and squeezed.

Let’s talk about your new projects. What do you currently have in the works?

Like I mentioned, I have a new concept album under the name Kraz entitled Telescope - it’s a concept album that takes place inside of a brownstone in Brooklyn, essentially the songs outline the story that tells you the lives of these characters in this building and how their lives intertwine. There’s a whole story told through songs and animation. We’ve been releasing one song at a time with animation and videos accompanying them. If you go to @kraz_music on Instagram, you can see the whole world we’ve been creating in there. I’m also producing various stuff with artists too. I’m in the studio daily working on something. I’m also touring with Phil Lesh and Friends.

Oh, that’s cool, have you run into John Mayer at all?

I’ve been playing John’s guitar a lot, the Silver Sky model. He sent me a couple of those.

Follow on Instagram: @kraz_music and @erickrasno

Aren’t you a big fan of hip-hop? I know you worked with Talib Kweli on some things.

Yeah Kweli, Anderson Paak , I like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole…

Do you collect guitars? If so, which ones are your favorite?

Yes, I have quite a few...50-ish. I have a lot; I have a signature guitar with Ibanez now.

Are you still doing your signature guitar with Ibanez?

Yes, it’s called the EKM-100 and the second EKM10T which has the tremolo bar on there, but it’s based on an AS-200 I had and we kind of modified that and tweaked it. We got different pickups and the neck is very different.

What other gear are you using, amp-wise and pedals?

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SPOTLIGHT 18 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

SPOTLIGHT Virtuoso Guitarist on Navigating the World of Digital Royalties, Mastering His Craft and Staying Sane While Juggling Multiple Projects

FAREED HAQUE James DeWalt Photography

Taylor Northern

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 19

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G

uitar virtuoso Fareed Haque is a master of many styles, from jazz to classical.

Known for his work in Garaj Mahal, amongst many other career-spanning highlights, Haque recently joined the legendary fusion drummer Billy Cobham on tour, where we caught up with him for a few questions about his life, his playing style and his favorite instruments.

You’re from Chicago. I’m from there originally -- where did you grow up in Chicago?

I grew up in Glen Ellyn, it’s west of Chicago about forty minutes. I went into the city from age 16 on, heading down to jam sessions on the south side,

meeting Von Freeman and many other Chicago jazz legends and jamming regularly. I now run a small jazz festival in Glen Ellyn and it’s nice to bring jazz back to my hometown.

You’re known for utilizing modal and exotic scales that sound very different from traditional pentatonic blues. Did you get into blues while residing in Chicago?

Actually that’s wrong, I play almost exclusively traditional scales and pentatonic scales. What’s different is the way I use the pentatonic scales (bends and such) and the notes that I add into them to give them a raga like sound, while also retaining a soul jazz bluesy feeling. Check out my course JAZZ ROCK WORKSHOP, it goes deep into this. For example, if I have a D minor blues scale [D,F,G,A,C,D], it’s very common for traditional blues players to add in the F sharp [D,F, F#, G,A,C,D]. If you remove the F, you get

D,F#,G,A,C,D, which is a very Indian sound - still a pentatonic scale, but basically a blues scale with one note left out....great sound!

What kind of music were you exposed to as a kid?

Everything, my folks are music lovers - my mother is from Chile, she sang and played a little guitar. I have fond memories of her trying to get through Spanish and Chilean folk songs. Later on my dad, who is from Pakistan, and mom, both played records of Indian music, jazz, and classical guitar music. They took me to see McCoy Tyner, Pat Metheny, Santana. When I started to play guitar, my mother bought home three records: Al Di Meola - Elegant Gypsy, Pat Martino - Joyous Lake, and Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life. That was a pretty good starter kit from mom! Later, we traveled a lot to France, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Iran, Pakistan and I was introduced to all kinds of music and musicians. At home, I listened to American radio and was into everything 1970s like Foghat, Rush, Led Zeppelin, etc. It was natural for me to embrace all of this and it melded together very easily and subconsciously.

Who were some of your influences when you first playing guitar?

Classical guitar influences were Jose Rey de la Torre, from his album Romantic Guitar that we had at home. I just love his tone and elegant phrasing. After that I fell for Al Di Meola and Paco De Lucia, then John McLaughlin and Pat Martino and later on Grant Green, Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall. Of course from there, John Williams, Julian Bream, Andres Segovia and the Romeros were huge.

Let’s talk a little bit about Garaj Mahal. In my opinion, Garaj Mahal is one of the most innovative jazz rock bands, like a second incarnation of Mahavishnu Orchestra. You guys did a short tour recently, how did that go?

Great! Garaj Mahal has a fantastic new drummer named Hassan Hurd and the great Oz Ezzeldin is hitting on keys, so we will be touring and recording again soon! Kai and I have lots of new music written.

You’re in like five different acts from Fareed Haque and Flat Earth to Goran Ivanovic and Fareed Haque duo, your own classical guitar act...all of these groups have a different and diverse set of sounds. What’s your process of mental preparation so that you can memorize all of the music for these different bands?

I think ahead, in every sense of the word. I go through music in my head, both visually and theoretically, often months before shows or tours. Then once it is memorized, it’s usually there for keeps, with the occasional brush up.

But the key is knowing the music, and preparing

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How do you recruit the musicians for your projects?

Groove and time, chops and tradition are important...but mostly I need to play with players who are a good hang and are willing to take risks and mess up now and then. Otherwise, the process isn’t fun and audiences pick up on that.

When did you first learn about music business contracts and how to collect royalties for multiple recording projects?

I’m still learning! It’s so complicated, but so important to be proactive about this stuff. The music world has NOT really changed that much in some essential ways. Spotify, YouTube, Sirius etc. are all basically new forms of radio. And getting “airplay” is still what it’s all about. A few calls to DJs and adds to playlists and I can see the increase in payouts - and even though these streaming services pay very little, they actually pay as well if not more than traditional radio.

So, for those folks complaining about the music business, well I like to say, “That ship sailed a long time ago!” We should have been fighting for better rates in the 1960s and pushed for better royalties, more tracking of radio and elevator music, but we, musicians and musicians’ unions, started giving away music for free in the 1950s. Now we complain? Way too little too late and don’t tell me “live music is best.” I LOVE live music, but really?

You’re going to tell me that a recording of Arthur Rubenstein or Lang Lang for free on the radio is worse than a mediocre pianist playing in a bad room with people burping, farting and coughing?

Come on! The only thing we have to offer as live musicians is spontaneity, so improvise.

You are currently a professor at Northern Illinois University. Was it always your objective to become a music professor after you had finished touring?

Nope, never...I literally got a call out of the blue asking me to teach guitar at NIU. I had taught some at music stores etc., and thought this was just another teaching gig like those.

I am pretty organized mentally and teaching helped me organize my ideas even further, and that was helpful to most students. So, it’s been a win-win, but I’m not really a dedicated teacher, I’m just honest and try to be organized. This works well for serious students, not so well for casual students. Ah well, we could use a few less lazy students!

You’ve played with a lot of guitars over your career, but you’re mainly associated with semi-hollowbodies. What is your favorite

kind of guitar to play?

Ideally, I’d like to play nylon and full-size archtop guitars, but they are hard to amplify so for many years I’ve played L5-S guitars like Pat Martino’s.

I LOVE the sound and even-ness of tone, sustain and articulation, however I’ve found that it was not great for touring...it sounded good in 1 out of 20 amps and was super heavy. Recently Brian Galloup and Sam Guidry have built a beautiful set of prototype guitars that we hope to eventually refine into a Fareed Haque Model. This is a brilliant concept that virtually eliminates feedback issues with arch-tops, while at the same time creating incredible sustain and playability across the register. Basically this is a CNC carved, full depth arch-top with a flat back, no f-holes and a sound post to tune, all connected dynamically and ergonomically. The result is a very musical and traditional sounding and looking guitar, with most of the problems of traditional archtop guitars eliminated. No wolf notes and great sustain even up to the very highest notes on the low strings, so comping way up high and even on upper frets of low strings is no problem, and effects work great too.

You also use a Moog guitar and sometimes Stratocaster. Has Fender or Moog ever approached you about designing a guitar?

Actually I was the beta tester and one of the original Moog guitar guys. I think mine is number 006 or 007? It was a great concept, but way too pricey and kind of a waste of technology on a guitar that was not a good fit. If you are building a guitar with infinite sustain, then why build a guitar with no attack and great sustain? It would have been cooler to build a very rootsy guitar, cheaply like a Stratocaster or Mustang or Jazzmaster and then add in the crazy sustain pickups, etc. Moog didn’t really get the guitar market I think and eventually discontinued the model. I was hoping they’d build an archtop version, but they never got around to it. I sure enjoy playing it though!

What local amp or effects pedal builders are you’re digging, if any?

Been into the Sonicake Twiggy Blues pedal. It’s a fly-rig pedal with delay, amp simulation, reverb, distortion and compression. Great tones in a tiny package, for that gig where the amp sucks or doesn’t even show up! Fits in your gig bag and sounds sweet.

I’m also an Henriksen endorser and Goran and I are endorsing Lyon and Healy classical guitars and Acus acoustic amps and preamps. These are great products for amplifying classical guitar.

And of course, I am using the Galloup guitars as well as the Relish solid body for the upcoming Billy Cobham Tour.

Let’s talk a bit about your current projects.

What do you have that’s new in the works?

Currently focusing on a few classical projects – I

“I think ahead, in every sense of the word.

I go through music in my head, both visually and theoretically, often months before shows or tours.”

SPOTLIGHT

carefully and slowly enough so that the memory process is lasting and comprehensive. Also, I read pretty well for a guitarist so I can notate and then read to refresh if needed.

have a CD with a string quartet that has been doing really well and is something I’m proud of.

Also Goran and I, Flat Earth Ensemble, Tony Monaco and the Billy Cobham band all have new CDs in the works. These are probably my best work to date, I’m super excited to get these albums out. My own solo project is something quite different. A few years back, guitar great Mark Ribot sent me a stack of music by a Haitian guitarist and composer named Frantz Casseus.

The more I played this music, the more I’ve fallen in love with it, and eventually ended up recording an albums worth of his music with my own band.

I am drawn to the great songs of Latin America that have mostly been ignored by jazz guitarists.

So, look for more of this blend of jazz, Latin and classical guitar in the next few CDs. Starting with Casseus!

Any last words?

Oh dang and here I thought it was going so well... can I get a blindfold, cigarette, last meal maybe?

Well...hope to see you at the show!

Follow on Twitter: @FareedHaque PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 21

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SPOTLIGHT

Bad-Ass. Boss. Empowerhouse.

EMILY WOLFE Whitney Hensley

Alexandra Lane

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 23

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E

mily took my call from her car.

recognition for their art as a rockstar.

The sun was setting on Austin, TX and she was just getting home.

She was parked in the driveway of the house in the suburbs that she shares with her wife, Brittany.

At 29, Wolfe has spent the better part of the last decade - sometimes deliberately, sometimes unknowingly - building towards this life. Today, she’s sober, supported, and well on her way to success as a songwriting, bluesy badass with prodigy-level guitar skills. However, it’s taken peaks, valleys, self-discovery, and a lot of work to get here.

She laughed as she explained to me that from her vantage point in the car, she could see one of her dogs staring out of the house’s front windows,

Emily has been playing since she was five years old. Her first guitar - an acoustic 6-string came from some “weirdo thrift shop” where she

“I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

Austin is where I found my sound, and grew up and became a real human.” while Brittany was probably trying to wrap up work and unwind.

It’s a quaint scene, from a domestic kind of life. Not necessarily what you’d expect from someone who has been receiving increasing 24 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

just remembers seeing it hanging on a wall, and not being able to look away. It was love at first sight.

She started guitar lessons with an older man in town, which she hated because he told her

she’d never be good at it and should probably just learn drums instead.

She begrudgingly tells me that drums are actually her first instrument. But it didn’t take long for her to find her way back to that six-string.

As a kid, her family relocated from Charlotte, NC to Texas, which she says was a driving force in her picking up guitar for good. “I didn’t have friends in this new state,” she says.

“I grew up in church, which is an unfortunate thing for me as a gay woman, but you know…”

Emily recalls. “I would get to watch a band play and run home and try to recreate the stuff on guitar. And it was kind of an everyday thing.”

Feeling out-of-place at church because of who she was, feeling out-of-place at school because she was new, and trying to do the selfdiscovery that is inevitable in your early teen years sounds near impossible. But, she says that found solace and purpose in guitar, and being in Austin was her best-case-scenario.

“I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

Austin is where I found my sound, and grew up and became a real human,” she laughs.

That real human released her self-titled, full-

The first time I listened to it, I was walking home from work. I tend to dedicate my downtime to telling stories; this album made me remember why.

The first song on the record is called “Violent Veins.” It opens with a rhythmic kick drum that puts you in a trance, while Wolfe skillfully builds up the guitar riff to a climax, bringing the rest of the band in. By the time her voice cuts through the noise, you simultaneously feel hungry for, and are totally surprised by it. It’s delicate but edgy -full, and emotional.

“That’s totally a deal with being a woman, like you’re supposed to be dainty and not take up space and not sweat and stuff,” Emily says. “But I don’t know, I’ve gotten to the point where I’m like ‘I don’t fucking care’. I’m not going to cross my legs when I’m sitting. I’m going to just talk the way I talk. Whatever.”

boundaries are, while relentlessly pushing at them, seems to work well for Emily. She even applies it when she’s on the road. As a gay woman, lead guitarist, from a relatively liberal hometown, it would be easy to understand if she shied away from visiting some more conservative locales.

Instead, Emily says, she just plans ahead.

She’s being her, and she’s surrounding herself with the people that support that vision.

“I definitely plan my set - what I play - around what the audience is going to be like. So, for example, I played Little Rock, Arkansas, and I had never been there before. I was like, ‘Oh my God, what is this going to be like?’ So based on the demographic, I pulled out some classic rock covers. I played the normal heavier stuff of mine, and at the end I was like ‘I’m just going to blast them with ‘Hot for Teacher’ and ‘Ace of Spades,’ and they loved it! If you can just nail some stuff that they love, they’ll drop preconceived notions about me.”

“For so long, I would sit down with a person - whether it be a manager or a booking agent or whoever - and I would feel as if they were interviewing me for a position that they had open.

It would be such a reversed thing. Now, there’s a total role reversal. Now, I interview people to be like ‘hey do you want to work with me’ instead of me being like ‘do you think I’d be a good fit on your label?’”

She says it’s established a much healthier environment for her to create in, and she couldn’t love her team more. Her manager, Brittany Durdin, is also her wife. Her bandmates, Clellan Hyatt and Evan Nicholson are guys who she now says are like brothers. And Emily is making the art that feels like, well, Emily. Whatever that is.

The lyrics are that of a woman who is loving, losing, learning, and becoming.

“Come on baby just lend me your soul, I can’t run around forever just searching for my own / I think I broke your body and stretched out your lungs / I can’t breathe without your love,” she howls.

It feels like something - punk and bluesy, pop with more edge, hardcore with a bow. It feels like Peggy Olson Rock.

Now, for those of you who are like ‘Who the hell is Peggy Olson, and what is she doing here?’ -- let me tell you. Peggy is an integral character on the AMC show Mad Men. Played

by Elisabeth Moss for all seven seasons, she starts out as this unassuming secretary, who by the end of the show has been through some shit, dealt with it, and is a woman in her power taking her earned seat at the table. The scene with her carrying her stuff to her new office, cigarette hanging out of her mouth, don’t-fuckwith-me attitude just dripping from her whole person - that is what Emily’s music is. And honestly, Peggy and Emily aren’t so different.

Emily is a woman who is coming into her own, too.

“I’ve always wanted to be a pioneer on the frontlines of something musical,” she says. “If it’s my album, that’s awesome. If it’s something in music, that’s great too. But I’ve always wanted to be the first person to break through some kind of genre barrier.”

That’s why working with Ben was such a treat. He was able to shed light on that piece of magic that is unique to Emily - she knows what she wants to hear, in a world where not everyone knows what they want to hear - and was able to pull it out.

SPOTLIGHT

length album in February of this year. Produced

by Ben Tanner, keyboardist for Alabama Shakes, and written entirely by Wolfe, this record is her most important work to date.

So that’s what’s up next. Emily is taking her guitar, her band, and her genre-bending musicality on tour. She’ll be pushing the limits on the road through 2020, just trying to get loud, connect, and be heard.

“That’s a super cool thing about music, when you can connect with somebody on that level, stuff can melt away…”

Follow on Twitter: @EmilyWolfeMusic

She was deliberate with every piece of preand post-production on the new LP. She taught herself a lot before Ben even got involved, but through that relationship, was able to learn interesting tricks for capturing the right sound.

“I learned a really cool-ass trick, which is: putting a mic under a drum set that’s kinda shitty and blending it into the regular drum track makes a really cool sound,” she says excitedly.

The hardest part, she says, was the sequencing of the album tracks. She asked for input from close friends and family, and had about five different versions of the tracklist before sitting down and listening to each song again. She said the version on the album was decided because she wanted to “take people on a roller coaster but don’t surprise them too much.”

EMILY WOLFE [SELF-TITLED] STANDOUT TRACK: “HOLY ROLLER”

That mindset of knowing where the PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 25

SPOTLIGHT

A Chat with The Chats: Rebellious Pop-Punk for All Matthew Walter

Sarah Brooks

26 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

SPOTLIGHT PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 27

SPOTLIGHT

T

he Chats have the element of youth on their side, with both their sound and their attitude; they’ve still got the element of no worries, jangly, streamof-consciousness pop-punk sounds and laissez-faire attitudes that can sometimes be lost as we get older. [editor’s note - in short, The Chats are everything punk rock should stand for, and might just be the saving grace in today’s rock-free musical landscape].

They embody the DIY spirit and release all their music on their own terms. They’re just having fun, and they’re doing it well; their viral single “Smoko” asserts it. They’re beloved by rock greats like Dave Grohl (and you bet they’ve got a picture to prove it). We chatted with drummer Matt Boggis about their goofy music videos, their progression as a band, and more.

You started creating music as a band when you all were in high school; how have your creative process, production techniques, and overall band identity shifted since then?

Well, we don’t record with a two-track interface into GarageBand anymore, so you could say things are getting pretty serious. We got a bit tighter too, as a band.

Your recent videos for “Smoko” and “Pub Feed” are both hilarious and illuminate the band’s persona. Tell me about the process that went into making these two videos and what you wanted to portray to your listeners?

We like to keep it kind of simple and display a bit of Aussie humor in the music, and not take it too seriously. Making both of those videos was pretty simple and we all had a good time doing it; we got to ride a three-seater bike.

Your catchy hit song “Smoko” went viral on YouTube; what was that experience like?

It was pretty cool! We made it thinking only our friends would see it...turns out a lot more did. We definitely wouldn’t be where we are today without it.

28 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

When the band takes smokos, what are your topics of conversation? (Unless you want to be left alone!)

Eamon and I don’t talk. We just listen to Josh talk about his [Toyota] Hilux.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your quippy, no-bars-held lyrics, and what’s the songwriting process like?

Sometimes we’ll write a song and it will be pretty clear before we even play it, but most of the time we just jam and figure it out as we go.

How do you translate your worry-free, raucous persona into your live shows, and what’s the energy been like there?

We don’t think about it too much. We just play.

I think a lot of people can relate to the Aussie humour and enjoy the old punk sound.

I feel like you all have the most legendary party stories. Tell me about one!

Eamon shat in a caravan once, that was pretty legendary.

You all were recently spotted in a photo with legends Dave Grohl and Alex Turner. Who do you want in your next photo entourage?

We want to get a photo with Korn and Limp Bikkie [Bizkit].

What’s next for the band?

We are just about to head out on our Australia New Zealand Identity Theft tour, and have a European headline tour at the end of the year.

If you had to list your favorite desert island instruments, what would they be?

Would just be a guitar, bass, and drums, I suppose.

Maybe sneak in the harmonica?

And like that, just like the band’s songs, the interview ends with a punchline, and doesn’t overstay its welcome. If you haven’t experienced the band live yet, you’re in for an incredible treat. Catch The Chats on their tour throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Europe in 2019; in 2020, there’s no telling

FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT THE CHATS (as told to us by The Chats – so take that for what it’s worth!)

SPOTLIGHT

where this band will go (and what rad new music videos they’ll gift unto us).

Josh Homme personally requested the band to open for the Queens of The Stone Age, after being sent the “Smoko” video from Dave Grohl.

Drummer Matt got expelled from a school for stealing a golf buggy and driving it around The “Smoko” video has over 7.5 million views (and counting!)

Guitarist Pricey [Josh Price] has never read a book from start to finish.

The band all turn 20 this year.

On their recent Australian tour, Idles covered “Smoko” during their set.

After their sell-out debut UK tour last year, the band played Reading and Leeds this year.

Drummer Matt is a pro skater.

Eamon worked at Coles.

To maintain his lucious Mullet, Eamon trims the front every coupla weeks, and when needs be, his mum trims the back.

Follow online at https://www.thechatslovebeer.com

THE CHATS IDENTITY THEFT 7-INCH SINGLE

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 29

SPOTLIGHT

Nathan Willett opens up about new inspirations, digital technology and taking songs from record to stage

COLD WAR KIDS

A

fter 15 years together as a band, Cold War Kids are still going strong.

In the midst of a multipart album rollout, band leader Nathan Willett sat down with us to share intimate details of their journey, their inspiration and their bar-room piano sound.

What were some of your biggest influences when you were starting out?

When we were starting, definitely the ’60s, ranging from a lot of old blues stuff to hip-hop,

30 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

Matthew Siskin Zack Dictakis

Fiona Apple and Velvet Underground.

Fiona Apple has a very visceral sound in her music. Do you find that you focus on this as a tactic for storytelling in your songwriting process? For example, in your earlier song ‘We Used to Vacation’?

I guess I haven’t totally articulated it that way but yeah, that’s the best way to say it, having the words match the music, emotionally, that’s the best when you can do that. I don’t always set out to do it but sometimes things work out that way.

How have your musical inspirations changed over the years? What are some bands that

inspired this album series?

Frank Ocean, Steve Lacy, SZA. There’s so much good music out there that I feel less like I’m influenced by a singular artist or record, but when we are working on so much you get inspired by little pieces of [lots of ] things.

Are there any specific instances that you can think of where you were inspired?

Yeah, I have a huge Spotify playlist for all the stuff we are inspired by for this record. There’s this Curtis Mayfield Record called There’s No Place Like America Today and I listened to that a ton and it’s really minimal but like sick and gospel-soul. It feels very modern. That’s one of the biggest things

SPOTLIGHT I really dug into during the making of this record.

Is there any equipment you use that has been there for the entire run of the band; is there an instrument that you need to get your specific sound?

Yeah, we have an old upright piano that we use for everything, we’ve even sampled it so that if anything ever happened to it we’d still have the sounds. Like, when we play live we play a keyboard with the piano that has every note sampled from the piano we record with. And it’s kinda rad, because a lot of people are shocked that it’s not a real piano that we’re playing with. That’s a huge thing for me because at a certain point

that slightly out of tune bar-room upright piano is such a part of the sound. There are a few things like the original Fender Super Reverb amp, and a Silvertone guitar that we’ve used on every record, as well.

There’s something really great about knowing what your sonic palette is and being able to write the best song you can within it.

Do you have any brand loyalty?

It’s interesting because we’ve gone through phases -- the early days we did with our friend Matt, who is a very analogue guy who was very much like, ‘There’s only one way to do everything.’ And that

was very helpful in a way, the very rigid ‘that’s how you get this sound’ and we were all about hollow body guitars, but after years of touring and years of those guitars being out of tune and breaking and airlines dropping them and being busted when you open them, I think we became a Fender band because of that.

We bought a Yamaha CP70, kinda like a baby grand piano -- they are very heavy, made in the ’80s and U2 used them, a bunch of people used them.

But it’s a real piano you know, when we were starting out it was the biggest thing in our PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 31

We just had this feeling like playing a digital piano on a stand and having your legs and feet be naked underneath it just didn’t feel…I just want to hit real keys. We went way above and beyond to have that.

drives me crazy when it doesn’t make sense and feel powerful over being abstract.

Do you ever find you write a poem and then try it out on different music?

Yeah, for sure. I always love the idea that like Eddie Vedder’s got a notebook full of chicken scratch lyrics and pulls it out with the band. I love that idea, but I usually think it’s like a square peg

“There’s something really great about knowing what your sonic palette is and being able to write the best song you can within it.”

Now they make way better weighted keys and electric pianos, so we can have amazing piano samples that sound better than any real piano we could bring on tour. It’s crazy how technology has changed.

You’ve been a big band throughout the majority of that change, what has that experience been like?

Even the early days of recording to tape and starting to learn about plug-ins, we had this very strong idea that recording was about a performance and a commitment to that, but over time breaking away from that and being comfortable making things different than they are performed.

It’s much more creative to think outside of the box.

There was a period where the digital imitations sounded crispy and unnatural, but then around 2010 - 2012 and we were like, ‘Wait a minute, all these companies did this incredible stuff, and some people still won’t admit that some of this stuff sounds just as good as a lot of analogue stuff.’

And it doesn’t have to be an ‘either or’ thing if you want to use an Ampeg plug-in or your real amp, just do whatever sounds best.

Is there somewhere you always start from when writing a song, be it words, melody, drums?

Pretty much always music first, then singing along and finding melodies, and then making sure that’s strong and making sense of the mumbly words. I always try to use the mumbly words, but I usually end up rewriting everything ten times.

There’s been a few that have stayed simple but it

in a round hole, trying to force it. And it’s funny, the more years that pass the more I learn the basic stuff that things that poetically could be really cool on a page don’t often sound phonetically as good, there’s some words that just don’t sing well.

I like to sing things out and it has to be vowelly.

How do you manage rehearsals, is it a weekly thing, daily? How does songwriting work its way into rehearsal?

It’s usually something that we are incredibly inconsistent about; we actually did a bunch for learning a lot of new songs, we are recording a lot of different ways, some of them have been very full band, and others have been the producer and myself.

probably played every night, every time we’ve ever done a show. It’s weird, I’ve never disliked any of those songs, I’ve never had like a strange feeling playing them. And we never had to sell people on them, they were our only songs.

There are also some songs from our older records that are different live, and just truly better live, and are either way too slow on the record or way too ‘something’ that in hindsight we can’t believe we played that [way].

SPOTLIGHT

trailer, we brought it everywhere, we loaded it up everywhere. And we would tune it when we got there.

Do you feel that you work better as a team now than you used to?

We’ve gone through a lot of members, but yeah.

There’s always so much of the romantic side of the early years of the band, where nobody knows what they’re doing and it’s just trial by fire, which is the best, and at the same time that can only last so long. You have to be a team and have your roles so that you can support each other.

There’s a much healthier common vision that we have. The beginning is chaos.

The Cold War Kids have come a long way, but through a changing music scene have maintained a connection in their sound and to each other.

Nathan is excited to begin the official tour of the album starting this November.

Follow on Instagram: @ColdWarKids

In the old days, the first time we played our songs to tracks, there were certain songs where we just couldn’t figure out how to get the arrangement… and in hindsight it’s just laughable. We just weren’t that flexible; we were thinking too small.

People will never notice ALL of these things and the important part is just that we play the song.

There’s also a certain point where you have as much music as we do, and so many years where even if you all worked on something all together in the studio, you still have to sort of learn it as though you are covering the song.

When you are playing some of your more famous songs, do you ever feel like you’ve become a slave to the original mastering of the song? Or do you feel that you have the room to still be creative and find what’s new in each performance?

There are a few songs from the first record that we’ve kinda always played -- those songs we’ve

COLD WAR KIDS NEW AGE NORMS 1 STANDOUT TRACK: “WAITING FOR YOUR LOVE”

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 33

RECORDING

Introduction to for Songwriter 34 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

RECORDING

I

f you are a songwriter who wants to record better demos and more professional sounding recordings on a budget, this article is for you. I am going to cover the basics and a few advanced tips for recording your music using the DAW (digital audio workstation) Reaper.

What is Reaper?

Reaper is a full-featured DAW (digital audio workstation) developed by Cockos Incorporated. It has a comprehensive suite of effects and features that rival far more expensive products such as Pro Tools or Logic. Additionally, Reaper can use any VST (virtual studio technology) available to Pro Tools, allowing you to have state-of-the-art effects and virtual instruments.

Reaper Pricing Cockos allows you to download a fullyfunctional, 30-day trial of Reaper to get you started.

After 30 days, the product is still fully-functional but adds a 20 second nag screen at startup. When you decide to purchase it, it is reasonably priced with both a discounted license and commercial license.

The discounted license is $60 for individuals or businesses with gross revenues of less than $20,000 per year. The commercial license is $225.

The discounted license and commercial license are the exact same product. Cockos uses an honor system, counting on their consumers to pay for the product honestly. I honor that by paying for the appropriate product.

After you use it for a while, you’ll agree it is a fair price.

Interface

to Reaper ers

Reaper comes with a quick start guide, a guide to some of Cockos’ supplied effects, and a detailed manual that is several hundred pages long. There is also an active and helpful community on the Reaper forums and on the Reaper Facebook group.

Audio Recording Chain In order to record music into Reaper you need, at minimum, an audio input device, a microphone, a mic-stand, and a pop-filter. Of course, you’ll need XLR and instrument cables as well.

Your Audio Input Device Normally this will be a USB device like the Focusrite 2i2 or 2i4. The device will typically include two to four XLR/instrument combo inputs with pre-amps and gain controls. Your audio input device will need phantom power if you have a condenser mic that requires it.

I started with a Steinberg (Yamaha) UR22 and used that alone for a couple years. In the past year I added a mic preamp and a compressor to give me greater controller and warmer recordings than the audio input device alone could provide.

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 35

RECORDING

Track added

The following represent what an audio input chain might look like: Microphone ⇓ Input Device ⇓ Computer ⇓ Reaper Or, as indicated above, my current input chain looks like: Microphone ⇓ Preamp ⇓ Compressor ⇓ Input Device ⇓ Computer ⇓ Reaper

In most cases, your PC will find and install the device drivers as soon as you plug in the device. Once it is added to your system, it will be available to Reaper. Let’s jump into the Reaper interface and your first recording.

The Reaper Interface Reaper has a ton of features and is highlycustomizable. We are going to cover the most basic elements of the Reaper interface as noted in the sample images.

The Track Panel The track panel is where you will do the bulk of your work in creating, recording, and editing tracks. It will display tracks on top of each other, allowing you to line up audio elements like guitar, vocals, bass, and percussion.

The Transport Controls The transport has the controls to start and stop recording, bring your recording cursor back to the start of your project, set your beats per minute (BPM), and even playback speed.

The Mixer Panel The mixer gives you finer control over each track allowing you to set your playback levels, pan your audio left or right, and set any fx levels.

Your First Track In order to add a track to reaper, double-click your mouse on the dark leftmost area of the track panel. You can also insert a track by pressing​ <Ctrl+T>​on a PC or < ​ Command+T>​on a Mac. Finally, as with most commands, you can find the same command in the Reaper menu under Track->Insert Track​.

Name your track by clicking in the T ​ rack Name​box. I’ll be adding two tracks. ​Acoustic Guitar and V ​ ocals​.

Metronome settings

36 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

Your Interface & Microphone At this point, you should have your interface plugged in and powered on. Most smaller

Enable Metronome menu

interfaces get power from the USB port. Plug-in your microphone and turn on phantom power if required.

Your microphone should be setup on a mic stand and have a pop-shield/pop-filter in front of it. The pop-filter is to reduce plosives that are caused when singing certain consonant sounds like the letter “P” or “B.” These sounds can often cause a blast of air to hit the microphone and are difficult to remove from your recording.

Using Reaper’s Metronome/Click In order to record in time, you can use Reaper’s built-in metronome. You enable the metronome under the ​ Options->Enable Metronome.

Metronome Settings Under ​Options-Metronome settings​ you should consider setting the metronome to run during recording and near the bottom, to include a pre-roll during recording.

Setting the pre-roll gives you a number of measures to prepare yourself to record. The default setting is two measures, which will give you 8 clicks before recording starts. Later, I’ll explain what I use instead of the metronome but to get started, this is effective.

Arm Your Track You arm your track by clicking the red button in the upper left of a track’s controls. Assuming your input is set to the interface channel your

Set Your Recording Levels Using your input device, set your levels to ensure you do not “peak” or overload the input signal. If you do, your recording will sound distorted. Whenever possible, try to keep your recorded signal below -6db. This will allow you to add fx and increase volume as needed without overloading the channel signal. Learn more about proper gain staging in future articles.

Record Guitar Your mic stand should be positioned so that your microphone is at the same height/level as your guitar. Position yourself 5 to 10 inches from the microphone. Most engineers suggest pointing your microphone at the 12th fret of your guitar. However, you should experiment with the distance and position of your guitar to capture the sound you want.

For instance, for a softer tone, I sometimes play slightly angled to the side of my microphone (off-axis) and, depending upon how hard I may be playing, increase or decrease my distance. There is both science and art to getting the sound you want.

Press the record button on the transport to begin recording your guitar. <Ctrl+R> or <Command+R>​will start the recording as well.

Remember, your metronome will give you 8 counts before the recording starts. Depending upon your setup, you can increase that to 4 measures, or 16 beats, to give you time to get comfortable in front of your microphone.

Once you are done recording, press stop or the spacebar and save the audio file. You will see a visual representation of your audio’s soundwave in the track panel area.

Multiple Takes Keeping the guitar track armed, you can record multiple ​ takes​of the guitar. As you record, you’ll see the track being recorded but upon stopping the recording, you’ll see several takes stacked on top of each other. Later, you can cut and edit a track, selecting the best sections of each take to include in your final recording.

Record Vocals Disarm the track and then arm your vocal track. Set your microphone stand to a height that allows you to sing into the microphone comfortable and press record. You will hear your guitar in your headphones and can now sing over the guitar you recorded. Once you are done, you can play back the recording, hearing your vocals over the guitar track. As with the guitar track

above, you can record multiple takes to get the best performance.

Editing Your Audio Editing is performed by “splitting” a track.

When you split a track, you can zoom in or out to select more or less of a track. For instance, if you’ve recorded four takes of guitar, you may find that the first four bars (measures) of track two sound the best but Take 4 is better in all other areas.

Place your cursor at the end of the fourth measure, place your mouse over the track you wish to split, and press the “​ S”​key. Select the second take to the left of your cursor and rightmouse click, selecting​“Take->Lock to Active Take”​. Then select the fourth take to the right of your split, right mouse click, and select the same - “​ Take->Lock to Active Take”​.

This will cause your recording to play the first four measures of take two and then switch to take four for the remainder of the song. The same should be done for your vocal track.

Output Your Song You can create a final version of your song using the ​“File->Render”​menu. It gives you the option to save the file in a number of formats including .WAV or .MP3. You can also render just a section of the song to send someone a small sample.

Advanced Tips Tip #1: Record a Scratch Track First I record a scratch track, in the right time signature and BPM, as a map. The track is me playing basic guitar and singing vocals. But it is a throw away track that will not be included in the final mix. It provides a guide that I can record to.

I do this because it is difficult to record guitar without any vocals and recall where you are in the song. I record the scratch track and then record my “real” guitar track while the scratch

track plays in my headphones. In this way, my guitar track is recorded with more “realistic” feel because I am playing along to myself. Next, mute the scratch track and record vocals over your “real” guitar track.

Tip #2: Replace the Metronome with MIDI Drums Assuming you are recording a song in 4/4 time, a four-count click can lack the feel of your actual song, which may be better recorded with a more realistic rhythm. Reaper includes a MIDI editor and there are a number of low-cost and free MIDI drum-kits.

RECORDING

mic is plugged into, once you arm the track you’ll begin seeing a signal in the track channel mixer and the corresponding channel in your mixer panel.

I use a few pre-set MIDI drum tracks and use those to record instead of the metronome.

Usually they’ll include a closed high-hat hitting 8th notes and a basic bass drum and snare combo. If my song has a more percussive and syncopated feel, I’ll edit my drums to better match that feel.

Conclusion We did not touch on applying fx or more advanced techniques like routing. Suffice to say, Reaper can accomplish all of these advanced features and much more.

Studio time can be expensive. Taking the time to learn a little bit more about recording with Reaper can give you more complete recordings or let you prepare and arrange songs for when you do go into the studio.

Visit Reaper.fm and give reaper a try.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matthew Moran is a songwriter, performer, author, podcaster, and technologist based in Los Angeles. He performs solo shows and with his band, Arrogant Sage. He often provides workshops to business groups and musicians on content marketing, collaboration, and useful technologies.

LEARN MORE at MatthewMoranOnline.com

Tracks with active takes

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 37

RECORDING

Latin Grammy-Nominate Succar’s Tips for Building

H

i, my name is Tony Succar, I’m a producer/arranger, composer and artist based out of Miami.

I just recently released my third album, in which the first single was nominated for a Latin Grammy last year. My prior album reached #1 on the Tropical Billboard Charts and #1 on the Amazon and iTunes charts, as well. It was distributed by Universal Music and a PBS special on the project, which I helped produce, aired on more than 350 stations in the United States.

I just recently opened up my studio, Unity One Studio in Miami. I used to rent out so many studios for hours on end. So, I finally decided to invest and build my own from the ground up. I built it personally with my dad in our home, so you could say it’s basically a glorified home studio. I say ‘glorified’ because the rooms sound truly amazing. Usually, building studios in residential homes can be complicated because of the need to get proper acoustic treatment in (what can be) lessthan-ideal spaces. Luckily, we succeeded on that front. We spent about a year designing 38 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

and building the studio and could not be happier with it.

HERE ARE SOME LESSONS LEARNED FROM BUILDING A HOME STUDIO

My current setup consists of a Mac Pro (trash can model) running Avid Pro Tools | HDX + HD I/O 16x16 Analog. In terms of mic preamps, I have a dual channel BAE 1073, (4) API 512c’s and the Earthworks 1024 zero distortion pre-amps. I also have a Universal Audio LA-2A compressor. For my microphones, I have a wide selection of types and brands, Neumann U87s, AKG 414s, an Earthworks Dk7 kit, plus an array of Lewitt, Sennheiser, and Shure mics, as well. I’m all wired up by Wirewold cables. My studio desk, stands, and racks are all On-Stage. In terms of my studio monitors, I use the Sceptre S6 from PreSonus, and I also use their FaderPort and monitor control system. All acoustic panels and diffusers in my live room are the Pro Series panels from Auralex, but my control room panels are from GIK Acoustics.

ROOMS MUST sound good. This is the MOST important thing, for me at least, as I record so many live instruments. You can use the best mic’s the best boards, the best interfaces and the best plug-ins, but if the source quality isn’t up to par, your end product will always be lacking in quality. There’s no way to make up on that.

ACOUSTICS MUST COME FIRST! Make sure your isolation is right on between rooms, and that the reflections are all taken care of properly before you hit record.

As for my power control, which is extremely important, I have the Furman P-2400 IT 20 Amp Power Conditioner and a PL PRO-C Power Conditioner to provide surge and voltage protection while keeping everything quiet.

POWER! Make sure you have good power distribution and the right products to protect all of your gear. This is why I always go ALL IN with Furman products, and not only that, I call company representatives up to make sure I have what I need. I give them the full list of gear, along with my power situation in the rooms, and they recommend the perfect products to give me peace of mind and keep the rooms quiet from all types of ground issues, interference and power noise issues. In my Unity One Studio, Furman products

RECORDING

ted Producer Tony ng a Studio from Scratch have provided surge and voltage protection while creating a quiet noise floor to build my music upon. I could hear the difference as soon as I started using the gear. The sound quality is a lot cleaner and more consistent than other power conditioners, and all my gear that’s plugged into them runs flawlessly 100 percent of the time.

With dozens of recording partners visiting my studios on a daily basis, Furman has no doubt served as the best, most reliably performing equipment, while presenting a professional aesthetic in my studio appearance.

MAKE the right choice for what you’ll be doing. When I was building my studio, I wanted to have my control room be the bigger room (which was my garage), and the live room be the smaller room. Ideally, it would’ve been great to have both rooms be on the larger side, but it just wasn’t possible to do that in my house.

My thought was to have a bigger control room for when I have artists over. We could hang in the control room to do listening or writing sessions. But it ended up being my dad who gave me the best advice. He said it’s more important to have a bigger live room because I record a

lot of live instruments, drum sets, sessions with four to five horn players at once, string quartets, etc.… I was thinking of just having a booth to record one instrument at a time, and then barely squeeze in a drum set. But he was right, I did it the way he recommended and it has been the biggest blessing ever. Not only can I record anything I want in there, but the room also sounds fantastic. In many cases, you need the proper space in order for the instruments to sound the way they should.

Expect DELAYS. If you’re planning for 8 to 12 weeks to be finished with the studio, think again. Construction jobs always take longer than usual, especially studios. Since we did this on our own, we were learning on the fly. As a result, we had massive project delays. There is SO much detail that goes into a studio, from the initial acoustic isolation phase, to the last decor phase, everything has details and you must be patient.

Don’t rush through anything because it’s better to do it right the first time.

Most expensive does not always mean best sounding. We tend to think that whatever is

most pricy is best and this is not always true.

Everything depends on what you’re doing, but my rule of thumb is and will always be MUSIC FIRST. I learned that from my dear friend Bruce Swedien, a legendary engineer. Your eyes might lie to you in the studio, but your ears never will. If it sounds good and it moves your heart and soul, it’s the right fit; don’t change it.

There’s a lot that goes into building your own studio, but what’s most important is that you do your research to build what works for you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tony Succar is a producer, multiinstrumentalist, and composer/arranger whose talents stem from a passion for music gifted to him early on in life. Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Miami Florida, Succar earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Jazz Performance from Florida International University in 2008 and his master’s degree in 2010. Most recently, Tony was nominated for the prestigious Latin Grammy Awards 2018 for Best Tropical Song with “Me Enamoto Mas De Ti.” FOR MORE, visit tonysuccar.com.

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 39

GEAR REVIEWS

BAE Royaltone Fuzz Pedal

B

AE has made their bones doing classic British preamps and EQ units, sparing no expense and detail, offering modern versions of classics. In our April 2017 issue we got to check out their Hot Fuzz Pedal. Now they are back at it again, with their yellow Royaltone Fuzz, and the Crown would be pleased for keeping up their end.

Not all fuzzes are created equal, and the inner workings of this yellow box are pretty impressive, with low noise transistors, and a selection of ceramic, electrolytic and mica capacitors, and staying true to the British fuzzes, its circuit is silicon based. It’s powered via a 9v battery, or using a standard 2.5mm 9v power supply.

The two oxblood colored attack (fuzz) and level knobs cover the fuzz, while the black Bass, Mid and Treble controls handle EQ. Now the cool thing here is the dual footswitches; one engages the fuzz, and the other the EQ section. So, what this gives is an audio articulation, getting the fuzz to sit in the mix of things really well. One things fuzzboxes can do is compress and saturate so much, that they can get lost in the lower frequencies. Having that extra EQ section to get the fuzz to be heard (and felt) is really a great feature. There are individual LEDs to let you 40 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

know when the fuzz or EQ is engaged.

So, where does it sit on the fuzz scale? Think Vox Tone bender. At extreme settings it can get nice and crispy, with that signal decay that dies in such a musical way that the notes just quickly squeeze and trail off at the end. There’s plenty of sustain where it just keeps going, and the low string riffs just blast through. Soften things up a bit with the EQ and you’re in smoother violin territory. In lower gain, it somehow keeps the balance of fuzzy-yet-sweet, compressing very nicely overall, regardless of the frequency range.

It’s great for raunchy power rhythm with a lot of cut. The EQ adds in that extra tweakability spice. It’s a bit subtle, but it works just where you want it to, and what’s meant for guitar. One added bonus: is if a player is just looking for an EQ shift or boost, using it on its own without the fuzz yields some really quality results, such as brightening up a dark amp in a clean setting.

We put it through its paces with humbuckers and single coils, and were really happy with the overall results. It can do classic tones, but with the added EQ, it gives a lot more modern functionality for anyone looking to go full “desert rock” while maintaining their sonic space. Now it’s hard to say it’s quiet (it is a fuzz after all), but

it’s bringing in the noises you want, not hiss and static.

The only downside is the EQ and Fuzz foot switches are a bit close together, so players with big feet take notice.

Chris Devine

PROS

classic British fuzz, EQ is very flexible, sounds great!

CONS

foot switches might be a bit close for individual use STREET PRICE

$225

GEAR REVIEWS

W

hen the new Novation Summit was announced, it was touted as basically being two Peaks in one box…with a keyboard, of course. Which got us thinking, of all the synths we’ve tested out over the years (even including some from Novation), we’ve never actually got our hands on Peak…until now. And we must say, we feel stupid for having waited this long.

So, here’s the short version: Peak is a desktop module, so you’ll need to bring your own controller (thankfully Novation also supplied us with their Impulse 49 for the purposes of testing out Peak), but that means you’ll save precious space in your studio – space you can use for more synths! But seriously, the form factor is fantastic here. We’re notorious for not liking menu-based systems, but Peak’s screen is pretty easy to figure out, even for lunkheads like us, and we were off and programming custom sound patches in a matter of seconds. Once you’re in the system, the menu navigation actually starts to melt away, and you’re left fiddling with knobs and tweaking sliders instead of consulting a manual to figure out how the heck to get to sub-menu 1.6.af ?!?!

Plus, let’s face it, if you’re as old as us, you have a thing for wooden end cheeks.

The layout is fairly intuitive, which is great for a desktop module where space is at a premium. Oscillator banks reside on the left, and the signal flow is pretty straightforward from

NOVATION Peak Desktop Synth Module there. You go through the mixer, on to the filter, and then into your programmable envelopes and mod sections before hitting the built-in effects. Simple. Oscillators give you the standard wave shapes you’ve come to expect, but also offer up some unique shaping and FM modding capabilities which encourage experimentation and sound-shaping tangents. Peak is never boring, and always a fun challenge when you hit upon something new: like the “more” LED in the osc. section. You get very analog sounding (and super stable) numerically controlled oscillators plus dozens of digital wavetables to work with.

So, you can get traditional analog subtractive synth sounds (Moog bass, for instance), but also venture into more metallic and ambient territory as well (and that’s just scratching the surface).

You’ve also got a ridiculous amount of modulation choices to further shape your patches – with a 16-slot matrix and several envelopes and low frequency oscillators per voice. So, you can create lots of fun polyphonic movement, with the ability to also dial in expressive polyphonic aftertouch from your external devices. Very nice.

As if that weren’t enough, you’re also treated to pre- and post-filter distortion choices, plus an array of fx like reverb, chorus and delay that all sound musical, and really widen the sound of the already more-than-capable Peak.

you want to know: Peak is an incredible module.

With 8-voice polyphony, it’s got more voices and a cheaper price point than, say, the Sequential Prophet 6 module, and we think better modulation options and better sounding effects.

So, if that was on your wish list, you might want to give Peak a look. In this price range, you’d also be considering things like the Korg Prologue, which is nice, but is going to take up a lot more room since it’s got a proper keyboard, and for the 16-voice flagship version, it’ll still come out costing you more money.

Having now experienced what Peak has to offer, we’re beyond excited to try out Summit very soon. Stay tuned!

Benjamin Ricci

PROS

CONS

amazing makes us sound engine, want the easy to Summit even program, more! small form factor

STREET PRICE

$1399

We could go on for days, but here’s what PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 41

GEAR REVIEWS

CASIO PX-S3000 Digital Piano

W

hile we’ve been raving about the explosion in the synth market these past few years, the world of digital pianos has seemingly been flying under our radar.

But now, with increasingly solid entries into the world of digital pianos from the likes of Yamaha, Nord, Casio and more, it’s time we re-assess the state of the stage piano market.

We recently got sent the new Privia PXS3000 from Casio, and here are our first impressions. For starters, it does involve a screen and menus system, which admittedly we’ve not been huge fans of in the past. For stage pianos, we prefer knob or button-per function types of controls. After all, if we wanted to go menudiving, we’d be using a synth. But, we must say, the new PX-S3000 is dead-simple to use, even for menu-averse reactionaries like us. The screen is super easy to read in all lighting conditions and moving between piano sounds is as easy as using the touchscreen on your phone. In fact, the touch controls aren’t even apparent until you power the unit on, so it retains a super-sleek appearance until you give it power.

So, how does it feel? Well, it does have a textured keybed, which we must say takes a bit of getting used to. At first, it felt a bit odd, and rather unlike traditional piano keys or weighted action keybeds on comparable units. Your mileage may vary, but we’re not sure this feel will be to every player’s liking. Compared to the Yamaha digital piano we review elsewhere in this issue, we must give the nod to Yamaha for better replicating the feel of a genuine acoustic piano. That all said, it’s not bad by any stretch, just different. Weighting

42 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

is good (and the scaling is a nice touch), and the overall action will be acceptable for all but the most discerning players. For stage and studio, this should get the job done nicely, and because it’s a full 88 keys, you can actually play proper piano parts, not stifled by a synth’s lower octave count.

Sound-wise, you’re in good hands. Acoustic piano, organs, strings, pads and electric piano sounds are fairly convincing, and in a proper mix, you’d be hard-pressed to pick them apart from the real deal. In fact, the grand piano sound (the one you’ll likely gravitate towards first), faithfully recreates mechanical oddities you’d hear in a real instrument, as well as hammers striking metal when it comes to the e. piano tones (both tines and reeds). Nice jobs – those are the sort of nuances that we’re excited to be getting in 2019.

The only real disappointment is the cheap feeling pedal that’s included, but you’ll likely already have a good one you’ll want to use in its place. Not a deal breaker.

For under $800, Casio is providing convincing sounds, an 88-key spread, and solid feeling keybed that’ll be at home in your studio or on your next tour. The pitch wheel is a nice bonus, and means that over USB, you can have this double as your master MIDI controller when it comes time to fire up the DAW. The onboard speakers are OK for practice, but you’ll want to use proper line outs for professional use.

All in all, a solidly built unit that earns our recommendation.

Benjamin Ricci

PROS

easy to use menus/ screen, solid keybed, good sounds CONS

cheap pedal, no stand.

STREET PRICE

$799

GEAR REVIEWS

I

n this set is a pair of Rode’s TF-5 condenser microphones, as well as a set of mic clips, and a stereo bar, allowing the set to be mounted on one microphone stand. The stereo bar also has handy markings for distance, as well as angles for optimum positioning. This is a great feature, being able to keep track of mic placement from session to session, without having to mark up or use painters/masking tape to mark settings.

The microphones themselves are a matched pair, giving a true stereo image when used together. As these are condensers, they will require 48V phantom power. The capsule is a small format diaphragm with a cardioid pattern, and the internal circuit is a JFET design, giving plenty of clarity and no tonal coloring by the microphone’s electronics itself. There are no external switches or modes to be engaged, leaving it to be a simple “point and shoot” scenario when using them.

We put this pair through their paces capturing some acoustic sources in small-tomedium sized rooms, and were really impressed with the results, especially as we experimented in mic placement, specifically with the distance of the microphones to the sound sources. First off, we used a djembe, with the mics about two feet away, it really delivered the boom. It didn’t get overwhelming, but it was really present, but what was amazing was when the player went for a more subtle attack, the clarity was still there, with

RODE TF-5 Condenser Mic Pair enough bottom-end warmth to be felt. Moving them further away opened things up naturally, reducing that low-end response, and giving that extra space that still maintained depth. Using these as a set of room mics for any drums and percussion is a super smart application of these TF-5’s.

Switching to acoustic guitars, we placed one mic with a tighter angle on the fingerboard, and angled the other mic further away from the sound hole -- using the stereo bar at an angle made this very easy. The results were fantastic, and predictably there was more high-end coming in from the mic close to the fingerboard. We then reversed the angle, putting the sound hole mic closer, and it really yielded some great results, with an overall bigger sound with more punch and a bit more present midrange. Placing them at the same distance from the soundhole and fingerboard gave a good spread with plenty of separation. The good thing is that using these together really allows for separate EQ curves to be applied if need be, but getting a solid, balanced sound from the start is always best practice.

Pairing this set with a large format condenser would be a great application for ultra-potent acoustic tracks.

We tried another track, placing each mic 180 degrees from each other and having an acoustic guitar on one side, and the djembe player on the other side. We got plenty of clarity and

separation, but the djembe’s low end did bleed into the acoustic guitar’s mic a little bit. Placing more bass heavy instruments further away would remedy this – so as always, placement and experimentation is key. However, it did show that a pair of these would be great for a set of mics in a field recording scenario, capturing a true stereo image with plenty of warmth and clarity on any multitude of sources.

Overall, the set is incredibly well-balanced, and for capturing nuanced acoustic instruments this pair is downright impressive. It’s hard to see where a pair of these wouldn’t get used in a session. Even better, the whole kit is just $1500, and that’s beyond reasonable for a PAIR of amazing condensers.

Chris Devine

PROS

CONS

STREET PRICE

Great clarity, plenty of depth and warmth.

None.

$1499

PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 43

GEAR REVIEWS

YAMAHA Stagepas 1K Column PA System

W

e’ve tested out some of the previous Stagepas entries from Yamaha in the past, and our spellchecker still hasn’t forgiven us. Joking aside, the Stagepas (yes, just one ‘s’) 1K offers up 1,000 watts of PA power in a compact, portable column design that can fit into the back of any car or tour van.

Assembling Stagepas 1K is a pretty simple affair. The base unit houses the main speaker, inputs and mixer section. Then you just plug in the three additional sound columns like LEGOs. They all snap into place in the base station, and you’re off and running. What we love about the new Stagepas model is that with increased wattage comes plenty of clean headroom, so if you plan on using this in a band situation, you’re not going to come up against gnarly clipping and wooliness once you start turning up the volume, or adding in more instruments to the mixer section. Speaking of which, the new design allows for up to 3 mic/line inputs, plus a stereo input and Bluetooth connectivity. So, you could conceivably mic up a small combo and stream backing tracks without the need for a stand-alone mixer and additional cabling. That’ll be handy for a lot of users.

Or for the solo artists out there, you can mic up your vocals, an acoustic guitar, and perhaps a keyboard or laptop all at once, without the need for more gear to lug around. Each channel has a fairly convincing reverb built-in, as well, and the ability to change the style from plate, to room, to hall and echo with a simple master rotary dial.

All of this is done on the unit itself, which can be a bit inconvenient since the subwoofer bass station sits on the floor and the columns protrude upwards, meaning if you want to do any mixing on the fly, you’ll be bending over, trying to access the rear of the unit. Which isn’t really ideal for a lot of stage situations.

Thankfully, there’s an app for that! Meaning you’ll be able to adjust settings (and save them) from your smartphone, regardless of where you are in the venue. This makes things much easier, and is something we’ve seen in the Mackie lineup for years, so we’re glad it’s making its way to other manufacturers, as well. App connectivity should be standard for any live mixing device from now on.

44 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

There’s not much more to say – we threw our standard Moog bass tests at this beast, and it got down into the sub-40Hz territory with no problem, so your bass issues should be nonexistent with this unit. You can even link a few of them together (they play nice, don’t worry) to perform at bigger venues and outdoor situations, which will be a handy feature for a lot of artists and event producers out there.

The only issue we see artists running into is price. Previous Stagepas setups only ran about $600-800, depending on the deal you could score.

Now, you are getting more watts, a programable app and better sound quality here, so in our mind, the added price is probably worth it. But your mileage may vary when it comes to that. All in all, this is a more than capable live juggernaut, which should make a wonderful portable solution for a lot of different types of applications.

Recommended.

Benjamin Ricci

PROS

great sound, plenty of connectivity, clean headroom.

CONS

None STREET PRICE

$1199

GEAR REVIEWS

YAMAHA P-125BK Digital Piano

W

e liked the Casio digital piano we review elsewhere in this issue, don’t get us wrong. But we also had this new Yamaha P-125 (the BK standing for ‘black’) in the office at the same time, and for about $150 less than the PX-S3000, we enjoyed this one a bit more. The action felt better and more like what we’re used to in a digital stage piano (no odd texturing), the built-in speakers sounded a bit richer and fuller, and the sounds were as convincing, if not more, than the same modes during an A/B test with the Casio.

So, let’s dig in. The Casio is a bit sleeker looking, especially with its light up touch controls that appear when you power it on. But the Yamaha’s menu-less navigation is a bit more intuitive and natural for just finding the right piano sound, as quickly as possible. Press the ‘Piano’ button and you’re immediately in grand piano mode. No fuss, no muss. And it sounds incredible. Press again, and you’ll get additional variations on each sound (three for each of the on-board pianos, electric pianos, organs, strings, etc.). It’s just dead-on simple to use, and get to the sound you want instantly. On dark stages, or when studio time is at a premium, this is a huge plus. Your fingers will know what to do, without having to see what’s going on.

Speaking of the sounds, the built-in acoustic pianos tones are wonderfully realistic. I must admit,

I had a little help in this review from my wife, a Berklee-trained pianist who is an adamant acoustic piano player, and rarely indulges in the digital world. But even she couldn’t stop playing the P-125, commenting on its realistic sound and feel. The 88 keys feel great, perfectly weighted and natural, and an easy transition from the real-deal to the digital world. We happen to have a baby grand here at Performer HQ, so we can A/B test pretty easily when it comes to feel, sound and playability. The Yamaha nails it. And it does the same with electric piano, organs and strings. This is a very versatile instrument, that has a surprising number of useful sound variations under the hood.

Construction wise, it’s a bit utilitarian in appearance, but that’s fine. It’s rock solid, and should hold up to the rigors of the road (given you travel with it in a case) and should slot in just fine to most studio environments. It does have some built-in rhythms that we didn’t find all that interesting, but they’re there nonetheless. And of course, you have standard stereo outs and USB connectivity for the studio. Split and duo modes round things out, making this the perfect tool for the accompanist who also has to comp and lead at the same time. Stings in one hand, bass in the other, see which one…well, you get the idea.

PROS

excellent feel, built quality and sound reproduction.

CONS

none.

STREET PRICE

$649

An absolutely inspiring instrument, a joy to play and perform with.

Benjamin Ricci PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 45

GEAR REVIEWS

FOCUSRITE Scarlett 8i6 3rd Generation USB Interface

M

ost companies leave huge gaps in their product lines; yes - the entry level version will cover most needs, and be reasonably priced, but making a simple step up usually means a big leap in so many other ways; size, complexity, and of course cost.

Focusrite found a way to make a step up that’s not a big stretch.

This USB-connected unit features a frontpanel with 2 combo 1/4”/XLR inputs, with their associated level controls, a 48V phantom power switch, and a large knob for master monitor level.

Two individual 1/4” headphone jacks each with their own level control reside here, as well. The backside sports SPDIF and MIDI ins and outs, along with four line outputs, and four line inputs – plenty of I/O for most small home setups.

The two front connections feature Focusrite’s 3rd generation preamps and the “Air” feature we love so much, we pretty much keep it engaged full-time. We have a lot of previous experience with these, and they sound fantastic.

Downloading Focusrite’s control application is needed to engage (or disengage) their AIR function, but it’s easy to use and allows you to really get into the unit without a lot of hassle.

What is AIR? We’ve covered it in previous reviews, but Focusrite’s classic ISA preamp has a unique, and transparent design and sound that just sounds, well...better, it’s what the AIR mode brings to the table. The only time we can ever imagine of not engaging this mode, is if there was some extra special outboard preamp we were routing into the interface.

Pulling it out of the box, we were up and running quickly, the only time expense was downloading all the free software, but was well

46 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

worth it considering the bundle that’s included.

The Focusrite control app is kind of the brains of the operation, running under the hood so to speak; controlling the overall input and output functions. It can also be remotely run via an iOS device, which is great. Getting the software to run these functions eliminates the need for physical switches and such on the device itself.

Focusrite does include a pretty hefty suite of free software as well: Avid’s Pro Tools First, Focusrite Creative Pack, which has plenty of virtual instruments, effects, and 500Mb of loops, Ableton Live Lite, a choice of one of XLN Audio’s Addictive Keys virtual keyboards, Softube Time and Tone, with delay, reverb and distortion plug-ins, and mastering software. Focusrite’s Red Plug in-suite, with their Red 2 EQ and Red 3 compressor is also on tap (whew!). Their plugin collective also offers free versions of various software for registered users. Ownership also has its privileges, with various discounts offered on a variety of plug-ins from various Focusrite partners on a pretty regular basis.

Soundwise, the 3rd-Generation preamps deliver Focusrite’s reputation for great sounding mic inputs -- they sound so good, it makes you wonder, what are the other manufacturer’s not understanding at this price point? There’s no reason you couldn’t record an entire, professional sounding album at home using just one of these Scarletts and a quality condenser mic. The ultralow latency is also one of those things that just works, with no messing about. Kudos.

For users that may need extra inputs, this is an easy way to go. Keyboard players, this is perfect to keep all those boards plugged in and ready to

record when inspiration strikes. Podcasters, no need to share mics with multiple guests.

Overall, it’s a great blend of the simplicity of the Focusrite range we’ve seen in the past with their more expansive Clarett lines, all in a small format that’s at home on a desktop or portable for on-the-go applications – all with the Focusrite control app that brings their legendary preamps to life, and more advanced audio routing. For users who might be looking upgrade their first entry-level interface to add more inputs and step up their preamp game: this is your next purchase.

Highly recommended.

Chris Devine

PROS

Great sounding preamps, plenty of input and outputs, plethora of extra software, affordable CONS

None STREET PRICE

$299

MAKE & MODEL

1998 PRS CE24

MY FAVORITE AXE

Slenderbodies is a killer dream-pop duo from California. We recently got know their favorite instruments. Here you’ll hear from Max, and if you flip the page you’ll get to see Benji Barsochinni’s favorite axe. Got an instrument you’d like to share? Email ben@performermag. com and we might feature YOU in an upcoming issue!

WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU

This was the first guitar I purchased after starting the slenderbodies project. I found it in the corner of a vintage guitar shop, arguably neglected. It was a quick connection, and a quick buy soon afterwards!

WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE

The beauty of this guitar is its versatility – with its 5-way rotary knob each pickup blend provides it with a unique tone and playing style, ranging from thick and mellow all the way to the bitiest Strat-like tones.

SPECIAL FEATURES & MODS

Outside of the locking tuners, and the 5-way switch, this guitar really becomes special to me in the way it plays. Of all guitars I have tried, this specific build makes me feel like nothing holds me back dexterity-wise, like it wants to be played. I would equate it to how Harry felt when Ollivander gave him the right wand, so to say. Nothing special has been modded, just strap locks, and a proper tech tune up to bring it to its best shape!

CAN BE HEARD ON

Practically anything since the beginning of 2018, including the EP Soraya, all of our album Komorebi, and more! Listen now at http://slenderbodi.es

MY FAVORITE AXE

with

Max

Jacob Brighton

VEHUNI of slenderbodies PERFORMER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 47

MY FAVORITE AXE

MAKE & MODEL

1965 Epiphone Wilshire WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU

This guitar was lovingly named “Teenager” by my best friend’s mom. It was her guitar growing up, bought in the mid ’70s, carried with her all her life. When I was younger and first getting into music my friend and I would jam in their shed-turned-studio, and this was the guitar I always gravitated towards. Ten years later as slenderbodies began to hit the road, she entrusted it to me in a “passing the torch” kind of moment.

WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE

I typically play on the neck pickup, as the bridge pickup gets a bit too bright. Because of the vintage mini humbuckers, when played on the neck that brightness is reduced the perfect amount and it has a well-balanced smooth tone, with just a little bit of bite to it. We do a lot with percussive guitar work, so this works well for that and some delicate chords.

BENJI of slenderbodies

MY FAVORITE AXE

with

Jacob Brighton

48 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

Monitor, Mix, Master

M-Series Professional Monitor Headphones audio-technica.com