MacDirectory Magazine

Summer-Fall 2009 (#42)

MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.

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136 MacDirectory INTERVIEW COUNTRY STAR > DIERKS BENTLEY Country singer Dierks Bentley has a knack for keeping his fans happy by regularly landing on the Top 40 charts, including several No. 1 hits to his credit. There's no mistaking Bentley's excitement for song writing and performing on his latest album , Feel That Fire. His most fervent fans, the DB Congress, follow Bentley's tour worldwide, including country music award shows where he has garnered a variety of trophies. High-energy performances and smart, appealing songwriting, makes it easy to understand why Country Music Television has recognized Bentley for Performance of the Year. MacDirectory > Where you do find inspiration for writing songs? Dierks Bentley > It goes in cycles, but it's more about my mind clicking into finding new ideas. We tour all the time, but I'm not always writing. Now, it's good being away from writing and working on an album, and I'm just concentrating on performing the songs and enjoying being in front of a live audience. I think about lighting, staging and how to do the songs best for a live show. Lately though, my brain has switched and I'll hear something and think, "That could be a song title." I wrote a killer song a few days ago and got excited and now we're thinking about pre-production and how to make a record out of it. MD > Has technology affected your development as a songwriter? DB > When I first started writing songs, you'd bring out your shoebox, your pad and pen and your notebooks—all lined up. I still remember someone coming in with a computer and I'd go "Dude, you're bringing a computer to do a writing session? So not cool. It's all about pen and paper." Now everyone plugs in their computer — I use sticky notes on my computer to write up thoughts, A great songwriter, Tony Martin, taught me, If you can't fit a verse onto a sticky note, then it's too long. Also, Garage Band is huge for the band and me. I used to try to record on different mediums and do my own demos, but the more time I spent doing that, the less time I'd spend writing. I don't want to take away time from writing songs or working with musicians. What's great about Garage Band is that you can take it as far as you want to take it, but for me it's the guitar and vocals. I can sing right into it and play my acoustic guitar. It's the quickest way to get down an idea. The little digital flip camera is a piece of technology that I love and I use it non- stop. On my Web site, there's an image of me driving around Sydney, Australia, which I did. Editing an HD movie is so easy and you can compress it into any kind of file you want. I love posting video blogs, but I don't want to overdo — just make readers laugh and give them some of the inside scenes of touring. MD > What kind of computer do you use? DB > A PowerBook and I harass anyone who doesn't have a Mac. Our tour INTERVIEW BY ALISON ASHLEY FORMENTO > PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF DIERKS BENTLEY

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