“For those looking to get a great vibrato at a great price, I recommend this Behringer Vibrato.” – Juan Alderete, July 2012

2011 has been a banner year for me in many ways. I was able to attend NAMM 2011 with Behringer and we were profiled in ASCAP. I was also given the opportunity to utilize BEHRINGER’s awe inspiring UltraAcoustic ACX 1800 in several live and in studio applications. All the while, still writing my way into 2012 with an upcoming 3rd LP to be released in March. I look forward to the future with Behringer and am so very grateful for this memorable year of music, memories, and trail blazin! — Thomas Starks December 2011

Check out Thomas’ video interview from earlier this year!

You toured with a lot of major acts including James Brown and Otis Redding. What was it like touring with such well known acts?

Those tours were package deals, my band played on the same bill. I met James Brown when I had just gotten out of high school. His band was hot. He had four drummers on his stage. I had never seen that before. One guy was the drum captain. It was very exciting to stand on the same stage and watch them. With Otis it wasn’t the same kind of musical situation. James Brown was such a great musical act. Otis’ band was not as good, but he was hot. It was his songs and his singing. It wasn’t so much as how the band sounded. With James it was the whole sound. It was a production.  Otis was just beginning to peak. It was a very exciting time for me. It my first time on the road, and it was the first time I had left home.

Who influenced you as a musician?

My favorite musician is Duke Ellington. I used to play with a guy called Fats Ford back when I was in the military stationed in Montgomery, Alabama. Fats was a trumpet player who said he had played with Duke Ellington, but no one believed him. He was a hip guy. He had all the top society gigs in town. I was a kid and just starting out, but he loved the way I played. I didn’t know standards, I just played funky. One time he picked me up for a gig he was playing at the college. When we arrived at the gig, there was a sign in front saying ‘Duke Ellington.’ We opened the door and there he was. Ellington and his band were in there and when we walked in they were all like “Hey Fats.” So it was true he had played with him. Fats introduced me to Duke. He told him that I was a young talented musician and arranger. Duke talked to me for about fifteen minutes. I was so impressed by that. A few months later Duke passed away. I was so touched by him that I named one of my sons after him.

How did you get into arranging?

In my hometown of Greenville, Mississippi, before integration, all the black kids had to go to one school. There were over 400 kids in the band with one band director. We had the number one band in the state. One time we told band director we wanted to play the number one song on the radio at the football games. I don’t remember what song it was. He told us we could do it if we could write it. We didn’t even know what he meant, but we had to come up with parts for everyone in the band. We were able to figure out the melody. It was bad, it was only about three notes, but everyone knew the melody and accepted it. When the audience recognized that part they all clapped. That had a major effect on me and that’s when I decided I wanted to write music. Every time I heard a record I always felt like ‘that should have been this or this should have been that.’ Whatever song I heard, I thought of how it could be different. That set the path to my career. It was a good thing. It’s how I developed my ear.

What are some of your favorite experiences arranging music?

It would have to start with Michael Jackson. Off the Wall was my first big record. Later, I did a big song with Earth Wind and Fire called “Boogie Wonderland.” I had built a reputation for big sound, and that was what they wanted.  You listen to that song and it’s heavy on the timpani, they kept saying they wanted more timpani. I did a lot of work with DeBarge. That was some fantastic music. I also did some great stuff with Aretha Franklin.

Several years back, I got a call from Sony UK and they sent me some of Jamiroquai’s music. I was the musical director for Gladys Knight at the time. We were in Manchester, England. One night these kids were hanging around the bus wanting to talk about music. I stayed and talked with them for a while. It turned out they were in Jamiroquai’s band, and I didn’t even know. They thought I was the nicest guy in America for staying and talking with them.

I’ve had great fun working with Justin Timberlake. I have fun. I don’t compromise on the music, but I do have fun.

Can you talk about what BEHRINGER products you use?

My whole studio is almost all BEHRINGER. I got turned onto it by the owner of a small music store near my house.  He really believed in it. So I tried it out. It outperformed the stuff I had. Almost everything in my church is BEHRINGER too.  I have 6 of the V-VERB Pro REV2496′s, 5 tube processors (T1952), 2 MULTICOM PRO-XL MDX4600’s,  7 Ultra-DI  DI100’s, 2 DDX3216 digital mixers, 8 Eurodesk mixers, used four of them on big-band gigs, but they are better for home recording.  I have 6 ULTRAGAIN PRO-8 Digital ADA8000’s, headphone amps, headphones, and 2 pair truth monitors – the 3031A and the 3030A. That’s just what I have in my own studio. My kids, who are also in the music industry too, use it also. Everyone who comes into my studio, from Jamie Foxx to Outkast, sees it.

MDX2400, MDX4600, T1952

POWERPLAY PRO XL 4700

Wolff is already over 100 days into his project, which began on December 20th, 2010, and he hasn’t slowed down yet. He took some time to chat about his work and his life as a producer and musician.

Can you talk a little about your 365 project, who it’s for and why you are doing it?

Well, the journey actually started on New Years Day 2010.  I felt the aching need to do more to help the world around me.  Just being involved in the creation or performance of music wasn’t enough anymore.  I had to put my skills and talents to work in a way that could bring meaningful change to people’s lives.  By December, 2010, I settled on writing and producing one song a day for a year in hopes of inspiring others to do something each day to help someone in need.   I also wanted to raise awareness and money for a charity.    Six days into the project, I learned that my childhood friend Dana was very sick with stage IV oral cancer.  I immediately let her know that the project would be in honor of her, and that cancer research had became the cause I had been searching for.  We ended up locating a good charity in Atlanta where she has been getting treatment.

Is it hard to come up with a new song every day?

Some days it is.  But most days, life writes them for me.  I am constantly surrounded by characters.

What inspires you to write a new song?

Under ‘normal’ circumstances, BREAKUPS!  Let’s be honest here.  But this year, for the sake of this project, I have found myself writing about all sorts of things… the excitement when you first meet someone new, the disappointment when it doesn’t work out, Dana’s fight in the hospital, rude people with lousy attitudes, my old boss, an egg sandwich, and yes, even… Charlie Sheen.

How can people support what you are doing?

Helping us spread the word is great.  Donating is wonderful as well.  We have a page on Facebook as well as the main site. People can “Like” us on Facebook, listen to the songs for free, then click the link to donate whatever they can.  The more people know about the project, the better this year will be for cancer research.

What do you hope to do with the songs?

Some of the songs are already being performed by other artists, some might make it into soundtracks, radio, etc.  I have performed some of the songs around Nashville in the interest of the project.  We have discussed taking the best 12 to 24 songs and making an album at the end of the year.  Proceeds of course, would go to the charity.

You moved to Nashville to focus on production and songwriting after releasing your own albums, what made you make such a big change to your career?

I have always been fascinated with producing music, even as a kid.  My first recording studio experience was cutting vocals at age 12 in New York City for a Broadway Show demo.  At home, I was making fully ‘produced’ demos on a little 4-track cassette recorder with tons of vocal and instrument arrangements.   Producing has always been a part of me.   So, shifting from artist to producer was a very natural progression.  I had a wonderful touring career as an artist and the best fans in the world.  (Shout out to my fans!)   But I knew I could do far more good at this point by producing and touring with other artists.

What are some of the highlights of your music career?

There really are so many.  I am very lucky to wake up each day and do what I love for a living.  Here are a couple of recent highlights…

- playing guitar with Martina McBride (“Wrong Baby Wrong” video).  She is wonderful to work with.

- While opening for Sugarland, the singer I was on tour with was having a rough night and dropped the key of her first song a half step on guitar.  I didn’t transpose the keyboard in time… So, we started the song a half key apart.  I stopped and made a joke about it.  There is something truly magical about having thousands of people laughing WITH you, not at you.

Who were some of your influences as a musician?

My uncle bought me my first album when I was a kid.  It was Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon so, that was a good place to start.  Growing up, I was into musical theater, then Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and 80’s-90’s alternative.  I learned guitar by listening to Floyd, REM, & the Indigo Girls.  Overall, I have been more influenced by great performers and songwriters than by great technical musicians.  Performers like Michael Jackson and Garth Brooks, writers like Freedy Johnston and Jonatha Brooke, producers like Rick Rubin and Butch Vig… and oh yeah, the Beatles.

Learn more about Russell at his official website.

For more information about Blake Lewis visit his Facebook page

New BEHRINGER artist Thomas Starks was featured in ASCAP’s news section. Read the full article here.

“New ASCAP member Thomas Starks was among the throngs at the 2011 edition, but he was no regular attendee — he was there as an artist ambassador for BEHRINGER, the renowned pro-audio company that endorses him.” – ASCAP January 2011.

Thomas Starks (at right) with drummer Forrest Robinson.

Thomas Starks with Sherry Lipp, Coordinator, Media/PR Music Group Services U.S. Inc, BEHRINGER. The pair is posing with BEHRINGER's X32 Digital Mixer.

Beasley chatted with me about his Grammy nomination, his career, and what’s next for him.

Were you surprised about your Grammy Nomination for Positootly!?

I was very surprised actually. I’m a voter myself and when I saw there were 380 people in my category I thought maybe I would have better luck in the composition category or the arranging category. I had just gotten back from South Africa with A.R. Rahman and I was very jet lagged. I went to bed early, the night the nominations were announced, and woke up the next morning to a bunch of text messages and my wife jumping up and down, screaming and stuff. It was a nice surprise.

Can you talk a little about Positootly!?

The album is called Positootly! because there is a Meters song called “Absoltively Positutely.” In October 2008, we were facing the shock of the economic crisis while heading into the contentious election campaigns. I wanted to come up with a record with a positive message. I wanted to show that if we can stick this out and work together better days will be ahead of us. I went back to my childhood. I grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana near a bayou in Caddo Parish.  I thought about the quality of life there. I included a lot of titles and grooves that hark back to growing up in a simple place where people’s  attitudes towards life is filled with hope and a spirit of fun.

When did you start playing jazz?

When I was in my teens, my parents moved to Denton, Texas where my dad took a job teaching, at the University of North Texas, which has one of the country’s best music and jazz programs. A lot of musicians came through that town, like Mel Lewis and Oliver Nelson. These guys would do workshops and concerts, and I got really inspired to play jazz. I had been playing guitar in rock bands up until that point. I remember hearing Jimmy Smith, Art Blakey, and Charlie Parker at home, but the music didn’t really sink in until I actually saw it being played. Jazz became my love. From that point on I knew I was going to be a musician.

You played with Freddie Hubbard?

I played with Freddie off and on for about eight to nine years. I think I started with him when I was about twenty-one or twenty-two so in a way that was my graduate school.

You toured with Miles Davis, what was that like?

That was an interesting time in my life. My wife at the time was pregnant with my daughter Sierra. I was juggling jazz gigs and doing quite a bit of studio work in Hollywood. We had just bought a house and it seemed like everything was happening at once. Miles called right in the thick of it. I dreamt about playing with him all my life. I grew up a lot during that gig. I saw how dedicated Miles was to the band and to improving after every concert. His dedication to being an artist was inspiring. He really put in a lot of time and hard work. People think the sound came magically out of his horn, but he put a lot of time and dedication into his art.

Who are your biggest influences musically?

This is a long list. I like all kinds of music. I like R&B, I grew up playing it. I like soul, classical music. I can’t name one person, but Duke Ellington, Robert Johnson, Eric Copeland to name just a few.

Photo Credit: Tao Ruspoli

How do your influences affect your own writing and performing?

When you’re practicing, studying, and listening that’s when you’re soaking all that up. When I am writing or playing I’m not thinking of any of any one in particular. I think it just comes through in your sound. That’s what you like and what you listen to, so that’s what resonates with you. I’m just trying to get the music to what it really wants to be on its own. I’m kind of a mix of all these people and it hopefully comes out as being my voice.

You worked as an arranger on several seasons of American Idol. How do you come up with the shortened versions of the songs, and the arrangements?

That’s the hard part. How do you get to the core of the song so it still has the integrity of the full length of the song? I can give you a better idea of how I arrange using the time when I was Associate Producer for the female contestants (Season 4 – Carrie Underwood’s year). You’re there with the artist, and sometimes the producers are there, and you go through it. You also have to try to find the best part of the song that really makes that particular singer shine. So you sit there with the artist and just bang it out. Everyone has ideas about tempo, groove, or maybe doing it in another style from the way it was originally performed. Because it’s a contest you can’t say ‘Oh I think you should do it this way,’ or ‘do it that way.’ If they get knocked off the show they could come back and say the producers or this guy said to do it this way and it turns into a mess. So you have to present different options and then they make that decision.

What’s up next for you?

I’m working on scoring a movie in January and February. The first week of February I will travel to Japan for a week with Mike Stern and Lee Ritenour. Then in the middle of February I’m hosting, and playing with my band, some special concerts at Disney Hall with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The series is called “Jazz Meets the Orchestra.” There will be a jazz quintet and the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. The conductor and I will highlight the differences and similarities of jazz for the orchestra and for a quintet.   The classical bass will speak to the jazz bass and so on. They’re targeted to youth audiences but really anyone interested. The interaction is going to be fun. Then I will do some more work with A.R. Rahman in March and April.  I was just in South Africa with him. We started his world tour in the spring of last year.

What is it like scoring for television and movies?The directors will usually put in some temp music that represents what they like. They already have kind of an idea of what they want. As composer, you have to find that balance. They hire you for a particular sound. You have to find a happy medium between what they want and what you can give them. You’re helping the director actually write music for his movie.  Writing is sure different for movies and TV as opposed to making records. It’s really the director’s baby. It’s his record so to speak. You’re really trying to help them to get their points across and still be creative and interpret their vision. It’s a fine line to walk.

What are the most memorable experiences in your career?

Well, I never thought it would happen, but to be recognized by my peers with a Grammy nomination is really humbling for me. I’ve been out here for a while. The selection goes through these committees. These members listen to all the music and whittle it down to five records, out of in my category around four hundred, which they think deserve recognition. It’s really humbling. I didn’t ever really think about getting a GRAMMY. The idea of it is settling in. It’s pretty cool. In my career musically, working with Miles was a highlight, and with Freddie Hubbard too. I love writing for movies. I love working with the ever imaginative film composer Thomas Newman. These artists are all about creativity and finding something new in music. That’s what I aspire to do every day.

You can learn more about John Beasley at beasleymusic.com.

Learn more about his Grammy nominated album Positootly! at Resonance Records.org

Photo Credit Tim Sassoon