MAKIN' MEMORY BROTHERS' MUSIC
Me at my workstation where the Memory Brothers' tracks are produced
A COUPLE WEEKS AGO the lovely Tammy K asked me:
"Do you press a button on your keyboard to play the background music?"
And then just a couple days ago fellow musician Kent Moore posted the following question on Facebook:
"I'm curious, Doug: What are you using for bass & drums backing? Is it built into the keyboard?"
And I've had others ask me similar questions over the years or give me suspicious looks when I'm pushing buttons on my keyboard. So, here's a little info on how I put together the backing tracks for the Memory Brothers' gigs and where all that extra music comes from!
In a nutshell this is how I do it:
"Do you press a button on your keyboard to play the background music?"
And then just a couple days ago fellow musician Kent Moore posted the following question on Facebook:
"I'm curious, Doug: What are you using for bass & drums backing? Is it built into the keyboard?"
And I've had others ask me similar questions over the years or give me suspicious looks when I'm pushing buttons on my keyboard. So, here's a little info on how I put together the backing tracks for the Memory Brothers' gigs and where all that extra music comes from!
In a nutshell this is how I do it:
- I work up the tracks (called sequences) in my studio using a computer + keyboard (i.e., music keyboard as opposed to a computer keyboard.)
- Using special software, I record the song just using a "piano" setting. I label it my "Guide track."
- Then, I work up a drum track, i.e., I actually play the individual drum parts using the keyboard.
- Next, I play the bass part on my keyboard and record it.
- Then, I might add some "seasoning" such as strings, horns, etc.
- Finally, I delete the "guide track;" cuz during the live performance, I'll play that part live.
The "sequence" is then saved to a USB stick that is inserted into the keyboard. The keyboard is able to "read" the sequences from the USB drive, and each individual song has a number. And as Tammy K correctly surmised, I enter the number of which song I want to perform by pushing buttons on a keypad.
Finally, I hit a "start" button on the keyboard, listen for the
count off; and then we're off and running!
* * *
Performing as a solo and/or duo has its disadvantages due to the absence
of backing musicians, e.g. drummer, bassist, etc. So, I've relied on
technology ever since a certain computer/music protocol known as MIDI
came on the scene in 1980.
MIDI is an acronym for Musical Instrument Digital
Interface; and in simple terms, it's a way that computers can
communicate with electronic musical instruments, like synthesizers.
Since the Memory Brothers is a full-time profession for me, I've always needed to keep an eye on the number of musicians I bring to each gig. Unfortunately, at the end of the night if the pie is cut up into 4 or 5 pieces, there usually isn't a lot of $$ to go around - especially after expenses! So from the beginning, I've kept it simple; hence the Memory Brothers have essentially been a two-piece "band" over the years.
When Larry Crandall and I left the Rubber Band in the late '60s, we downsized dramatically from a full band with drums, bass, two guitars and a keyboard to simply an acoustic piano and acoustic guitar. We were on the road full-time, and I felt we had to keep the personnel at a minimum in order to make any money as working musicians!
However in those days on the club circuit, the competition was fierce with a lot of five and six-piece bands playing throughout the Midwest. A two-piece acoustic duo had a pretty small sound compared to these show bands! So as technology advanced, I started experimenting with adding things.
The first thing I added was a Hammond Auto-vari 64 rhythm unit. It was one of the earliest "drum machines" and had a cheesy, artificial sound. Then, maybe a year or so later, I started using a small, synthesizer keyboard for bass that perched on top of the piano. Next, I purchased a MIDI sequencer for some early backing tracks.
Each time I'd add something, our fans would hate it! They were used to a certain sound . . . but I knew I had to keep abreast of technology in order to have a "bigger" sound to compete with those other bands.
So, we became "that" band - the band without a drummer; the duo that used all those technological gimmicks. And you know what? Eventually many of those other bands started doing the same thing!
Now in 2017, I see more and more musicians cutting back from full bands down to two or three musicians and pocketing a little more $$ from their gigging by taking advantage of all that great technology out there!
I guess we were ahead of our time!
Since the Memory Brothers is a full-time profession for me, I've always needed to keep an eye on the number of musicians I bring to each gig. Unfortunately, at the end of the night if the pie is cut up into 4 or 5 pieces, there usually isn't a lot of $$ to go around - especially after expenses! So from the beginning, I've kept it simple; hence the Memory Brothers have essentially been a two-piece "band" over the years.
When Larry Crandall and I left the Rubber Band in the late '60s, we downsized dramatically from a full band with drums, bass, two guitars and a keyboard to simply an acoustic piano and acoustic guitar. We were on the road full-time, and I felt we had to keep the personnel at a minimum in order to make any money as working musicians!
However in those days on the club circuit, the competition was fierce with a lot of five and six-piece bands playing throughout the Midwest. A two-piece acoustic duo had a pretty small sound compared to these show bands! So as technology advanced, I started experimenting with adding things.
The first thing I added was a Hammond Auto-vari 64 rhythm unit. It was one of the earliest "drum machines" and had a cheesy, artificial sound. Then, maybe a year or so later, I started using a small, synthesizer keyboard for bass that perched on top of the piano. Next, I purchased a MIDI sequencer for some early backing tracks.
Each time I'd add something, our fans would hate it! They were used to a certain sound . . . but I knew I had to keep abreast of technology in order to have a "bigger" sound to compete with those other bands.
So, we became "that" band - the band without a drummer; the duo that used all those technological gimmicks. And you know what? Eventually many of those other bands started doing the same thing!
Now in 2017, I see more and more musicians cutting back from full bands down to two or three musicians and pocketing a little more $$ from their gigging by taking advantage of all that great technology out there!
I guess we were ahead of our time!
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