Chris Stein of Blondie
With hits like "Heart of Glass," "Rapture," and "Call Me," Blondie has earned their place among the greatest American bands of all time. In addition to chart topping hits, Blondie became famous for bringing several genres in to the pop mainstream including rap, reggae, and disco. Decades later, Blondie is still reinventing itself, with a new album set for late spring. We had a chance to chat with Blondie's guitarist Chris Stein, an enthusiastic DrumCore user. Chris shared some inside info on the latest Blondie album, his studio techniques, and how DrumCore has sped up his workflow.
What is the current status of the new Blondie album?
It is just about finished, we may cut one or two new tracks.
Who is producing your new album?
Jeff Saltzman did the record. He did The Killers and Fischerspooner.
How involved were you in the production process?
I was very involved with this one. We used a lot of pieces of demos I made in Logic. I used DrumCore in practically every demo, I gotta say. I wound up using it for everything. We wound up replacing a lot of it with our drummer, but I wanted to hear things with a live drum feel and vibe, rather than just use a typical drum machine. I love using Drumcore stuff because it sounds so real, and I would also add some MIDI tracks as well.
Would you say the DrumCore software helps your workflow?
Absolutely! There's so much, so many styles to pull from. I'd just sort through and in minutes find what I was looking for. It's very fast.
In addition to Blondie, I know you're involved with several other projects. What are you working on?
I really love film stuff, I'd love to do more. I've done 5 or 6 movies, some TV show, commercials. I don't do a lot of production these days. I have two small children, so I've taken some time out, but I'm looking to get back into writing mode.
What can we expect in 2010 for Blondie?
I'm hoping we will be able to upgrade the whole thing a little bit. We are definitely working on the website and we'll be out there touring. The record came out great, it's definitely the most solid record of this period. I'm really impressed. I just listened to the whole thing today. It should be out in late Spring.
Where can our users hear more of your music?
I have some stuff on my site, Rednight.net, and the Blondie.net site.
