{"id":5837,"date":"2011-11-15T12:46:51","date_gmt":"2011-11-15T16:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/?p=5837"},"modified":"2011-11-15T12:46:51","modified_gmt":"2011-11-15T16:46:51","slug":"hollywood-undead-on-the-road-and-writing-with-sonar-x1-expanded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/2011\/11\/15\/hollywood-undead-on-the-road-and-writing-with-sonar-x1-expanded\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood Undead: On the road and writing with SONAR X1 Expanded"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It\u2019s two weeks into the tour and Hollywood Undead\u2019s guitarist\/vocalist\/music creator J-Dog is without his tour laminate.\u00a0 \u201cAll the dates are on the back of the laminate,\u201d he says in a calm voice and smiling, \u201cso it looks like I won\u2019t know where I\u2019ll be heading for a while.\u201d\u00a0 It could be a good thing, because J-Dog doesn\u2019t need any distractions as his mind is set on a few specific targets; gearing up [already] for the next record, and giving Hollywood Undead fans everything the band has to offer on this tour.<\/p>\n

The band, who currently are working on SONAR X1 Expanded<\/a> for their next record are fighting through what is known in the industry as the \u201cSophomore Slump,\u201d and winning.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t let your guard down for a minute these days.\u00a0 You have to keep on working and keep your head on straight in order to stay in the game,\u201d J-Dog tells me in a candid conversation.\u00a0 \u201cEven though our new record is doing well and the touring is killer, we have to keep it moving to the next record.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The new record American Tragedy<\/em> (A&M\/Octone)<\/a> came out with a bang and landed nicely in the Billboard Top 10 surrounded by Brittany Spears and Radiohead.\u00a0 For Hollywood Undead fans, American Tragedy offers the same power and delivery as the debut record Swan Songs, but also shows a bit more depth to the band in terms of the writing.\u00a0 Undeniable hooks are found throughout the record along with an authentic rawness and conviction that only tested souls could possibly deliver.\u00a0 How does the band continue to write great songs like this one might ask, and the answer lies somewhere between work ethic, crude talent and tools such as SONAR X1 Expanded<\/a>; but it\u2019s certainly not a fluke as they are one of the hardest working bands out there today.<\/p>\n

\"\"On this day on tour, somewhere unknown to J-Dog due to the laminate-tour-dates\u00a0 mishap where a ravishing fan got the best of him and stole it while on stage, he and Da Kurlzz could be found hidden away in a hotel room doing what they do best, creating new music.\u00a0 Although the new record is still fresh in the minds of the band and the fans, Hollywood Undead continues to press forward with their eye on the future and another record.\u00a0 I got a chance first hand to see how they work on the road and it\u2019s quite impressive.\u00a0 All the members of the band pretty much have their own style and when it all comes together is when the thing-you-can\u2019t-put-your-finger-on happens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While on the road today, J-Dog was working on a new track in X1 in his hotel room that he started on the tour bus a few days prior.\u00a0 \u201cX1 works great for us as a band that individually has so many different ideas from its members.\u00a0 Everything is right there in front of you so the work flow keeps us creative through the writing process and beyond. Getting ideas down is simple, but I can also go deep into programming that I can then just hand off to our producers or our label [A&M\/Octone].\u201d\u00a0 On the road the band is using a Cakewalk A-300Pro<\/a> controller, a Roland Octa-capture<\/a>, a Roland Quad-capture<\/a>, two PC Audio Labs<\/a> laptops, and SONAR X1 Expanded<\/a> with all the expansion packs as well as the PC4K-S Compressor<\/a> and PC4K-S Expander<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"What keeps Hollywood Undead on top of the game in this climate is a combination of many factors besides the great music.\u00a0 The bands management team Maple Jam Music is a key factor along with the label A&M\/Octone who continue to think outside the box with Hollywood Undead in terms of promotion and marketing.\u00a0 For example, the band is releasing a remix record and they gave their fans a shot at participating on it through a contest where the winning remix actually made the record.\u00a0 For a Major Label band, this is an unprecedented event with fan-involvement on the music side.\u00a0\u00a0 The remix record which will be released later this month [November, 2011] on A&M\/Octone will feature some of the bands favorite artists including the likes of Korn<\/strong>\u2018s Jonathan Davis<\/strong>, Borgore<\/strong>, Andrew W.K.<\/strong> and more who have contributed their remixes of the bands material.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our first remix record ever. We got to pick the DJ`s and re-mixers that the band really likes. \u2018Borgore,\u2019 \u2018Jonathan Davis (Korn),\u2019 \u2018KMFDM\u2019 and \u2018Andrew W.K.\u2019 are a few on the list.\u00a0 Who would have thought that someone you grew up listening to would one day remix your song.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Another example would be the way the band works with radio stations to hold unique promotions when compared to other bands on the circuit.\u00a0 This week, J-Dog and the band are coming off another win in the game of \u201cCorn Hole [Bag Toss]\u201d where a major radio station held a contest to play a round with the band to try to beat them.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve never been beat,\u201d says J-Dog.\u00a0 \u201cA few have come close, but no one has gotten there.\u00a0 We play it on the road all the time in parking lots where the bus is parked.\u00a0 Radio stations even have custom designed Hollywood Undead Corn Hole boards made up from city to city\u2013 it\u2019s pretty crazy.\u201d\u00a0 He goes on to say, \u201cI think factors like this are important.\u00a0 A lot of bands do the same old promotions but we really like to think of different things for our fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>On the international front, Hollywood Undead is making some great strides as well.\u00a0 Recently the band made it over to Australia, The U.K., and also two shows in Japan at SummerSonic which really showed the bands integrity. \u201cThere\u2019s no way we were going to cancel those shows in Japan after the recent tragic events,\u201d J-Dog stated.\u00a0 \u201cThat country needs help, and if giving them music that they want to hear helps even a little bit, we\u2019re in.\u201d\u00a0 The two \u201cJapan SummerSonic\u201d concerts were back in August 2011 in Tokyo and Osaka, and featured some of the world\u2019s most prominent rock acts.\u00a0 With this trip being Hollywood Undead\u2019s second run to Japan, it was obvious the music has caught fire in their nation as \u201cfans knew the lyrics to just about every song,\u201d admitted J-Dog.<\/p>\n

\"\"Currently, the band is headlining a new World War III Tour<\/a> with Asking Alexandria and Borgore which runs right up to the December Holiday Season.\u00a0 You can click here for concert dates and the schedule.\u00a0 Seeing the band live is quite a refreshing experience this day in age.\u00a0 It\u2019s rare to see and hear an artist with such great melodies also delivering undeniable power and conviction such as Hollywood Undead does.\u00a0 We here at Cakewalk are excited to hear their new music being made on SONAR X1 Expanded, and of course wish the band and crew all the best for continued success.<\/p>\n

\"\"More Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n

SONAR X1 Expanded<\/a><\/p>\n

Hollywood Undead<\/a><\/p>\n

PC4K-S Type Compressor<\/a><\/p>\n

PC4K-S Type Expander\/Gate<\/a><\/p>\n

Cakewalk A-300Pro<\/a><\/p>\n

Roland Octa-capture<\/a><\/p>\n

Roland Quad-capture<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s two weeks into the tour and Hollywood Undead\u2019s guitarist\/vocalist\/music creator J-Dog is without his tour laminate.\u00a0 \u201cAll the dates are on the back of the laminate,\u201d he says in a calm voice and smiling, \u201cso it looks like I won\u2019t know where I\u2019ll be heading for a while.\u201d\u00a0 It could be a good thing, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Hollywood Undead: On the road and writing with SONAR X1 Expanded”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artist-news","category-sonar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5837\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}