Mark Packard
Open Labs Exclusive Artist Interview
- by Tatiana Ryckman, Open Labs Staff Writer
Since 1984, when he bought his first Roland Juno 106, Mark Packard has been experimenting with keyboards. Today, while computers and late models of various other keyboards lean against the gray and red walls, one single piece of equipment stands in the middle of his studio: an Open Labs NeKo™.
In those first years, while learning to convert the press of a key into music, Mark began laying the foundation for who he is now as an artist. “Before, I'd have to simulate bass with my left hand and simulate melody and chords on my right hand and I would try to make complete music that way, with that analog board.” Without the multi-track recorders and sequencers he struggled to find a finished piece within the constraints of technology, “I didn't have the means to write complete songs, with all the instrumentation; the drums, bass, guitar, vocals; until the world of digital sampling came about. Even then it was samplers and 8-tracks. In the mid '90s I finally migrated to digital, linear-based recording with computers. I discovered the power of VSTs and being able to MIDI the old gear with the modern technology. Before, the keyboard was an analog board, and all I could do was just ... play it.”
However frustrating, Mark is glad that the work he put in then wasn't wasted, “If you take that learning and apply it toward all the new technology ... that part never left. So I just learn the concept of different instruments; the concept of bass, the concept of percussion, the concept of strings, whatever it is, but never losing that grassroots learning ... it's almost like technology caught up to what I needed.” This is evident on his track “Eat your Glostik”, on the Aquatica CD, the # 1 compilation local CD sold at Tower Records in 2001-2002. He claimed the title track on the album and received accolades from The Austin Chronicle and Insight magazine for his work.
Mark's list of accomplishments is ever-growing. From post-production for NightLife, a film he's watched travel from production to film festivals; to a Prius ad for which he wrote the score and sound design. And his favorite project, an up-coming animation that he says is “probably most rewarding personally because it was an animation sci-fi, so I was able to generate the complete environment that was there in the animation. I created it sonically, from scratch, and that's where the most reward is.” All of these projects have been completed just within the last year, since he switched from his standard DAW system to a NeKo. While Mark jokes that his board is “sort of a fusion ... not quite a NeKo LX, not quite a Neko SE, sort of a NeKo SE plus or a NeKo LX Jr.,” he's serious when he says it's improved the way he works.
“The first thing, which I'm sorry to say, is that I have a few old boards, a Roland Juno 106, a JP 8000, and an Ensoniq EPS16 plus, and honestly, since I got the NeKo I haven't even plugged in most of the things ... the NeKo is that one-stop-shop. I use the NeKo pretty much as my 24/7 performance tool or studio tool.”
While he uses his board primarily at his home studio in Austin, Texas, he also appreciates its portability. As he explains to other artists, “It may be a large piece of equipment, there's no denying that, but compared to disassembling your entire studio and loading three keyboards and your computer in the back of your car ... this is still much easier.” Another benefit of the gear, he says, is its longevity. “The thing that separates Open Labs’ equipment from others, is this, when you buy other gear ... you get it, it's fun, it's good, it serves a purpose, you get your work done, but then you've got to flash ahead 'x' amount of months or years ... and you've exhausted its sounds and you're bored with them, you're looking for something new — you’re forced to buy another keyboard. The thing that's cool about Open Labs is that with this gear, as long as there are applications, VSTs, and third party developers ... that piece of hardware is never obsolete.”
Emphasizing the need for personal reward with his keyboard, Mark is looking forward to working on things for himself for a while, “Aside from film stuff that's coming up, I'd like to try to work on some music again. I’m taking a short break because I crunched on the last film and I'm a little burnt, I just want to focus on writing more music and getting it out.”
Equipment Used
Purchased Custom NeKo LX (Gen3)
Artist Links