I hang out with rockstars (sometimes)

NAMM Day 2,3,4

2009-01-21T19:25:00.002-05:00

So it really just became a wash between the days at the convention between the neon flashy showroom lights, blaring sounds from all directions, giving the same spiel over and over, aching tired feet, and wannabe rockers looking for give-aways. After the long hard day, there is only one thing to do though... start partying! Work hard, play harder is pretty much what NAMM is all about. Which is probably the most unhealthy thing you can make your body endure. Oh wait, until you add a red-eye flight on top of all of that. Yes, I am hurting right now, pretty bad. But there were many highlights including:

- taking pics of Roger with Tony Levin
- David Torn stopping by the booth
- Seeing my buddy Victor Wooten again (yes I have his cell number in my contacts, honestly one of the nicest guys ever!)
- Seeing Dread Zeppelin perform - hilarious, I mean reggae zeppelin tunes with Elvis frontman, you can't beat that!
- Vitamin T
- Partying with Fuzz and Carrie and the rest of the Caravan of Thieves
- other fun stuff that I don't remember now because I didn't post right away, sorry...

NAMM Day 1

2009-01-15T21:29:00.002-05:00

I forgot how much feet can hurt after standing in a convention showroom floor from 10am-6pm! It was a good day though... I got to show off some of the new MIDI hothand keys stuff for an editor at Keyboard Magazine which was pretty cool. Hopefully they will be reviewing the new MIDI controller soon. You can read the review here of the original wah and phaser/flanger product.

Rock On!

NAMM Day 0

2009-01-14T21:59:00.003-05:00

Hello from sunny Anaheim! It feels so nice to be out of the tundra which is Boston right now. Today I had the pleasure of attending the Pre-NAMM Artist Training Day. Basically you know you've made it when you get to kick it with the keyboardist for Molly Cyrus... life is big out here! Anyhow it was the first day of demos and lots of talking and trying to get artists big and small alike to learn more about Source Audio and the rockin technologies we have with motion controlled effects. Oh yea, and remember that band from the highschool era, Everlast? Though I did not get to meet the frontman himself, guitarist and keyboardist were present. These "pre-NAMM Artist training" days are sort of a mixed bag wash of music director/producer/engineer/artists who you can't really tell if they're a big deal or not (most likely... not) But you don't know and thats the thing, you just gotta do it because you never know. [Yes, you never know that you are going to run into crazy healer dude, who reaches out to my arm and starts massaging it because he wants to cure my tendonitis and tells me that the brace I'm wearing is no good and I need to breath and take herbs and blah blah blah]

Tomorrow things get more interesting as we move down to the actual convention center and NAMM officially opens up... should be a good time!

I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN

2009-01-11T22:40:00.002-05:00

It's like when I start a diary... I am so ambitious and believe in myself to continue it, and then I forget, get bored, etc. and leave pages abandoned to collect dust, occupy valuable bookshelf space, and leave college-ruled lines empty. Argh... Oh vast empty internet bytes! Ok, I could say its a new years resolution to start contributing more regularly to this blog, but I'd again be like one of those newbs arriving at healthworks to fervently work out for a month and drop it like its hot for a hot cinnamon bun. Anyhow, exciting news is that I am 2 days away from going to NAMM which will no doubt include many fun stories, pics, encounters with rockstars and what not. Unfortunately this will be a more tame NAMM than past years since I have to be resting/preppin for my half marathon in Miami at the end of this month. Who am I kidding though, I can't say no to rock 'n roll and Vitamin T... Rog, what have you done to me?!?!

The New Deal

2008-12-12T11:25:00.002-05:00

No, not the FDR shit. And no not that "new-new-Obama-please-get-us-out-of-this-dump-of-an-economy-deal" either. I am talking about the Toronto based band that will get you up and dancing with your glo-sticks and pulsating electronic craziness that will have you thinking this MUST be a DJ mix, but no, this is actually live music created by 3 rocking individuals. I got to meet Dan, Jamie, and Darren last night during sound check for their show at the Middle East. Dan got totally into the bass distortion and flanger effects and got them set-up in his rig to use right away that night in the show. It's rare when an artist decides to jump in right away and use the effects night-of show, but its pretty sweet when it happens. Dan got it right away and was coming up with some mind blowing sound emanating out of his bass through all his rocking pedal sounds. (he also uses moogerfooger pedals to the max). Even though electronic dance music isn't always the first thing on my iTunes playlist, the New Deal has something special going on, and they were a lot of fun to listen and dance to. The show was sold-out and we got a great vantage point from "backstage" to see Dan work the magic with the hothand pedals and the rest of his rig.

Sometimes I am lucky...

2008-12-11T11:32:00.003-05:00

Like today, when I was awoken this morning by a cop ringing the doorbell at 7:30am. Oops... apparently I parked in front of a driveway last night when coming back to my apt. Now see, I am normally not this absent minded, but I will blame the dark and the rain. Also, this "driveway" was really a closed off fence leading to a boat hanging out in someones yard, so in my defense it could have passed as normal sidewalk area. Regardless, the cop, decided to come ring my doorbell and ask me to move my car rather than tow it... Merry Christmas!

Also, I would like to thank all the residents on my street for the night of Dec 5th when my band had a gig that night out in Boston. Apparently when I drove home from the gig, I left my car unlocked with all my gear (don't want to admit how expensive) inside. It was completely intact the next morning.

One day this luck is going to run out and it will suck tremendously!

Kickin' It Old School

2008-12-04T14:35:00.002-05:00

While at home over thanksgiving I perused the closet in my old room. Among the hidden treasures of my youth, I found my High School letter jacket, awkward middle school photos, secret notes from note-passing days, and my sambas!!!! Yes, my actual Adidas Sambas which I proudly wore on and off the indoor field because they were (excuse me, are) soooo awesome. I forgot that I still had them and you better believe they came back with me to Boston and I am currently wearing them as I type this post. Now here's the thing, the sambas came into popularity during my 6th grade year (ish). I remember pleading with my parents laying my case for needing these shoes for indoor soccer. However, I somehow got stuck with black and neon green Mitre indoor shoes. Not cool. It took a couple years later in my high school days to finally earn the real deal shoes. So you can imagine my excitement when I found them again and am now proudly wearing my tan gumsole shoes while I "throw threes up".

Little Known Fact

2008-12-03T15:06:00.003-05:00

My former boss is a rockstar. Perhaps that's why she left the company I work for in pursuit of bigger things.
Benefits include:
- no more corporate America (Oh Canada!)
- no more 9-5
- no more cube-land, cube-politics, cube-jokes
(did ya hear that one about...)
- face-melting on a regular basis

She pretty much kicks ass at life, and while I miss her not being around... I think the picture tells an awesome story of how things are going for her.

$21.15

2008-12-02T09:04:00.000-05:00

And I just filled up my tank.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T19:46:00.000-05:00

...Not hanging out with rockstars, but with 12 other members of my family all under 1 roof. We had a mix of English, Spanish, and Portuguese flying around the household. As crazy and overwhelming as it can be at times, I absolutely love it. Especially my little nummer-nummer nieces (4 of them) who are too cute. This time of family bonding included the following:

- Getting chastised by the parents for drinking too much
- Teaching my niece how to play the trombone (err, sorta)
- Tossing the football around and getting tackled by a Christmas tree
- Playing my baby-grand at home, which I miss
- Eating (obviously)
- Running a 5mi race and getting beat out by a 14-year old
- Avoiding black friday like the plague
- Explaining to my nieces who flava flav is
- Sharing awkward stories of growing up with the family (apparently some were too early to laugh about... should wait a couple of years)

Hasidic Jew Rap

2008-11-28T11:08:00.003-05:00

Remember those pesky little ven diagrams from grade school? If you were to make one now, let's say with Table A = Hasidic Jew, and Table B = Reggae/Rap Rocker, that blue middle region would really be narrowed down to one person: Matisyahu. I got to meet Matis and his band at their show in Boston at the Orphuem. However, I did not shake his hand (not allowed) nor did I talk to him for too long because forget being orthodox super strict, he's a for real Hasidic Jew! He was very nice for the brief moments I talked to him, but I did get to hang with the rest of the band after doing the hothand demo. They are super chill, really awesome musicians (a lot of them met at the New School in nyc) and were pretty into the motion inspired technology. The highlight of the meeting was climbing into the luxury tourbus, sipping some brews, and jamming out to some old-school funk tunes. [Matis not present]

This guy

2008-11-24T17:04:00.004-05:00

Advice #1: don't date rockstars

This guy especially. I met Raliegh Neal at Vegoose, the big Halloween bash outside of Vegas which they sadly don't do anymore. The whole experience was a blast, and I'm sure other posts will reference my time there, but no story really matches this one. Mr. Neal plays keys with Michael Franti and Spearhead. Hey was also one of the lucky artist winners of the hothand at our backstage raffle. I was doing a demo and giving him the technical explanation of the hothand and how it was totally applicable to keys and how its fun etc. etc. He asks for my card so that he can contact me if he has any set-up issues. Of course I respond, giving him my official corporate nerdy engineering business card for my "real job."

This is the priceless email I receive... again remember at my real job, not personal email account!
"Hello Daniela,
Wow!!! you're hot!!

I mean you are a funky player and seem to be shaking and moving along.
Plus you're gifted with "scientific understanding" too...

But your Biology looks marvelous!!

HA!!!

Is that too much for a first email? No worries my dear, it's harmless...
especially since you live all the way in Boston. I just really enjoyed
your vibes more and more as I spent more time around
you. So... I'm letting you know.

Now that the cat is out of the bag, I just wanted to say, "hey".

I'm back in San Fran, just finished unpacking, cleaning up the house a
bit and sitting down to organize cards and connections from this weekend
in Vegas. By the way, did you get a chance to gamble and see a show or
two? I really didn't this time around. I'm kinda disappointed about
that... but then I'm not a gambler. Well at least not that I'm aware
of...

The city is still a trip to me and in the right circumstances I believe
one can have a marvelous time there... What do you think?

So Lady Daniela, what is it that makes you wet the floor with happiness?

Is it centered around your work? Engineering? Is ther a book I could get
on "the passions of Daniela Marquez".

I have to admit, I very curious...

Bless you on your return to wonderful Boston and I look forward to
chatting more and maybe catching up with you in the DC area.

MMMMMUAH!!!!

Raliegh Ral "

You can't really make that sh*t up

How it all got started

2008-11-19T12:00:00.000-05:00

"Now this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I liked to take a minute
Just sit right there
I'll tell you how I became the Artist Relations chic for Source Audio..."

Sorry I really couldn't resist despite better judgment.

Anyhow, this company SourceAudio makes some kick ass effects pedals. They are mainly meant for guitar, but have been successfully jammed out with bass, keys, and other instruments. The main concept is that the instrumentalist controls different effects such as a wah, phaser, flanger, etc. just with the motion of their hand as they play. The user wears a ring that is equipped with an accelerometer (same technology as the wii). This ring then wireless transmits a signal to the actual pedal in order to control the filter effects on the pedal. It allows for really expressive playing, a new way to engage with the audience, and some killer sounds that aren't even possible with current pedals on the market.

You can check one of my nerdy videos from NAMM here. Ok my plug is done.

So the guys @ SA besides being super innovative are really awesome. I get to travel (and party) with them occasionally at different trade shows and music festivals. I also do some local gig hopping to go meet artists and try to get them using and endorsing the product. It's a pretty awesome side gig and has led to some interesting run-ins (don't worry I'll tell the Disco Biscuits story at some point).

Obligatory First Post

2008-11-19T11:55:00.000-05:00

This is day one in the blogoshpere ... I'm a little nervous, but I'll take the easy way out and reference my fav internet comic: http://xkcd.com/124/

Per the usual blog, I will reference funny happenings, things my parents say, things I do etc... and will also intersperse some fun anecdotes from meeting rockstars like flaava flav and getting to shake his crusty crusty hand.

"Yeaaa boooooy"
"Flaaaaavaaaa Flav!"
...yes he does say these things in real life, and wears the big clock around his neck, its true