1. Favourite knob or fader or switch on a piece of gear and why?
Filter cutoff on the Sequential Pro 3. I like how big it is, i like that its right in the middle, it’s super easy to grab. The rubber one was great but I tried out an aluminum knob, and unfortunately it covers up the orange around the bottom but it feels and looks great.
2. Do you have an ‘almost’ perfect bit of kit? What would you change?
Most of my annoyances with gear are user error, I assume it can do the thing I want it to, but I haven’t been able to figure it out yet. I think the Little Phatty is near perfect in that the sound is awesome and powerful and just the essentials are there and easy to control. I just with there was a knob for tempo division/pattern for the arp. Also I think the OB6 is perfect soundwise, but aesthetically I don’t like it. I also don’t like the plastic knobs. I replaced them with rubber Prophet knobs.
3. What setup do you bring on holiday or tour or commute etc.?
Usually Teenage Engineering stuff. Opz, Op1, Tx-6, they can do so much in such a small format, its an easy choice. Then I usually bring some pedals, probably chase bliss to maximize space and functionality. Recently got the Roland Compact J6 and E4, those are great. And a small bluetooth speaker.
4. What software do you wish was hardware and vice versa?
The only software I use is Ableton to record. I hate software and working on the computer, so I guess I would wish ALL software to be hardware. If there was a software version of every hardware that would be fine too I suppose, I wouldn’t notice.
5. Is there anything you regret selling… or regret buying?
I regret selling my first synth, the MicroKorg, that is an awesome synth and vocoder. Sometimes I regret buying the Moog One, because it is intimidating to me and even though I love it, I feel like I’m not making the most of it and using its potential. And its so big and so expensive, sometimes I question myself. But its fucking amazing.
6. What gear has inspired you to produce the most music?
Maybe the Prophet X. That is a pretty central piece of gear on each track, whether its backing strings, a saxophone, marimba, weird drums, it does everything and always sounds so good.
7. If you had to start over, what would you get first?
My very first piece of gear was a guitar my friend sold me with scalloped frets, I hated those scalloped frets and wasted too much time trying to play that guitar. I would’ve got a normal electric guitar with a normal fretboard.
8. What’s the most annoying piece of gear you have, that you just can’t live without?
Roland VP-03, I love that thing, but its very annoying, those tiny sliders and the bizarre sequencer. Especially since my volume knob randomly cuts out and I’m constantly fussing with it.
9. Most surprising tip or trick or technique that you’ve discovered about a bit of kit?
One of my favorite tricks is on the Boss DD-500 pedal (or similar), when you hold a delay note, then mess with the time knob you can create some really fun repeating patterns
Artist or Band name?
Lucite Plains
Genre?
Cinematic, Hauntology
Selfie?
Where are you from?
Born and raised in Utah, and have been living in Kansas City, Missouri for the last 16 years
How did you get into music?
I’ve always loved music and wanted to know how to make the music i heard. I started playing guitar in middle school and learned playing Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins and stuff like that. I played in a band throughout high school. Then I studied art for a while and didn’t pursue music very much during that time.
After life settled down and I had a steady job teaching painting, I started playing guitar more and started buying more and more pedals until I realized I was trying to make synth sounds with my pedal board. Then after I bought my first synth/vocoder (microKorg), I was completely hooked on gear.
What still drives you to make music?
Its fun, 99% of the time I’m making music for myself, I just really enjoy playing and listening. Sometimes I’ll just hit record and do a long rambling improvisation, and then play it back and listen to it while I paint. A lot of music I make is for my art band Lucite Plains, we usually do a live improvisational set along with a bunch of looping videos/animations etc. So before a show, we will practice around a key and a bpm and figure out a basic structure for a live performance.
How do you most often start a new track?
Sometimes it will be a guitar loop, but more often than not, its chords on the Prophet X, something mellow like a pad or a slow arp that I can start building on.
How do you know when a track is finished?
People finish tracks?
[Editor: Ha!]
Show us your current studio
Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?
Just show up. Show up on a regular basis and start making something, whether you feel creative or not. You can waste a lot of time waiting for inspiration to hit.
Promote your latest thing… Go ahead, throw us a link.
Probably not your usual thing but I just released an art history course about Post Impressionism on Wondrium. I found the subject incredibly fascinating to research and write about: https://www.wondrium.com/post-impressionism-the-beginnings-of-modern-art