RiffRumble VIII

Contestants' Choice Category Winner

Doug Metzger received the most votes from the RiffRumble VIII competitors for his song "Butcher from the Black Sea". This is Doug's first RiffRumble win. He wins the IK Multimedia StompIO™ USB Floor Controller and Audio Interface, AmpliTube® Jimi Hendrix™, a one year subscription to Recording Magazine and 2 RiffWorks InstantDrummer Sessions. Doug had this to say in response to our barrage of questions:

"I live in a small town in northern Indiana and have been playing guitar on and off for about 20 years. Up until I got RiffWorks it was mostly off. When I wanted to try to rekindle the fire and get some ideas down, I got RW and I haven't put my guitar down since. I was in a band back in the early 90's but I really don't like being on stage. I prefer to sit at home and play for my kids. Oddly enough, they kind of like it."

"For "Butcher from the Black Sea", I had the title already: Metzger is German for "Butcher" and Douglas means "from the black sea" or "of the dark water" so I went with that. I wanted to put something to that title, and one day I was messing around with the delay settings in RiffWorks and came up with something that I liked. Also I have always wanted to use orchestral strings and horns in a song and this one was just haunting enough that I thought it could pull it off. I am really happy with the way it came out. Brand Nu Metal II was just the right drummer for it. My setup is quite simple. I used an OLP MM1 guitar that I have modified slightly. I also used a Line 6 GuitarPort. The Amp model that I used was the Line 6 Big Bottom - from there it was straight to RiffWorks. There was also a little keyboard on it for the string and horn sections."

"I've had RiffWorks for a year and a half and it is the best investment I have ever made. It inspired me to pick up the guitar again and try to write some tunes. I was considering giving up the guitar until this came along. Now the callouses on my fingers have never been bigger! I want to give a "Shout" to the fine people at Sonoma Wire Works for putting out such a wonderful product. RiffWorks is simply amazing. Riffcaster, Rifflink, the great people I have met because of this program are amazing. I just wish RiffWorks would have been around 20 years ago."

"I have been feverishly trying to write more songs. Ultimately I would like to get enough done to comprise a CD just so I can say that I did it. Writing is very difficult for me, but when the moment comes that something actually turns out well, RiffWorks is right there to capture it for me."

Popular Category Winner

Bill Coulten received the most votes from the public in RiffRumble VIII for his song "To See Another Day". This is Bill's second RiffRumble win. He wins AmpliTube® Jimi Hendrix™, a one year subscription to Recording Magazine and 2 RiffWorks InstantDrummer Sessions. He decided to give his AmpliTube prize to Tim, the runner up to the Taylor's Choice Category. Bill had this to say:

"I live in New Jersey and have been playing guitar for about 24 years. I've played on stage in all the big places in NYC, Philly, and all of New Jersey."

"The inspiration for this song came from when my mother-in-law had a major heart attack in the hospital and actually coded (died). The awesome Dr's there brought her back. She is now back to normal (God Bless) So, I wrote this song about her life. Now because of those Dr's she can "See Another Day"."

"For this song I used a Master Built Fender, RiffWorks and a Line 6 TonePort. I have been using RiffWorks from the beginning! Since Line 6 first started distributing it. I love it. It's kewl watching this thing grow!