Exit, a one man project from singer-songwriter, Ben Londa, blends something close to the Legendary Pink Dots with downtempo rhythms and new wave guitar work. Londa, a recent transplant to New York City, has played and recorded mostly in Austin, Texas. On the band's debut recording, "The Way Out Is Through" and on stage Londa has, learned some lessons on setting up for a one man project. There are challenges in going it alone--not the least of which is that if you suck you cannot blame it on the drummer. Practicing your instrument with your complete live set up is a must. Just strumming away on the guitar will not do it.

"You are going to have a ton of kinks to work out before you can take it to a stage," says Londa." Don't rush, and talk to like-minded folks about their trials and errors and learn from them. Make it easy on yourself and pare down. The Line 6 POD is a great way to omit the bulk of amplifiers from your stage set-up. I rarely have to make any more than two trips to the car to get everything, and I have my set-up time down to about 10 minutes, which makes the soundman quite happy. Playing at a small club means you are probably playing with a multitude of bands - the quicker you can set up and tear down, the more liked you will be!"

Londa says that vocals have always been a problem for him live.

"I sing fairly quietly and soundmen are always fighting to keep the mic from feeding back but still make the vocals loud enough to not get lost in the mix. There have been a couple situations where it was a new soundman working with me and it just wasn't happening. My only option was to practically scream the words - so I guess you can say I didn't cope with it well, " says Londa "If at all possible, have your own soundman who knows your music well. This will always save your life on stage."

When it comes to the studio, Londa says to spend time experimenting and learning. Do not rush music out until you are truly happy with the results. With technology advancing as fast as it is you will always have new things to learn. Keeping up to date is huge for a band with one member. But there is more to it than just technology and gadgetry.

"My first record was recorded in 1995 on a Tascam four track, so yes I have learned quite a bit since then," says Londa. "As far as my most recent record, it was the first record I have made that I can still listen to! I did a lot of things differently on this one than on any others previously. The key is to make sure that the songs you are presenting aren't just studio wizardry - that they are good songs before anything else. Work really hard on your songwriting. It doesn't matter how many gadgets or effects or applications you have in the studio, if the songs aren't strong, they won't help."

Londa also keeps it simple on himself by using similar set ups live and in the studio. This can be a positively deadly combination if you do it without the practice mentioned earlier. Studio gear haphazardly tossed together on the stage have a tendency to work poorly in a live setting. Practice with your whole set up as if you are in front of an audience.

"Live, as I am a one-man band, I run backing tracks through a Sony Vaio laptop running a M-Audio firewire soundcard. An Ibanez electric and Ovation acoustic guitar are run through a Line6 POD-XT," says Londa. "In the studio, I make heavy use of the POD. I use a Roland XP-80 for keyboards. I record to a Sony Vaio desktop using an Aardvark 24/96 sound card and Sonar. Other various software applications are used for sound editing, beat and texture making, etc."

Londa says that if he has a single "secret weapon" it is the POD.

"I can't give this equipment enough props. Tons of preset amplifiers from all sorts of time periods, tons of effects - and everything is fully customizable. Built-in tuner. I love it." he says.

The Exit record was recorded direct through the Aardvark 24/96 Direct Pro, to Sonar on a Sony Vaio desktop. As Londa noted he heavily used the Line 6 POD for electric guitars but he also uses a DigiTech RP12 for some acoustic and vocal effects.

"I used a lot of Direct-X and VST plug-ins for outboard effects on guitars and vocals, as well. Sound Forge was my tool for sound editing after recording," he says "Acid 6.0 helped a bit with some looping. Roland XP-80 for keyboards and a couple small beat-making applications helped as well. Hammerhead is a great little drum machine - and it's free."

Londa plans to play in and around New York City soon.