"Yeah, it was sort of a combination of live shows, using slides and photographic images from a Wellington artist, Jackie Smith, then teaching workshops in actually how to sequence audio and midi, which is the music I was using in the actual performances."
Do you think the students learned a lot from that?
"They said they did, so hopefully they did! They seemed to really, really enjoy it. A lot of the students are sort of switched on when it comes to technology - I didn't have to do a lot of the groundwork/explaining the basics, so they came along really well."
Were you showing them how to record on computers?
"Yeah. I showed them mostly a sequencing program called Cakewalk Pro Audio, which sequences midi and audio and that way it appeals to most people because midi synthesisers and that kind of thing you can make whatever noise you want, but then for people who are really into rock, they record can record things they actually play themselves."
How different is using computers than recording in other ways?
"I don't know because I've only ever used them, other than four-track, which is I guess more traditional, but doing my own stuff, I started off on computer anyway, so I don't really know anything different. But I play the guitar and record it, which is pretty sort of normal, and then I just use midi over the top of that. It's still quite sort of a normal set-up and not that much different - I sing, play the guitar, record that as audio and just do other things with samples to accompany it."
Do you have any more gigs besides Sweetwaters planned?
"Yeah, I've got Sweetwaters next year and the Composing Women's Festival hopefully. They should be cool fun - I'm working on some weird things to do."
Speaking of playing, your album Birds of Prey took quite a while to record didn't it?
"Kind of and kind of not. It was recorded over a period of about two years, because I did the first single and there was sort of a year and a half break before I actually did the album. But the album itself was recorded in six days, so it wasn't that long technically. But yeah, the singles and things were recorded right at the beginning, but the company took quite a while to get round to doing the album and then when they did got six days to try and get it together - but luckily we did!"
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