For Morgan Page, computer a creative outlet, moneymaker

Musician Morgan Page recently installed an $8,000 software card into his computer, allowing him to record and mix more vocals on his Pro Tools software setup.

“The card is more expensive than the computer,” says Page, who DJs Friday at Surrender nightclub.

So that installation was as stressful as watching “Homeland.”

“It’s like defusing a bomb,” he jokes.

“Whenever I’m upgrading the studio — or taking hard drives out or doing nerdy things like that — it’s nerve-racking,” Page says.

“It never works the way the manual says it’s going to work. Even with really easy-to-use Macs, you’re reading the manual going, ‘This is wrong, you don’t put the card in like this.’ ”

(For the record, that $8,000 card is an Avid HDX for Pro Tools, an upgrade of five times more power and 256 vocals.)

But Page’s computer is his livelihood, so the money and anxiety are worth it. By writing and producing songs on instruments and computers, he has been nominated for a Grammy, and written or remixed the hits “Body Work,” “Fight For You,” “The Longest Road” and “In the Air,” plus his next single “Your Love” (which samples the Outfield’s 1986 hit that goes, “Josie’s on a vacation far away.”)

Also, Morgan uses his computer gear to create his “In the Air” radio show on SiriusXM’s channel BPM, which he uploads for free on Morgan-Page.com.

Technology is not always his friend. For instance, computers are not waterproof.

One time, he was playing a gig (not in Vegas) when the air conditioning broke — submersing his mixers under 4 inches of water.

“The DJ booth was filling up with water, and then it short-circuited and just went, ‘wshaaa,’ 20 minutes into my set.”

And he dealt with another disaster at a different gig.

“My laptop crashed because the table wasn’t screwed down properly and the computer was vibrating too much.”

That computer-crashing moment occurred at “one of the biggest” music gigs in the world. He won’t tell me where, except to say it wasn’t in Nevada.

Page says tech disasters are rare.

“I went six years of DJing without having any issues,” he says.

But now, he’s even getting techie with his car. He drives a top-notch electric, the Tesla Model S.

Page is trying to convince Vegas hotels to install chargers or superchargers.

“I think eventually they’re going to do it,” Page says.

Earlier this year, Page took a trip from his home in California to Vegas and back. Along the way, he powered his car the same way most electric-car drivers do.

“I charged with these superchargers. There’s one in Barstow. And I hit Coyote going 80 mph on the way back. It was a very interesting road trip. I’m glad I didn’t destroy the car.

“But when you drive (to Vegas), there aren’t many places to charge. The infrastructure is not in Vegas.”

So dear hotels, please listen to tech head Morgan Page, and upgrade your electric-car stations for him and other electric VIPs coming to Vegas, because this is the situation at present:

“When you pull into one hotel, they plug it into a wall outlet.”

Doug Elfman’s column appears on Page 3A in the main section on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He also writes for Neon on Fridays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.