Interview
Originally from Cleveland Ohio. Freelance producer/recording and mixing engineer. Currently living in Okinawa Japan.
Why this name?
The name came about while working in the studio with a local Hip Hop artist. Something to the effect of, "Man your beats are furious!" It just stuck after that.
Do you play live?
One artist I worked with performs a few of my tracks at his shows in Okinawa Japan. I'm planning to do more live guitar work with one of my buddies this summer... It's always cool to hear your music being played live, and the crowd is doing the "head bob" thing... Big moment for me was the first CD I produced for a local rap artist.
How, do you think, does the internet (or mp3) change the music industry?
The internet has become the communications means of choice for many of us. It's fast, and touches a lot of individuals who might not have any other means to get information out to and from the masses. As for MP3 technology I think it's a double edge sword. On one hand you have a pretty easy way to get your music out and not take up a lot of space doing it. On the other hand the quality of the production suffers because of the bit rate/upload limitations. Quality versus Quantity argument I guess. Overall it's not a bad deal if it lands you a contract or an artist decides to work with you on a project because he or she likes what they heard on the net.
Would you sign a record contract with a major label?
Sure would, but I think if given the chance I would like to start my own indie label.
Band History:
Originally started out as a sound guy for a local company in Escondido CA. called 619 Productions. Unfortunately it was a mis-managed outfit and I was left to my own devices for awhile, until I moved to Okinawa Japan and worked the club scene with local artists that motivated me to start doing my own music as a producer. I co-produced my first CD with "GQue" and my man "Gee" aka Gordon Parker from "Shakedown Productions". I produced my own Acid Jazz compilation for an independent production company out of L.A. California the CD was titled (Nakama Road). I'm currently working on projects with Ben Hur out of Tokyo and Lotus also out of Tokyo, both are on an independent label. I produced Absolutely Devine's first and second CD's in 2004/2005 I'm still working with Dub, J-Miah and (Absolutely Devine)here in Okinawa. I also had a chance to work with Malik-G, FreeWill as well as Nasty Nate out of Philly, along with a few others here in the local area of Okinawa Japan. Aside from that I'm always looking for new projects. I'm currently studing Classical Guitar at a local music school here in Okinawa.. Trying to expand my horizons and all that.:)
Your influences?
LTJ Bukem for Drum and Bass. BKOZ out of Japan, Common,The Roots, Black Thought, Red Man, Method Man, Mos Def, Talib Kwali and Dr. Dre. DJ Quik, Sting, Branford, Madlib, Pete Rock and Miles Davis. Acoustic Alchemy, and Mark Antoine! Flim and The BB's, the Rippingtons, Ira Stein and Russell Walder. George Clinton for the funk of it,along with a lot of other folks too numerous to mention. I listen to a lot of different types of music, so it becomes hard to narrow down.
Favorite spot?
That would have to be Okinawa Japan, the place has a very calming influence on me and I love the people very much. Other than that San Diego California.
Equipment used:
Systems: Mac Pro 8 core 2.4 GHz , Macbook Pro i7, Logic Pro, Reason 4, Ableton Live 7. PC side: Quad Core processor, Pro Tools LE with plugins, UAD-2 DSP PCI card with studio plugins, Ableton Live 8.0, Sample Tank 2XL, Cubase 4,Reason 6.0, Acid 5.0, Native Instruments Komplete 8 Package. t.c. electronics konnect 24 d interface. Rokit 8 studio monitors, Kenwood Sigma Drive subwoofer system for the bottom end. NI Maschine, MPD32, APC40 Midi controller, Korg Triton Rack, Korg Kontrol 49 midi interface, Axiom 61 keyboard interface. Ibanez "Gio" lead guitar, Ibanez "Art Series" Rhythm guitar,Yamaha AXP-5A Acoustic Guitar, Yahmaha 12 String Acoustic Guitar, Legend Folk Acoustic Guitar. wheww....
Anything else...?
