Just for fun, a special thanks to alert Namba Gear fan, Dave from the UK, for providing a great example of our slogan, Primitive Technology.
Read Related Articles: Tribal Drums
Christian Martirano (keyboards, Broadway sound designer)
CITY: New Milford, CT
WEBSITE: http://www.designsounds.com
FAVORITE MUSIC SOFTWARE: Digital Performer 6.02, Logic 8; Melodyne Studio 3; Synthogy Ivory, Upright Pianos, Italian Grand; Arturia, Native Instruments, and Waves Plug-ins.
NAMBA GEAR: Big Namba Studio Backpack
I’ve had a pretty varied career with one of the highlights as Director of Product Development for Kurzweil Music Systems for more than 12 years during their heyday. I created many of the sound programs used on their award winning products.
Earlier on, I had a band called Voices (Atco Records) and handled all keyboards, synth arranging and programming. After Voices I was in The Solution (Last Kingdom Records/Vision Records). In addition to playing keyboards, I programmed all synths and drum tracks. The group performed live for BET on the Bobby Jones Gospel Hour in Nashville, TN.
Currently, and in addition to my other projects, I perform live with Higher & Higher Band.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST PROJECT, RECORDING, OR PERFORMANCE:
Recently I had the pleasure of working with a long time friend, David Rosenthal (famed keyboardist with Billy Joel’s band) programming for A Tale of Two Cities that ran on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theater. We used Muse Receptors, and Kurzweil K2600XS to supplement acoustic instruments and produce an rich orchestral score. These projects require an intensive amount of work reducing the score, deciding which player gets what instrumental parts, creating complex split and layered programs, and creating new notated musical parts for each keyboardists to play.
I just completed recording an impressive choir at a private high school for the gifted (Canterbury School) that was also filmed for a new promotional piece the school will use to attract new students.
As part of my regular business, I am the choir director/keyboardist for St. Francis Xavier Parish in CT. I had the pleasure of recording our Christmas concert that consisted of selections by Bach, Vivaldi and others. I continue to play weekly in an Open Door Band at the United Methodist Church, also in CT.
I routinely program synthesizers for all major manufacturers and just completed programming custom patches for Nord for their Wave instrument. Nord will release these patches to their customer base.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR NAMBA GEAR BAG?
I love my Big Namba Studio Backpack! When I am programming for Broadway shows, due to equity rules, I am not allowed to be ‘on the stage’ programming during breaks. The stage must be clear. This means that often the programmers must have a duplicate setup in an available room somewhere in the theater. As budgets are very tight, often I will use a USB keyboard controller and my laptop to make musical changes to the newly notated keyboard parts and print them from a local printer, and we may ask for rack versions of the keyboard models for the duplicate setup (racks are cheaper) and I will use my USB keyboard and laptop to make musical sound changes. We will store these changes to a drive and transfer them to the pit gear when we are allowed to.
My Namba Studio Backpack allows me to bring a 25 note USB keyboard, my MacBook Pro a small USB to MIDI interface, some cables and music notation paper or printing paper, and a few pedals. In major cities, parking is always a problem and frequently I must drag my gear for many blocks to reach the theater to avoid the over priced parking that is closer to the theater districts. I am able to grab my Namba Backpack and go. It is comfortable, protects my gear and allows me to bring what I need in one package making life so much easier! In the past, I had my laptop case, another bag with pedals, cables, headphones, and USB to MIDI interface, and a briefcase with paper, the score, pencils etc. I had to use a small luggage hand truck to cart it to the theater. Now I just grab my Namba. Very cool!
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE REMOTE RECORDING LOCATION.
My favorite remote recording location is in my car! I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 12V to AC adapter and can work for hours regardless of battery life. I even use the audio output of my laptop (when not doing critical listening work) and plug it into my car stereo system as that is frequently where I listen to my mixes anyway. Bringing my Namba Studio Backpack assures me that I have everything I need, and that my gear is well protected when I am on the move. Sometimes, I get out and do some work in a coffee shop when I need an energy boost and a change of scene. I always attract a lot of attention when flying, but that is another story!
Read Related Articles: Artists
Mark Zonder (drummer, recording artist, studio owner)
CITY: Encinitas, California
WEBSITE: www.markzonder.com, www.myspace.com/markzonder
FAVORITE MUSIC SOFTWARE: Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo
NAMBA GEAR: Big Namba Studio Backpack
I played drums in the school bands all the way from elementary school through high school. I was also jamming with other guys I could find. I sued to play with a friend of mine who played the sax. We used to play really bad versions of Chicago’s first album. I loved the sound, but we were horrible.
I played with various cover bands playing a few originals. We did everything from heavy stuff to commercial music. This was a big learning experience. While playing in a local band, I met Bill Tsamis and I joined him with the Warlord band. We would spend hours of just playing guitar and drums.
Bill and I decided to move to L.A. to follow our dreams. We moved into a small part of a big building in N. Hollywood. We auditioned singers for what seemed like years and could never find our man. We recorded a couple of albums and a self-produced video and things just sort of fell apart.
As things fell apart, I sort of wound up with our building/rehearsal studio. Since I played the drums, I needed the space. One day a friend of mine asked me to use the space and pay me $20. A light bulb went off and within a year I had taken over the entire 10,000 sq. ft. building. This is how my original rehearsal and recording studio known as Bill’s Place was born. We have had some of the biggest bands in the world as well as some of the smallest bands, and everything in between. Bill’s Place is still going strong.
One of the best musical educations I got is when I played with Charles and Astrid of the band Animotion. They were coming from an entirely different musical place than I was. But I was willing to learn and they were willing to teach. This was a situation where I was playing all pads through an interface that was triggering a very early Akai unit. I was getting the click with the keyboard player that was also tied to a couple of sequencers.
I got a call from Jim Matheos of Fates Warning. As things worked out, I started working on material and before I knew it I was in Connecticut at the Carriage House Studios recording the Perfect Symmetry album. Fates made several American and European tours and toured with Dream Theater and Queensryche. I am very thankful for all my experiences with Fates. The music has been challenging as well as I have gotten to see the world doing what I love to do.
Currently I am involved with several recording projects and plan to continue releasing albums and touring the world.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST PROJECT, RECORDING, OR PERFORMANCE:
I’ve been doing a lot of drum clinics with Guitar Center sponsored by DW Drums, Zildjian, Remo, Vater and Toca, and starting to record the new Slavior record. Slavior includes Michael Schenker Group guitarist/keyboardist Wayne Findlay, ex-Tribe of Gypsies singer Gregg Analla, and ex-Steve Vai/Ring of Fire bassist Philip Bynoe. Also been doing session work in my own recording studio.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR NAMBA GEAR BAG?
I like the way I can get both a computer, sampler and i/0 box along with cables into the bag. The Big Namba Studio Backpack also keeps everything very organized. This bag has been great with these drum clinics as it keeps all of my computer stuff in the same place and makes it very easy to pack and go.
Read Related Articles: Artists
Alert Namba Gear fan Jeff from Colorado sent us this photo of the latest in Belgium Mobile DJ rigs. This starts to explain the curious inquiries we’ve had from the Benelux region lately asking for a really large Big Namba Studio Backpack.
Read Related Articles: Tribal Drums
We are pleased to present another guest blog from Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby. Derek discusses a very timely topic in how to get the best use out of Twitter.
by Derek Sivers
Someone recently asked my advice about Twitter, since BusinessWeek magazine just named me one of their “20 to follow” for entrepreneurs. I’m not a Twitter expert and don’t claim I’m one to emulate, but here are my personal thoughts on how I use Twitter:
Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and mailing lists are all a P.A. system. (Remember P.A. stands for “Public Address”.) Speaking through them is like stepping up to a microphone, on a stage, in front of 10,000 people. What can I say that’s worth saying to 10,000 people? It has to be something that most of those 10,000 unique individuals will find interesting.
I try not to let that paralyze me into thinking that everything I say has to be super-important. Occasionally I light-heartedly post something cute or funny. Nobody wants to be around someone who’s too heavy and profound all the time.
Musicians know that you perform differently to 5 people than 5000. If there are only 5 people in the room, you can take advantage of the intimacy to be more casual. If I’m hanging in my living room with 5 friends, it wouldn’t be strange for me to say to them, “I’ve been tired all day. My foot hurts.” That’s just regular conversation with friends. But I wouldn’t say that to 10,000 people.
Reversing it: With a few of my best friends I actually do enjoy hearing the tiny details of their day. I want to know that they’re feeling sick, or just had the best Chinese food, or missed a flight.
Because of this, I have two profiles on Twitter and Facebook. One public, for anyone. One private, only for 20 close friends. I highly recommend this.
These social media tools have double use, so if you’re only using them super-publicly, adding tons of “friends” you don’t know, you might be surprised how Twitter/Facebook feel completely different when you’re only following a few real friends. Then you really can enjoy sharing and hearing about the tiny things that shape our days.
Ask good questions that you think people will enjoy answering creatively and succinctly. Examples:
* “Complete: I need more ___ and less ___.”
* “What comes first: thoughts or feelings?”
* “What’s the opposite of music?”
I’ve been fascinated with the amazing responses that come back from people. Surprisingly insightful, creative, or funny.(When I asked, “What’s the opposite of music?”, 200 people answered with interesting variations on chaos, silence and nothing. But then came my favorite answer: “Business.”)
Think about songwriting or poetry: You’ve got something you want to express, but instead of just spewing it out bluntly, you choose to do it artistically within certain limitations. Like fitting an idea into 12 syllables, where the last word needs to rhyme with “train”.
Instead of telling every detail, you use a few key words that give the gist, then leave the rest open to the listener’s imagination. Sometimes, like a songwriter, I feel like documenting or expressing something big that happened to me, but don’t feel like writing an article about the whole story. So I compress it into an intriguing short post, letting imagination fill in the details.
For example, when my only one-night-stand told me a year later that she was briefly pregnant (because of me), and I was wrestling with the thoughts and emotions behind that, I felt the need to share just: “Found out I was a dad for 10 weeks.”
Other favorites:
* “Came to NYC for a wedding. Decided to stay. Cancelled return flight. Found a place & signed a 1-year lease. Now buying clothes.”
* “Walking in NYC. Feet, sandals, and jeans covered in mud from a festival in central England where I was this morning.”
* “Rented a car at the airport. Accidently drove it off a bridge into a creek. Car totaled. I’m fine. Shoulda paid the $8/day insurance. Damn.”
Like any songwriter, I’d like to think that my mini-statements are at least entertaining and maybe even inspiring to someone. I enjoy the creative challenge of expressing myself publicly in a succinct and intriguing way.
You can follow my posts at twitter.com/sivers. Then please email me to give me your Twitter URL if you’d like me to follow you back.
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