Saturday night, the Ohio-based band Over the Rhine came to Charlotte‘s Visulite Theatre. It was their third performance in Charlotte and their first as headliners. The room was packed, and the moment that vocalist extraordinaire Karin Bergquist began singing, “I don‘t want to waste your time with music you don‘t need,” it was instantly apparent that the audience knew and loved OTR‘s 2007 tour-de-force, The Trumpet Child. The song is one of several from an album that marks just how far the band has come since its humble beginnings as a rock quartet in 1989.

After that opening number, the crowd was putty in OTR‘s collective hands. Along with almost every song from The Trumpet Child, the band skillfully delivered several older numbers and a few unfamiliar tunes, including an impressive instrumental (“Goodbye Charles”) from their just-released Christmas album, Snow Angels. Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Linford Detweiler led the band and played some dynamite piano, and Bergquist continued blowing away listeners with songs written by either or both of them. One particular standout was a song she penned called “I‘m on a Roll.” She really was on a roll, and you could feel it in her incredible voice.

At one point, Detweiler told a story of the time they landed in New Zealand and one of their songs was playing on the radio through the airport‘s sound system. Although OTR may be well known in other parts of the world, they have only a cult following in the U.S. The Trumpet Child could be the album that changes that, but only time will tell.

Two good reasons for Over the Rhine‘s recent artistic ascent are the newest members of the band, the amazing Mickey Grimm on drums and percussion and the very talented Brad Jones (who also produced and arranged both new albums, and has played with Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, and many others) on guitar and electric and upright bass. Both are consummate musicians and perfectly complement the talents of Bergquist and Detweiler. I certainly hope this band sticks together.

The show closed with a two-song encore. The first, “If a Song Could Be President,” is a country-tinged ode to present-day politics that was guaranteed to garner cheers from the crowd. The final song was “Don‘t Wait for Tom,” a surefire winner that takes advantage of Detweiler‘s unusual vocal stylings and shows off Grimm‘s percussive dexterity. All in all, the show was completely satisfying and not to be missed. If you do get a chance to see Over the Rhine, I urge you to take advantage of the opportunity.

As a preface, let me explain that the following is my personal opinion and in no way reflects the viewpoint of Electronic Musician or its publisher. I‘m simply illuminating an issue I perceive to be justice denied, and this blog gives me an opportunity to speak out. Whether you agree or disagree with my opinion, I‘d love to hear your point of view.

Nobody likes music piracy, but is the Recording Industry Association of America‘s cure worse than the disease? Representing the interests of big record companies under the guise of protecting artists’ rights, the RIAA recently scored a major victory in its pursuit of those who share music online using peer-to-peer software. The organization‘s usual tactic is to employ legally questionable investigative techniques to identify individual file sharers and demand exorbitant extortion fees (typically from $2,000 to $5,000 a pop) under threat of lawsuit. Annually, the RIAA goes after college students, sending thousands of “pre-litigation settlement letters” to universities across America, “on behalf of record companies.” Most accused file sharers (or their parents) simply pay up, but every year a handful decides to fight back. In the past four years, the RIAA has brought more than 20,000 lawsuits against those who are unable or unwilling to meet their demands.

After years of intimidation and legal arm-twisting, last week the RIAA finally brought a court case to completion. It won a lawsuit against Jammie Thomas, a single Minnesota mother accused of sharing 24 copyrighted songs. She was never accused of downloading any music herself, but of making those songs available on her computer for others to download. The only evidence against her was circumstantial, and the RIAA never tried to establish whether anyone had actually downloaded any songs from Ms. Thomas‘ computer.

After two days of testimony and five hours‘ deliberation, a Federal jury awarded the RIAA and the record companies it represents nearly a quarter of a million dollars–$220,000, to be exact, or $9,250 for each song. If the RIAA were to collect every penny that Ms. Thomas earns, it would take more than 60 years to collect its winnings.

No doubt, the association is emboldened by its victory and will use the jury‘s decision as justification for pursuing more and more lawbreakers until… until when? Until people finally wise up and stop peer-to-peer file sharing? Until a federal court finally decides the RIAA‘s methods are despicable and illegal or that having P2P software and MP3 files on your computer doesn‘t violate copyright laws? Or until technology finally presents a resolution to the problem, most likely when record companies embrace some kind of file-sharing revenue model?

This week, the immensely popular rock band Radiohead will release its long-awaited new album, In Rainbows, its first without the backing of a major company. Beginning Wednesday, you can go to www.inrainbows.com and download the 10-track album for whatever you think it‘s worth. If you‘re willing to pay $1, you‘ll get it for $1. You‘ll also need a pay a small fee for charging your purchase to a credit card, but the point is that Radiohead would rather trust the integrity of its fans than trust an international conglomerate and the RIAA to collect proceeds from the album.

Rather than try to find a technological solution that would mutually benefit record companies, artists, and consumers, the RIAA’s legal team has seemingly chosen to attempt to destroy the lives of anyone who dares to defy them. Their apparent arrogance is made possible by the combination of unrestrained power, a culture of greed, and out-of-date statutes governing copyright. Fortunately, Ms. Thomas is appealing the court‘s decision, and Congress is considering sorely needed revisions to the U.S. copyright law. Until record companies are willing to consider a solution that fuses good technology with good business, however, the problem of illegal file sharing will continue no matter how many lawsuits are filed or how the law adapts.

I attended Moogfest on Saturday night, Sept. 22, at B.B. King’s in New York, and it was quite a show. The performances were excellent all around. Because of the number of performers, the sets were all relatively short, but there was tons of great synth playing all evening long.

Xenovibes, who won a contest to be the opening act, started the show, and featured Shueh-li Ong on a Moog Theremin as well as keyboards, and John Anthony Martinez on electronic drums. Spiraling followed with a pop-rock set that spotlighted lead singer/keyboardist Tom Brislin’s vocals and keyboard work (on a Moog Little Phatty). Don Preston did a cool, ethereal, improvised solo-synth piece on a Minimoog.

Adam Holzman brought a full band (which was killer) and did some cool, mostly uptempo jazz fusion material, using a Minimoog Voyager among other synths. T Lavitz (of Dixie Dregs fame) performed his set with Holzman and band and was both tasteful and flashy. Lavitz and Holzman both dedicated their sets to the late Joe Zawinul.

Neil Alexander showed very impressive jazz-rock keyboard chops during his set with his stellar band Nail. Alexander played a Roland AX-7 handheld, wireless MIDI keyboard that was controlling a large assortment of synths including a Voyager. His band later backed synth pioneer and music educator Herb Deutsch, who played through a vintage Minimoog that was one of the first 100 ever made.

Erik Norlander did a set (playing with backing tracks) where he was jumping back and forth between a Voyager, a Little Phatty, and an Alesis Andromeda (a synth he helped develop sounds for)–his solid playing really captured the prog-rock vibe.

Jordan Rudess performed along with Richard Lainhart, who played a Buchla synth to accompany him. Rudess played mostly ethereal material, but still was able to show off his amazing keyboard abilities, using a Little Phatty and a bunch of Moog effects boxes.

Thomas Dolby ended the show, and despite some technical glitches, did a spirted set. He was playing a Voyager as well as a bunch of software synths from Logic. He sang through his signature headset mic, and finished the show with “She Blinded Me with Science,” on which he was firing off vocal samples from an M-Audio Trigger Finger.

Two “Bob Awards” were given, one to Herb Deutsch and another to Gershon Kingsley, another legend from the early years of synthesis (he composed the novelty hit “Popcorn”). Both Deutsch and Kingsley gave acceptance speeches.

Both Moog’s Mike Adams, and Bob Moog’s daughter, Michelle Moog-Koussa, spoke about the Moog Foundation’s quest to raise money to save Bob Moog’s archives.

I videoed extensively at the show, and am putting together a feature for emusician.com that will include both interviews with the performers and clips from the performances. Look for it to be posted soon.

With all the wondrous studio tools we have at our disposal these days, the dilemma we often face is not whether we’ve done enough for a track, but whether we’ve done too much. If you have a large selection of plug-in instruments and effects, the temptation is too often to overuse them. Sometimes I find it’s useful to start muting parts during a mix and try a more stripped down approach–at least during some parts of the song.

A somewhat-related conundrum is knowing when to stop working on a project–especially when mixing. There’s definitely that point of no return when you start doing things to your mix that you’ll be mystified about when you listen the next day. “What was I thinking with that EQ on the vocal?,” you might say, or, “I can’t believe I put so much reverb on that snare drum?” You know what I mean. One way to combat this problem is to constantly “Save As” and rename your mixes as you go along. That way, you can always go back to where you were before that fog of studio fatigue rolled over you.

If you’re working with a deadline, there’s another set of considerations. Do you really want to work right up to the last possible moment? I’ve found that to often be a losing proposition. It’s much better to target a time to finish a least a couple of hours before your drop-dead deadline, so that you can rest your ears and listen afresh while you still have time to pull back that reverb send on the snare or fix that overly hyped EQ on the vocal. Of course, it’s easier said than done. I’ve worked on numerous projects writing music for commercials, and those virtually always have very fast turnarounds. To deal with that, I try to budget my time in advance. Say I have the weekend to do a project (which is often how it happens in the jingle world). I’ll set myself a schedule when I start, something like: compose on Friday night and half of Saturday. Finish tracking by Sunday morning. Mix by Sunday evening. Listen early Monday for tweaks before turning in the mix. Of course, I don’t always end up sticking to it, but I try, and it is helpful. Even if you don’t have a deadline, it probably makes sense to set some goals for yourself on a project to keep things moving along.

Years ago I realized that any artist needs to have lots of talent in order to gain widespread recognition (yes, even those whose music seems completely worthless). I also came to recognize that being immensely talented and working hard offers no assurance that he, she, or they will “make it big.”

Case in point: I‘ve been enjoying the music of Over the Rhine since a few months after the release of their second album in 1992. With the recent release of their eighteenth album, The Trumpet Child, and despite well over a decade full of glowing reviews praising vocalist Karin Bergquist as “the greatest unknown singer of our generation,” well-deserved stardom continues to elude the Cincinnati-based band. However, The Trumpet Child is such a musical tour de force that perhaps OTR‘s career is finally about to take off for the stratosphere. On the other hand, judging by their history, perhaps not. In a world of megacorporate-controlled radio airplay and music marketing, cream does not always rise to the top. Nonetheless, if only through word of mouth, this new album should give OTR a long-deserved shot at stardom.

Thanks in equal parts to the continuing expansion of Bergquist‘s vocal talents and her husband/multi-instrumentalist Linford Detweiler‘s songwriting and arranging proficiency, The Trumpet Child is OTR‘s best album ever. My wife Pam has it in constant rotation in our kitchen and bedroom, and at least half the songs are so catchy that I find them playing in my head at random moments. For both of us, it‘s currently the number-one pick on our iPods. The songwriting is amazingly strong and every arrangement is perfect for its song. The musicianship is top notch, and Bergquist‘s singing is equal parts polished and sexy, demonstrating a stunning degree of expressive control.

I must admit, I have mixed feelings about drawing attention to OTR. For the moment, fans like Pam and I are able to attend their performances in relatively small clubs, without paying through the nose for tickets to see a band so far from our seats we can‘t distinguish their faces. However, some musicians are so deserving of success that it would be unfair not to let the entire world know about them.

Over the Rhine is currently touring, and I recommend you catch their live act if you get the chance; I think you‘ll be impressed. The Trumpet Child is available as a CD or an LP from OTR‘s Web site, or as a download from the iTunes Store. You can listen to alternate takes from the entire album on OTR‘s Web site.

There was an interesting article in today‘s Washington Post. Just as the U.S. has fallen behind in gas mileage, we‘ve fallen even further behind in Internet speed. Americans invented the Internet, so how did we get so far behind? If you‘re curious about why we‘re still watching online video in itty-bitty windows (while people in Japan watch full-screen, broadcast-quality programming on their computers) and paying more for the privilege, you’ll find this article an eye-opening read.

While perusing the always informational KVR Audio site, I found a rather off-color, but spot-on post responding to a litany of negative comments about various software-host programs. Although I won’t use language as colorful as was employed in that KVR posting, I agree, for the most part, with what it was saying. Its main point was that rather than expending energy dissing audio apps that you don’t like, or trying to annoit one host as the “best,” focus instead on mastering the one that you do use. In my position as an EM editor, I have had the opportunity to work in virtually all of the major sequencing programs, and I can say with confidence that they’re all very deep, powerful, and able. Sure, some have strengths in one area or another, and they offer different types of user experiences, but you won’t go wrong with any of them. The most important thing is to find the one that fits your work style and become a power user of it. Rather than wasting energy on negativity, put that effort into really mastering the program that you have. (One way to really increase your productivity is to learn the key commands for the features you use consistently. You’ll be amazed at how much faster you’ll be able to work.)

On Wednesday, I interviewed Thomas Dolby for EM’s upcoming October-issue cover story on online collaboration. During the interview, Dolby revealed (exclusively to EM) that he’s about to start work on a new album, which is going to be recorded completely “off the grid.”

“What that means is that it’s going to be powered entirely by renewable energy,” Dolby explained. “It’s going to happen on land and at sea. On land, I’m going to build a hut in a field close to where I live, which will be powered by a wind generator and solar panels, and it will have a rainwater collector. I’m going to use that as my studio.”

But that’s only part one of recording process. “Then, in some of the later periods of the album,” Dobly said, “I’m going to actually go to sea. And I’m working with some sponsors to fund a sailboat, which I’m going to take to exotic places around the world, and do my work as I go.” He plans to use a satellite Internet feed (powered by solar and wind sources) to collaborate with musicians elsewhere, while he’s on the boat. These remote sessions will be facilitated by eSession [www.esession.com], an online collaboration site. He said he plans to document the process on video and by blog (keep an eye out for news of it on his blog at Thomas Dolby.com).

We’ll have more from the Thomas Dolby interview in the online collaboration cover story, and in a special podcast (at www.emusician.com), which will be released at the time the October issue comes out in mid September.

Since guitar is my primary instrument, I end up recording it frequently. And lately, I’ve been capturing most of my electric-guitar parts direct and adding the bulk of the tone later with modeling plug-ins. I do this because I don’t want to interrupt my creative flow by setting up a mic and messing around with the amp and the effects until I’ve found the perfect tone–it’s so much easier just to grab my guitar, plug it in, and record. But also, I like having the flexibility to experiment with the tone later on, like when I’m mixing. I know that sonic purists will probably say that I’m never going to get as good a tone as I would on a miked tube amp, but I think, for many sounds, I can get pretty darn close. Distorted tones, especially, can be recreated convincingly by modeling plug-ins such as Native Instruments Guitar Rig 2, IK Multimedia Amplitube 2, or Line 6 Amp Farm (to name a few). Perhaps it won’t sound exactly like a specific vintage amp, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good tone unto itself. I recently had a producer-engineer I know remark how much he liked the guitar tones on my recent CD, and he was surprised to hear that weren’t captured from miked amps, but from DI guitars through modeling plug-ins.

I have nothing against amp miking. In fact, I’ll sometimes mic my amp when I’m trying to record clean tones, which I don’t think modeling processors can nail nearly as accurately. But for the distorted and crunchy stuff, I almost always find it easier and quicker to go DI. I would like to experiment with reamplification, which is taking a DI sound after it’s been recorded, and running it through a miked amp and re-recording it. That seems like a “best-of-both-worlds” scenario to me: the convenience and immediacy of DI recording, with the promise of real tube-amp tone later. Right now I don’t have a device such as John Cuniberti’s Reamp or the Radial X-Amp, which would easily allow me to convert the line-level output of my audio interface to the correct signal level and impedance to be plugged into my amp. I hope to get one soon, though.

For non-clean tones there’s yet another way to go, which combines both the direct and miked approaches. That is to record your basic part clean through a miked amp, and then add modeling effects later. The logic behind this method is that it gives you that “real-amp-through-a-speaker” tone as a basis, and then but gives you the flexibility of adding the modeled distortion or crunch after the fact. I haven’t tried that yet, but plan to.

So for those of you out there who record guitar, what’s your feeling on this issue? Do you get useable tones using modeling devices? Do you prefer to mic an amp? Do you do a little of both? I’d be curious to hear your comments, suggestions, and ideas.

Today marks two years since we lost one of electronic music‘s founding fathers, Bob Moog. I attended an event held in his honor in Asheville, North Carolina, three days after his passing. Here‘s an email I sent to the other EM editors the next day, describing the experience:

The Moog memorial event yesterday was just incredible. Bob’s son Matt organized the whole thing and served as master of ceremonies for a gathering of almost 300. From noon until 4:00, about 15 friends and family members took turns telling stories about Bob, most of them very humorous, very touching, or very enlightening, and often all three. The stories only reinforced what we already know about what a colorful character and what a genuinely modest, funny, and warm human being Bob was.

The celebration began with music from Bob’s favorite local band, Toubab Krewe. The first speaker was Herb Deutsch, who told how in 1963, he coaxed Bob into creating an instrument that musicians could really use, which led to the first keyboard synthesizers and a lifelong friendship. Dave Borden, who apparently had a talent for blowing up electronic circuits, told of how Bob gave him a key to provide full nighttime access to the Moog studio, where he was unknowingly used to idiot-proof synth modules.

Wendy Carlos was positioned as the keynote speaker. She began with an account of how she and Bob met at AES; her most quotable quote was that he was a scientist who spoke music, and she was a musician who spoke science. Alongside her stories about Bob, she played four recorded examples of her work, ranging from Switched-On Bach to Beauty in the Beast. Her recording of the Henry Purcell’s funeral procession from “A Clockwork Orange” was especially poignant.

Steve Dunnington, Moog Music’s heir apparent, played “Amazing Grace” on the theremin. Cyril Lance, a very talented musician and reportedly brilliant physicist who was Bob’s most favored choice to carry on his work, played guitar and sang a couple songs. Steve Martin, the director of the film “Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey,” told great stories of his experiences with Bob, Leon Theremin, and Clara Rockmore. Bob’s wife Ileana Grams and all his children shared their stories and feelings with the audience. The final speaker was a famous Japanese synthesist who had a close lifelong friendship with Bob and considered him his “master.” Bob even suggested the name for his daughter, Eureka, who had accompanied him and his wife from Japan the day before. Unfortunately, I don’t recall his name.

After the official event, a couple dozen of us relocated to Bob and Ileana’s house. Ileana gave a detailed account of how she and Bob discovered the cancer and how it progressed. He died at home, and they kept him there until the funeral. Wendy pointed out that Larry Fast’s father died of the same illness last year. A room full of synthesists was quite a stimulus for conversation. I was the first to leave, at about 9:30, and I got home at midnight–12 hours after the memorial celebration had begun.

Obviously, Bob had lots of very good friends who thought the world of him.