Uses This

Who are you, and what do you do?

I'm Ali Spagnola. I make nice things. I write music and perform live drinking game concerts. My most recent album comes on a Shot Glass USB that I invented. I defeated a trademark troll and toured the nation to celebrate. I create one Free Painting a day and mail it to the person that requested it. I'm also an artist/designer.

What hardware do you use?

My laptop is a 2013 15" MacBook Pro Retina. My electric piano is a Yamaha S08. It's got weighted keys and all 88 of them, of course. My electric guitar is an American Fender Stratocaster. His name is Jack and he's blue. Though, I photoshopped him red for my album box. All my paintings are acrylic on 12"x12" canvas board. One square foot of art a day! My acoustic guitar is a C.F. Martin & Co. GPCPA4 with a Rosewood body. I just recently got him so I haven't decided if his name should be Martin or something having to do with Rosewood.

I have two Roland keytars. One is an AX-Synth and the other is a Lucina AX-09. My audio interface is an Apogee Quartet. I play a set of Roland TD-6 electric drums. My in-ear monitors for live performances are a set of Ultimate Ears 4 that were custom shaped by an audiologist that squirted blue goo into my brain though my ears. My camera is a Canon T3i. I record vocals with an Audio Technica AT2020 mic. I record acoustic guitar with an Audio Technica AT2012 mic. I broadcast my livestream show with a Blue Snowball mic. My toothbrush is a Sonicare Essence.

And what software?

Evernote. Everything I ever thought or will think is in Evernote. I love Evernote so much I wish I could grind it up and snort it.

I write/record all my music in Logic X. My favorite visual program is Photoshop. I do my video editing in Premiere and my motion graphics in After Effects. Last year I switched my browser to Chrome because it seemed that my smart friends use it. I still also use Safari for a separate Gmail account and keep it in a separate "Space". I also love Mac's Exposé & Spaces and just recently bought a Magic Mouse to take full advantage of it. Sorry, that should be under the hardware question.

What would be your dream setup?

A recording studio that's also a dance studio. I'm not really particular with the hardware or software. I just want an awesome studio that's connected to a room with hardwood floors and wall to wall mirrors so I can choreograph and compose simultaneously. I would love a grand piano in that room, too. For both posing on and playing.

Uses This is supported by ZSA, makers of the Moonlander, ErgoDox EZ and Planck EZ keyboards. They also publish an awesome newsletter.