Famous musicians that use Sonic Reality sounds...

[Squids]

There are a lot of well known musicians that use Sonic Reality sounds. We don't even always know who until they contact us and tell us. Although something unusual has occurred to me recently. Something definitely cool but bizarre is when you do a sample library "in the style" of someone and then they end up using your products - maybe not even the ones that are in the style of them but pretty close to it! I'll give you some interesting examples...

Ringo Starr was actually the first customer who bought Ocean Way Drums Gold Edition. So he uses that but I am not sure he even knows about RingBeats in Drum Masters series which is in the style of him!

John Paul Jones just got Sonik Synth 2, Miroslav Philharmonik, SampleTron and a bunch of other IK stuff with SR sounds. (I got to talk to him - nice guy!) Although it would be odd when he sees Bonzo Beats - drums in the style of the late John Bonham.

Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford of Genesis use tons of Sonic Reality sounds now. But it must be a little strange when a patch is named "In The Cage Lead"! Or they feel honored probably. But still... when we made a lot of those sounds I didn't think they were going to be using it. There's probably some "funny" names bastardizing original song names and such. It's a small world these days so you just never know.

But, anyway, a lot of the sounds you guys use are also used by some of your favorite musicians. Pete Townsend actually emailed me once a year or so ago to tell me that he is a fan of us! He uses Philharmonik and R.A.W. loops. I thought it was a joke email at first but I confirmed it was real because a good friend of mine was The Who's touring keyboard tech (actually filled in on keys for part of the tour - his name is Brian Kehew - the same guy who co-wrote "Recording The Beatles" www.recordingthebeatles.com ).

Let's see... other people confirmed to use SR sounds either through IK products or in other formats: Herbie Hancock, Rick Wakeman, Jon Anderson, Eddie Jobson, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Vinnie Colaiuta, Omar Hakim, Patrick Moraz, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson... well, okay there are tons you can read about on www.ikmultimedia.com - any of the artists that use the powered by SampleTank products are using Sonic Reality sounds. But there's many more than even that list. One of these days we'll have an "artist" page too on our site that will show it in case you're interested. A lot of changes are in the works for our SR web site. One of them is Sonic Reality T.V. which I think a lot of you will enjoy - a behind the scenes look at studios, gear, concerts...

[eDrummist]

There are a lot of well known musicians that use Sonic Reality sounds. We don't even always know who until they contact us and tell us. Although something unusual has occurred to me recently. Something definitely cool but bizarre is when you do a sample library "in the style" of someone and then they end up using your products - maybe not even the ones that are in the style of them but pretty close to it! I'll give you some interesting examples...

Ringo Starr was actually the first customer who bought Ocean Way Drums Gold Edition. So he uses that but I am not sure he even knows about RingBeats in Drum Masters series which is in the style of him!

John Paul Jones just got Sonik Synth 2, Miroslav Philharmonik, SampleTron and a bunch of other IK stuff with SR sounds. (I got to talk to him - nice guy!) Although it would be odd when he sees Bonzo Beats - drums in the style of the late John Bonham.

Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford of Genesis use tons of Sonic Reality sounds now. But it must be a little strange when a patch is named "In The Cage Lead"! Or they feel honored probably. But still... when we made a lot of those sounds I didn't think they were going to be using it. There's probably some "funny" names bastardizing original song names and such. It's a small world these days so you just never know.

But, anyway, a lot of the sounds you guys use are also used by some of your favorite musicians. Pete Townsend actually emailed me once a year or so ago to tell me that he is a fan of us! He uses Philharmonik and R.A.W. loops. I thought it was a joke email at first but I confirmed it was real because a good friend of mine was The Who's touring keyboard tech (actually filled in on keys for part of the tour - his name is Brian Kehew - the same guy who co-wrote "Recording The Beatles" www.recordingthebeatles.com ).

Let's see... other people confirmed to use SR sounds either through IK products or in other formats: Herbie Hancock, Rick Wakeman, Jon Anderson, Eddie Jobson, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Vinnie Colaiuta, Omar Hakim, Patrick Moraz, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson... well, okay there are tons you can read about on www.ikmultimedia.com - any of the artists that use the powered by SampleTank products are using Sonic Reality sounds. But there's many more than even that list. One of these days we'll have an "artist" page too on our site that will show it in case you're interested. A lot of changes are in the works for our SR web site. One of them is Sonic Reality T.V. which I think a lot of you will enjoy - a behind the scenes look at studios, gear, concerts...

Squids, while your list includes some of my favorite artists -- and specifically Peter Gabriel, Jon Anderson (Yes), Geddy/Alex (where's Neil? I thought he was probably a customer) -- an amazing number of my all time favorite rock drummers are on that list: Vinnie Colaiuta, Omar Hakim, Phil Collins (early Genesis, Brand X, John Martyn, etc.), the legendary Ringo, etc. in addition to great keyboardists like Hancock, Wakeman and Moraz...I think that drummers have embraced technology a lot more than stereotypes would lead one to believe. Anyhow, it's always cool to see some of your favorite artists using gear you can afford -- I'm sure it's even more meaningful for you as a fan, musician, sample developer and business person.

Beyond the current T-Racks group buy, I am really looking for to SampleTank 3, as I make the move to a Windows 64 bit system (starting with Vista, which will soon be upgraded to Windows 7).

[Squids]

Whoever said anything about a SampleTank 3?

I didn't put Neil Peart in the list because he doesn't actually use our stuff - not yet anyway. Geddy has SampleMoog, Sonik Synth 2, SampleTron... well, he's a keyboard player and bass player (also has Ampeg SVX) so he's all into it. Alex uses various things as well. Neil, not yet. But we've sampled him! Whether he'll use his own samples will be interesting... he actually uses his V-Drum kit to trigger more electronic sounds. So, he did the library with us for YOU.

Other people like Phil Collins you'd think were using something like Ocean Way Drums but actually no, he uses SampleTank and Sonik Synth 2 in his writing set up. I did pitch the idea of using an e-Drum set like a V-Drum or other. He hasn't gotten into it yet (Chester might be though). Regarding the SampleTank plugs... I should clarify that he HAS it, whether he is fully using it or not I don't know. I am a little more in tune with Mike and Tony because they're still doing things at The Farm and I am often talking to Geoff and Dale over there setting them up with various R.A.W. loops for Mike and SampleTank sounds for Tony. I can't talk about their music projects openly or anything but they do still make music and they do like Sonic Reality and IK a lot (which yes IS very nice being a long time fan).

Ringo on the other hand really does like to trigger drums and was so hot to get Ocean Way Drums that I remember being AT Ocean Way Recording Studio the day it came out and Ringo was playing at the House of Blues right down the street. I know Ringo's engineer Bruce Sugar and he called me up and said that Ringo MUST have it asap. So I literally drove it to him personally. Squids delivery service. I got to see his show with Dave Stewart and everything. There were a lot of people there like Greg Bisonette who I talked to a bit. Barbara Bach (ehem) and also Gina Gershon was there kind of in a flirty way actually. I think sometimes people think I am someone I'm not. It happens sometimes where I am walking around backstage and get some flirty vibe from someone famous and I think to myself "I wonder if she knows I am NOT a film director, NOT a rock star and that I hang around KVR a whole heck of a lot!" haha. OR, maybe they are REALLY into sampling. Who knows? It IS cool don't you think?

[gmontano]

gina gershon, very cool!

[Squids]

gina gershon, very cool!

She looked cute in person too. I didn't talk to her. I was thinking about it but then decided "what's the point?". I'm not Mr. Hollywood Star Dater or anything even though I lived in LA for about 10 years (I don't now). I did date the "There's no crying in baseball" girl though from "A League of Their Own". She was also on the show "Monk". There was a funny moment where one of the girls who works at the front desk of a studio in Hollywood would sort of semi-blow me off when I'd come to the front door where she buzzes you in. I guess she's spoiled by rock stars coming in there every day so when Squids got buzzed in and out a bunch of times she'd roll her eyes in semi-disappointment. Then, one day Bitty (the blonde girl from Monk) comes there to meet me and asks for me at the front desk. I think the front desk girl thought it was Virginia Madsen because she was clueless or at least she knew she had seen her before in something. Anyway, her draw dropped in shock and ever since then that front desk girl buzzed me in with a whole other level of enthusiasm. BUZZZZZZZ ZZZ ZZ! Somehow I made it onto her "cool" list I guess. Pathetic.

I found a pic of me and Bitty in the archives. Check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonicreality/3514942631/ I think we had a little bit to drink by the looks of it. I'm not much of a drinker though to be honest. I took her to see some quirky show in the middle of nowhere. Little obscure Squids adventures. LA can be fun in that way. You WILL run into people you recognize from movies, tv etc. But, it can be superficial and meaningless too. It all depends on the interaction. I tend to judge things based on whether it is interesting or unusual in some way or funny. Bitty was cool because she had all of these CRAZY stories about Woody Allen and the inside scoop on what happened with Monk etc was interesting. So it was pretty fascinating actually. So if you laugh or learn something THEN it is worthwhile IMO. If you just get to sleep with Gina Gershon then what's that worth? (Who am I kidding? That would have been great! Shit! Just kiddin'!)

One time I sat across from Lawrence Fishburn at a crappy place in LA called "Sushi On Sunset" (the place you go when it is late at night and you're desparate for some Sushi). He was asking my advice on what to order. Freakin' Morpheus vs Squids (this was just before he did the Matrix). Man, if I think about it I have a ton of little bizarre encounters like that. Little mini Squids stories. I've told a bunch on KVR before but there's so many little ones that aren't necessarily music-related that I've never told. I forget how old I am sometimes. I still feel the same pretty much. But, I've been around and seen some weird stuff. I don't think I ever told the story about being in Barbara Streisand's caravan with her alone... there was a moment that was just like a freaking MOVIE - with inner dialog a la Ferris Beuller meets Holden Caufield. I WILL write movies one of these days. There's just too much material in my head not do to it. We'll see. When we're done sampling everything maybe...

[ionized]

Man - you've led a pretty amazing life so far Dave! Interesting stuff for an average Joe like me. The Squids reality show. Thanks for sharing the stories.

[tedzzzz]

I didn't put Neil Peart in the list because he doesn't actually use our stuff - not yet anyway. Geddy has SampleMoog, Sonik Synth 2, SampleTron... well, he's a keyboard player and bass player (also has Ampeg SVX) so he's all into it. Alex uses various things as well. Neil, not yet. But we've sampled him! Whether he'll use his own samples will be interesting... he actually uses his V-Drum kit to trigger more electronic sounds. So, he did the library with us for YOU.

I love Neil's drum sound (and of course his playing). Which products do the samples of him appear? I'd like to take a listen...been trying to recreate how he plays the cymbals.

;ted

[Squids]

Man - you've led a pretty amazing life so far Dave! Interesting stuff for an average Joe like me. The Squids reality show. Thanks for sharing the stories.

Thanks Lethe! I've had a lot of good laughs and a lot of unusual scenarios come up that make for good stories. Bizarre things like John Paul Jones texting me back and forth which was this week's "Is this really happening?" event. But, out of everyone I make friends with keyboard players the easiest because they instantly appreciate what we do here at Sonic Reality. So, I picked a good job for having a reason to talk to the people I grew up listening to. Talk about perks! But, also for the people that work at Sonic Reality. Ryan, one of the SR programmers, is a HUGE Genesis fan and a drummer. He got to play drums for the sample sessions with two Genesis producers - Hugh Padgham and Nick Davis. I bet he never thought THAT would ever happen. Who else besides Phil Collins ever has? Maybe no one now that I think about it. We're also doing something with another Genesis producer of their past (no info yet) so he might get the opportunity to work on that session as well. I think he likes his job!!!!

But, really, someone had to INVENT this job and that was up to me. I'm bold but have a genuine love for this that fuels it. If someone ELSE had created Sonic Reality I'd work for that company. But nothing like that existed so I had to make it happen and we're not RICH from it but we've kept it going for over 10 years and we've accomplished a lot plus had a lot of fun. Sometimes we've missed the boat, sometimes we hit the nail on the head. I keep putting everything I've got back into it because I believe in it and I'm on a mission to capture as many of the sounds I love as I can. It's more work than most pure bottom line businessmen would do. This is a labor of love that at some point I think people will say "aha, that's what he was thinking". More of a big picture plan. But, really I am more of a nut than any of you know. Stand up comedy, cooking shows, movie scripts, charity stuff... I've even fed the homeless on occasion. I'm all over the place and when you buzz around like that then stuff happens. It has to!

[Squids]

I didn't put Neil Peart in the list because he doesn't actually use our stuff - not yet anyway. Geddy has SampleMoog, Sonik Synth 2, SampleTron... well, he's a keyboard player and bass player (also has Ampeg SVX) so he's all into it. Alex uses various things as well. Neil, not yet. But we've sampled him! Whether he'll use his own samples will be interesting... he actually uses his V-Drum kit to trigger more electronic sounds. So, he did the library with us for YOU.

I love Neil's drum sound (and of course his playing). Which products do the samples of him appear? I'd like to take a listen...been trying to recreate how he plays the cymbals.

;ted

We haven't announced it "officially" yet but we're doing a dedicated Neil Peart title as part of our Studio ProFiles Drum Masters series. So it will be something you can use with our Infinite Player plug-in (powered by Kontakt) as well as for BFD. As to when, that is a good question. We're shooting for September/October release (maybe sooner in BFD) and even though we've been a little off with our release predictions in the past (to say the least... no comment pls!!!!) I think we're more accurate when it comes to the newer formats that we control directly.

I have a final mixing session with Rush's producer Nick Raskulinecz scheduled within the next couple of weeks. We're going to get him to mix the grooves AND mix the kit right inside Infinite Player and BFD using the internal effects so you can see what he's done. Cool huh?

[Squids]

By the way, that Flickr page powers the new photo gallery on the upcoming SR.com The new web site also has something we call "Sonic Reality T.V." which has all sorts of behind the scenes "reality tv" type fly on the wall footage (much of it roughly edited together so it is as real as being there). We even have dark session footage that normally wouldn't be released in anything but... some people still want to see it (like me! I would). Things like Danny Gottlieb during his sample session talking about Steve Gadd etc. Although there's also some higher quality video there too and some pro shot stuff. A mix of everything. It's not properly organized and named yet but if you want to take a peak... here you go: www.sonicreality.net You can join it too to be on that list which is a separate Sonic Reality mailing list about Sonic Reality-related stuff. But, again, this is just a beta version of the site. When it is ready next week it will become SonicReality.com Maybe some of you Peart fans or Genesis fans might like some of the videos, especially the ones we haven't posted on Youtube like the Misc section. Also, gearheads, this is a candy store for you! More gear than you can shake a stick at. Some deluxe studios we sample in as well. Now you can see we mean business when we make these sample libraries and plug-ins!

[buscemi]

You dated Sharona oops Bitty (Sharona was my favorite Monk character, looks like she'll be doing a cameo in the last season which is cool), you lucky bastage!

[Squids]

You dated Sharona oops Bitty (Sharona was my favorite Monk character, looks like she'll be doing a cameo in the last season which is cool), you lucky bastage!

Just for a week or so. It was interesting while it lasted. I thought she was good on the show too. She's funny. But tough and doesn't take any crap. Man, she had some stories about telling off Woody Allen that were hilarious. She was supposed to be in a Woody Allen movie (I forget which one now - he's done so many) and he had made a comment she didn't like and then FIREWORKS! She told me the whole thing about Monk which was interesting as well. Although if she's going to make a cameo on the show it seems they've worked things out so I shouldn't say anything... plus I am not really into the gossip side of things. I'm just sharing my own particular bizarre encounters for you guys if you're interested. I've got some unusual stories of unlikely events.

I once dated a soap opera star. I didn't date her long because all she talked about was herself. She was very pretty - but kind of plastic in a way. It was so short-lived I don't even remember her name. But I remember seeing her later on the TV Guide. I have all sorts of stories like the Carrie Fisher thing which happened the same night I was flirting with and almost asked out Debbie Gibson (what a night! That was backstage at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show at MSG. I drank too much at the bar that night as well so I was talking some serious shit all over the place. I pissed off Alan White from YES because I forgot he played on GOING FOR THE ONE... what an adventure!).

Just being backstage at shows usually leads to some sort of trouble. I don't know how we ended up going from famous musicians who use SR sounds to Squids' close encounters of the female kind but there's even moments where I was flirting with Tony Banks' daughter (don't tell him... she's really cool though) and Peter Gabriel's daughter who supposedly had a crush on me during the WOMAD tour in '93 until I brought a girl backstage (hey, why not? I was single) and then she and the tour manager looked at me in disgust. That was the end of that. Dad, can you play THE LAMB with my boyfriend? Please? Oh well... I am not a pimp for prog music. Whatever happens happens. That would have been strange had I gone that way I'm sure. It's one thing to meet musicians you like and it is another thing to date their daughter. You're taking an aweful big risk there!

[ionized]

That was backstage at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show at MSG.

Hey - I was there also. Well - not backstage though. Happened to be in NY on business at that time. Still have the poster mounted and on a wall somewhere in the house. Pretty cool to see all those people in one show even if was just a couple of songs each. The Led Zep reunion was a big deal.

[sonicfire]

i'm sure famous musicians also bought something from me as well

[ozmoz2008]

Cool huh?

There is only one musician I consider an "icon" in the whole world...and it's Billy C the monster drummer...(the jaw breaking one... )

You were supposed to have a lib by him...how is it going with it?