Roger O’Donnell:
One Man, One Instrument
Keyboardist Roger O’Donnell is best known for his work in the ’80s with groups like The Psychedelic Furs, The Thompson Twins and The Cure. But being a band member had its ups and downs. On the upside, “you’re not out on a limb by yourself”, he says. “You’re getting paid. And”, he adds with a laugh, “you can always blame someone else when something goes wrong”. The Faustian deal, however, took its toll. “My whole creative flow was controlled by what was appropriate for the group”, continues O’Donnell. “I lost sight of the reasons why I got into music in the first place.
“But recently I realised I hadn’t lost my love of music — I just needed to start making it for myself again”.
Opening the Floodgates
When O’Donnell discovered the news — accidentally, on the Internet — that he’d been canned from The Cure, it was a snub that quickly turned sweet. “It was kind of forced on me”, he admits without a trace of disappointment. “And like any big move, it wasn’t easy. But now I see it as a good thing. Because I knew that if I didn’t try to go out on my own, I’d look back when I’m old and grey in the rocking chair and regret that I never tried”.
If O’Donnell wondered whether years of group-think had silenced his muse, his first solo effort, “The Truth in Me”, has allayed those fears. Recorded, mixed and mastered on Macs with Logic Pro, the music poured forth in a rush of juicy, exuberant inspiration. “When I left The Cure, the way I had written and recorded music in the past seemed to just flood back”, says O’Donnell. “And ‘The Truth in Me’ came to me incredibly fast, through that unblocked creative channel”.
Tribute and Synthesis
O’Donnell calls the record a tribute to the musicians who have influenced him — including Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix and Herbie Hancock — and a synthesis of everything he’s learned in his 25 years at the keyboard.
He also made an unusual artistic choice: to compose and record the entire album using just one instrument: the Moog Voyager. Thanks to his longstanding relationship with the company and its founder, Robert Moog (O’Donnell contributed a song to a documentary about the inventor’s life), he became intrigued with the idea of playing only the Voyager.
The keyboardist was fully aware of the synthesizer’s reputation. “Most people know it as something that either makes weird space noises or this cheesy pop sound”, he laughs. Also, he knew it wasn’t generally thought of as the source of a warm, human sound. But, he counters, “It’s a very versatile instrument. In some hands — like Stevie Wonder’s and Herbie Hancock’s — it has produced a sensitive, organic, emotional sound. And I was amazed at the huge spectrum of sounds I was able to get from this one instrument. I really found my voice in the Moog Voyager”.
It’s no stretch to say the Mac was his other key instrument. He recalls: “I was once asked: ‘What is the one thing in my music I couldn’t give up?’ And I had to say, ‘My Mac’. I’ve been using Apple since the IIGS, and the Mac has been so enabling and liberating for me. It has been at the heart of everything I’ve created. It has been incredible — like a partner in my music”.
No Life Before Logic
O’Donnell uses his Power Mac G5, PowerBook G4 and MacBook Pro for everything. “I have a .Mac account and use Mail for email”, he explains. “I use iCal for my calendar and iChat, Address Book and iPhoto to keep in touch with business people and family and friends. I use Photoshop and Dreamweaver on my G5 to maintain my own Web site and a few others I run for friends”. For his music, O’Donnell uses Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, GarageBand and MOTU 828.
He’s been working with Logic Pro for about two years. “I started using Logic the first time I saw it, and now I can’t believe I worked without it”, he says. “Logic is second nature to me”. That’s because, O’Donnell says: “I’m a musician, not a technician. So even with pro apps, I want to be able to use them quickly and easily. When I need more advanced features, I dig in deeper. That’s what I like about Logic — you can instantly make it work, and then go wherever you need to. And of course, it comes with all these virtual instruments. You can create incredible sounds and it’s like modelling, not a sampler”.
Now, says O’Donnell, “Logic is my recording studio. Everything I create musically goes straight into Logic. I’m even thinking of doing away with the console and getting rid of my mixing desks and just using my Mac”.
