Dave Bucalo

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Dave Bucalo

Dave Bucalo: My Name Is Dave, And I'm Addicted To Gear
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Fortunately, Dave is managing his addiction in a healthy way.

The Ludlow, Massachusetts, resident plays keyboards in several bands, but his main gig is with an outfit called Emotion.The five-piece ensemble plays its share of club dates in and around the Springfield area but specializes in weddings and big events.It seems that musicians are split when it comes to their feelings about wedding receptions; they either love 'em or hate 'em.But Dave says they can be a lot of fun."We get better money, and it's an easier gig," he says."Everybody's there to have a good time.It's a great atmosphere, and usually you're out earlier than if you're in a club."

The only thing lacking from his work with Emotion, according to Dave, is the freedom of creativity that goes along with writing and playing original material.One of his outlets for self-expression is Accidental Groove, a female-fronted rock band that has released three CDs to date.He also plays occasionally with '80s cover band Mullethead.In addition to being an onstage musician, Dave creates sequences for several acts, including a Massachusetts-based Beastie Boys tribute band."I do all the keyboard parts, percussion parts, sometimes a bass line," he says."All kinds of stuff."

When Dave is playing with Emotion, he brings a rig built to handle nearly any type of music."I use a Korg Triton 61, along with a Korg Trinity," he says.
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Dave also utilizes a Fostex MR-8 digital recorder to play sequences he's recorded."I used to use the 'boards, but the Fostex holds a lot more songs," he says."I keep them right on a Compact Flash card."Emotion's drummer uses an electronic drum kit, which makes things simpler."I just feed a sequence to his amp, and it's right there in his ear â€" with a click," says Dave.He brings a laptop to each performance, loaded with a spreadsheet containing the names and location of the backing tracks he's stored on his digital recorder.If the Fostex should ever fail, Dave has a backup plan."I have all my sequences on the laptop."He also stores a ton of music in the form of MP3 files on the laptop for use when it's time for the band to take a break.

Before he went to a system of recording sequences for playback during shows, Dave relied on his keyboard workstations to do the trick."Years ago I used the O1/W, then I used the Trinity, and then the Triton.But I've switched over to software.I use different programs, such as Reason.I've used Sonar, and I'm kind of playing around, trying to find what's gonna work best for me. I've got a bunch of software that I've got to sift through."

Dave Bucalo's fascination with the latest music technology is behind a major overhaul he's planning for his onstage setup."I'm just starting to incorporate the [Muse Research] Receptor," he says.
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Weekend Warrior Dave Bucalo says Cain's playing made a big impression on him as Dave developed his playing style.
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Find out more about Dave Bucalo's projects by visiting their respective websites.The official homepage for the band Emotion can be found at www.emotionband.net.