From Blockbuster (TM) to Blockbuster

To find his muse, Kellin Manning of Boomkat didn't go to Genoa to borrow an instrument that belonged to Paganini [see June, 2003, Vibrations story about Regina Carter]. He went to his local video store and rented "MTV Music Generator" for his Sony PlayStation video game platform.

The Music Generator software, which has been on the market since 2000, allows users to combine and shape pre-recorded sound files into more complex compositions. Manning's wild night of PlayStation play three years ago, in which he added some beats sampled from other CDs, evolved into the music of "boomkatalog one," which he recorded with his sister Taryn.

According to the June, 2003 issue of Wired magazine, Manning now uses an Apple PowerBook for most of his creative work. But he thanked Sony in the liner notes of his first recording, adding, "Kids, don't let your mom tell you that video games will get you nowhere in life."

Learn more about Boomkat at their web site and at MTV's site

Read reviews of the MTV Music Generator program at Neoseeker and Video Game Review

Read the complete WIRED feature

You can find "boomkatalog one" at Amazon.com, where you can read reviews of the disc as well as customer comments