Rocky Searan
"I am doing things with this board that I could've never have been able to pull off running my keyboards thru a laptop. This board has made my life so much easier and it has opened up so many different levels of creativity on my end."
- Rocky Searan
Growing up in a family deeply rooted in music, Rocky Searan started playing piano and Hammond B3 in church at the age of 10. Over the last 15 years Rocky has worked with several top artists (Chris Tomlin, Matt Maher, Kirk Franklin, The Bacon Brothers, Sonic Flood). Rocky's strength as an improvisational player allows him to blend many different genre's of music, which has attracted several bands and artists to work with him in a live and studio atmosphere. In addition to being a versatile keyboardist, his creativity in programming loops and grooves ranges from complex Electronica to a Radiohead meets Nine Inch Nails, leaving the listener with dark overtones and a sense of unpredictable sonority. Overall, Rocky provides artists and producers with an outlet to think outside the typical box of creativity and explore options to bring a new level of energy to the stage, ultimately capturing that "perfect sound."
Artist Q&A
Q: How did you first hear about Open Labs?
A: I saw the NeKo a couple years ago, when my uncle Jimmy Nichols, came through Phoenix with Faith Hill and Tim McGraw on the Soul 2 Soul tour. I was blown away that there was a keyboard that had a PC integrated in it.
Q: How has the MiKo changed your method of work?
A: My setup time was cut down by 20 minutes. Seriously though, I love the touch screen capability’s and the fact that I can have multiple programs running with no lag or hiccups.
Q: What is your MiKo's primary function, live or studio?
A: Both, before I had the MiKo I was running my keyboards though a audio interface and using all VST’s and virtual instruments for performing and recording. However, due to limitations of CPU, RAM, and hard drive space, I feel that I could only tap into a portion of what these programs could allow me to do. My job can be tricky at times because I control all of the keyboards, click tracks, and programming when I play live. On top of running Karsyn, I’m running two to three other applications in the background night after night. Studio stuff is a dream because of all the different sounds and layering options through Karsyn, I’m able to create textures that would take hours of programming through other boards.
Q: What is your favorite software on the MiKo? How do you use it?
A: Karsyn … Karsyn … did I mention Karsyn. Creating scenes and setlists that you can use in realtime with multiple meter changes with effects is a dream come true. Depending on the tune, certain songs will have one to two preset changes and others can have 10 to12, so being able to map them out, then play it live is simply amazing.
Q: Which kind of keyboard have you owned in the past and how do they compare to your MiKo?
A: I’ve used all the major workstations, over the last 10 years and I have never seen anything that even comes close to the MiKo. Except a few more keys.
Q: Has the MiKo changed the way you write songs?
A: The MiKo has opened up so many doors of creativity, because I feel like the sky is the limit as far as layering and tracking. No more peaking out my CPU and RAM hold ups, which lead to tons of frustration.
Q: How different is the composition process compared to the standard computer or laptop system?
A: It’s very comparable except with less headaches and crashes.
Q: What is next for you and your MiKo?
A: Getting a NeKo version of the same board … lol I have a lot of upcoming projects both in the studio and live work over this next year, so I’m excited to tackle it head on with MiKo. It’s so nice to have a board that I know will solely get the job done.
Equipment Used
Purchased MiKo TSE
Artist Links