Laurent Bourque
www.laurentbourque.com
Stage Essentials: Korg SV-1 Stage Piano, Wurlitzer Electric
Piano, Boss DM-2 Delay Pedal, Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail
Reverb Pedal, Xotic Effects BB Preamp Pedal, Keeley Com-
pressor Pedal, JHS Emperor Chorus/Vibrato Pedal
The structures, theory, and basic technique are the rules
you’re taught. Eventually, you start to want to feed something
greater. Ideas, sounds, feelings, and emotions fester in your
head and you need to chase those down in order to make the
art you want to make.
For my upcoming record, Blue Hour, I wanted to push my-
Anthony
Carone
Arkells
www.arkellsmusic.com
Stage Essentials: Roland RD-2000 Stage Piano,
Nord Electro 3 73 Keyboard, Roland JD-XA Synth,
Roland SPD-SX Sampling Pad, MXR Carbon Copy
Delay Pedal, Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus Amp,
MIDI Solutions Footswitch Controller
I think the coolest piano players bring aggression
to the instrument – Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John,
Billy Joel, Ben Folds. That’s how I approach play-
ing, by bringing some punk rock style and energy
to the show.
While studying post-secondary music, my first-
year teacher told me to “never take a gig standing
and playing the piano.” I’d love for him to see me
now, standing with one foot on an empty ammo
box and the other pressing down on the bass clef
while attempting to perform a Jerry Lee Lewis-style
piano solo. I wonder what his thoughts would be?
He’d probably say “I told you so” when I mention the
muscle pain I’ve encountered over the years as a re-
sult of throwing proper technique out the window…
I’ve always believed my strength was perform-
ing live, bringing a punk-rock attitude to playing, no
matter the style. You tend to forget about scales
and posture when you’re smashing your fist into
the keyboard, and focus more on how much it’s
going to cost you to repair the thing. I’m lucky to
have a gig performing with a band that’s receptive
to my onstage antics; I can’t say the Toronto Sym-
phony Orchestra would’ve appreciated me laying
into their piano on a nightly basis.
54 CANADIAN MUSICIAN
self, change my methods, my own personal conventions; it’s
the only way I knew I could grow as an artist. I started writing
exclusively on pianos and synthesizers, which I was simulta-
neously teaching myself to play. I’d barely touched the instru-
ment before.
On my new single “Matador,” producer Dan Ledwell and I
went through every synthesizer in the studio, tweaking every
sound to find exactly what we wanted. It took hours to get the
roughly 40 synth sounds on the track just right. It’s like a puz-
zle – build it one piece at a time and eventually it takes shape.
The same process was used for every song on the album.
It’s important to break from tradition, but only once you’ve
learned the fundamentals. Learning is growth and growth
makes for great art. As Picasso said: “Learn the rules like a
pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Jake Charron
The East Pointers
www.eastpointers.ca
Stage Essentials: Nord Stage 2 EX Stage Piano
In folk music, there are generations of wisdom, rules, and influ-
ence, but certain musical traditions have been passed on be-
cause they just feel good. When we formed The East Pointers,
we wanted to continue what felt good to us about traditional
Celtic music, but were also moved by so much modern music.
It made sense to explore both and bring them together.
Writing music became more about what “felt” right, rather
than what “was” right in a traditional context. Although there’s
definitely some merit to staying within the box, it’s been great
creatively to go beyond. It’s like skiing fresh powder vs. a
groomed trail, and it’s nice to have both options.”
Kayla Diamond
www.kayladiamond.com
Stage Essentials: Roland RD-2000 Stage Piano running Ableton
Live (for tracks and integration with stage lighting system)
In my opinion, the traditional path for a musician doesn’t ex-
ist. One of the misconceptions of pop music is that we have
to “chase” current trends in order to be considered for radio,
pitches, etc. In truth, we have to trust our guts and think outside
the box. Something that helps me is paying attention to what’s
current and popular, but altering it to the point where it’s familiar
but different enough to the listener to be considered new.