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Road Dogs and Studio Cats

Road Dogs and Studio Cats

I was sitting in Nashville airport one day in July, waiting for weather to clear at LaGuardia. My gate shared a seating area with the adjacent gate, where delayed Los Angeles-bound passengers were also waiting for air traffic control to give their flight the all-clear. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around to see Bruce Bouton, pedal steel player extraordinaire, standing there surrounded by other top studio Nashville names, including guitarist Jerry McPherson, whose work appears on tons of records for artists like Amy Grant and Toby Keith, and keyboardist Jimmy Nichols, who has equally impressive credits. What was more surprising than finding this concentration of studio talent together outside of a recording studio was that they were all part of singer Reba McEntire's touring band, headed out to play the last date of her 2005 tour in Paso Robles, Calif.

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Nick Savarino and Steve Poulton

Nick Savarino

Owner, FOH Engineer

Megawatt Sound and Lighting Systems

Amite, LA

[email protected]

Quote: Don't just pray for something you want; give thanks for what you already have.

I am a 53-year-old drummer and a junior high and high school band director. In 1984, while playing drums in a local band, I bought a small sound system consisting of lower level gear to use with my band. I started doing sound system rentals on a small scale as a sideline/hobby to my playing and teaching career. What started out as a hobby–providing sound and lighting systems for bands in small clubs–has grown into what is now a fairly serious regional sound company, Megawatt Sound and Lighting Systems, which provides state-of-the-art gear and experienced personnel for fair, festivals and large clubs, as well as production for national acts who pass through our area.

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New Kid on the Block

Dear Sirs,

I don't have my own sound company. I don't even have a job working for a sound company. I am currently graduating high school and volunteering at my local church, but I have aspirations of one day owning my own company. However, I currently have very little experience and would appreciate any advice you can give me on what are the most important things to consider when mixing live sound. I am an Anklebiters fan and I want to thank you for considering my request.

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Odds and Ends

Lots happening out there this month, but nothing that I am inspired enough about for a whole 700-word column. So, let's do a collection of short bits, shall we?

The Squeeze Is, Apparently, On

A few months back, we talked about the consolidation at the top end of the live event audio world and how it might result in a squeeze on mid-sized providers. It seems like that vise is beginning to tighten. In just the past couple of weeks, I have heard about some mid-sized companies that are struggling, and rumors of ballooning deficits are running rampant. At the same time, word on the street is that some of the big boys are tightening the screws. One regional provider looking to move up into the touring world said that he had been told that one national company "will not be under-bid. If I bid $100, they will come in at $50."

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There's No Crying in Monitors!

My friend Abby, who is Cyndi Lauper's tour manager, called me the other day and asked if I would like to do a one-night stand minding the monitors for Ms. Lauper and her band. The show was to be at the new Time Warner Center in New York City, and we were to play The Rose Theater as part of the Pride Week celebration. Ms. Lauper and her band were to close the show with three songs after a variety of acts from Broadway singers to dancers, all backed by a small orchestra. Rose Hall, which holds the theatre, is a brilliant architectural structure that can supposedly shape-shift and transform into the perfect venue for any style of gig. I think the intention was that it could morph into a larger or smaller jazz venue, and not necessarily a rock 'n' roll venue.

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Billy Huelin and John Adair

It is going to sound like a cliché (or B.S., take your pick), but for the band and crew for Hootie and the Blowfish, it really is a family affair. Ten years after their debut record exploded out of South Carolina to sell something like 16 million copies, the same four guys are in the band with auxiliary players who have been with them for years. And back at the bus, you'll find much of the same crew that started with them. That includes FOH mixer Billy Huelin, who has been at the console for 13 years ("since they were doing frat parties"), and monitor guy John Adair, who has been at side of stage for seven years.

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Two Words: Underwater Monitoring

Le Rêve: A Small Collection of Imperfect Dreams debuted in April at the fabulous new Wynn Las Vegas, Steve Wynn's $2.7 billion entry as the latest and greatest on the Las Vegas Strip. Created by Franco Dragone, formerly of Cirque du Soleil and the man behind such legendary shows as O, Alegria and Celine Dion's A New Day, Le Rêve is an acrobatic water show that pushes technology and technologists to new heights–and new depths.

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Up, Up and Away

There are a lot of obvious uses for the space in front of a stage at an outdoor music festival. Band-watching and dancing jump to the top of the list, yet at the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival, those two activities just round out the top five. There, that space is used for the earlymorning launch of hot air balloons.

While the situation might not provide a sonic challenge for the Murrieta, Calif.-based Star Way Productions, it does provide a dramatically colorful backdrop for the bands playing one of the two stages at the festival. The festival celebrated its 22nd anniversary this year, and Star Way handled all aspects of the sound, stage and lighting.

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All Wet

I learned the hard way to never lend out gear to your friends. My good friend came to me to borrow my new FOH board and new monitor mixer. He needed it for his friend who was doing a show out of town, so I said "OK, but I need it back in time for my show on the following day, at the exact time I am to set up."

The day of the gig, they rushed in, dropped off the boards and took off right away, which was curious. My head tech pulled the board out of its road case to find it dripping with water, and the case itself had absorbed a lot of water as well. My tech phoned me where I was working on another job, and I had to rent my old board that I had just replaced with the new board, the one that was now soaking wet. I was so embarrassed. Especially after bragging to the customer on how good the new FOH board was and how the built-in effects were just beautiful for what they needed. Boy, did I have egg on my face.

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Bigfoot Found and Captured! French Array Avoids Radar!

Not a line array? A tangent array system? Maybe they should just call it French.

The new NEXO GEO T speakers are not boxes, as we would typically assume a speaker enclosure to be. They look more like something out of a futuristic Spielberg movie. They are small, very small, and shaped like a mini stealth fighter. The rigging looks weird, very weird, but extremely functional. Like stealth fighters, they are light and weigh less than 100 lbs, or 45 kilograms, as the French would have it (that's 99.2 lbs). Radar does not bounce off them, and they have been flying over the United States undetected now for sometime…

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Mackie Onyx 80 Mixing Consoles, DAS Compact Series, LightViper 1832 Snake

Mackie Onyx 80 Mixing Console

By Mark Amundson

If you grew up on a Mackie mixing console, and the two of you parted ways as you matured, I believe the Mackie Onyx 80 series is going to make you at least think about coming back. Yes, it was a long time coming, but not only did Mackie get it right on the electronics and feature set, but the rugged construction and the painstaking attention to ergonomic detail puts to shame other mixing consoles with price tags four times as much.

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On the Move

Many months ago, we discussed the challenges that churches go through when moving from temporary facilities to permanent locations. This is typically a challenge, both in adjusting operational methods and taking equipment out of road cases and bolting it down (or hanging it up) properly, safely and efficiently. I'd like to take one look even further back and see how we got the gear going in the first place.

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