Ricky martin pisses me off...

[Bryan@MuseResearch]

Sorry, I just can't stand the speculation being tossed about... just for your info these pictures come from the Receptor newsletter, where we talked about Ricky's band, and the guys in the picture are Arturo Ortiz, the keyboard player and Music Director, and a guy named Michael Bernard who is a great keyboard tech who has worked with a lot of big acts like Madonna. The photos were taken on a rehearsal stage at SIR in New York.

Comment: Receptors are relatively cheap, as roadshow stuff goes. I'm sure the gear just in the stuff for the stage mix of vocals dwarfs it, and whatever is in the FOH racks is in *orbit* by comparison.

Response: This is very true, Receptors are really cheap in comparision to the other gear that is involved in staging a major show. And this rack isn't just for one person, each player has their own Receptor, and they all use LinPlug DR008 as a sampling engine to fire off various phrases from the album, as well as playing live keyboards and percussion through the Receptors. This was devised by Arturo as a way of having the experience of an album for the audience but having the flexibility of stretching or compressing the show and giving some room for improvisation. Contrast that with most big shows that are playing along with disk recorded backing tracks, (sad but true) and I have to say I appreciate the fact that Ricky Martin is actually performing the stuff live. Besides DR008 they have a ton of other plugins they use, including Kontakt.

Comment: All roadshow gear is probably either leased anyway, or bought on a capital-expenditure program that operates like a lease (only the depreciation is payed off the top).

Response: in my experience handling artist relations for Muse, most gear is bought by the artist themselves or by the production company managing the tour. Leasing doesn't make sense for instruments, they aren't expensive enough to interest the leasing companies. You are definitely right in saying that the stuff gets depreciated, and alot of that is because after a big tour the gear is pretty much beat to a pulp and is worthless at the end of the tour!

Comment: Does he tour with a piano player? Would you think it strange if there's a $45,000 Yamaha on the stage every night? Put the rack of Receptors in the proper perspective, and try not to think about the *really* expensive stuff in his show. Bet he has vocal pres alone that eclipse what's in this particular rack.

Response: His piano player is Arturo, and they used sampled pianos live. He is an amazing musician, and in fact I think Ricky's band is absolutely top notch. They have a 25 year old drummer who plays like Steve Gadd... he's amazing. And you are absolutely right that this rack of Receptors is a minute fraction of the rest of the gear they have on stage...in fact those four Receptors would cost less than a high end sampler from just a couple of years ago...

Comment: My question is, does he actually *use* it?

Response: Absolutely, and the band sounds great. They are touring for the next two years, so chances are you'll be able to check them out in person if you don't believe me!!!

What's particularly amazing about this particular show is that they are using primarily in-ear monitors with no local amps or open air monitors, running all the instruments direct into the FOH and monitor consoles, which means the on-stage volume is next to nothing. To hear them rehearse without having the FOH fired up is really really weird: all you hear is singing, the faint sound of electric guitars and basses sans their amps, and some drums and percussion, and nothing else. Then you put on some headphones with a mix of what you'd hear through FOH and it sounds absolutely huge.

[james0tucson]

Sorry, I just can't stand the speculation being tossed about...

Thank you for having a well-reasoned response to my questions and comments. I was afraid the thread had died with the allusion to Ricky being fecal matter

People are brutal when an artist is in another genre than their own.

[james0tucson]

Let me get this straight. They run DOS 3.3, NOW?

So it seems. Makes sense in a way though since such an old OS with very few features would mean fewer things that can go wrong.

ARE YOU KIDDING? Do you remember DOS 3.3?????

In an application machine, it was absolutely rock solid. Many systems had it in ROM, so it also had "instant-on", something we don't have today.

In a general-purpose environment, particularly if you were trying to push the envelope (extended memory, multitasking like the fabulous Desqview, or networking), it was a major pain. But in a system within nominal operating params, it was quite stable.

It lacked features and versatility, but it was also simple and very well tested. I can see the argument for running DOS 3.3 in a control system, for instance, and I'm sure it still lives there.

[The Chase]

People are brutal when an artist is in another genre than their own.

Yea, that's it. It has nothing to do with him coming off as an idiotic douche bag who says he's the best thing to happen to Latin culture in America.

[james0tucson]

People are brutal when an artist is in another genre than their own.

Yea, that's it. It has nothing to do with him coming off as an idiotic douche bag who says he's the best thing to happen to Latin culture in America.

You throw away any credibility you might have, when you go to the personal insults. Make a case against the guy without the need to call him "idiotic douche bag".

Seriously, the guy makes dance music, he's not a politician. He's got an enormous ego, certainly. His appeal is resolutely mainstream. He sits on the board of a charity that helps fund Habitat for Humanity in Thailand, among other things.

It's one thing to say you don't like the guy, but you're out of line and you become offensive when your entire argument consists of profane personal insults.

Seriously, as for "idiotic", he seems to have consistently made wise business decisions. You're going to have to explain exactly what you mean by "douche bag."

The way I see it, the guy manages to be relatively free of controversy, keeps a low profile, as celebrities go. Maybe I missed some scandal in the 90s or something?

[Amberience]

I think you misunderstood the joke.

Best I could tell, you called Ricky Martin a turd.

And he is.

He's not my style, but I'll bet he pays his roadies and session players pretty well.

If money gives you happiness...

[The Chase]

People are brutal when an artist is in another genre than their own.

Yea, that's it. It has nothing to do with him coming off as an idiotic douche bag who says he's the best thing to happen to Latin culture in America.

You throw away any credibility you might have, when you go to the personal insults. Make a case against the guy without the need to call him "idiotic douche bag".

Seriously, the guy makes dance music, he's not a politician. He's got an enormous ego, certainly. His appeal is resolutely mainstream. He sits on the board of a charity that helps fund Habitat for Humanity in Thailand, among other things.

It's one thing to say you don't like the guy, but you're out of line and you become offensive when your entire argument consists of profane personal insults.

Seriously, as for "idiotic", he seems to have consistently made wise business decisions. You're going to have to explain exactly what you mean by "douche bag."

The way I see it, the guy manages to be relatively free of controversy, keeps a low profile, as celebrities go. Maybe I missed some scandal in the 90s or something?

how does that lose any of my credibility? I said that I think he's a douche bag because he used to go on talk shows and say that he's 'the best thing to happen to latin culture in america'. It's my oppinion. the only reason to lose credibility would maybe be if i tried to state that as a fact.

Keeps a low profile? do you remember the 90's? EVERYTHING was Livin La Vida Loca.

[james0tucson]

how does that lose any of my credibility? I said that I think he's a douche bag because he used to go on talk shows and say that he's 'the best thing to happen to latin culture in america'.

I presume you can quote some specific talk show incident but that's not my point. You use personal insults as the basis of a vague argument whose sole purpose is to make an ugly slam at an artist. Worse, the artist happens to have been mentioned in the forum because he's a high-profile customer of the very product of the company that makes the forum possible.

As for credibility, I meant what I said. When you demonstrate a willingness to go straight to an ad-hominem and especially when your entire argument consists only of an insult, you don't have any.

[The Chase]

how does that lose any of my credibility? I said that I think he's a douche bag because he used to go on talk shows and say that he's 'the best thing to happen to latin culture in america'.

I presume you can quote some specific talk show incident but that's not my point. You use personal insults as the basis of a vague argument whose sole purpose is to make an ugly slam at an artist. Worse, the artist happens to have been mentioned in the forum because he's a high-profile customer of the very product of the company that makes the forum possible.

As for credibility, I meant what I said. When you demonstrate a willingness to go straight to an ad-hominem and especially when your entire argument consists only of an insult, you don't have any.

actually when my argument is that I think he's a douche, I dont need any credibility it's my own oppinion that I create.

I think he's a douche. I'm not saying he is a douche, im saying I think he is one. Arguement over (as it never existed).[/b]

[james0tucson]

I think he's a douche. I'm not saying he is a douche, im saying I think he is one. Arguement over (as it never existed).[/b]

He's a showerhead?

You're comforatble insulting someone who is a high-profile partner of the company whose web forum you're posting on? Your deprecating remarks are unwelcome, I believe.

[The Chase]

You're comforatble insulting someone who is a high-profile partner of the company whose web forum you're posting on? Your deprecating remarks are unwelcome, I believe.

Well im sorry that you dont like my remarks, but if i dont like someone, im not going to change my mind because his band (well not his band - the band that plays music for him to sing to) uses 4 receptors.