FEATURES
-Here We Come to Save the Day!!We provide a plethora of accessories that manufacturers assure you will provide excellent margins.
-For Those Who Make Lesser Publicized Instruments, We Salute You!!For the first time, we pay tribute to instruments and products that get little press coverage. We provide a well-deserved spotlight for these products!
-And the Bombs Keep Coming!Another big lawsuit is filed
against the industry.
This time, there are many
more defendants.
-Drumming to Their Own BeatHow well is the drum industry holding up during these difficult times? We call on three industry experts.
-Guitar Center, Fender, and NAMM Sued
-The Health of the Independent Dealer M&SR’s fourth annual independent retailer roundtable features a new twist. For the first time, manufacturers, hand-selected by the retailers, contribute to the story.
-Born In the USA! We feature manufacturers who produce a majority of their products in the United States. Why do they make products in the USA as opposed to Asian countries? Find out.
-…And the Show Did Go On! The economy took a big bite of Summer NAMM in Nashville, but there were still bright moments.
-Jockeying For Position How is the DJ business holding up during these tough times? What’s the next hot technology? We asked the experts.
-What A Gig! Find out about plenty of manufacturer employees who still get out to play gigs. Our second annual edition is another fun read.

-Tarina Dunwoodie got to see the moment Graph Tech was born and has served the company since she was 17. She has moved up the ladder quite a bit since then.
-Stacey Montgomery-Clark Find out how SABIAN’s Stacey Montgomery-Clark juggles two young boys at home and a huge job as vice president of marketing. She loves interactive programs at the company, most notably the Vault Tour.
-Cathy Duncan Seymour Duncan’s co-founder and chairman, received a ton of on-the-job training. But she has excelled. Creativity is one of the company’s hallmarks. Find out much more about her.
-Bee Bantug Yes, the Internet CAN be your friend as a retailer. Bee Bantug, who has provided several NAMM University sessions, can help. That’s why she co-founded Retail Up! in 2002.
-Dale Krevens For Tech 21’s Dale Krevens, being vice president is not a job. It’s an adventure. Find out why.
-Melanie Ripley Grundorf Corp. Vice President Susan Grund handles a plethora of duties at her job, but she also has jammed with the Beach Boys and makes sure the bond with the company’s employees remain strong. Learn how she juggles everything at one time and changes she’s witnessed in MI.
-Susan Grund Grundorf Corp. Vice President Susan Grund handles a plethora of duties at her job, but she also has jammed with the Beach Boys and makes sure the bond with the company’s employees remain strong. Learn how she juggles everything at one time and changes she’s witnessed in MI.
-Toby Nady graduated from college with a degree in clinical psychology. What does that have to do with music? Nothing. It’s been a long, strange trip for her. But a very good and successful trip.
-• Shawna von Behren.
-• Berenice Chauvet
-• Sue Kincade
-• Tish Ciravolo
-• Vikki Hayward
-• Roxana Ramirez
-• Susan Lipp

M&SR: How do you recreate the sounds live?
Heap: When I’m on stage, I like to use electronic gear. I like to use my drum machine. I like to use this program called Ableton Live. Basically any keyboard I have on stage I can trigger things from Ableton Live. I did spend a lot of time making all these lovely sounds on the record, so I am triggering off samples I’ve already made. I want to bring the sound of the record, because some of them aren’t from an instrument. They’re just something that took me four hours to make, so I can’t recreate that live. It doesn’t exist, that sound, in real life. So I’m triggering off a lot of things, but then I can manipulate them with effects, all through MIDI. The only kind of instrument I actually play live is this mbira thing and the piano. And then everything else is either triggered or played. Like the strings are played because I can’t obviously play a whole string orchestra by myself. So I play that on the keyboard.

M&SR: Have you ever thought about designing your own instrument?
Heap: I have built, well I got somebody to build for me, this absolutely gorgeous, plexiglass, big baby grand shape. It’s got a lid and everything, and beautiful carved legs out of wood with little golden casters on the bottom of them. Inside of that go all these beautiful lights that correspond to each note I play on the actual keyboard. And then I’ve got my G5 in there, my Apple Mac in there with all my samplers, and all sorts of things. It’s all inside this clear piano. It just looks amazing.

M&SR: A lot of your music has gotten out to people through movies and shows, which is funny because musicians used to be looked at as sellouts for having songs in advertisements, etc. and now it’s the status quo. Do you think this is a good thing for the industry?
Heap: Well yeah, because I remember even as far as commercials…don’t know if it’s the same in the U.S., but in the U.K. commercials have really great music. So many times I’m watching the TV and then on comes a commercial and I’m like, “Oh my god, what’s that song? I’ve got to look it up.” Usually it’s people I really like, like Aphex Twin or Squarepusher. So I get to hear all this cool music. But yeah, in the past it was the worst thing, wasn’t it? Just like cheesy kind of general MIDI, kind of nasty sounds with some awful singing over it or something. Now it’s great. I guess it’s not so great for the people who used to write music for commercials as a living, but for artists like myself who are trying to make it in the music world…I actually couldn’t live without it. I’d be really hard up if I didn’t get my stuff in films, I’ll tell you that.

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