You don’t need to be a Beatles fan to known the name of the late John Lennon, who remains one of rock’s greatest icons. His legacy might remain in his music, but at the Consumer Electronics Show a new facet of that music was introduced as his widow, Yoko Ono, launched the new, non-profit, sate-of-the-art John Lennon Educational Tour Bus. Along with pop stars Natasha Bedingfield, Pat Monaham, and will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas (who recorded one of their singles onthe bus), she showed off the new, second version of the bus. It will do exactly what its predecessor did, touring and offering workshops in which young people create an original composition,record their song and produce a broadcast quality music video in a single day. The new bus boasts two studios which, each with a high-end Apple Mac Pro loaded with Ableton Live, Logic Studio,Final Cut Studio and Sibelius music notation software, supplemented by an Apple XServe and XRAID system which facilitates high-bandwidth HD multimedia production and storage. Video productionis among the programs offered, using Sony HD video solutions, Mackie 5.1 surround sound monitor systems and Apogee’s high-definition digital audio converters. The bus will go to high schools,colleges, and tour with artists. Its schedule can be found at www.lennonbus.org.
