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Sparks the Rescue: From Maine to Mainstream

Sparks1Alex Roy barely has time to talk.

He’s busy packing.  Again.  He just wound up a series of shows yet tomorrow Alex and his band, Sparks The Rescue, heads back out on the road.  This time it’s the Lab Apparel-sponsored Bring Me Home Tour, a 19-date run that will run through the end of April.  Not long after that ends, they join the Vans Warped Tour for 21 dates that take them all over the country.

It’s been like this for lead singer/guitarist Alex and his Sparks The Rescue bandmates since signing with Fearless Records last year, who released an updated version of their first LP, “Eyes to the Sun.”

A tour with The Morning Of, Ian Walsh, and We Are The In-Crowd soon opened the door to a short European tour with the popular All-American Rejects, giving Sparks their first true taste of the ‘big time.’

“It’s been a whirlwind, but it’s been amazing.”

Oh, and let’s not overlook their video for “We Love Like Vampires,” which has been getting a lot of buzz on MTV.COM, or the fact they landed tracks on MTV shows The Hills and Real World: Cancun, 2009.They also did a seven-week cross-country tour with Hit The Lights, and even won MTV/Garnier Fructis’s “I Want My Music On MTV! Competition” for a chance to play at mtvU’s 2009 Woodie Awards.

It’s safe to say, ‘whirlwind’ is an understatement.

Continue reading “Sparks the Rescue: From Maine to Mainstream”

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Making Music On A Netbook at GDC 2010

Netbooks are quickly gaining ground as the viable computing option for everything, from checking email to recording and producing music. The folks at Netbooknews.com were on hand at the recent Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California to chat with Cakewalk’s Seth Perlstein about the forth-coming release of the SD-50 Mobile Studio Canvas and it’s netbook compatibility:

It’s USB-powered, comes with over 1000 sounds and effects, and includes it’s own DAW for Windows users, the SD-50 is a great interface for the musician on the go.

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Special Offer: Amazing Savings on SONAR at Guitar Center

SONAR 8.5 ProducerGuitar Center’s Green Tag Savings Event is back! This weekend only, you can save $100 instantly on SONAR 8.5 Producer, plus receive an extra $50 off with coupon. Why should you upgrade to SONAR 8.5? The latest version of SONAR has all of the innovations, instruments and effects that were included in version 8 plus a host of new features including:

• Matrix View – simple and flexible cell-based, non-linear audio and MIDI arranging with live triggering capability
• Session Drummer 3 – Cakewalk’s virtual instrument for easy and fast creation of drum tracks with a new UI, stellar sounding kits and patterns from top sound designers and drummers
• PX-64 Percussion Strip – seven-stage processor designed specifically for use with drums and percussion
• VX-64 Vocal Strip – seven-stage processor optimized for shaping and sculpting vocal tracks

Don’t wait! Hurry on over to GuitarCenter.com to get unbelievable savings on all your music studio needs.

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A Wicked Good Time for MusiCares Foundation

For those of you who couldn’t make it out to our first annual Cakewalk fundraiser, you missed a great night. Throughout the evening, Cakewalk employees took the stage at the Lansdowne Pub (right next door to historic Fenway Park) to show off their talents.

    Mike FM

Boston’s 93.7 Mike FM was the MC for the night, bringing with them a bundle of awesome prizes for the raffle and giving away free stickers and tees. One lucky raffle winner won the grand prize featuring Cakewalk’s V-Studio 100 portable music studio, a Fender Stratocaster™ with a face plate signed by Blink 182, and Shure headphones. Here’s a brief rundown of the night:

    magnolia

Magnolia killed the opening set as Cakewalk Graphic Designer Dan Kaplan rocked out with his six-piece and bandana. With influences ranging from traditional folk music and Americana to the more contemporary indie rock and pop – Magnolia has a refreshing, unique sound of their own. Be sure to check out their virtual CD release party on June 11, 2010.

    baby made rebel

Cakewalk Quality Assurance Rep Josh Langberg’s band, Baby Made Rebel really turned up the volume in the next set, delivering a stellar performance. Cakewalk Tech Support Rep David Guerette also made a cameo appearance on the tenor sax for a few songs.

    Los Sugar Kings

Los Sugar Kings with Cakewalk Director of Education Dan Abreu had everyone in the crowd clapping along to their Latin inspired beats. They also gave free dance lessons! Dan showed off his amazing musicianship, switching between sax and keyboards, during the set.

    lunchbox2

Even with a man down, the cover band Lunchbox couldn’t be stopped. Cakewalk Account Manager Zac Kenney took on guitar parts intended for 2, played them blindfolded with his hands behind his back, and still made it look cool. Cakewalk International Account Manager Matt Koelsch wowed everyone with his vocals throughout the set; he even managed to out-Zeppelin Robert Plant when they covered “Good Times Bad Times.” 

    DJ Scotty Steel

DJ Scotty Steel kept us all energized through 1:00am spinning hits from the 80’s, 90’s and more.

    DJ Josh

DJ Josh closed it up with a chest pounding mix of electro, IDM, and EBM to keep the glow sticks moving until the lights started flashing and the bartenders finally kicked us out.

All joking aside, it was an amazing night with plenty of great tunes and whole lot of fun!

In total we earned over $800 for the MusiCares Foundation.

The money which will go towards their first annual Grassroots Giving Campaign and it’ll provide critical care and services to musicians worldwide.  Here’s how a few dollars donated to MusiCares could help musicians in need:

$25 Buys groceries for an elderly or disabled artist on a fixed income
$50 Pays part of a gas bill for a client recovering from carpal tunnel syndrome
$100 Pays for a month of medication for an uninsured diabetic client
$150 Provides a basic dental exam, cleaning and X-rays for a horn player without insurance
$500 Provides a vocal examination and rehabilitative treatment for a singer with polyps on her vocal folds

Thank you to all who helped make this event a huge success! We hope to see you next year.

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Special Offer: Dimension LE Virtual Instrument for $19.99

With over 400 sounds, Cakewalk’s Dimension LE virtual instrument for Mac and PC, packs a sonic punch. It’s classic synth sounds coupled with Garritan Pocket Orchestra (strings, bass, woodwinds, piano, and percussion) is everything you need to create one-of-a-kind compositions. Powered by Cakewalk’s Expression Engine, Dimension LE supports multi-sample rendering, wavetable synthesis, waveguide synthesis, REX playback / manipulation, and includes an extensive DSP library of effects.

Don’t settle for the same old sounds. Purchase Dimension LE through April 30, 2010 at the Cakewalk E-Store for only $19.99!

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Video: V-Studio 20 Launch at Musikmesse 2010

The folks at Harmony Central were on hand at Musikmesse 2010 to film the debut of Cakewalk’s V-Studio 20, the portable recording studio for guitarists and singer-songwriters. Their video captures a live demo by Robin Kelly and accomplished guitar player, Gundy Keller, exploring the interface’s included DAW, Effects Editor and it’s many incredible tones:

For more information on the V-Studio 20, visit our website.

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Songwriter Raul Midon Produces Music with Cake-Talking Technology

raul modinNew York City singer-songwriter, Raul Midon celebrates the release of his latest album, Synthesis, which hits stores in the US today. Blinded as an infant, Raul was first introduced to music by his father, often listening to the uncomparable Beethoven, Mozart, John Cage, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. After studying music at a school for the blind and later graduating from the University of Miami’s prestigious jazz program, Raul was hired as a backup singer for Latin-music moguls including Julio and Enrique Inglesias, Shakira, and Ricky Martin. In 2002, Raul moved to the Big Apple to pursue a solo career, playing guitar and writing his own music. His debut album, State of Mind, was released in 2005 on Capitol Records and was produced by industry veteran, Arif Mardin.

Since then, Raul has recorded and produced demos in his SONAR-based home studio using Dancing Dot’s Cake-Talking assistive technology (scripts in JAWS for Windows). The program speaks SONAR settings or parameters to the user, making it easier for visually-impaired musicians to record their instruments, apply effects, and render high-quality, professional recordings. Watch the video below to see how Raul used Cake-Talking in the making of his sophomore album, Synthesis:

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Find Your Inspiration at ASCAP's "I Create Music" Expo 2010

Do you write your own music? Propel your songwriting career into new heights at ASCAP’s fifth annual, I Create Music Expo. Launched in 2006, the ‘I Create Music’ Expo is the first and ONLY national conference dedicated to songwriting and composing.

From April 22 to April 24 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, attendees are invited to join in on celebrity Q&A’s, songwriting and composing workshops, publisher and business panels, DIY career building workshops, song feedback panels and state-of-the-art technology demos by leading music industry exhibitors. Over 200 panelists and performing artists are slated to attend, including keynote speakers: Quincy Jones, Ludacris, Justin Timberlake, Bill Withers and John Mayer!

Don’t miss the Cakewalk-sponsored session:

“Capturing the Moment”
with Recording Engineer and Producer TC (aka Spitfire)
Saturday April 23, 2010 at 11:10am (Runyon Room)

When you’re inspired, it’s critical that you capture the moment before it passes. Getting down an idea for a song is one thing, but wouldn’t it be amazing if what you captured were usable tracks, that sounded great and retained the energy of that first moment of inspiration?

As a recording engineer, producer, and remixer for demanding artists like Madonna, Paul Oakenfold, Michael Jackson, Shifty, and Sergio Mendes, TC aka Spitfire has made a name for himself by having what it takes to work fast and get killer results. In this special session, sponsored by Cakewalk, TC will provide practical advice on working with powerful, yet cost effective tools that you can use to capture the moment as it happens.

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Sound Design for Video Games at GDC 2010

Cakewalk’s Seth Perlstein was on hand at the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California to demonstrate SONAR’s role in sound design and sound editing for video games.

In the video above, Seth shows how to sync sound effects to video clips using SONAR 8.5’s Audiosnap time-stretching tool with the V-Studio 700 console as a DAW controller. Learn how to create your own sound effects using Cakewalk’s new A-PRO 300 keyboard along side SONAR 8.5’s arsenal of instruments and effects including Session Drummer 3, Rapture, and Perfect Space convolution reverb.

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MusicTech Focus Dedicates Latest Issue to SONAR

SONAR 8 FocusEverything you ever wanted to know about SONAR is now encased in a 132-page full-color guidebook! From cover to cover, this exclusive magazine is the most comprehensive guide to SONAR in print (besides SONAR 8! Power) – a must have whether you’re a SONAR user, or thinking of becoming one!

Packed with 100% SONAR content, this magazine features exclusive interviews with A-list SONAR users – from Shawn Clement to the world famous Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee – highlighting how they using SONAR 8.5 everyday for work. From tracking to mastering, this magazine is teeming with tips and tricks on SONAR’s expansive set of features including 17 SONAR workshops on Beatscape, Step Sequencer 2.0, Session Drummer 3, Z3TA+, Media Browser, Using ACT with your favorite controllers, Film Scoring, Recording Vocals and more! There’s also a FREE DVD packed full of video tutorials, loops, demos and tutorials. 

Don’t miss out on this exclusive help guide!