Rocinante01 + Musician in Stanton, CA

SEEKING

ABOUT

Hi. I am a keyboardist located in Orange County, CA, and After years of basically being a collector of synths, the time has come to “sh*t or get off the pot” and either do something with my gear, or get rid of it all.
Early last year, I came up with an idea to find fellow musicians with similar interests in locations around the world. I found a few, but at the time, it seemed everyone was waiting for me to submit material to get started, yet my biggest roadblock is I’m a keyboardist who writes guitar heavy music. So, I took some more time to figure out how to do this.
I play rudimentary drums and a little bass, and I can also sing, enough to get some ideas across at least.
This last year has been retooling to figure out how to lay some ideas down in a way that I can present them to fellow musicians and work together to create something special.
I’ve been working in Ableton creating parts on drums (I use an Alesis DM10 kit running Superior Drummer 3. I open a track and play what I feel, then go back and edit them for my sh*tty timing, and break them down into patterns. I’ll do this in multiple time signatures, speed up/slow down etc).
The next step has been laying down a rudimentary bass line, nothing complex, but enough to lend off to a bass player to lay their own stink into it.
I’ll use a few synths that do a good job of laying down acoustic or electric guitar sounds, or use an organ to mimic the basis of guitar tracks.
In addition to Ableton, which I use mostly as a sketch pad like I just mentioned, I also use Cubase. My system is OC based.

WHAT I AM SEEKING:
Obviously, I’m looking for guitarists, bassists, drummers, and singers who are like me, they gave up the music thing a long time ago but have set themselves up at home to be able to record studio quality tracks, and are looking for an opportunity to use what they have.
It is important, especially the farther away from my home base, that you are set up at home, especially drummers.
I’ll be happy to explain in much more detail the goals of this project, and how it pertains to how you fit in as a songwriter, etc. I have my ideas. You help me with my ideas. You have your ideas. I help you with your ideas. These ideas don’t necessarily build a band, but begin a network for you to work with others. Too much to explain about this, so I’ll leace it at that.

The project itself is modern prog rock. I’m not looking for guys wishing to emulate their favorite musicians from Pink Floyd or Yes, I’m looking for musicians inspired to put together something new. This isn’t for money. It’s for the love of the music, and maybe trying to prove to yourself that you can do it. Also, note that I’m willing to work with any musician that falls under what I’m looking for, so my album may contain work from 10 guitarists and 5 drummers.
For each player, I’m seeking the following:
Guitarists- good skill set with their own tone and playing style. Likes to experience the occasional odd time signature, exotic chords, and comfortable as a textured player as much as being the forefront riff man. You’ll be given rough (sometime very rough) outlines of what’s in my head. How you stink that up is what’s important to me. My music isn’t about blowing heads off with screeching solos, but you’ll have your chance to do that here and there. If you are a celebrity, you’d be Alex Lifeson, Steve Rothery, Guthrie Govan, or Dave’s Gilmour.
Bass players- I need a bass player who can run a good speaking bass line, but can also sit in the background and just be the indistinguishable thud. My music can rely on a repetitive piano riff where the song builds and evolves behind it. You’re an integral part of this. Think Anathema. But, you can also build that bass line in a way that will make its own conversation and play off your other half of the rythmn section. If you were famous, you’d be Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, Nick Beggs, or even Sting.
Drummers: not only do I need you to have your own drum set at home, studio miked and ready, but gladly, I am open to your style. You’ll receive reference tracks that will show you the groove, but you’re not necessarily locked into it, because I think it’s really important for the drummer to have his own personality. You can be that jaw dropping Neil Peart, Gavin Harrison, or Marco Minneman, but if you’re the kind that likes to just lock into a groove, that is equally as beneficial.
Vocalists: this is the hard part, because I’m not locked in on the type of vocalist I desire. On one side, I’m very much attracted to the hi end vocalists like Daniel thompkins (Tesseract), but not only is that very difficult to find, my music is much more subtle. A voice like Steven Wilson’s would be good, not overly extravagant at all, but pretty well trained, and almost seems like he’s singing you a lullaby. Marcus Mariusz is another good one. But I do think someone with that range plus edge (again, Daniel Thompkins or Chester Bennington) is ideal, though not 100% sure that range would be suitable for 80% of my stuff. But it could also blow the song into another unexpected direction.
And there’s also steve Hogarth. Such an expressive voice while completely retaining a sense of masculinity and fronts his band like a storyteller. He’s just amazing to me.

Screen name:

Rocinante01

Member since:

May 06 2018

Active over 1 month ago

Level of commitment:

Moderately Committed

Years playing music:

40

Tend to practice:

More than 3 times per week

Influences

Life long Rush fan, I take away from them their sense of musicianship. Their assigned roles kept them from too much conflict. While in retrospect, their songs might be a little more bombastic than smooth, you still had to appreciate them for what they were.
Marillion- probably the closest I’m resemblance to what I am putting together. Note, this is why it’s hard to write for me, as I really don’t want keyboards to dominate a track 95% of the time.
Porcupine Tree- just an amazing band. I’d definitely like to have that Steven Wilson type of vibe in my music. But many of those elements also can be said for Marillion.
Pineapple Theif- I really love Soord’s approach to songwriting. Very similar to Radiohead in many ways, and there is definitely heart in what he writes. Oddly enough, the way he wrote his last two albums is very similar to how I am approaching this project.
Anathema- not a fan of earlier works, the softer contrast in their more recent stuff is inspiring me, with long, vamping motifs that build over long sustained vocal lines and harmony.
Other modern influences: IAMX, Opeth, Katatonia, Riverside,
Other developmental influences: Peter Gabriel, Yes, Pink Floyd, police/Sting, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Tori Amos.

Instrument experience:

Electronic Music:

Advanced

Keyboard:

Advanced

Piano:

Advanced

Bass Guitar:

Moderate

Drums:

Moderate

Background Singer:

Moderate

Vocalist:

Intermediate

Vocalist - Tenor:

Intermediate

EQUIPMENT

PC running Cubase 9, Ableton 9, Reaper, a multitude of VST instrument plugins, Superior drummer 3, IK Amplitube 4.
Behringer UMC 1820 usb Audio 8ch. Yamaha HS8 monitors.
Keys: Korg Krome88, DSI Prophet REV2, Roland D-05, JP-08, VSynth, JV2080, VR760, D70, JD800, Behringer Model d, Deepmind 12, Moog Voyager Blue, Korg MS20, ARP Odyssey, Novation Ultranova, Alesis Fusion 6HD, DM10 mesh drumkit with extra DM10 module, Kurzweil K250, PC2r, E-mu XL1 extreme Lead, Yamaha TG77, Motif rack es, EX7, Technics wSA1, Oberheim OB12, MC3000, Kawai K4.