Hey
 
As ever, an interesting interview by Rick Beato with American music critic and historian Ted Gioia.
 
 
Interesting. Any thoughts?
 
cheers
 
John
 

Hey gang
 
I thought it would be a bit of fun to post up old pics… namely, photos of you, aged 20! Are you game?
 
So here I am in 1987, rehearsing with my band, The Outside Edge…
 

 
That’s me on the guitar.
 
Cheers
 
John

Hey gang
 
 I know a lot of people have had a lot of extra time on their hands. At the same time I am aware of a lot who sit in perpetual boredom, who have largely wasted their time.
 
What about you? Did you add to your skills? Add to your song or composition collection? Did lockdown light a fuse under your ass?
 
Cheers
 
John

Lemme start with a few that I use
 
 
CAKEWALK BY BANDLAB : https://www.bandlab.com/products/cakewalk
 
I've alread created a topic on this on this very board. I've used many DAWs before Cakewalk but after switching to Windows, this has been my constant and only choice. Not that there aren't great alternatives, but for a free software - it's the most robust, full fledged DAW you can get! I was particularly impressed by how good the virtual instruments are on this. If you haven't tried Cakewalk yet, you totally should. And if you're an old SONAR user who wants to share some thoughts, feel free to do so here : https://forums.songstuff.com/topic/55230-any-cakewalk-users-here-i-just-started-using-it/
 
 
Spitfire LABS : https://labs.spitfireaudio.com
 
Spitfire Audio has been a godsend for virtual instruments and sample libraries for many years now. So when LABS was first announced as an unending FREE series of instruments and sounds, I was very quick to latch on. I've used it for a couple years now including on my previous single "Fading Colours". I recorded this in my old room last year during lockdown. The piano and strings used for final part of the song was from LABS. Fading Colours :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDGy3X4tT-0
 
 
 
Wider : https://polyversemusic.com/products/wider/
 
I used to do all kinds of things to work with the spatial width on my tracks. Some worked well, some would bring about phase issues on which I'd spend a lot of time investigating. Sometimes I'd end up rolling things back to the way I started. That is until recently when I discovered Wider and it's such a hassle free, straight up piece of software. It handles phase really well unless you crank things up too much but more than anything, it's quick to turn on or off while I'm trying to bring some life into my sounds when needed. You should totally have it handy.
 

 
 

 

Hi Gang
 
Thought I would ask a few basic questions about how you feel about indie music.
 
Please take part!
 
As well as voting, please feel free to add comments.
 
Cheers
 
John