MIDLAND PARK, NJ — Performing three or even four times a day to promote their debut album, Fashionably Late, released on the Jonas Brothers’ label through Hollywood Records, Honor Society might just be one of the hardest-working bands in show business.
Currently playing an arena tour with the Jonas Brothers and headlining their own Full Moon Crazy tour of club venues, they additionally slot television, movie theater and impromptu performances into their itinerary.
To ensure consistent sound wherever they play, Honor Society is traveling with Sennheiser evolution wireless and wired microphones as well as wireless personal monitoring systems.
“We put together a nice rack of 16 evolution wireless 500 series transmitters and receivers for our club shows,” said Peter Wildermuth, monitor engineer/production manager for Honor Society. “That’s more than we need, but when we have guest appearances we’ve got the flexibility to cover them. Everybody else is on wired e 835s.” The arena tour production sound company, Clair Brothers, provides wireless SKM 935 G2 vocal mics for the band, he added.
Wildermuth said that he and FOH engineer/tour manager Gregory “G” Wright typically set up two SKM 935 wireless handheld mics for the Full Moon Crazy tour club shows, which also serve as the after-party for the Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009.
“But we have about eight spare SKM 935 wireless handheld vocal mics for those occasions when we have guests,” Wildermuth added. It’s not unusual for the Jonas Brothers or Jordin Sparks to perform with Honor Society at the club shows, which are typically at a House of Blues or Fillmore venue in the same city as that night’s arena show.
In addition, the band’s two guitarists and bass player utilize four evolution wireless 500 series instrument belt-pack transmitters. “I haven’t had any problems with any of the wireless guitars or basses, especially with the club shows,” Wildermuth said. “A big part of that is the Sennheiser A 5000-CP circularly polarized antennas. You put those up, aim them straight down and the band can just move all around.”
All four Honor Society band members — Michael Bruno (lead vocals, guitar), Jason Rosen (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Andrew Lee (vocals, bass) and Alexander Noyes (drums) — are on G2 personal monitoring systems.
“We have two separate sets of EK 300 receivers and SR 350 transmitters for the arenas and for the clubs. The band has four separate stereo mixes and then we’ve got a pack for our guitar/drum tech and I’ve got a mix,” Wildermuth said. “The guys have been really happy with the personal monitors and with the way they’ve been performing.”
Honor Society acquired a drum mic package to use on their club shows. “We’re using e 604s on the snare, top and bottom, and on toms, and e 614s on the hi-hat and two overheads,” said Wildermuth. Wright noted that “we mic the overheads from underneath. It keeps it cleaner and it doesn’t pick up the overall stage.”
With a debut album to promote in addition to songs on the soundtracks of two new movies — The Wizards of Waverly Place (also released as an album on Walt Disney Records) and Bandslam (released on a Hollywood Records album) — Honor Society are certainly staying busy.
“The band literally comes offstage at the Jonas Brothers arena shows and rolls right to the club venue,” said Wright. “We’ve done a bunch of TV around the country, we’re setting up a portable P.A. in a parking lot and playing outside the bus to a group of fans, and they’re also doing Bandslam performances in movie theaters. There was one 20 day in Washington, D.C. when we did four separate performances.”
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