ACB Live, Volume 2: Video Artist Chris LeBlanc

Posted on January 17, 2023 by John CS Keston

AudioCookbook Live, Volume 2 is happening tonight, Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 7:30 and will feature video artist Chris LeBlanc. This fundraiser for The Link is a free streaming concert with optional donations. I will be improvising music based on LeBlanc’s improvised visuals creating a vicious cycle of mind melding, psychological, feedback loops. A special thanks goes out to Charles Hainsworth for donating his time and expertise in videography and streaming. Check it out on Twitch.TV/AudioCookbook at 7:30pm.

AudioCookbook Live: November 15, 2022

Posted on November 1, 2022 by John CS Keston

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many of us to the comforts of streaming concerts at home, while some of us had already been experiencing concerts this way. As a performer I was thrilled to participate in a handful of streaming events while the pandemic had shuttered venues and driven us indoors. Although by no means over, the recent decline in cases has allowed many music venues to reopen, while others have had to close permanently. I have had the good fortune of performing live several times since cases have begun to decline and I hope that trend continues (both cases declining and performance inclines). However, not since I started performing in my late teens have I played so infrequently, which feels wrong somehow, and makes it more time consuming to prepare for performances when they do arise.

Yet I have resisted organizing and performing my own streaming events. I have several unjustified rationalizations for this; fear of low attendance, fear of technical issues impacting the quality, and a reluctance to get started and learn everything necessary to broadcast. So I have put a date on the calendar to stream a solo concert on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 7:30pm. There is a long list of pros and cons for live streaming. The biggest con being no in-person contact with the audience and community. But it is not my intent to replace in-person live shows. My hope is at minimum to increase my opportunities for performing, expand my studio practice, and entertain some people. The streams will be free and open to the public.

Projects on this blog, like One Sound Everyday, One Synthesizer Sound Every Day, and Sound / Simulacra have motivated me to keep making music. I see streaming performances as a vehicle for keeping up with my performance routine. Perhaps it will evolve into a monthly event with guests. I expect brief discussions after each performance, answering questions from the stream chat, sharing my setups, and covering topics within music technology, sound design, electronic music, and improvisation. Stay informed about these events by subscribing to AudioCookbook, or by following AudiocookbookBook on Twitch.TV. The events will always be free with donation to The Link encouraged. The For in-person events (mostly in Minneapolis) I have a separate email list you can join by emailing me directly at keston [ at ] audiocookbook [ dot ] org.

Performing with the Dirtywave M8, Numa X GT, and Prophet REV2

Posted on October 17, 2022 by John CS Keston

This month I will be playing a solo set at RÖK Eatery in St. Paul on Thursday, October 20th at 7pm. 7th St. W, Suite 12, St. Paul, MN 55102. This is an exciting opportunity for me to improvise with some amazing instruments that I have been working with recently. These include the Numa X Piano GT, a gorgeous sounding stage piano, my beloved Prophet REV2 polysynth from the late Dave Smith, and a handheld tracker/sampler/synth called the Dirtywave M8.

I am still surprised by my own decision to include the Dirtywave M8 in this setup given that I did not anticipate using it in a live setting, but with the collection of customized tools I’ve been crafting that aid with improvisation and experimentation I’m finding it to be a rewarding combination. More to come!

Searching for the Perfect Stage Piano (Part 2: VTines MK1)

Posted on December 2, 2021 by John CS Keston

A recent setup for John C.S. Keston with a Rhodes EP at the McGuire Theater, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

As I continue my search for the “perfect” stage piano (spoiler: there isn’t one) I have been asking myself if it is practical and/or desirable to use a VST instead of a dedicated hardware instrument. This is an approach that I have used in the past, and one that many professionals choose, so I have decided to explore a few modern examples of this possibility in detail.

Since the Rhodes (the actual 130lbs version) has been the instrument of choice for me for many years, the first thing I wanted to determine was if there was an electric piano VST that could emulate the Rhodes well enough to satisfy my ears. Over the years I have used Lounge Lizard (Electric in Ableton Live), Arturia’s Stage-73 V, and several others with limited success. This article is a reflection on a new-to-me VST that might just work in my weird and atypical performance and studio setups. No emulation has the ability to replace the Rhodes, but I’m hoping to find a satisfactory facsimile for live performances.

The latest Rhodes VST that I have found interesting is VTines MK1 from Acousticsounds. Although VTines MK1 provides only one electric piano model, is it by far the most adjustable of the examples I have used. For example VTines MK1 allows for the adjustment of around 9 parameters on a per key basis! In other words you can adjust the virtual “pickup distance”, “tine height”, and more for individual notes on the instrument. Continue reading →

Searching for the Perfect Stage Piano

Posted on October 3, 2021 by John CS Keston

I expect this post to have several follow ups, but since writing The Democratization of Piano? I have been digging deep in my search for a an alternative to lugging my ailing Rhodes Mark I to every gig I play. Now that COVID-19 vaccines are widely available and live music is starting to happen again, I have started performing more frequently.

For the time being I have put together a setup that is quite satisfying, but I don’t consider it a long term solution. Instead of using by beloved Rhodes I am using the Arturia Keylab 88 to control a Yamaha Reface CP. The “RdI” setting on the Reface CP sounds remarkably similar to the Rhodes Suitcase 73 that doesn’t leave my studio. The Reface even has a few keys that sound a little different, brighter or quicker to bark, than the others, just like the real instruments usually do.

The effects on the Reface CP are limited in parameters, but you can have five of them on at once and still maintain 128 note polyphony. I’m not going to get into everything that the Reface CP can do, but it is a very capable little instrument with just the right sort of limitations. The Arturia Keylab 88 makes the Reface CP feel much more substantial. The Keylab 88’s fully weighted keybed is quite heavy but not sluggish allowing you to dig into it.

I have expanded the capabilities of the setup with the Blokas Midihub. The Midihub is a fantastic, standalone, programmable, MIDI processor and interface. I have set it up with a flexible arpeggiator, and several LFOs that I have mapped to things like delay time. Using the Midihub I also mapped the aftertouch on the Keylab to the rate of the tremolo on the Reface CP, so that I can speed it up by pressing down on the keybed.

So if it’s so great, why isn’t it long term? Why seek out a stage piano? The main reason is because the setup is complex. Not overly so, but enough so that a bad cable, the wrong setting, or any manner of other issues could delay soundcheck or bring things to a halt. There are other limitations. And I want limitations because I understand too well how too many possibilities can paralyse creativity. However, combining the keybed with the sound engine and having a bit more access under the hood will streamline my setup and allow me to fine tune my sound. In the next article I’ll explain a bit more about my interim setup, discuss some of the instruments I’ve tried and researched to replace it, and explain exactly what I’m after in a stage piano. All the best!