Announcing the Tabletop Contest Winner

Congratulations to Gabriel Linares, aka vacationlazy, on winning the recently-ended Tabletop contest!  Here's the winning track:

We interviewed Gabe about his experience using Tabletop, and here's what he had to say:

How did you get into making music? What are your musical inspirations?
My mother bought me my first acoustic guitar when I was in high school. She was my first real reason for making music. I was always trying to impress her. Even if it was Nirvana covers... As far as electronic music goes my friend Ernie Navarro bought a Yamaha RM1x sequencer in 1998. I basically learned everything about that sequencer. So when I bought the Tabletop app I felt like I already knew the program and its basic functions. So I guess my inspirations at the beginning were Ernie and my Mom. There's a lot more people and bands that inspire me, but we don't have all day.

How did you find out about Tabletop? 
I got my iPad knowing I wanted to make or record music with it. I started a general search in the App Store and Tabletop was one of the apps that popped up. I bought the app the first day I got my iPad. I've been using it ever since.

What are some of your other favorite music apps?
I like the Korg iElectribe only because I had the hardware version years ago, so it's fun to use. The Korg iMS-20, DM-1 Drum Machine from Fingerlab. Synth and Vox3000 by you guys, djay by Algoriddim and the Magellan synth by Yonac. I actually use Magellan more than the iMS-20. I feel like it's more user friendly.

Do you use any other software or hardware?
I still use the RM1x when Mike D. doesn't come over and steal it. I kind of miss that blue box right about now.

What's your normal workflow like?
Normal is me lying in bed, kinda watching the Science Channel. Kinda writing music. Kinda sleeping.....

Is that what you did for this particular track?
No. I did the exact opposite. I drove from Fresno to Irvine to help Ron Reigstad (JrReggie) with a remix of his contest entry "One Shot." We worked on that song all night. And the next morning I woke up and wrote "1st love song in four years." It was a quick track, but I thought either one of those songs had a good chance of winning.

What was it like using the Magic Mic? 
Well, it's a good addition to Tabletop. It's super sensitive so you really have to be careful with it. The guitar tracks I recorded came out good, but I suck at guitar so it took a long time. The majority of writing the song was me trying to play two chords...

Have you run into any limitations of the app, or are there places which have room for improvement? 
Tabletop is capable of so many things, whether it's writing, sampling, remixing, or playing live sets. The only real limitation is doing so much within the app. Your iPad can only process so much at one time. You have to be able to write within your means. I know when the next generation iPad comes out Tabletop will be unstoppable. A few things I'd like to see is file sharing so I don't have to drive to Irvine to write with Ron. A bpm counter on the turntable so people can sample a little easier. And color coding the boxes within the sequencer. Oh and also putting a glitch pad built into the drum deranger.

Will you keep using the iPad and/or Tabletop for music production in the future?
Definitely! That's why I bought my iPad.

What do you think the future of iPad music will be like? 
The future's bright for people who want to try different things. I love seeing innovative ways of making music.

What's up next for you?
I have an upcoming show in November.  I'll also do some Tabletop collaborating with Ron and Danny Reigstad (LRii). I hope our album will be done early next year. And I'm starting an indie project with a group called the Wolf Pack and incorporating the Synth app with that stuff. That's about it for this year.