He continues: “In Sound City, this legendary studio in L.A., I’m sitting in front of this immense Neve console with just my PowerBook and a little MIDI keyboard, getting huge sounds from this tiny rig.

“Believe me, I’m used to playing the studio gear. My ears are attuned to that. But the sound you can get from virtual instruments now is simply awesome. If for nothing else but the built-in instruments, whenever I go to the studio I always have Logic open.”

The Logical Song

How did Jones end up bouncing from Sound City to Madison Square Garden and beyond? His nomadic — and melodic — tendencies showed themselves early. “I was born in England,” he recounts. “A nun gave me a melodica [a harmonica with a keyboard] when I was about five. Along the way, someone told my dad, ‘Hey, I think your kid might be musical, why don’t you buy a piano when you move to Canada?’ So I took piano lessons for about five years, until I became a terrible teen. Then I started playing in rock bands — and all hell broke loose.”

“With Logic, I can just open my PowerBook on the tour bus, and I’ve basically got a whole recording studio right there in front of me.”

Eventually, Jones joined the fondly remembered band Grapes of Wrath. Signed to EMI in the mid-eighties, they made several well-received records (one produced by punk-jazz avatar Anton Fier) and even recorded at London’s revered Abbey Road studios.

“At the time we were very popular in Canada and toured around the world,” says Vince. “I started getting into recording technology, self-taught, engineering and producing. Soon people were hiring me to do a bit of everything — playing keyboards at sessions, touring, a lot of Pro Tools programming. I’ve been lucky, very lucky. Eventually I got into Logic because people around me were using it, and I was curious.”

Inspiring Technology

Today, when he’s not playing a shimmering McLachlan show or tearing up a recording studio as a hired gun, Jones credits Logic with helping him march to his own drummer.

“With Logic, I can just open my PowerBook on the tour bus and I’ve basically got a whole recording studio right there in front of me,” he says. “And the Apple Loop browser — man, what a great tool for getting ideas together!

“Between our last trip to Australia and this tour, I’ve probably written more music, had more little song ideas, than I ever have before. That’s because I find this technology so inspiring. Even though I’m still a bit of a novice — Logic is such a deep program — I’m amazed at how much I could do so quickly.

“So I’ve been doing a lot more writing. I’m always sending ideas off to friends who I think are good lyricists. If something grows out of that, great.”

A stage manager roams through the green room, giving the band members their 30-minute warning. “Time for me to practice,” says Vince. And then he’s off.