Lyrics and Setlists on the iPad
I’m an Apple fan (always have been). When the iPad was announced, there was no question…I had to have one! Ever since that day, I’ve been looking for an easy way to use it to display lyrics and setlists. Today I found it… the Setlist app by IndianCode. This is a great app for musicians. No more carrying a notebook full of lyrics, and a clip-on light so you can see. Did I mention that is is a FREE app?
You start by hitting the “Manage” button and adding your song library. Each song can have lyrics added to it and a length.
Then, add a setlist and order your songs. You can have lots of different setlists.
By hitting the “Perform” button, your setlist is displayed.
Clicking a song title displays the lyrics. and you can swipe your finger across the screen to display the next songs lyrics. You can even resize the text so that all lyrics show up on a single screen.
Now if I could just find an easy way to mount my iPad to a stand instead of setting it on a music stand!
Recent Dayton Recording Project with Mark Lieberman
As you know, I’ve spent my share of time in recording studios, usually behind the console. But recently I’ve had the opportunity to work on the other side of the glass playing drums, and I’ve got to tell you, it was a blast!
Guitarist, writer, and engineer Mark Lieberman contacted me a few months ago and asked me if I would be interested in doing some drum tracks for him in his home studio. Mark is an amazing guitarist, and a monitor engineer with the Three Dog Night crew. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity! Mark and I are both Mac guys – use Digital Performer as our software of choice - we both love to rock – and we both love the recording process – so it was a great fit.
We did two different sessions using my 3 piece Pearl Masters kit with a cheap PDP maple snare, and tracked maybe 5 or six songs. The other day Mark sent me a track titled “Rain Down” which he had recently completed, and after one listen, I was blown away. Amazing guitar work, and an amazing mix made this one a track that I just had to share. The drumming isn’t bad either! Enjoy:
Rain Down
Dream Cymbals
So I’ve always been a Zildjian cymbals guy. Yeah, I’ve owned some of the other major brands in my day, but I always come back to Zildjian for some reason. But there some buzz going around these days about Dream Cymbals and how they sound like the old jazz cymbals (think K Constanoples). Well, being a vintage drum fan, I thought, “It can’t hurt to look.” So I did.
My favorite drum shop (Columbus Percussion), had a few. Gordon tells me that they are having trouble keeping them in stock. Hmm, that’s a good sign (I think). I really wanted to see a set of hi-hats. They only had two pair of hats… a set of Bliss 14′s, and a set of Bliss 15″ hats. I’ve had Zildijan 15′s before. Typically they are just too much for me, and this was also the case with these. So, we setup the 14′s. I will admit, at first I was going to pass. There was a whole row of hi-hats all setup and ready to play from Sabian, Paiste, and Zildjian, so I played the comparison game.
Hi-hats these days have a much more focused sound than they used too, and granted all of the sets I played that day we’re very, very focused. So when comparing them to the Dream Bliss hats, I just flat didn’t like them. The “chick” sound was much softer than everything else, but the open wash was more “noise” sounding. But something in the back of my mind said “Take em home and try them out… see how they blend with your other cymbals.” Cymbals are very personal, and they have to work together.
The price was certainly right! Just $135.00 for the pair. I would expect to pay $400.00 for a set of hats. SOLD!
So far I’ve had them for two days. And I love them! They sound very much like the old hats you’d hear on 50′s and 60′s jazz records, and 60′s and 70′s rock records. They feel more musical to me, yet I can’t explain why just yet. I still have the band experience to put them through before they are keepers, but so far… they are sooooo good!
