Not satisfied with a single career, Lane Baldwin leads a triple life as a musician, business consultant and writer. As a musician, he's toured the world and played to millions of fans. He's a Musical Ambassador for Washington, DC and has recorded and performed with a wide variety of clients. As a businessman, he's consulted to numerous bands and small businesses as well as billion-dollar corporations, helping them improve their sales and marketing endeavors. As a writer, he's done everything from corporate copywriting to publishing poetry and essays on positive living and spirituality. His essay, A Gift of Spirit, was included in Chicken Soup to Inspire the Body & Soul®, and he is currently working on a full-length book of his own. In March, 2005, Lane became Eden's Special Projects Coordinator and has worked non-stop ever since. Since then, we've received a considerable amount of email requesting that we do an interview of Lane similar to the features we do on our endorsers each month. For the most part, Edenites just wanted to know more about Lane's career and how he came to work for Eden. Not wanting to take a "feature" spot, he finally agreed to do a self-interview, but only if it wasn't part of the feature rotation.

What follows is that self-interview. Part of it is based on an interview done earlier for his web site, but much of the information - especially that about his work with Eden - is all new. The new questions are based on those posed in emails from users around the world.

Eden: Hi, Lane. How are you?

LB: Im' fine, Lane. How about you?

Eden: Pretty good, thanks. This is weird, interviewing myself.

LB: Yep! Pretty much. But let's do the best we can, OK? <laughs>

Eden: Fine by me. Before we talk about your work with Eden, let's start with the usual stuff. What basses are you currently using?

LB: My main bass is a Spector NS-6P Custom 6-string that I had built over ten years ago. I used it on-stage the very day I received it and haven't looked back. I also have Turner Renaissance fretless 5-string bass and baritone guitars. All three of these are translucent black over highly figured maple, with black hardware. I recently got a Fender P-bass -- the Mike Dirnt model, which is made in Mexico. That one is solid black, as are my acoustic/electric and my old Kawai with active P/J pickups.

Eden: Is there a special significance to black instruments?

LB: Yeah. Darker tone. <laughs> Seriously, it means something to me, but not to other people. I don't talk about it; it's a very private thing.

Eden: What strings are you using?

LB: On everything but the Turners, I use DR Black Beauties. I'd been using Hi-Beams for more than a decade, but the BBs last a lot longer. On the Turners, I use Thomastik Acousticore strings, which Rick [Turner] designed specifically for his instruments.

Eden: What about effects? Do you use any?

LB: Not much. In fact, live, I don't use any at all. I have in the past, but not now. For the style of music I play, I think they just get in the way, although I reserve the right to change my mind. <laughs> In fact, as I'm putting together a solo act, I'm strongly considering adding effects to that - chorus and flange and such, as well as a looping device and drum machine. I just got a set of Bass pedals to use in the solo act as well. For that project, however, there's a lot of room to maneuver; I look at that totally different than the work I do with others.

In the studio, I usually use outboard compression, and occasionally I'll use something else - but that depends on the client. If they want chorus on a track, they'll add it later. It's not my project, so it's not my call. My job in the studio is to give the client what they want - what they feel will give the track the proper foundation. On the Gravedigger Jones pre-production track, we used a subharmonic doubler to make the bass really thick and "ominous" because it fit the tone of the song.

Eden: What's your current rig?

LB: I actually have two that I use regularly. The new Thunder Rig, the big one, is a WT1205 and D610XLT cabinet. This rig replaces my original Eden rig - a WT800 and D410XLT. The Baby Thunder rig has been with me since 1997. That's a WT400 and D210MBW cabinet. I use it for smaller clubs and such, but if I can get away with it, I use the big rig because I'm a headroom junkie. I don't necessarily want to overwhelm a band's stage volume, but I do want to have the headroom available when it's needed.

Eden: Why do you use Eden?

LB: I've had a certain sound in my head ever since I first picked up a bass. It's evolved some over the years, but basically it's been in my head since I started. And I could never get that sound to come out of the speakers or onto tape. Name a brand - everything from SVTs to rack-mounted rigs with lots of effects - and chances are I've owned it, or at least tried it out on-stage. Nothing really gave me what I wanted. But the first time I tried an Eden rig, there it was - the sound I'd heard inside all these years. I bought my Thunder Rig as soon as I could put the money together and I haven't used anything since. Even when I sit in with other bands, I use one of my Edens, no matter what the bassist has. I'm addicted, you know? <laughs>

Eden: What do you like about your Eden rigs?

LB: We don't have enough room to list everything. But here's the thing: I use a lot of different playing techniques, from finger-style to slapping, tapping, guitar-style fingerpicking, strumming, you name it. And I can go from one to the other without having to change a thing on the amp. What that does for me is allow me to concentrate on the music, not my gear. It's very liberating. Other things I really appreciate are their reliability - I've never had an Eden fail on me - and the fact that I can send them in for upgrades when available. I've done the low-noise upgrade [to 2004 specs] on my WT400, and had one done on my WT800 in about 1996, I think.

Eden: What are your amp settings live and in the studio?

LB: Flat, basically. I do dial up a bit of Enhance, but not all that much. I mainly use the tone controls to dial into a room, if necessary. In the studio, I'll run it the same way. Here's the thing: To me, tone starts in the heart and soul. The instruments I use, and my Eden rigs, are tools I use to bring that sound out into the world. I don't want to fiddle with knobs. I want to play bass. Eden allows me to do that. I've told David [Nordschow, Eden's founder and chief engineer] more than once that he designed the most musical EQ system in the business . . . then designed the rest of the amp such that I don't need to use the EQ much at all. <laughs> And I love it that way.

Eden: You've been using the original 5-band EQ set-up for more than a decade. Now you've got a WT1205. What was the transition to the new, streamlined EQ like?

LB: There really wasn't a transition for me. I run the WT1205 flat, too. The only differences are the Enhance control, which was recalibrated to provide more fine-tuning, and the separate Compressor control. I had to find my set point for both of those. That took about ten minutes.

Eden: Was the bass your first instrument?

LB: No, not by a long shot. I started on piano when I was 5 years old, studying with the same teacher that taught my mom many years before. Mrs. Phillips was her name, and she prepared my mom for Julliard, although Mom decided not to attend. That was in San Antonio, Texas. When we moved, we couldn't find a teacher that would let my older sister and I continue at the advanced level we'd achieved, so that kind of fizzled out.

I took up Euphonium [Baritone Horn] in grade school and played through high school. I dabbled in guitar and, later, drums. None of them seemed to fit quite right. But when I discovered the bass at the age of 13, I knew that was the instrument for me.

Eden: Why the bass? LB: Because it rumbled my stomach. <laughs> It thumped. I sat in this little local music store, playing a cheap bass through a guitar amp, and it still sounded like the voice of Spirit. It all came to me in an instant, the role of the bass in a band, the things I could do with it. All of a sudden, I knew what I had to do, what I wanted to be. Eden: Are you self-taught? LB: Yes and no. I took lessons from my sister's guitar teacher for a few months right after my parents got me my first bass. That was 1967, I think. And years later, in about 1981, I studied with Carol Kaye for several months while we were both in Monterey, CA. Those were the only lessons I took. The rest was learning on my own or from other musicians. Eden: What about the guitar teacher? Did he know his stuff?

Lane Live!

LB: He was pretty amazing, actually; he played everything from classical to Hendrix - and played it all very well. He'd been teaching a long time and knew how to break things down for younger players. That summer he taught me the basic Rock & Roll riffs and a few songs. But the main thing he taught me was how to learn from records. After maybe a dozen lessons he said, "that's all I can teach you. Now go join a band." It was kind of shocking that he'd kick me out on my own so quickly, but he was being honest. He was a guitar player, not a bassist. And he'd reached the end of what he know about bass. It was probably the best thing he could have done for me.

Eden: Did you follow his advice and join a band?

LB: Oh, yeah. My first paying gig was less than three months after that - I made ten dollars and got a free dinner. <laughs> Thought I'd hit the big time. When that band broke up - the two brothers that started it got into a fight and stopped speaking to each other - I joined another one right away. Being one of only two bass players in the area helped. <laughs>

Eden: How did you continue your studies of the bass?

LB: I wore out a ton of great records, listening to them over and over again to learn the bass parts. For instance, I went through four or five copies of Goodbye Cream. I also managed to get hold of some of Carol Kaye's early lesson books. The records helped me learn parts for songs, and Carol's material helped me analyze parts to understand what made a good bass line. And, of course, every band was a learning experience. Then, a few years later, everything changed when I saw a documentary on Cream.

Eden: What happened?

LB: Jack Bruce, whom I already idolized because he was the King of Busy, like a lead guitarist down low, talked about his classical training, and paid homage to Bach. I remember the interviewer was a bit shocked by that, and Bruce said, "oh, yeah. Bach is the gov'ner of all bassists." I was floored, but also very intrigued. I immediately set about studying Bach again.

Eden: What do you mean "again" and how did you go about it?

LB: Well, I'd studied Bach back on piano.

Eden: Wait a minute? At age 5? You're kidding, right?

LB: No, I'm not. I told you, Mrs. Phillips was a phenomenal teacher. She worked with my mother her entire young life and helped her pass the Julliard auditions. She was still phenomenal when my sister and I studied with her. I'll never forget our first recital. All the other kids were playing Polka Dot Polka and things like that. Kathye and I did Bach two-part inventions. I remember I also did a Rachmaninoff piece - don't remember which one - but it had tenths in the left hand and I had to learn to rock my hand in such a way that I could play both notes. They weren't simultaneous the way they were written, but they were darn close. So, yeah, we were playing some serious work for young kids.

Eden: OK. So you went back to Bach as a teenager. How did that go?

LB: We still had all those books, plus lots more. My mom had continued on piano, and had added organ. So she had a lot of Bach, in addition to stacks of other stuff. I rummaged through everything and took all the Bach books up to my room. Even though I had two real keyboards in the house - piano and organ - I chose to draw a keyboard on a big piece of cardboard. I sat at my desk with a book in front of me, and that keyboard cartoon, and a bass in my lap. I went through each piece analyzing the melody, chord structure, counterpoint and bass line. Everything. I looked at how it all interrelated, how it all fit and worked together.

I did this from the time I got up until the time I went to bed for more than two months. I was so focused on it that my mom forced me to come down to dinner and spend a half hour with the family. Otherwise, I wouldn't have seen anyone at all that one summer.

Eden: You spent the whole summer doing that? What about hanging out with friends? Going swimming? All the things a normal kid does?

LB: <laughs> I wasn't a normal kid. Look at these eyes. You think I was good at sports? Man, think again. <laughs> I was the goofy-eyed kid that everyone made fun of. I didn't have many friends to speak of, mostly acquaintances, you know? And, besides, music was my best friend. When I was sad, or lonely, or bored…it was music that cheered me up. So it was "normal" for me to spend most of my time studying music anyway. I'd wake up, go downstairs and make a thermos of coffee, get some toast or something, and go right back up to my room. I'd study until dinner, fidget through my required half-hour and bolt back upstairs to study until I feel asleep. A lot of times, I just laid my head on the desk and slept there.

Eden: Did it do any good? The studying I mean.

LB: Oh, yeah!! A week before school stared again, I called all my musician friends and started going to jam sessions. They were blown away! All of a sudden, I had more focus and more melodic content to my lines. It was a real transformation. <laughs> Of course, I don't recommend that course of study to my students or anyone else, but it worked for me.

Eden: Who were your other early influnces?

LB: Anybody that was on a record I heard. <laughs> Seriously. Of course, I can rattle off all the big names of the time - Carol Kaye, Paul McCartney, Chris Squire, Greg Lake, Noel Redding, John Paul Jones, John Entwhistle. But then there were all these other players on all kinds of different music, and I learned from all of them.

Eden: What about your time with Carol Kaye?

LB: I was in the Navy, and back in Monterey [California] for the second time, studying at the Defense Language Institute. I was friends with one of the salesman at the local music store. He called me one afternoon and said "Get down here right now!" When I asked why, he just told me to hurry up and hung up the phone. When I got there he stuck a bass in my hands and said "First door on the right," and pushed me along. I go in the first practice room and there sits Carol. I almost fainted.

It took a minute to find my voice and say hello. It turned out that she was auditioning for students. I felt like I really fumbled through the process but she took me on anyway. And those lessons were just such a gift, you know?

Eden: In what way?

LB: Carol is an amazing technician. I think that's one of the reasons she can play so many styles with authority. I mean, she can just play anything she wants - on bass and guitar. She taught me a lot about hand position and the proper way to fret notes. I'm very lucky to have had that time with her. I'm slowly losing brightness in my world, it's some weird degenerative thing with my eyes. So learning the neck the way she taught me helped me be able to make significant moves up and down the neck without having to look. She really cleaned up my left and right hand techniques.

She also taught me a lot about crafting unique bass lines. It's funny. Looking back on her career, students sometimes think she's just playing stock riffs. Well, in a sense she is. But she wrote them! All those lines you hear on the hits in the 60s and early 70s - she's the one that wrote the book on that style. Then there's all the work she did for TV and movies. And, of course, all the stuff she did for Motown when they started moving out to LA.

Eden: What advice would you give younger players?

LB: Well, the same stuff I've been telling students for years: Practice makes perfect. If you want to play this - or any - instrument, you've got to put in your time. Most people can't pick a bass up and suddenly be soloing, you know? Learn your scales, learn about chord progressions. Listen to everything you can get your hands on, no matter what style. And play with others. Even if you just want to play for fun with your friends, you're not going to get very far if you don't start playing with others.

Don't worry too much about gear in the beginning because it all starts inside you. Of course you want a decent bass and amp (like a Nemesis, hint, hint), but you don't need a bunch of effects and such. Listen to your heart, it knows. And keep an open mind as far as styles go. It's all worth listening to.

Eden: What's your philosphy of bass, it's role in music?

LB: That depends on the music I'm playing. For the most part, though, I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy. I do like to spice it up, make the part my own, but you can do that in any number of ways and still focus totally on the pocket, on propelling the song and making it come alive without getting in anyone else's way. The bass's role is to provide the hub of the wheel . . . to bring the rhythm and the melodic sides together. You've got to coordinate your part with the drummer to create the foundation for the song. At the same time, you need to help create the harmonic content as well. As I said, the bass is the hub of the wheel, and everyone else is a spoke. The bass is where it all comes together. So, if the bassist is self-centered - that is, more interested in sounding cool to himself (or herself) and to other bassists than in providing the foundation for the band, the music is confused, not focused as it should be.

Man! If you want to stand out front, either take up guitar or be the lead singer. There's a ton of bass players fronting bands. Doens't mean they play tons of flash on the bass. Listen to Sting. His lines are incredible. Very simple yet extremely interesting. That's very, very cool in my book. I think the greatest compliment I ever got was when my friend and long-time producer Peter Bonta told a potential client that my lines were "deceptively simple". Yeah, they're simple, but not boring.

Eden: But even with blues bands, you solo a few times every night. How does that fit into your philosophy?

LB: Different thing when you're soloing. When you're playing with a guitar-bass-drums trio, it can be very cool to give the guitarist a break, or give the audience a different solo voice to listen to. So, yeah, I'll solo. But even then, it's all about serving the song. I don't break out into a bunch machine gun triplets or some three-handed tapping thing. I don't drop in to a minor second Fridgedarian mode when we're playing in a blues pentatonic feel. I play a solo that fits the tune. And when I'm done, I drop right back in the pocket where I belong.

Now, I've got to say that I have great respect for top-notch solo bassists. Roy Vogt, whom I've known since before either of us played Eden, is a great example. The cat can do things that just drop my jaw. I mean, he's all over those seven strings he uses amd he's very well-versed in theory and such. The thing is, he does that stuff as a soloist in front of a rhythm track. Someone else is filling the bottom end and he's the soloist, ok? But when he's playing BASS, he grooves as if his very life depends on it. Victor Wooten is another good example. Solo chops to die for, but he's also got a pocket a mile deep.

When I'm leading my own projects, part of the appeal is the fact that we approach things with an almost "Jazz" mentality. We'll push each other into unexplored territory. One of the things I still love about Cream is that they played Blues with Rock intensity and a Jazz mindset. And I love to do that with my own bands. In that case, I'll really stretch out in the solo sections, but I still keep my focus on providing the foundation for the music. The listener still has to know what's going on, you know? And this kind of "space jam" mentality only works if everyone involved has really big ears, if they pay attention to what the other musicians are doing. If not, it's just a train wreck waiting to happen.

Eden: You've played with a lot of different bands over the years. Can you name a favorite?

LB: Well, my favorite really is to lead my own band, because I get to play my own music. I love to tell stories in song and I have this strong urge to tell those stories to an audience. I also really enjoy giving other musicians the space to be themselves. I work very hard to not tell someone how to play their part, to let them interpret the song through their own experiences. I remember bringing a new guitarist in once. We sat down at my dining room table for our one and only "rehearsal" and I had all these chord charts. For the first tune, he asked how it was supposed to go. I told him I wasn't sure, but I'd let him know after he'd played it for me. <laughs> You should've seen the look on his face. It was classic.

Beyond that, there were a trio of guitarists in DC that I worked with when I was first turning pro: Linwood Taylor, Cesar Diaz and Joe Harris. I met Linwood when he joined a power-pop act I was in, but he's a Blues guitarist with a ton of soul. He's the one who brought me into the Blues scene. Cesar was working with him at the time; they had kind of a two-fisted approach going on - two monster guitarists sharing the stage. When Cesar moved up to the Poconos, Joe Harris stepped in and he was just as awesome. I still look back to those years with love. I learned so much working with those three. In fact, it's where I learned the whole "Blues with an Attitude" thing. Joe followed his father's footsteps and became a dentist. Cesar passed away a few years back and we all miss him dearly. Linwood is still out there doing it - and doing it well, I might add. In addition to his own thing, he's playing with James Mabry, another guitarist who mentored me years after I worked with Linwood. James' bassist is now Jay Turner, another Eden endorser, by the way.

Then there's the drummers who schooled me: Adolph Wright, Andy Haley, both of whom worked in DC. And this young cat, Bones, out in Colorado. Bones and I learned a lot from each other, and we had a blast. To me, the coolest thing in the world is to work with a drummer who's solid as a rock and yet brings a lot of interest to the music. The last interview I did was with Johnny Castle of the Nighthawks. I've had the pleasure of recording with the 'Hawks' drummer, Pete Ragusa. Holy low notes! That guy is just a monster. Those sessions were just a blast. If you haven't heard the Nighthawks, you're missing out. They have one of the best rhythm sections out there, a real treat to listen to.

Eden: How did you get the gig as Eden's Special Project Coordinator?

LB: I begged. <laughs> I've known David for more than a decade. I was so high on Eden gear that I told everyone that would listen, and some that didn't! After several years of that, he and Judy [David's wife and, at the time, the Aritst Relations department] offered me an endorsement deal. After several years, David and I started talking about doing some side projects for them, things where I could use my writing skills to help out here and there. Then, shortly after we kicked off the forum, David asked me if I'd be interested in moderating for them. I jumped at the chance. That was in November of last year [2004]. Shortly after that, we started talking about different writing projects and such. In February [2005], David brought me up to Mundelein to meet some of the US Music folks face-to-face. A couple of weeks later, David talked COO Garry Gryzcan into binging me on-board full-time. And here I am.

Eden: Special Projects Coordinator is a pretty nebulous title. What's it involve?

LB: About sixty-'leven hours a week! <laughs> David and I both thought of the title - seperately, but at the same time. David reads Clive Cussler a lot. One of his main characters over numerous books is (I think) Dirk Pitt, this super-secret agent guy who takes on these impossible missions. Sort of an American James Bond. He carries the SPC title. I came up with the same idea, mainly because I was trying to think of something that would cover everything I was tasked to do. Unofficially, the "full" title is Special Projects Coordinator (Many Other Functions). That last part comes from Stephen King's Dark Tower series. In the fifth book, there's a robot that had that parenthetical appendix to his model designation. Since I do so many different things, I thought it was appropriate. Basically, I do whatever David asks me to do.

Eden: And what does that include?

LB: Well, as I said, I moderate the forum, which takes about 15 hours a week or so. I also monitor some other fourms and a Usenet News Group . . . that's another few hours. Then I coordinate all the content for the web site and get it to Bill [Henshell] our web guru. If I don't write it myself, I edit what others contribute. That can take anywhere from ten to twenty hours a week, depending on what we're going to load on any given week. So, right there, I'm over thirty hours a week.

In addition, I've been working with David redoing all of the Owner's Manuals, which has been a long project. It's almost done; we have two more to complete and then some editing on a few of them. As we worked through the project, we refined our "voice" and we want to go back and massage some of the earlier manuals. I'm also part of the Product Development Team, which is a group of endorsers and a few others who test out new products and make suggestions for adjustments, extra features, things like that.

Lane at a donation for the Eden in the Schools program.

Let's see . . . what else? I work with our Emerging Artist Endorsers, under the guidance of John Vitale, our Artist Relations Director. And I'll be overseeing the Hometown Hero program when we get it up and running. I worked with David to develop our Dealer Training program and travel around the country working with our salespeople. There's still a lot more we want to do with that. I help out with some of our marketing stuff, working with Kevin Lello, our Marketing Director, and Steve Jablonoski, our Art Director. About once a month, I come up to Mundelein to test all of the Nemesis Silver Series amplifiers. The first few times, I did it all on my own - with the help of a warehouse crew to unpack and repack the boxes. Now I've got Jeff Carslon, whom I met on the forum, helping out. I coordinated the Desktop Wallpaper Contest and am working with David on the Anniversary Bash for next year. And I've started working with Bill on ideas for a redesign of the web site. I also oversee our Eden in the Schools program, which is how we donate amps to schools that need them for their Jazz Band. And I can't remember everything else. A little of this, some of that, and some other projects over there. <laughs>

Eden: Wow, that's an awful lot to do. Do you have a life outside of Eden?

LB: <laughs> Well, yeah, actually I do. Now that I'm getting settled into East-Central Illinois, I'm starting to play out again. I've been freelancing with a few different acts, including Bluzilla, which is led by Paul Buschbacher, one of our Inside Sales reps. Paul was with Li'l Ed and the Blues Imperials for several years and is now doing his own thing. His bassist, Bernard Reed, gets some fat-money tours several times a year, and Paul has me sub for him. That's a big pair of shoes to fill; Bernard's a Motown legend. But Paul puts up with me anyway. <laughs>

I also continue to do some consulting, writing for clients and doing web sites. I just started work on a site for Johnny Castle as a matter of fact. In addition, I do some reporting for my local newspaper when I can fit it in, and try to get some entries up on my blog, which is tied to one of my web sites . . . the one where I host my poetry, song lyrics and essays on positive living.

Finally, and most importantly, I spend as much time as I can with my best friend and her daughters. I love my work, but the most important part of my life is still my private life, you know?

Eden: Do you sleep?

LB: <laughs> Not much. John the Barbarian, another one of our endorsers, is always on me about taking time to have a life, and a nap! It's becoming a running gag between us. The thing is, I work out of my home, which allows me to work whenever I want to. Sure, I'm at the desk during normal business hours, but I can also work any other time I want. So, if I wake up at five in the morning, I turn on the computer and start going through email while I'm brewing coffee. If I come home at night and I'm not tired, I can work for a few hours.

I also spend a few hours on Saturdays and Sundays going through the fourm and, if I have time, catching up on email and other things I didn't get done the previous week. Depending on what else is going on, I might get eight or ten hours in before I even get to Monday. And now that I've got a laptop, I can work from anywhere. So, sometimes, I'll go over to my friend's house and work there, just to be in the same vicinity while they're all doing their things.

What it comes down to is this: I really believe in David and what Eden is doing. I have since I first learned about the company. As a bassist, I'm probably the most dedicated endorser the company has. I'm extremely loyal to Eden, as other companies have learned. <laughs> As a consultant, I'm very focused on helping companies be the best they can be and achieve their goals. So, for me, this was a natural progression . . . to combine my three careers - music, consulting and writing - into a single activity.

Eden: What's it like working for Eden?

LB: It's great. Seriously. David and I have been friends for years, and I have a lot of respect for him. He's also a lot of fun to work with. And the thing is, no matter how many hours I put in, chances are he's put in more. So I don't feel as if I'm being flogged, you know? Plus, he gives me all the dog biscuits I can eat. <laughs> He also gives me room to do things my own way, as long as I fit the need and meet my deadlines.

A perfect example is the Owners Manual project. There'd been a little talk on the forum during the earliest stages of that. Folks said they wanted to read something that wasn't totally dry. Well, I hate to write dry stuff; I like to make things fun to read. So I talked to David about it and he agreed immediately. So I got to have a lot of fun with that. We stuck a lot of humor in the manuals. I mean, we've even got a paragraph on the Magic Smoke! <laughs> That's just so cool! The same goes for a lot of what I write; I get a lot of leeway as far as style goes. David checks me on the technical stuff, and makes sure I cover everything. But he very seldom pulls me back from how I present it. I can count the times on one hand without the thumb. The only time I'm really pinned in is when I write press releases, which have to follow a certain style. But that's cool . . . it's not like I spend all that much time on that style of writing in this job.

The other thing I love about it is the variety. I'm easily amused, but also easily bored. If I had to do the same thing day after day, I'd probably go nuts. So having all these responsibilites keeps me engaged.

Eden: What's your favorite part of the job? LB: Well, I don't really have a single favorite part. I know it sounds kind of corny, but I derive an immense amount of satisfaction from what I do. I feel like I'm helping the company achieve its goals while I'm helping our community of users achieve theirs. What's not to love, you know? <laughs> As for the "best" parts: I really enjoy the forum, and working with our artists - not just the emergers, but also the endorsers I interview for the web site. I've gotten to know a lot a great people that way. I like traveling to meet the folks selling our gear for the same reason. The writing I do is a lot of fun, no matter what I'm working on. And, of course, I get to play with all the new toys before just about anyone else. That's totally cool. Here's the thing: Over the years, as I built my music career, I also built a business consulting thing, doing a lot of marketing and sales consulting and training. At the same time, I was developing a writing career. Now I get to bring all of those interests and skills to bear on a single endeavor. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to provide for myself doing the things that I love most. And to be able to do all of them at once is as close to perfect as I'll ever get, I think.

Lane and Eden's first endorser, Al Turner.

Eden: What have you got coming up in 2006?

LB: Well, let's see. We've got some new products we're working on for 2006, so we have to get those done and ready to build. And, of course, that means more manuals to write. Then there's the NAMM show in January. I'll be out in Anaheim before, during and after the show. We're going to expand our Dealer Training program to include some pretty interesting interactive stuff. And I'll be doing even more traveling to work with the dealers. We're also looking at doing some "meet and greet" events for users in conjunction with that, so I'll have a chance to meet Eden users around the country, and potential new users.

Then there's the Anniversary celebration sometime in the Fall. There's a lot of prep to do for that. And we're looking at doing another contest for our users. And I'll continue to do all the other things we talked about earlier. I'm sure I'll keep busy. <laughs>

Eden: What comes after Eden?

LB: What "after"? Have you heard something I haven't? I've got no plans to go anywhere for a LONG time. Should I make some?

Eden: Well, no, I don't think so. But what does the future hold for you?

LB: If I have my way, I'll have a new CD out next year. And I'll continue my writing with the hopes of publishing a book or two of my own. And, of course, I'll continue to do everything I can to help David achieve his goal of global domination. Nothing too ambitious, really. <laughs> And, most important of all, I'll look to continue building a new life here in Illinois.

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