What Music Are You Making??? Options

[b-hamcomposer]

Okay everybody, I admit I am one of the worst gearheads I know. I spend hours researching new equipement and software when I could be making music instead. After a recent gear blitz I have realized that I am better at research gear than sitting down to compose, as usually happens in certain cycles. Anyways, I'm interested in what music people are working on.

A. Do you do mostly recording, sequencing/composition, or sound design

B. Where are you on the hobbyist-professional line?

C. Do you make money from your music? How and how much?(optional) enough to pay for all the crap you buy?

D. What do you hope to do in the future?

I know this one has probably been done before but this is really what I'm wondering right now.

Eager to hear your responses,

Chris

[Jaysee]

A. Do you do mostly recording, sequencing/composition, or sound design?
I'm afraid I'm still at the stage of trying to get to grips with all the modern jargon and terminology involved in making electronic music these days. My computer skills leave much to be desired. I used to be fairly up to speed with pre midi synths and so on. I bought my first synth, an EMS Synthi A back in '74.......yup thats 30 years ago! Needless to say, a lot has changed since then; I'm more obese for a start!

B. Where are you on the hobbyist-professional line?
Oh definately hobbyist nowadays.

C. Do you make money from your music? How and how much?(optional) enough to pay for all the crap you buy?

I guess I have the most peculiar biog of anyone in this forum. In the late seventies early eighties I was a third of an all keyboard/analogue synth, insane trio based in the north of England. We had all been in more conventional bands so when we pooled our gear had an obscene amount of (what was back then) state of the art equipment which we lugged around to gigs including 2 fender rhodes, JP8, 2 ARP odyssey's, an enormous cross between a butchered 4 voice oberheim and a complete roland system 100, together running off a CV+ gate MC4 sequencer, we christened that beast the 'iron lung', a few string machines.. Elka, a mellotron, a roland vocoder cum string/choir machine, a korg MS10, EMS Synthi A etc Our stuff was very Zappa influenced, with a bit of Crimson and Tangerine dream thrown in.......sort of psychedelic vaudeville!!
Paid?? What's that? I dont think we ever got more than expenses in five years. Lots of good times though.

I spent '80 to '84 attending the Royal Northern College of Music, and from 84 to '99 as resident principal bass soloist (vocal not strings)with the English National Opera, making regular guest appearances with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and others as far afield as the Bolshoi in Moscow!
In contrast to my band days I got paid rather well in my 'legit' musical direction. Sadly I suffered a stroke at 42 which prematurely ended my career as an opera singer.

D. What do you hope to do in the future?
I just fancy trying to play a bit of music again. Hopefully I'll find a way around my left side paralysis, either through using midi cc's or if all else fails by some absurd Heath Robinson arrangement of string and sealing wax:-)