V.J. performing 'Delayed to Rest' at a lecture-recital on Interactive Music (2017)

In 2010, I began playing in a classic and prog-rock cover band called Second Contact , where I routinely alternate between playing a variety of instruments including a multiple keyboard-controller rig (which includes a keytar ), electric guitar, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, and nylon string guitar. Second Contact, as a project, focuses on authentically recreating well-known 70s and 80s studio-recorded songs in a live context . It is different from other groups in which I've played; the rehearsals are more social and involve a great deal of critical listening, technical discussions about dividing parts, cooking/eating, quoting Seinfeld, and many rants about which songs we should incorporate into our set.

In addition to playing instruments like guitar and keyboard, I also develop and perform technology-based musical instruments and interactive music systems . Sometimes, I compose electroacoustic pieces where I perform a traditional instrument that interacts with some new technology that I've written. Sometimes, I compose algorithmic pieces where the technology is the only instrument performed.

V.J.'s live performance rig overview (2018)

I love exploring new instruments, effects, and approaches to musicianship. I am the founding director of two research labs: the Interactive Music Systems Lab (IMSLab) and the Electric Guitar Innovation Lab (EGIL); both of these labs afford me the opportunity to work with talented musicians, engineers, programmers, and researchers toward this end. While I am certainly focused on the tools that I prefer to use in my own compositions and performances, I also regularly work with artists and instrument-makers from the profession, which informs my sense of the tools and experience that are meaningful to my fellow musicians. As both a musician and a technologist, I am pleased to be part of the centuries-old tradition of exploring the convergence of music and technology.