EQ Magazine - June 2008 - (Page 4)

Talk Box WAS SLY STONE RIGHT? If you look at videos of Beatles fans in the early ’60s, the most striking aspect is the hysteria: Girls screaming, fainting, and crying, all over four British dudes. Does any current star engender that kind of response? And what about “keyboard heroes”? Is there anyone today with the same kind of notoriety that Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman had during the heyday of progressive rock? Although the TV show American Idol—which is supposedly dedicated to discovering idols—may have succeeded in finding people who sell CDs, I certainly wouldn’t put any of them in the Elvis Presley/Buddy Holly/Prince/Madonna category. So what happened? Where are the heroes and idols today? Ironically, I think the game Guitar Hero provides one answer. The premise of the game is that the player is the hero, or at least, plays that role. What’s more, Guitar Hero fans compete with each other, creating their own “stars” within that sub-culture. Does the public at large care if someone hits 100% of the notes for “Through the Fire and the Flames” on the most difficult level? No. Do other Guitar Hero fanatics care? Yes. I’ve met a lot of EQ readers over the years, and although very few are idols, many are “stars.” But I don’t always mean stars in the sense of having a major international presence: I’m talking stars on YouTube, on Internet forums, or in a local or national music scene. As the world of entertainment becomes increasingly fragmented, and audiences are divided among an increasing number of options, it seems there’s only a finite amount of fame to go around—and it’s being divided among an ever-larger number of people. And perhaps this is the way it should be. If a song reaches you emotionally, it doesn’t matter if it’s from an “idol,” or someone who cut the tune in a bedroom. Music has been democratized, and in the process, so has the star-making machinery. With so many musicians having access to so many tools, it’s harder to make giant, earthshaking steps; artistic evolution these days seems like more of an ongoing process. This gives us a rich and everchanging body of music, but makes it less likely that someone will come up with an unprecedented, groundbreaking move—one of the elements that traditionally helped form an idol. Some may lament the fading away of the star system, but as Sly Stone once sang, “everybody is a star”—at least on some level. So party on, YouTube. Broadcast away, Internet radio. Musicians, keep playing and recording. You may never become an idol, but the odds are excellent there are at least some people out there who want to hear what you have to say. And when you do connect with an audience, your star will burn just a little bit brighter. www.eqmag.com Vol. 19 No. 6, June 2008 Executive Editor Craig Anderton, canderton@musicplayer.com Editor Matt Harper, mharper@musicplayer.com Managing Editor Debbie Greenberg, dgreenberg@musicplayer.com Contributors Jeff Anderson, Bruce Bartlett, Janice Brown, Cliff Goldmacher, Paul Grundman, Garrett Haines, Chris Mara, Jay Matheson, Shane Mehling, Greg Reynolds, Michael Ross, Angelina Skowronski, Jonathan Stars Art Director Paul Haggard, phaggard@musicplayer.com Asst. Art Director Damien Castaneda, dcastaneda@musicplayer.com Staff Photographers Paul Haggard, phaggard@musicplayer.com, Craig Anderton, canderton@musicplayer.com Publisher John Pledger Associate Publisher & Advertising Director, Northeast Gary Ciocci gciocci@musicplayer.com, 603.924.9141 Advertising Director, Northwest & New Business Dev. Greg Sutton gsutton@musicplayer.com, 925.425.9967 Advertising Director, Southwest Jon Levy jlevy@musicplayer.com, 818.994.3800 Advertising Director, Midwest Jessica Sullivan jsullivan@musicplayer.com, 661.255.2719 Advertising Director, Southeast & NY Grace Newman gnewman@musicplayer.com, 631.239.1460 Specialty Sales Advertising Director Mike Montgomery mmontgomery@musicplayer.com, 650.238.0307 Specialty Sales Assistant Allison Smith asmith@musicplayer.com, 650.238.0296 Production Manager Amy Santana MUSIC PLAYER NETWORK Group Publisher/VP John Pledger Editorial Director Michael Molenda Senior Financial Analyst Bob Jenkins Production Department Manager Beatrice Kim Group Project Manager Lauren Gerber Web Director Max Sidman Web Editor Lania Cortez Motion Graphics Designer Tim Tsuruda Marketing Director Christen Pocock McFarland Sales and Marketing Coordinator Molly Corman Marketing Designer Joelle Katcher Systems Engineer John Meneses Associate Circulation Director Cheri McElroy Associate Director, Subscription Marketing Christopher Dyson Fulfillment Manager Rosario Perez NEWBAY MEDIA CORPORATE President & CEO Steve Palm Chief Financial Officer Paul Mastronardi Vice President Web Development Joe Ferrick Circulation Director Denise Robbins Marketing Director Nancy Gregson HR Manager Ray Vollmer IT Director Greg Topf Controller Jack Liedke Please direct all advertising and editorial inquiries to: EQ, 1111 Bayhill Dr., Ste. 125, San Bruno, CA 94066 (650) 238-0300; Fax (650) 238-0262; eq@musicplayer.com Please direct all subscription orders, inquiries, and address changes to: 800-289-9919, outside the U.S. 978-667-0364, eqmag@computerfulfillment.com Back Issues: Back Issues are available for $10 each at 800-289-9919, 978-667-0364, eqmag@computerfulfillment.com EQ (ISSN 1050-7868) is published monthly by NewBay Media, LLC 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066. EQ is a trademark of NewBay Media. All material published in EQ is copyrighted (©) 2008 by NewBay Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in EQ is prohibited without written permission. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EQ., P.O. Box 232, Lowell, MA 01853. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork. All product information is subject to change; publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. All listed model numbers and product names are manufacturers' registered trademarks. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Bruno, CA, and at additional mailing offices. 4 EQ JUNE 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - June 2008

EQ Magazine - June 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board 3 Doors Down, Hard-Fi, Paul Manousos Tool Box Panic at the Disco Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Cakewalk Projects Apple Loops Utility SSL Duende Mini JBL LSR4326/PAK & LSR4312SP Holophone H3-D Creation Audio Labs MW1 Studio Tool Amp Modeler Roundup Eventide Timefactor, Electro-Harmonix Stereo Pedals, Korg Pandora PX5D Room with a Vu: Blues Tunes Studios, Silverlake, CA

EQ Magazine - June 2008

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