Ric'key Pageot
Open Labs Exclusive Artist Interview
- by Carson Barker, Open Labs Staff Writer
Ric'key Pageot's current rehearsal space looks like the arcane Hangar 18. The first reason being that it actually is an airplane hangar, although it's loaded with a different kind of futuristic spacecraft than an alien intergalactic voyager. All 5000+ square feet of the New York launch pad is lined with cords, cables, consoles, sparkling purple instruments, 12-foot fans, and even purplish-gray flooring. Somewhere in the electronic chaos of his practice room are four Open Labs MiKos, each is one custom-painted pink and black for his journey across the time and space of earth. This journey, headed by a celestial vixen that curiously hasn't aged in the last decade, is an adventure that Pageot has been preparing for all his life. This practice room appears to be 10 years into the future, but by the time you read this article, keyboardist Pageot will have already started his trip with Madonna on her "Sticky & Sweet" world tour.
"I felt very fortunate," said Pageot. "Because when you're in a family being raised and surrounded by music as I was, you realize it is a blessing and a privilege. It was like I was music in school 24/7."
Pageot started his training for the Madonna tour in the Great White North when he was an infant. A native of Montreal, Canada, he was surrounded, encouraged, and influenced by his bass playing father, flutist brother, and later on his percussionist younger brother. The family was close-knit in their music bloodline, and they started performing together when Pageot was just a toddler. Contrary to the Pageot family habitat, they celebrated the music of their heritage, which is Haitian Kompa, a style of 1950s Caribbean pop.
"Haitian culture is very predominant in my family," said Pageot. "They made sure that we knew where we came from. Even though I was taking classical lessons, my dad would play Haitian music in the house, and a couple of my first gigs with my family we played Haitian music. I remember playing Haitian music all night at a community party, I was about 10 or 11 years old."
Pageot's rhythmic fingers have garnered him a good bit of notoriety around the globe. At the age of 28, he landed the job of Cirque du Soleil band leader, and is to-date the youngest person to ever receive that position. Through the years, he's also worked in various jazz bands, ensembles and other musical ventures, including backing up the angelic voice of his wife, Dessy Di Lauro. The two have worked together in several projects, including Di Lauro's "A Study of a Woman's Soul" released in 2004. The soulful duo's musical styles flow together like lava and fire, forging a supernova of molten creativity.
"My plan right now after the tour is to record my wife's album," said Pageot. "We were supposed to come out with an album in 2005, and it got postponed for the Cirque tour. I think after this, I'll just be able to put up a whole chunk of money and put it into this project."
During our interview, Pageot was gearing up for the Madonna tour with the rest of the band in the Hangar 18-like space. Though there are only four musicians on stage backing up the glamorous blonde bombshell, the entire crew of dancers, light technicians and sound engineers totals in around 100. The crew has to coordinate in a precise manner to launch a single song. Pageot's job, among other things, is to patch in various keyboard and synthesizer sounds on cue using his black and pink MiKo. The MiKo has been next to Pageot on and off the stage.
"It's been my most reliable keyboard to date," said Pageot. "What I'm planning to do on tour, is to use the MiKo and start producing and doing some preproduction in my hotel rooms. The fact that I'm able just dial up my sounds instantly puts a big smile on my face."
Pageot's accommodations with his MiKo have been nothing short of stellar. Along with the numerous VSTi's, Karsyn, and his personal, in-house customer service from Open Labs' Ed Rhone, Pageot was able to learn the ins and outs of his MiKo at the same time that he was learning the Madonna set list, all with out missing a beat.
"Karsyn is my favorite program. I like the way that I can just open up every individual soft synth and just tweak it, save it, and then it's still there. Ed Rhone was great. He stayed with us for two weeks. I was very happy he helped out so much, because I wasn't going to have time to sit down with the keyboard and learn every aspect of it. It is very easy to get intimidated by the MiKo, but once you understand how it works, it's a piece of cake."
For the rest of 2008, Pageot will be traveling around the world with the big M, showing off his signature style on the keys just as he did for Cirque du Soleil. Among other projects, Pageot plans on using his black and pink MiKo on his wife's album after the tour. Like his Haitian blood, music is a part of his life that will never leave him, and he plans to pick up where he left off when the Sticky & Sweet spaceship has landed for good.
"Once you do a Cirque du Soleil show, you're in the roster and they keep calling you for new shows," said Pageot. "Also, my main focus after the Madonna tour will be working on my wife's full length album. You have no choice when your dad is a bass player: you'll groove all day, so the groove is well within me."
(photos by: Norm Edwards)
Equipment Used
(4) MiKo LX
Artist Links
Madonna “Sticky & Sweet” world tour