ION INDIE MAGAZINE March 2015, Volume 10 | Page 96

ION: You live the Rock ‘n’ roll dream and played on hundreds of stages all over the
world… where is your favorite place to play?
AK: God that's a tough one! I would have to say opening for THE ROLLING STONES for
15 dates when I was in THE SPIN DOCTORS…that’s DEFINITLY at the top of the list for
me--Rio De Janeiro, in front of 120 thousand people was about as high of a natural high
you can get without using drugs!!! (laughs).
Also, getting to hang with, socialize and party a bit with KEITH (RICHARDS) and RONNIE
(WOOD) was pretty surreal being musical idols to me as a kid. NOEL REDDING was a
dear friend of mine also. We played in Prague in the Czech Republic, which was also an
amazing gig playing with JIMI HENDRIX’S bassist!
ION: You own SONICE BOOM STUDIOS in Raritan. Tell us about some of the services you
offer.
AK: My studio offers state of the art digital and analog--the best of both worlds. Also, a
ton of great and eclectic vintage gear and boutique gear that is very musical. The studio
also has a very relaxed atmosphere, more like a living room vibe instead of a sterile
bright room, Being recorded is not a natural thing for singer and musicians, so the warmer
the vibe, the better performance I believe I also enjoy and have a very strong passion for
working with new artists and or bands…Writing and creating a great song and
producing it up...
ION: Do you feel digital music has hurt the record industry?
AK: Yes and no. Yes, because record sales and royalties are effected big time. Writers
and artist deserve to be paid what they're worth. No, because it enables the artist to
reach a large mass of people. The social media avenues allow musicians to reach fans
they could never reach without the big machine, meaning major labels.
ION: Are you working on any new music? When can we expect to hear some?
AK: Yes, I’m almost nished with my record, which should be nished by the spring. I also
have a few singles coming out in the spring with some major label artists—TIM HICKS on
UNIVERSAL Canada, and PAULINI, who won AUSTRALIAN IDOL a few years ago, also on
DECCA UNIVERSAL...