Weekend Update

Fun keyboard tip: use a little cheap line mixer for your in ear monitors to adjust your level without flagging down a sound guy.

This weekend was busy one, with playing with the Downtown Band and at Church Of The City Downtown. Some thoughts:

• It is very hard to play party music well. We did a six piece this weekend (we usually are a 9-10 piece) which meant Adam Stark and I had to cover all the lead lines the horns usually pick up. That was challenging, but we rocked it, if I do say so myself.

• Playing four hours of dance music and then getting up 5 hours later for two church services was never easy, but having two kids that are disrupting your sleep schedule to begin with doesn’t make it any easier.

• Everywhere I go in Nashville I am surrounded with incredible musicians. It keeps me motivated to keep getting better.

• The Nord Stage 3 continues to be my main workhorse. As much as I move through other keyboards, I keep coming back to the simplicity of The Nord and the power of what it’s capable when you push it. This weekend consisted entirely of just a Nord Stage 3 for both the 70 song dance set and the two worship services.

• Bouncing off the last point, it is way better to have one piece of gear that you know incredibly well than a handful that you are only sort of familiar with.

• Keyboard trick: if you map your expression pedal to the cutoff of your synth, you can do some amazing swells and drops that you couldn’t do otherwise. You’re welcome.

That’s about it for now.