So What Is Audio Orchard?
We’re really excited about audioorchard.com. It’s taken quite a while to put all the pieces together, but finally having it live on the web (albeit in beta form) feels really good. But what is Audio Orchard?
When Audio Orchard was first conceived we started out by thinking about how cool it would be to be able to record music online. It seemed like there could be some nice benefits to being able to pull up the song you were working on from any computer in the world at any time, but that didn’t really seem like a compelling enough reason to use it over any number of the great DAW’s out there already. … Continue Reading
G-Strings
DISCLAIMER: This is actually something I wrote about a year ago, but someone reminded me about it recently and I thought I’d re-post it here for your reading pleasure. Beware, this is a total rant. That being said, I still think it’s a great idea. Anyone looking for that next big idea?
I HATE GUITAR CENTER!!!! Yes, I’m yelling. I hate it. HATE IT!
First off, the moment you walk in the store you’re instantly smacked with the sound of some guitar amp that apparently actually does go to eleven. Better yet, it’s being played by some long hair who is playing all of your favorite hits from the year 1987, probably because he hasn’t left the store since that year (although, he hasn’t purchased anything yet either). No offense to the long hairs, I was one for a long time. … Continue Reading
Laurel Holmes – Best. Drummer. EVER!
As a drummer, one question I get asked from time to time is “who is the best drummer ever?” I usually answer that there are lots of great drummers that I really enjoy like Peter Erskine, Vinnie Colaiute, Manu Katché, and Gary Novak just to name a few. However, for some people that’s just not good enough. For a handful of people they just must know who is the BEST EVER!!!11!1!!!!!
These people don’t want to hear any silly nonsense about music not being a competition. Maybe the ridiculousness of the question would set in if I turned the question back on them. “Your an accountant? Who’s the best accountant ever?” But rather than be a jerk about it, I’ve learned another solution.
DISCLAIMER: I can’t take credit for this idea. I read it in a magazine editorial years ago, but unfortunately I can’t remember when or where now.
Today when someone asks me “who’s the greatest drummer ever” I answer “Laurel Holmes”. That’s right, Laurel Holmes is hands down the greatest drummer to have ever held a stick. No one could ever be better. That’s gospel man. Look him up.
No really, look him up. What, you didn’t find anything? That’s because he’s a fictional creation of my imagination. But the thing is it really works. I tell someone that Laurel Holmes is the best drummer ever and they walk away happy. The truth is they won’t look him up, or even remember the name I gave them in 10 minutes. It’s a much simpler solution then trying to convince someone that there’s no such thing as the best <insert topic> ever.
Pomplamoose – Music without the big business
One of the coolest new groups of the last year or two has to be Pomplamoose. Here’s why.
1. Their music is crazy clever. The harmonic ideas are great, and the instrumentation is always unique and unexpected.
2. They’ve found a way to make a living in the music industry without a record label, or even a record for that matter. They’ve done it all on YouTube. They record all of their music (and music videos) in their own home.
If you’ve never heard of them, check it out…
Pat Metheny Orchestrion. Actually… cool!
I’m a huge fan of jazz, and every now and then my wife will surprise me by taking me out for some live jazz and dinner. But every now and then we show up at some restaurant only to find out that their idea of “live music” is some lady singing along with pre-recorded tracks. That’s not music. That’s glorified karaoke.
So, when my wife got us tickets to see Pat Metheny’s “Orchestrion” tour, I was a little skeptical. I’ve seen Pat several times and he always puts on a great show. This tour, however, is just him and an “automated” band. Hmmm, smells like band in a box to me. Lame! But we went anyway.
The show starts and there is literally an entire wall of instruments behind him, and dozens of other instruments scattered around the stage. The thing is, each instrument is being played electronically (via solenoids for those who care). It’s a lot to take in, but it’s pretty impressive. What’s even cooler is that he’s actually programming each instrument using his guitar. So, he plays one note on his guitar and the big bass drum plays. He plays another note and a cymbal crashes. Then, he starts plucking out patterns on each instrument and looping them, layering the instruments into an elaborate wall of sound. Then he starts improvising on his guitar over what he’s created. It’s very much NOT band in a box.
What was most interesting to me was hearing this highly programmed music that still sounded so organic. When I think of looped music I tend to think of very synthesized music, but this was really raw and very fun to listen to. Check it out…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VymAn8QJNQ]
It’s Earth Day. Reuse Recycle & Remix
All you musician out there have music or stems laying around (current or old) that could easily be re-purposed. In honor of Earth Day, why not show those tracks some love and get them up on AudioOrchard?
Do you song that you’ve never finished? Why not invite your friends to contribute their ideas and sounds, or even search for other musicians who may be able to contribute to the cause? If you don’t have any of your own original music, “remix” a song created by someone else and give it your own new twist.
When your song is complete, AudioOrchard easily allows you to share your work with friends and music fans…so don’t be shy. This Earth Day, if you can’t find anything else to be environmentally conscious about, at least green up your tunes. Who knows, you may have an instant hit on your hands!
Free Recording Software from AudioOrchard
It’s official, AudioOrchard is live! What’s AudioOrchard? AudioOrchard is a collaborative online recording studio. Record a song and invite your friends to ad tracks. Or, find a song by someone you’ve never met and remix it. Oh, and did we mention AudioOrchard is free?
There are 62 million amateur musicians in the US and every one of them will tell you that it’s more fun to make music with other musicians than by yourself. The problem is that it can be really hard to find a time and place to get together. For some musicians it’s difficult just to find other musicians that have similar tastes in music. That’s why we created AudioOrchard.com, a collaborative music recording community.
Here’s how it works. Let’s say Kermit the frog has just come up with a great idea for a new song about rainbows. He goes to AudioOrchard.com and within seconds he’s recording his song. Nothing to download or install, just get started. So maybe he programs a simple drum beat and then he gets out his banjo and records the basic song. Now he’d like to get Miss Piggy involved, but he doesn’t want to invite her over because that never really goes well for him. Instead he sends her an invite straight from the site (either by email or via Facebook), she checks out the song and records a vocal part. At this point they’re happy with the song, but they’d really like to add some percussion. They both agree that Animal isn’t really the right style of musician for this song, so instead they search the AudioOrchard database for percussionist with similar tastes in music. They find a few prospects, listen to some of the songs they’ve recorded on the site, settle on someone they think is perfect, and send him an invite to collaborate.
