Internet peeps around the world can finally stream our album, “Over the Wall” for free on our Music page:
http://www.crushediceband.com/blog/music/
or on BandCamp:
http://crushedice.bandcamp.com
Even better… the entire album is only $5 on BandCamp. Happy downloading.
This quick demonstration shows how I can control the settings and parameters of plugins in Ableton Live with a Kinect. The basic idea is that I am using “Synapse for Kinect” to generate left and right hand positions relative to my body, normalizing the positions from Synapse to the midi controller range (0 to 127), generating a MIDI continuous controller (CC) command, and mapping the MIDI CC command to knobs and parameters in Ableton Live. In this example, I map my left hand Z-position to the Dry/Wet knob on a Ping-Pong delay plugin. Thus, when I put my hand closest to the sensor (in front of me) the delay shows maximum effect and when I put my hand behind my body (away from the sensor), the delay is almost non-existent. I also mapped my right hand Y-position to the Rate knob on a flanger plugin. When my right hand moves away from my body (and perpendicular to the Kinect sensor) this increases the flanger Rate. When my hand is close to my body, the flanger rate is zero. Playing with these effects while playing guitar was a very satisfying experience and it gives me a reason to actually move around when I’m playing guitar. Also, its really interesting how the Kinect skeleton detection sees the head of the guitar as my hand, you can see this if you pay close attention in the video.
Synapse for Kinect:
http://synapsekinect.tumblr.com/post/6307790318/synapse-for-kinect
I put together a quick demo today of using the Kinect sensor with Max / MSP 5. Thanks to the great software by Ryan Challinor (Synapse) I was able to get the Kinect sensor working with Max / MSP within an hour without ever having worked with the Kinect sensor before.
After retrieving the left and right hand position data from the Synapse software in Max / MSP, I have the left and right hand y-positions drive the frequencies of two separate oscillators. Then I just add them together and send them to the audio card. While simple, the effect is pretty interesting. I plan on using this for a number of my Crushed Ice’s live performances to control various synth parameters.
Here is a screen shot of the basic Max / MSP patch…
Synapse software:
http://synapsekinect.tumblr.com/post/6307790318/synapse-for-kinect
… errr… well, at least its on the internets. Our first full-length album, Over the Wall, is complete and our distributor has pushed it to all the major music sites. I have a box of 200 physical CDs that I am very proud of in my apartment that I am holding on to until our official CD release party sometime at the end of November.
Box O' CDs
Disc Surface
That one's mine. Plastic off.
For now, you can find our music on a ton of major music distribution sites:
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/over-the-wall/id463802102
Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/Over-the-Wall/dp/B005LYQG4Y
CDBaby : https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/crushedice1
last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Crushed+Ice/Over+the+Wall
Rhapsody : http://www.rhapsody.com/album/Alb.49829799
And other sites as well…
Emusic
Napster
GreatIndieMusic
Verizon
iHeart Radio
MySpace Music
MediaNet
Tradebit
Zune
Nokia
We’ve been trying to figure out a way to get people we meet out in public to find us on the web easier, since everyone has smart phones these days, we decided to try out QR codes. I read somewhere that QR codes stand for “Quick Response.” That sounds not technical at all, but I guess it will do for now. Basically, if you have a smart phone you can use a free QR code reader application to take a photo of the QR code, which then redirects you to a webpage or shows you an image. I found this site called Likify that lets you create a virtual “Like” button to your Facebook page. I used the site to create a “Like” button for our Crushed Ice Facebook page and it works! Sweet! I plan on putting this on flyers / posters / business cards / etc. so that we can easily link people to our Facebook page. Here is the QR code image, try it out…
We have two shows this week. The first is at 595 North on Thursday. The next, which I am really excited about, is at the Room Service Lounge. Here is the Facebook event page for the Friday night show:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=202274453153331
I recently purchased a the AKAI APC20 for my Ableton Live setup. When I was at the music store purchasing the controller, the guy at the counter suggested that I purchase the $15 store warranty. However, I declined since I figured that if I wore out the pads on the controller, it would warrant buying a higher quality controller and in a year a newer one will be out anyway. Unfortunately, when I got home I discovered that one of the pads was already acting strangely! It would get stuck and it didn’t have the same feel as the other pads. I was in a dilemma: drive the 30 min back to the store, or take apart my brand new APC20. Take it apart!*
*Disclaimer: This will probably void your warranty, so don’t do it =)
I actually took the APC20 completely apart before taking a photos, so even though I am going to display the photos backwards, as if I am taking it apart. Time warp.
AKAI APC20 – Before Tear Apart
First, remove the 12 visible screws on the back of the APC20. Then, the 4 rubber feet have to be removed. The rubber feet are held onto the APC20 with a combination of two-sided tape and the rubber stoppers have little plastic pieces that fit into holes. Thus, you can remove the rubber stoppers without having to re-glue them back on later. I like these rubber feet. Remove the screws under the rubber feet as well. You DO NOT have to remove the silver hex screws that are visible from the front.
The Rubber Feet pop off just nicely.
The APC20 cover will then come apart quite easily from the back of the APC20, BUT! be careful you don’t break any cables that are connected between the front and back panels as shown in the next image.
After removing the cover.
At this point, you have to remove the screws that connect the PCB to the back panel. There are quite a lot. Most chips these days have great ESD (electro-static discharge) protection, but make sure not to run around a carpeted room while pushing your finger onto any of the parts. Also, there are two screws that are slightly hidden under the ribbon cables. These are used to remove mechanical stress on the ribbon cables. Next, you will have to remove the Cue Level potentiometer and level selector knobs. These pop off really easily.
Pop 'em off!
Also, you will have to remove the washer under the Cue Level potentiometer.
Remove the washer!
At this point, you should be able to remove the PCB from the back panel. If the PCB gives you any resistance, then you probably missed a screw. Be careful. Once the PCB is out, the pad is now visible.
The AKAI PAD in all its glory.
Very Bendy!
Front side of PCB
After I had taken the APC20 apart, I discovered that the capacitor displayed in the next photo (the larger left one) was the offending part. It was interfering with the operation of the pad. To fix this, all I did was move the capacitor slightly away from the pad, problem fixed!
The capactor was the problem!
When replacing the pad, take the time to really smooth it out!
APC20 Front Panel Only
USB Chip, power regulators, & microcontroller to process button presses.
I finally cleaned up the studio in my apartment. I got back to work practicing on the 16-pads with my AKAI MPD26 with Ableton live / Reason. I’ve found that Reason 5 has some great drum kit sounds built into the Kong Drum Programmer. I’ll have some more information on the signal chain that I am using for my setup in the future, but my goal is to be able to sequence live guitar loops with live drum and keyboard loops with my band, Crushed Ice. Complete improvisational ability is a complete must in my computer / controller setup!!! I’m using the FCB1010 midi foot controller to control both my regular guitar amp and trigger all the loops in Ableton live. Hopefully it will work. Here are some initial photos of my setup…
I like those BX8a monitors!
Custom Double Keyboard Stand!
Jacy is tired after a long session of droppin' mad beatz.
I recently got new tires and a oil change in my fancy 2003 Toyota Corolla at the Firestone on Howell Mill. When I was getting back into my car I encountered a nomadic tribe of hippies. Each one of the humans had the same traits:
The dog aspect was by far the strangest to me. A few had tiny little puppies and the rest had medium-sized dogs. I managed to snap a quick photo of the tribe on my way out.
Nomadic Hippy Tribe
Has anyone else seen this group of people in Atlanta?
I installed the WordBooker plugin for WordPress that publishes all my posts to Facebook. The comments are shared between Facebook and WordPress as well. cool.
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