what's the cheapest way to record a band on an ibook? Options

[onomotapoeia]

ok so i've got a band and pretty soon i'm gonna get some money for some work i did on some independent movie and i want to buy an ibook. the question is, what do i need to do multi-track recording on the laptop. currently i'm doing all my demos on an analog four track tape deck and i would like to go digital. i don't need a lot, just something that will give me 8 tracks. i need info on software, hardware (mixers etc...), and anything else i might need. thanks for any info.

also you can listen to some of my stuff here
http://www.mrfusion.net

[kaboombahchuck]

[robinsky]

MOTU 828 with AuioDesk or DigitalPerformer. Firewireconnections. Superb quality!

[Rogier Hemmes]

I did some recordings lately with a band of mine: I use an iBook together with a US-428, which only has 4 inputs. I borrowed a 4 track MD4track and linked it with Midi-clock. Later on I re-recorded the MD4track back to Cubase, still using the Midi-clock, so I could mix the stuff only using the softwareprogram. Works just fine.

Cheapest way, is to make a good bandsound, mike it up, make some testrecordings to make sure you have a good balance. Then record your band on a stereotrack in Cubase, Logic etc. . Make a couple of recordings and later on you can fit the best parts together if you want, cause you're still using one 'bandsound'.

[Presto]

Even cheaper - record with just 2 inputs on the Mbox/ProTools then playback and at the same time record two more, then.... up to 24 audio tracks.
I was in a choir recording with Nana Mouskouri and we never saw the orchestra. They recorded the same phrase a few times, chose the two best, then stuck them together before going on to the next phrase. We never sung the whole song and there were only a few of us - sounds like a massive choir.
Nana gave me a sweetie!! (in French that's bonbon but I don't know what you call it in the US)