Killer on the Keytar

Last year, I had the pleasure of touring with Pooley in the Nick Lachey band; he was the musical director (MD) and keyboard player and I played rhythm guitar and sang harmony. Getting to experience his methods and talents in person gave me a unique perspective to cover his latest (though a repeat) gig: MD and keyboard player for the lovely and talented Gwen Stefani. Though the two gigs were musically different, there are underlying commonalties of being musical director for a touring band. Keyboard wanted to know what it takes to do the job, and Pooley was all too happy to share his experience.

Pooley was raised in the Detroit, Michigan, area by parents who were full-time musicians, so he had a lot of exposure to live music. He started out taking classical piano lessons at school and playing flute (“It was the lightest instrument to carry,” he says). When he was 16, he began playing in his mother’s wedding band and got some hands-on experience. “At first they let me play some percussion with no mic and fake playing the keyboard parts,” he says. “Which at the time I was stoked to do because I got to make the money but didn’t have to spend time learning any of the parts. Eventually I got bored with that and plugged into their mixer and turned my keyboards up and played inappropriate things at inappropriate times, over really great songs. Basically what I’m still doing today!”

Soon after, Pooley went to college at Wayne State University in Detroit and got his Jazz Performance degree, completing a four-year program in a mere seven years. “I also marched in the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps in 1996,” he says, “which is pretty band-nerdy but has been surprisingly helpful when it came to learning rehearsal ethic and rehearsal time management.”
Becoming a music director is not something that you study in college. Pooley just fell into it on his first gig with Gwen Stefani on the Harajuku Lovers tour. Of this turn of events, he says, “I was hired just as a keyboard player but it became clear when we got into rehearsals that there was a leadership void; there was no one to actually run the rehearsals. Since I was also running the tracks from stage and designing the segues, it was an organic progression. I didn’t even know that Gwen considered me to be the MD until I saw an interview with her online where she was talking about the people in the band. She said something like, ‘then there’s this guy Kristopher Pooley who is kinda like the ringleader of it all.’ I thought that was funny.”

Learning what an MD does can be an on-the-job process, but there are certain aspects that are constant from gig to gig. According to Pooley, the job comes down to two making sure the band plays two kinds of things: what the artist wants and what the show needs. That’s the big-picture answer. More specifically, he’s usually handed or asked to help construct a set list with the artist and/or creative director. It’s his job to figure out how the band is going to play the songs in the set considering everyone’s strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. “I arrange the musical segues and figure out how to make the set flow from song to song in regards to the tempos and keys of the songs,” says Pooley. “Sometimes the artist is not set on which key they want to do a song in. I have to have all of the options sorted out before I enter rehearsals so that the artist can feel free to do a song in the key that’s comfortable for them. Other than the arranging aspects of musical directing, I run rehearsals, work with the artist on developing and changing the show throughout rehearsals and the tour, and hopefully somewhere in there leave myself some time to learn the parts and design the sounds that I have to play during the show!” Watching Pooley onstage with Lachey or on the Harajuku Lovers live DVD, one can see that he knows his parts well and has the band performing a tight and professional show.

When asked what he would have liked to have spent more time learning before becoming an MD, Pooley says, “I wish that I had learned a lot more songs; good songs with real melodies. I was so uptight about playing and listening to heady music at a young age that I skipped right over the good stuff. As fun as Return to Forever, Penderecki, and Screaming Headless Torsos are, I could have spent a lot more time with Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones, and Donny Hathaway. What Benmont Tench plays with Tom Petty is genius. I’m trying to catch up now but I have a long way to go. I’m the worst at ‘name that tune.’”

Though he’s on a mission of lifelong learning with music, being a keyboard player has been very beneficial to adapting to the job of MD. “Playing keyboards is helpful because of the harmonic and rhythmic range of the instrument, which helps give a more inclusive idea of arrangement and composition,” he says. “It’s easy to demonstrate to the band what needs to be done and it’s also easy to sit with an artist and work through a song.”

With touring bands, the keyboard player often seems to have the MD job. When asked about that, Pooley says, “I don’t know if that’s just a trait because keyboard players are usually total music nerds and control freaks, which works well for being an MD. Or because keyboard players are usually put in a position of control just because of the instrument. Most legit piano or keyboard players are at some point put in a position of having to direct the music for something, such as playing rehearsal piano for dancers, musical theater, and jazz combos.” Out on the road, Pooley bumps into other players in the MD role and there’s something to learn from all of them, even if they aren’t keyboard players. See “The MD’s MD” for specifics on Pooley’s favorite.

The amount of computer and software knowledge an MD needs in order to program and run the tracks for a live show is nothing short of intense. Pooley walks us through his software set-up to see how it all works. “I use MOTU Digital Performer to run tracks, fire patch changes for all of the gear on stage, and send time code to video and whoever needs it. I’m a huge DP fan; I’ve been using it since I was in high school to sequence and edit music. My mom’s band uses DP to run tracks, and they made me learn it at a young age, thank the Lord. Big shout out to guys like Mike McKnight, Kevin Antunes, and Michael Nardone whose ideas I’ve ripped off for how to use DP live. 

“I also use Ableton Live in the pre-production phase to transpose and change the tempo of tracks. I use it to help create unique mash-up and segue effects. It’s rad. I used it on stage as well when I played with Siouxsie Sioux. We needed to run some percussion and ambient loops without a click — so I used the tap tempo feature to keep everything locked in with the drummer. It was pretty fun, actually. The other main workhorse application I use live is Propellerhead Reason. The bulk of my synth sounds come straight out of Reason. It’s super fast, super creative, and super reliable.”

Pooley’s live rigs differ from gig to gig. On the Nick Lachey tour, he used a Nord Stage 88 in a grand piano shell, a red Fender Rhodes run though a bunch of effects pedals, a Nord Lead 3, and a Roland VK-8 run through a Leslie 825. In his rack he had a few Motif modules, some MOTU 828mkIIs, a Paul J. Cox audio switcher, and an assortment of UPS and DI units. He was running tracks on two Mac G4 laptops that were synced together via the MOTU 828mkIIs, in an A-B rig configuration. When he goes out with Gwen Stefani, his setup is different — but built for fun. See the diagram to the right.

When he’s not touring, Pooley is in demand as a studio musician and producer, and he’s known for playing old-school organ and keys. “If I could sit and play a B-3 every day for the rest of my life and still pay my bills,  I’d be okay with that,” he says. “Maybe throw an old upright piano or Yamaha CP70 in there too. Anything old is usually worth playing. I’m also a big fan of the Casio SK1. More than anything, I wish Casio would make another 8-bit sampling keyboard like that one again. I would also love for someone to make a keytar that doesn’t look so nerd-tastic. I have a feeling it’s an impossible goal. While I’m talking about it, I would also love for the general public’s attitude toward the keytar turn toward acceptance. We’ve had 25 years with the instrument now. Let’s all just get along!” 

Every tour has its challenges, and Pooley has had a lot of learning experiences on the road. “The most challenging tour I did was probably the Siouxsie Sioux tour,” he says, “because I was running some tracks that I had to tap the tempo for throughout, play the keyboard parts, and play the bulk of the bass parts because there was no bass player. I had all of my limbs going on that one. Plus, because she has such a vast catalog with such signature sounds, I wanted to really nail the exact sounds. There was quite a bit of keyboard programming. That tour was super-satisfying though, because I had a great sense of contribution to what was happening on stage every night. We ended the tour with two nights at Royal Albert hall with an orchestra — which was one of the most fun musical experiences I’ve had.”

On the road, the good times are balanced with those times when things go utterly wrong. Being a pro means knowing how to handle the situation when things veer off track. Pooley recounts some of his worst experiences on the road and what he’s learned from them. “I’ve definitely played my fair share of wrong chords and embarrassed myself by accidentally stopping the computers mid-song in the middle of a show,” he says. “But the biggest thing that’s gone wrong is that once, working with an artist, I wasn’t paying enough attention to what the artist needed and was imposing too many of my ideas on their music. I was railroading, thinking that I was being decisive, but really I was just being a jerk. It wasn’t anything that an honest conversation and a little forgiveness couldn’t fix. While music is a business and a craft, it’s still all about relationships and being a decent and honest person.”

To those who aspire to be an MD or even just a touring musician, Pooley has some words of wisdom straight from the front lines. “As far as music goes, I would advise you to learn the technical aspects of the craft the best you can,” he says. “Know your music theory inside and out so that you can get your ideas across to everyone in the band, whether you’re in charge of the music or not. And if your ideas suck or you make a mistake, admit it. Even if you think you know everything about everything chances are there’s someone in the room that still knows more than you. Outside of the musical aspects, the biggest piece of advice I have is: Don’t be a jerk. It seems that ‘successful’ people are just as good at admitting mistakes as they are at being decisive. When you’re on the road, you’re only spending a few hours a day playing music. The rest of the time you have to be a normal person! Everyone is literally living right on top of each other, and the only way that things stay fun and light is if everyone remains a decent and respectful individual. On the Gwen tours, the band plays a lot of poker together, and those are some of the best times we have. It’s always a lesson in humility (especially for me) and there are always a lot of laughs and good times.”

Getting along with the band and crew is one thing, but getting along with the artist can be an endeavor of its own. Besides Gwen Stefani and Nick Lachey, in the past few years Pooley has worked with Liz Phair, Vanessa Carlton, the Great Fiction, Jesse McCartney, Brooke Fraser, Dave Stewart, Jane’s Addiction, the Real Efforts of Real People, Kenna, Kelly Clarkson, and more. Working closely with each of these artists has bred some long-lasting friendships.

“The relationship with the artist is hopefully one that evolves from a professional relationship to a real friendship over time,” says Pooley. “Thankfully, all of the artists that I’ve worked with have been great people whom I now consider my friends. When we’re all in rehearsal, it’s work time, but like I said before, that’s a smaller percentage of time than the ‘hang out’ time. Most people would probably be surprised at how professional it isn’t!” He jokingly adds, “There’s a reason why most of us aren’t cut out to have legitimate jobs.

 “When you do get a chance to tour, savor your alone time and let the other people on the tour savor theirs. Eat as healthy as you can. Get some exercise a few days a week. Keep your iChat open and your phone on and be as available as you can to maintain your family and non-tour friend relationships. If you have to drink, drink wine and not beer (unless it’s Guinness). Take pictures and email them to your family. And most importantly, be thankful. If you’re doing what you love and getting to travel a little bit, then you are a blessed person.”

No doubt, Pooley is blessed with a great career that enables him to have fun nightly onstage in front of thousands of excited fans. He has gratitude for where he has been and a good attitude towards where he’s headed. And right now, that means across the globe with Gwen Stefani, strapped into an AX-1 or Liberation.