We proudly announce that the Big Namba Studio Backpack and Shaka Laptop Messenger bag have joined the original Kava Laptop Studio Bag in the Namba Gear product range.  As with the Kava bag, the Big Namba and Shaka bags are available in three colors: Mayan Brown, Charcoal Grey and Olive Green. Here is the word on these bags.

Big Namba Studio Backpack

I thought it might be interesting for you to see the designer’s thought process, notes & concerns, which goes a long way to explaining why the Big Namba looks the way it does and the special functionality of the bag. What follows are whiteboard notes from our initial design sessions.

Built for Security

Why do we need security (inside pockets) instead of accessibility (outside pockets)? We will carry a $2000 computer, with about $1000+ of software, a 25-key MIDI controller, a really nice $600 microphone, couple pair of headphones, USB audio device, additional hard drive, tons of different cables, plus notepad & pens, business cards, camera, cell phone, CDs/CDR, etc. A computer DJ might have a DJ controller and 12″control vinyls. When you have $4,000 worth of gear in your bag, security becomes a #1 issue.

The first thing you notice about the Big Namba Studio Backpack design is that it looks very different from other backpacks, with a sleek, semi-rigid, high performance construction and not much in the way of outside pockets. The reason for this is that most backpacks are built from a hiking model, where you WANT easily accessible outside pockets to get to the bug repellent. We are not hiking here… Lockable zippers and inside pockets go a long way to secure your gear from subway thieves or backstage bandits.

Designed by Musicians

Other than a secure design, what do we want in a backpack that will really help us as computer musicians/dj’s? Give Problem/Solution.

1. Can’t find cables or they are a mess - Cable Control, provide a cable management system to roll cables and provide cable ties for guitar & mic cables.

2. Can’t find my stuff inside the bag - Make bag interior a high definition contrasting color.

3. My other bags fall apart - Use extreme quality construction, dense padding, over-sew stitching, 1680D/poly nylon.

4. Need unobtrusive or “hidden” pocket - Provide secret stash pocket for tickets, passports, iLoks, etc.

5. Hate the sweat stain from wearing a backpack - Use material designed to wick away moisture and control sweat stains.

6. Heavy pack means the straps cut into my shoulders - Pad shoulder material and widen straps, add chest strap to help secure pack.

7. Packing my controller into narrow opening is hard - Create side hinges that will unhinge so bag lays flat for packing.

8. With so much room it would be nice if it were more flexible - Internal padded divider between laptop and controller can be removed to transport other items.

9. A pocket to hold my phone that is not inside the pack - Create pocket on strap for iPod or cell phone.

Designed to hold up to one of the largest 25-key MIDI controllers on the market (Axiom 25), the Big Namba is still airline regulation friendly. If you need to transport a MIDI controller along with your laptop and other music studio items, the Big Namba Studio Backpack may be the perfect bag for you.

Shaka Laptop Messenger

The Shaka bag began it’s design from an inexpensive, unpadded, canvas laptop bag that was given to me for attending a seminar. What I discovered was that although I did not feel comfortable putting my laptop inside the unpadded canvas, this was the coolest “day bag” a guy could ever wish for. Lots of pockets and spaces to put things and the laptop compartment was big enough for a 15″ computer and notebook and paperback and spare t-shirt. I used this small bag for everyday use & short air travel, kind of like a “man-purse”, and wished that I could put my laptop inside too (but the lack of padding and cheap material scared me).

I showed this bag to our factory operations manager and he asked for the bag and told me that he would apply the Namba Gear construction methods and high performance materials and we would see what developed. I was stunned with the result. We made a few small improvements and… OMG, is this a cool bag. If you do not need to carry a MIDI controller and an audio device (or you use a compact model like the USB Transit from M-Audio), this may be the perfect bag for you. In fact, if you just need a great laptop bag that will also hold your personal essentials, the Shaka Laptop Messenger may be the perfect bag for you!

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Namba Gear is happy to congratulate Broadjam’s April 2008 Song of the Month winner, Keram  of Los Angeles, CA. As a Broadjam Song of the Month sponsor, Namba Gear is proud to award Keram with a Kava Laptop Studio Bag as part of his Broadjam prize package for the song, “You Are Not Alone“.

You can hear Keram’s music at:  http://www.broadjam.com/keram

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I just got an email from  keyboardist & guitar player, and my long-time friend, Tom Kennard, about GigMasters.com. Tom & I had been discussing bands & getting better gigs, and like many musician’s, Tom is in multiple bands. In one of the bands, he plays keys for a country singer who may be on the verge of stardom (someday…) and Tom plays “boom-chinka, boom-chinka” piano parts, which is what the original songs call for, but leaves Tom less than inspired.

However, Tom was contacting me because of his 2nd band, called Round Trip. Like Tom, all of these guys are accomplished musicians and they have been rehearsing together for almost a year getting a repertoire of cover songs together. Tom said that they felt like they were ready to go in Feb/ March and put up a web site and a profile on GigMasters.com. In three weeks they had three gigs via GigMasters totaling about $12,000. And the gigs continue to come in.

From my perspective, it looks like the thing that is driving their success is that:

1. they can be an instrumental band or add vocals;

2. they can play funky enough to dance to - or jazzy enough to listen to;

3. and they did some cool live videos to show the customer what they can expect, that way there are no surprises for the customer about what they are booking.

I’m going to show you Tom’s email to me with the caveat that with his enthusiasm Tom sounds like he is getting paid by GigMasters.com. I can assure you that this is NOT the case. “Yo Woody:  Hope you had a good gig.  My band played last night in West Lake Village for a High Brow Fund Raiser/ Auction.  Tom Selleck, Tiger Woods, and Alex Trebeck were there along with many people from the movie and music industry.  They paid us a week in advance.  I like that plan!  That site I told you about is really paying off; Gigmasters.com. We’re getting big buck gigs left and right.”

So I asked Tom to give me a little more info on GigMasters.com and this is his response, “Our band is called Round Trip.  Go to www.Gigmasters.com, type in California and then type in R & B and we should come up somewhere on the first page or so.  Click on Round Trip and our video starts.  There’s only three videos on this site as opposed to four on our www.Roundtripband.com site.  You pay for different packages.  We will play 500 miles radius.  We nailed a $5000. gig this last week in Long Beach and a couple of weddings for $3000. and $2500.  We pay Gigmasters 5%.  There was a band we checked out that booked 46 gigs last year with Gigmasters.  They’re for real and national.”

So there you have it. GigMaster seems to have a category for just about every genre of music, so I will forward Tom’s advice on to you to “check it out.” If you have used GigMaster.com and would like to share your experiences, or if you have another idea to share, we’d love to hear from you.

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NAME:  T Lavitz (Keyboard Magazine’s “Jazz Keyboardist of the Year” & six-time Grammy nominated recording artist)

LOCATION:  Boston, Massachusetts

WEBSITE:  http://www.tlavitz.net/ and www.myspace.com/tlavitz

FAVORITE MUSIC SOFTWARE: Steinberg’s Cubase4 (with an M-Audio 1010LT)

BRIEF BIO: Studied at the University of Miami (Coral Gables, Fl) after graduation from the Interlochen Arts Academy.

Was “Plucked” from student body by the rapidly-gaining-deserved-attention band the “Dixie Dregs“  As keyboardist for the “Dixie Dregs”, this led to recognition as ”Best New Talent” and “Jazz Keyboardist of the Year” in Keyboard Magazine’s readers poll, 6 GRAMMY nominations and many other extraordinary experiences. To this day there are still occasional “Dregs” tours; although short in duration they still remind me of why we garnered so much acclaim pre internet!

I’m a founding member of Jazz is Dead which originally featured Billy Cobham on Drums.  Fellow “Dregs” band mate Rod Morgenstein had taken over for Billy and joined our group around 1999-2000. Also, played/toured and/or performed in “Widespread Panic“, “Jefferson Starship“, Pat Benatar“, “Joe Pass” , “Mother’s Finest” and countless others.

Latest CD as a leader is called ‘School of the Arts” which features Dave Weckl, John Patitucci, Frank Gambale, Steve Morse and Jerry Goodman.  It peaked at #2 on XM Radio’s Jazz Airplay chart around April 25^th 2008.

Next up is the position of “Artistic Director” at the Berklee College of Music’s “Rock Workshop” 5 week summer program. I also have a brand new book/CD which has just been released by Hal Leonard.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST PROJECT, RECORDING, OR PERFORMANCE: On September 22^nd (not necessarily the latest, but it was cool!) a featured performer on “Moogfest” at B.B. King’s nightclub in Times Square, NYC.  This is set up yearly by his foundation in commemoration of the late, great Robert (Bob) Moog, inventor of the Moog synthesizers.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR NAMBA GEAR BAG? For one thing, although perhaps designed with a specific purpose of toting a laptop and external drives, etc.  I have already used my Kava Laptop Studio Bag for something completely different; a hip carry on bag that not only looked stylish but allowed me to still bring important items on an international trip, that I didn’t want to check with the baggage service.  I put in things like extra eyewear (can’t function too well without them), iPod, cell phone, compact camera, and the millions of cables and connectors I seem to also bring.  Since I was leaving the country, I brought some of the new kind of cables that snap apart and perform multi purpose functions as well.

 TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE REMOTE RECORDING LOCATION. Again, back to the latest project, my CD “School of the Arts” was done completely remote.  I wrote the music and then sent full band demos (I “played” drums, bass and guitar to help show how the music should sound after the afore mentioned musicians played on it. As I had hoped, they all brought it to life, one guy at a time.

The important thing to note here (in my opinion) is that now it isn’t just straight 1/6^th note straight ahead funk, dance or whatever, but JAZZ with TONS of IMPROVISATION can be made remotely, if you have the right guys.  SO many times when I record(ed) in a typical studio setting, I would wear headphones and not see the other players anyway, so really…if you put your mind to it, it isn’t all that strange after all!

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Namba Gear is happy to congratulate Broadjam’s March 2008 Song of the Month winner, JAH Boogie’s NATTY NATION of Madison, Wisconsin. As a Broadjam Song of the Month sponsor, Namba Gear is proud to award Jah Boogie’s NATTY NATION with a Kava Laptop Studio Bag as part of their Broadjam prize package for the song, “Cool & Proper“.

You can hear Jah’s music at: http://www.broadjam.com/nattynation.

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NAME: Laura Escudé (performance artist & sound designer)

CITY: Los Angeles, CA

WEBSITE: www.lauraescude.com

FAVORITE MUSIC SOFTWARE: Ableton Live

GIVE US A BRIEF BIO: Los Angeles-based Laura Escudé is an accomplished and in-demand violinist, composer, sound designer, music technologist and educator. Since arriving in Los Angeles in 2004, Escudé has made a name for herself, pushing the creative envelope with her solo cinematic work as well as her violin and sound design for film and artists around the globe. Combining experimentalism on the violin with an affinity for cinematic sounds, Escudé works with a variety of software, including Ableton Live, Logic, Pro Tools, Native Instruments Reaktor, Reason and Max/MSP (controlled by alternative MIDI devices such as a glove and joysticks).

She has worked extensively with both touring and studio musicians to become proficient in recording and performing, and her mastery of cutting-edge technology and experimental techniques is complimented by her classical training and experience playing in and composing for symphony orchestra. Her solo project encompasses a myriad of genres, utilizing live electronics, synthesis, found sounds, samples and violin affected by hardware and software. Escudé performs regularly around Los Angeles at arty hotspots like Create:Fixate, and has recorded for composers Carmen Rizzo and Eric Whitacre, as well as for artists such as Sage Francis and PlatEAU. A passionate educator, Escudé has been a frequent software demonstrator at trade shows such as NAMM, and teaches software classes at schools all over the Los Angeles area. She currently heads up the highly successful Ableton User Group in Los Angeles, which she initially launched in 2007.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST PROJECT, RECORDING, OR PERFORMANCE: I am currently working on mixing my first record, which will be a blend of cinematic electronica with violin and strings. It should be available in July!

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR NAMBA GEAR BAG? I like the fact I can fit anything and everything into my Big Namba Studio Backpack, including my Axiom 25! Namba Gear is making great products, I’ve been looking for a bag like this for years! Big thanks to Namba Gear for supporting me and making such cool gear bags!

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I received an email invitation today that spoke about an upcoming showcase May 19th at the Temple Bar in Santa Monica, CA which would be filmed for the Blue Comet Cafe. Since I was not connecting all the dots, I followed the link to discover a very cool new resource for us.

Radio has vacated its traditional role as the gateway through which new talent finds it’s audience.

Citing that radio has “vacated its traditional role as the gateway through which new talent finds it’s audience, and thus creating the need for another way for fans to find new music”; the Blue Comet Cafe is a virtual showcase club. It features top-level artists performing live and presented in streaming video that can be viewed on demand or downloaded.

I found the front-page, featured artists were all unknown to me, but every one of them was an exceptional talent and deserving of our support. The brainchild of Larry Ahern and Tom Crosthwaite, Blue Comet Cafe is accepting video submissions (hint, hint). Video channels are Dance, Jazz, Rap/Hip Hop, Soft Rock, Blues, & Sailaway Collective. Namba Gear says, “check this out!”

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