I'm currently sitting on several thousand dollars of recording and mastering software, along with a ton of virtual synthesizers and virtual guitars (no, I don't actually play a real guitar, or a bass for that matter - diabetic neuropathy has all but robbed me of the dexterity to handle them; but I can scoot a mouse and draw lines and, while my body has basically gone to hell, my mind still works. I still have the knowledge to write music. I feel a lot like Stephen Hawking in that respect). Anyhoo, to answer your question: Logic Pro X for Mac. For the guitars, I use Native Instruments Vintage, Electric Mint, Electric Sunburst, Acoustic Picked and Strummed. I use EZBass for my bass tracks. For the synthesizers, I have (virtual) an Arp 2600, Moog Mini and Modular V, Synthi V, Buchla Easel, Fairlight CMI from Arturia. 25 years ago, had I developed Diabetes and the associated neuropathy that robbed me of the ability to play bass and guitar, I probably wouldn't be here talking to you right now as I would have pretty much unalived myself as life would have been unbearable at that point. Thankfully, I now have the technology to keep my hand in the music game. And how bad is my diabetes? Upon diagnosis my A1C was 11.5 and I was coming down off a 500+ point glucose level. It's amazing I didn't lapse into a diabetic coma. And how bad is my neuropathy? I can barely write my name, filling out forms is a chore. I have to have someone do that for me. My balance is nearly fucked as I have difficulty standing and/or walking. Riding a bike or a motorcycle is out of the question. It has affected my vision. My feet are in constant pain, especially my left foot that feels like stepping on broken glass all the time, and did I mention my fingers don't work anymore? Basically, having been dealt a shitty hand, I didn't give up - I fought back.
I tried NOT being a musician once and it was the most miserable five years of my life.
Not asking for much, really. Just an opportunity to be heard by lots of people and perhaps make a halfway decent living at it.
I'd do away with waste, greed and want.
Road To Shambala by Three Dog Night.
Nine Inch Nails. That's about it.
Getting up in the morning.
That it's okay to do your thing and be different.
Sometimes excited, sometimes nervous and sometimes a mixture of both.
I think you're going to need a bigger server for me to answer this question but it basically boils down to how little money there is to be made in music, how the labels own your work in perpetuity and the overall unfairness of it all to the artist it is.
So far it's an interesting concept and I wish it all the success in the world.
Getting heard, though it's a great way to separate the wheat from the chaff as it were.
There's not a whole lot of original material bands out here where I'm at simply because there's not a big demand for it. Everyone just wants to hear what they know but if a great band with original material were to materialize I'd go to their shows as often as I could.
Gene Simmons once pointed out why rap was so popular, though he took a lot of flak for it - that rock stars today look like homeless bums while rap stars are all about the cribs, the bling, the cars, the women, etc. I'm of the opinion that he was right and it goes to the old adage of "dress for the job you want" and by that I mean you need to look professional as well as be professional.
SASHA WRIST!!!