How to play samples w/ MPC49 pads?

I have backing tracks - synths/vocals/etc. - as .wav/mp3 files that I want to trigger live using my MPC49's pads. How can I do this?

you wont find an answer with no details mentioned...

first of all, i'm assuming you are talking about the MPK49.. am I right? Second of all, I'm assuming you are talking about cubase 1.0 running on a 1989 atari ST.. or are we talking about a playlist of mp3 and wav files in itunes running on snow leopard? (IE: what daw are you using?)

Sorry for being vague. Yeah, it's an MPK49. The DAWs I have are GarageBand and Logic. What my live band has been doing is just playing to an MP3 of the backing music; however, as you can imagine, this leads to problems with sound guys who don't crank the volume, etc.

So if I hit the backing stuff live I have more control over volume. But what do I need to ensure they're hit at the proper times?

oh, im not sure... once you have the mpk rigged to the computer... and it's configured correctly in the daw's options screen..... and you have the keys/pads/etc mapped properly to the parameters you require... then I guess it's practicing your timing? or is there a problem somewhere?