Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
Known for his many articles published in various magazines, and for always helping out with the technical side of things in our forums, thedreampolice takes a timeout to answer a few of our questions.
Sup, how's it going?:
Sup? Life right now is extremely busy!
What's up with the name "dreampolice"? Where does that come from?
Ha ha. The dreampolice name was born around 1996. As I was trying to get a hotmail account, (all the variations of "Chris" I could think of were taken) a Cheap Trick video on MTV caught my attention that day, so out of frustration I typed in "thedreampolice." It is now my handle for most of my accounts. However, my solo music is mainly under Chris Scheidies or Drunk Pedestrians.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
The cliff notes version: Played bass/guitar full-time on the road for about six years. Next few years I was a full-time studio engineer (horrible hours, BTW.) Then, I entered the tech. industry. Sweetwater Sound was my gig up until October. I've had numerous articles published in Prorec.com, Premiere Guitar, Sonic State, the late OGM, etc. My music has been licensed internationally for TV commercials, Indie films, and Internet commercials. Business and entrepreneurship is definitely a passion of mine, as well. My education is through the Berklee College of Music in music production and technology.
How would you describe your music?
I generally like less than perfect sounds. The White Stripes are a perfect example - very organic and almost broken sounding. My music is gritty and raw, no matter what genre I am working in, the production work usually reflects that. It's no wonder I don't get asked to record many orchestras.
How often do you make beats?
Depends on what other projects I am working on. I try and do at least 2-3 a week, usually on the weekends, and then get them on a TV spot or to and emcee.
What's your favorite part of the beat making process?
Getting the final product done and listening to it. Tweaking it.
Are you one of those guys that prefers, to "fix it in the mix"?
No, absolutely not. What is that great Rip Rowen quote? "Fix is something you do to a dog!" Get the proper performance right up front. If it is wrong re-record it.
What's your current setup?
I recently pared down my setup dramatically. While at Sweetwater, anything I wanted was available to me. I discovered that more gear actually made creative production much more difficult. At one point I had an Antelope Clock, several outboard compressors, EQ's, sound modules, and so forth. It hurt my brain! Plus, my music was not any better. Now I work with one computer, an Axiom controller, and the Propellerhead Trinity (Reason, Record, Recycle.) I keep Live around for any plugins I may need. Of course, I still have loads of real instruments. I sampled all my hardware in to NNXT with Auto Sampler. Also, I will never part with My Stanton 120c turntables.
Yes, too much gear can make you lose focus. What was it for you? Were you spending too much time playing with the gear, or just tweaking it?
It became a situation of too many choices and wasted time. To record a bass line for example, you need to make sure the clock is set to the right frequency just to put it down. Several questions follow: Is the interface synced? Is the software on board, etc? Usually when you are inspired, ideas happen so fast you have to move just as quick to catch the vibe.
What was the first piece of gear you ever had?
A Yamaha QY10 sequencer and a four track recorder were my production starters. I still listen to those old tracks!
Ah, the four track. Do you prefer the sound/feel from that or from your current setup?
I would never go back. Reason/Record/Live is perfect for me. I can work really fast, no matter what I am recording. All the sounds I want/need are in refills, which allows me to quickly grab things. I tried to do a mix about a year ago with 100% analog gear, full-on tape/MPC, and no computer at all- because I got nostalgic.... then I remembered I had to use track sheets to write everything down. I had to write down every setting of every EQ, compressor, reverb, for each channel of every song. That sucks. I just want to hit 'save.'
You recently mentioned that you left Sweetwater, what did you do there and how was it?
I worked in the sales/consulting dept. We helped people get the right gear, basically. We would design studios, live sound rigs, anything really. It was great but a very intense and time consuming job. I still have a bunch of friends out at Sweetwater that I will miss.
Do you do other things besides producing (MC, DJ, etc)?
Yes I do Scratch a little, also high end visual effects and video work.
Any shoutouts you'd like to give?
Of course to all my friends on ILL, especially Relic and Stepchild! And all my friends at Sweetwater.
Sup, how's it going?:
Sup? Life right now is extremely busy!
What's up with the name "dreampolice"? Where does that come from?
Ha ha. The dreampolice name was born around 1996. As I was trying to get a hotmail account, (all the variations of "Chris" I could think of were taken) a Cheap Trick video on MTV caught my attention that day, so out of frustration I typed in "thedreampolice." It is now my handle for most of my accounts. However, my solo music is mainly under Chris Scheidies or Drunk Pedestrians.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
The cliff notes version: Played bass/guitar full-time on the road for about six years. Next few years I was a full-time studio engineer (horrible hours, BTW.) Then, I entered the tech. industry. Sweetwater Sound was my gig up until October. I've had numerous articles published in Prorec.com, Premiere Guitar, Sonic State, the late OGM, etc. My music has been licensed internationally for TV commercials, Indie films, and Internet commercials. Business and entrepreneurship is definitely a passion of mine, as well. My education is through the Berklee College of Music in music production and technology.
How would you describe your music?
I generally like less than perfect sounds. The White Stripes are a perfect example - very organic and almost broken sounding. My music is gritty and raw, no matter what genre I am working in, the production work usually reflects that. It's no wonder I don't get asked to record many orchestras.
How often do you make beats?
Depends on what other projects I am working on. I try and do at least 2-3 a week, usually on the weekends, and then get them on a TV spot or to and emcee.
What's your favorite part of the beat making process?
Getting the final product done and listening to it. Tweaking it.
Are you one of those guys that prefers, to "fix it in the mix"?
No, absolutely not. What is that great Rip Rowen quote? "Fix is something you do to a dog!" Get the proper performance right up front. If it is wrong re-record it.
What's your current setup?
I recently pared down my setup dramatically. While at Sweetwater, anything I wanted was available to me. I discovered that more gear actually made creative production much more difficult. At one point I had an Antelope Clock, several outboard compressors, EQ's, sound modules, and so forth. It hurt my brain! Plus, my music was not any better. Now I work with one computer, an Axiom controller, and the Propellerhead Trinity (Reason, Record, Recycle.) I keep Live around for any plugins I may need. Of course, I still have loads of real instruments. I sampled all my hardware in to NNXT with Auto Sampler. Also, I will never part with My Stanton 120c turntables.
Yes, too much gear can make you lose focus. What was it for you? Were you spending too much time playing with the gear, or just tweaking it?
It became a situation of too many choices and wasted time. To record a bass line for example, you need to make sure the clock is set to the right frequency just to put it down. Several questions follow: Is the interface synced? Is the software on board, etc? Usually when you are inspired, ideas happen so fast you have to move just as quick to catch the vibe.
What was the first piece of gear you ever had?
A Yamaha QY10 sequencer and a four track recorder were my production starters. I still listen to those old tracks!
Ah, the four track. Do you prefer the sound/feel from that or from your current setup?
I would never go back. Reason/Record/Live is perfect for me. I can work really fast, no matter what I am recording. All the sounds I want/need are in refills, which allows me to quickly grab things. I tried to do a mix about a year ago with 100% analog gear, full-on tape/MPC, and no computer at all- because I got nostalgic.... then I remembered I had to use track sheets to write everything down. I had to write down every setting of every EQ, compressor, reverb, for each channel of every song. That sucks. I just want to hit 'save.'
You recently mentioned that you left Sweetwater, what did you do there and how was it?
I worked in the sales/consulting dept. We helped people get the right gear, basically. We would design studios, live sound rigs, anything really. It was great but a very intense and time consuming job. I still have a bunch of friends out at Sweetwater that I will miss.
Do you do other things besides producing (MC, DJ, etc)?
Yes I do Scratch a little, also high end visual effects and video work.
Any shoutouts you'd like to give?
Of course to all my friends on ILL, especially Relic and Stepchild! And all my friends at Sweetwater.
