“I dont know if God actually exists, as of right now I’m having some trouble figuring that out, but one thing I know for sure is if he exists, he hates me.”

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-That was me when my computer crashed this week. Thank you Greg from ProDjPc for getting me back up and running. I’m back on schedule, even with finals coming up. Pumping out those tracks, getting the vocals recorded, and I’m back to posting here and new videos. What are you guys/girls wanting to see on the production side of things? Sequencing? Effects? Let me know, you know, down there.

I got a new project coming soon….this is going to be very interesting.

This week I had the chance to interview Matt Nalett of ChicagoMusicPromotions.com

I stumbled across the site and was about to dismiss it as yet another jamroom based site, like the 2-3 other I pay to be on every year (I’m not renewing my suscriptions btw)

However, I signed up anyhow, for one reason. Not everyone can have a page on this site, and I think that is what separates it from Myspace or Soundclick. Anyhow, here is the dialog:

Adam: Hi Mr. Nalett. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. I understand you are the founder of www.chicagomusicpromotions.com, a user based community for musicians and dj’s. What inspired you to develop the site?
Matt: It all started back in October of 2005 as a test. I wanted to help talent with more promotions and exposure after reviewing other music sites that did not give the talent a lot of features or available things to do for their profile.  After 6 months I had over 4,000 music submissions, but the site was not automated. Just recently the site became automated so the talent can upload everything on their own. Basically, I have always loved music, all genres of music. I have met a lot of wonderful artists and dj’s. I am not in it for the money, but we do have to pay bills

Adam : What features does chicagomusicpromotions.com offer artists above current offerings such as Myspace and other artist-geared sites?
Matt : Well, my site is very unique. It has everything you need to create your own identity and web presence; everything from adding your music to mp3, cd sales, even selling tickets online for your upcoming shows. Using your admin manager in the back of the system you can also add your videos, photos, customize your profile, choose 6 different templates to use.  Everything any other music site has just more features and more professional; also you can import your CSV mailing list for people to come check out your profile and keep them informed on things.

Adam : Very cool. What advice do you have to up and coming musicians and dj’s to further their networking skills and exposure?

Matt : Good Question. From what i have seen I believe in the following: It’s great to give out your mp3s for free but also as well you need to have your own identity and feel (website.) Sure, Myspace is great for getting a lot of people but its not going to be effective since you don’t really know who is your friend or not, most people just want to have a artist or djay as a friend on their profile. The best way to do things in the music industry are to first create a website (your own,) make a mailing list, identify your real music fans or people who have interest. Also, you need to put your music on websites in your area or around your area you are trying to promote, not just any website that offers a free profile.? Once you are comfortable with your music fans and interest in your area or local area then you can branch out to other sources, other citys or states. You need to generate your buzz and stuff in your local area first before you branch out.

Adam : Awesome. I think I’m going to get my profile going on your site in just a little bit. I like the idea of being able to reach a new network and more users. One last question. What does the future hold for chicagomusicpromotions.com? For the music industry? (in your honest opinion)

Matt : Well, my site is not going anywhere. I am not going to sell out like myspace youtube or any other site thats in it to sell out. Even if no one paid to be on my site it will still be around, because I know the impact the site makes and the people who have been on the site looking for talent. The site is very restricted on content and talent as well, not everyone is allowed on my site mostly due to them not having everything ready for the music industry. Once they refine their music, get everything setup they are welcome to be on my site. I require a lot since I cannot promote you if you are not ready; I know what the labels want, promoters want, booking agents want. We are just a major stepping stool to help you. The industry is rough.  I would suggest staying independent, do your own thing and make your own money. The record labels own you for life basically

Adam: Awesome. Thank you again for your time Matt!

–

I’m still updating my profile

What features do you want to see in a music community? Id like to see some sort of intergration where I could take modules from my cmp page and put them on my site, or be able to use a single newsletter signup module, etc. Comment away!

I’ve put together a 5 min. video review on the Korg Zero8. I’ve been getting a few requests for this one so here it is!

Any questions or ideas for future topics? There’s a comment section below

A quick look at FL Studio….

I never thought it would be so hard to find someone who could sing.
Read more

Finally, someone who’s enthusiam matches mine.

Got my PC in the mail today, and spent a quick hour with it. This thing is fantastic! I’ll post a full review with video in the coming days k?

First off, thanks to ProDjPc’s Greg and Paul for configuring a unit to my specs and getting it shipped out so quickly. They really know their stuff. ‘Nuff said.

I have always dreamed of having a computer that would be powerful enough to run my production and studio work that could come with me to gigs. I have a maxed out macbook but it’s just not cutting it. The latency is unbearable and the number of plugins I use cracks the poor laptop’s audio into more pieces than Lynne Spears’ dreams of having a normal life. I found the AllIn1 (the name of this unit) through an ad in mobile beat I was reading while on the John. I bet you really wanted to know that. Here’s the main parts that appeal to me:

- A FREAKING TOUCHSCREEN!!!!!!
- Raid Hard drive configuration (for increased speed and reliability)
- Up to Four Processors
- Rackmount Chassis
- All in one design
- 6 USB Ports
- Firewire
- No Stupid, Stupid External Drives

The unit was shipped in a box floating in the center of a larger shock absorber box.  Upon removing the Allin1 from the box, I was surprised at its size.  I expected it to be much larger and deeper.  The chassis is very robust and feels solid.  That being said, I’m not dropping or hitting it with a watermelon for you to see that the thing is impenetrable. 

For a quad core computer with a full glass touchscreen, it really is compact.  At twenty five pounds however, this is no lightweight.  The unit has a clean front face, with nothing but a logo, touchscreen and a few flush mounted screws.  No buttons or anything to get in the way here. 

The top of the unit has three fan grilles, which each house a 60mm fan.  I opted for silent fans, each outputting 12db (silent.)  At the back corner there is a nice momentary switch to turn on and off the machine.

Like most girls, the bottom is the most fascinating.  A quick look tells you that you can stick lots into this thing.  6 USB, 2 Firewire, Ethernet, Digital Out, 2 DVI outputs, etc.  Pretty much whatever you need for audio/video.  I love the fact that there are 2 DVI outputs, for example if you wanted to display on a plasma or projector.  (Imagine using two projectors for a even bigger screen.)  The inclusion of a firewire port is also commended.  The reason for this is because most pc laptops don’t even have one, which is stupid. 

I learned from Greg that the touchscreens they use are ELO brand, considered to be among the best.  Firing up the computer, I notice that is bright and crisp. 

I chose Windows XP to be installed on my machine because Vista is the fucking Antichrist.  And as much as I hate how unintuitive anything Microsoft is (Microsoft Publisher excluded,) most of the software I use is PC only. 

The install is clean, stripped down (as it should be,) and genuine.  There is a icon on the desktop for the on screen keyboard (not the crap included with XP) which has large, easy to press buttons and minimizes with a touch.  My machine came preinstalled with a custom version of Virtual Dj for the Allin1.  The differences between the normal skins of VDJ and ProDjPc’s make it much easier to use on a touchscreen.  In case you’re not familiar with VDJ, its been around for a long time, with a large user base.  It has grown into an exceptionally stable product with many features and notably, was one of the first dj softwares to support automixing.  Version 5 has everything, including a sampler, effects section, midi support, and interestingly enough, video.  The video support is something I’m going to have to check out, as I’ve really never done anything with video.  Expect a demo and video tutorial of VDJ on the Allin1 within the next week.

Performance wise, so far this machine has been perfect.  Even my most plugin intense projects refuse to push the total cpu usage beyond 65% (10ms latency using ASIO)  While I will probably be upgrading the ram from the stock 2gb, it is holding up well for now. 

For me, one of the most attractive components of the Allin1 is its touchscreen.  Unlike that laptop crap that’s soft and unresponsive, this thing begs to be touched.  In fact, I might forgo sleep just to play with this thing a bit longer.  The touchscreen is surprisingly accurate and robust;  I was not expecting it to be this good.  A quick calibration allows you to get the most precise performance depending on what angle the unit is to you.  Just as I was trying to figure out how to get my fingers on the system tray icons (bottom right, up against the lcd’s bezel) I got a call from Greg telling me about changing a setting to make this easier.  The software has a setting that actually makes the border of the screen, normally hard to use, incredibly easy to touch.  Which brings me to my next point.

India.  I have no beef with India.  It is a country full of friendly and peace-loving people.  But when I call tech support and after waiting half an hour get “John” on the phone, and he’s getting upset because I want real help, not a computer generated script, I understand why U.S. based support is supreme.  Point is, the same dude that put together my PC is the one helping me out when I need it.  From what I understand, he spends a lot of time helping his customers on the phone, and personally I find that admirable.  I’m pretty damn computer proficient, and I know the frustration that comes with trying to fix crap on the phone.  So take that Dell.

So far, here’s what I think:

Pros:

- Unlikely to fail (hard drives are backed up)

- No external drives

- Firewire port

- 6 USB

- A FREAKIN TOUCHSCREEN!111!!!1!

- Solid Construction

- Assembled In USA

- Only uses high quality parts

- All in one design

- 19″ 8 unit rackmount chasis

- Price/Performance Ratio (A similarly equipped laptop doesn’t exist yet)

- Sexy? Definitely Unique. 

Cons:

- Heavy/Larger than laptop (I’m not sure if this should be here, because when you factor in the performance of a laptop and the external drives and such this might not be a con)

- No front mounted USB port.  This would be fantastic. 

- Loud PSU.  I already bought two new silent fans to replace the ones in the power supply.

Anyhow, if you cant tell, I find this thing more impressive than Hillary’s ability to convince seniors she is not a robot.  Like I said, more videos and tutorials coming soon…

Heads up: Expect some posts from Vegas Mobile Beat to keep you updated on the laterst news from all the dj gear manufacturers. I’ll be posting videos and reviews soon!

On another note, preparing to leave always brings back a plethora of emotions, mostly frustration. I can never find my headphone adapters! Lucky for me I found them cheap as hell here
$1.35 shipped.
You got to love China.