Something Wicked Music Festival
House of Worship Installations Showcase
Bayside Church, Roseville, CA
When not on tour, Christian musician and pastor Lincoln Brewster can usually be found leading services at The Bayside Church, a four-campus church that typically draws a total 12,000 worshippers for weekend services. To meet the needs of the expanding congregation attending services at the church’s flagship location in Roseville, CA, church leaders recently expanded the seating capacity of the sanctuary from about 1,800 to 2,300.
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Interchangeable Mic Heads for Wireless Systems
Finding the right mic that works with a particular vocalist can often make a huge difference in the sound of your show. Different makes and models of handheld mics can vary greatly in sound, and what works for one singer may not work for another. Besides the sound of the capsule itself, there are other factors to consider, such as the polar pattern and how that works with stage monitor selection and placement. And almost equally important is the mic’s on/off axis response, particularly if your vocalist tends to move around a lot while singing.
To download a copy of the Feb. 2013 FOH Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE.
The Capitol Theatre: A Rock Palace is Reborn
The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY had a glorious history that began in 1920s with vaudeville and movies (silent and talkies) before emerging, in the 1960s and 1970s, as a rock ‘n’ roll palace that dispensed sonic pleasures for those grooving to the sounds of the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead and other great bands of that generation. But like so many beautiful old theaters, the doors were locked and, despite an open-to-the-public revival in the 1980s and 1990s, where bands like Phish and local theater groups play The Cap, the venue was at risk of becoming a shadow of its former past. Could the wrecking ball be far behind?
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Maryland Sound Inaugurates a President
Live/lip sync debate aside, everyone in this business noticed Beyoncé pulling out her IEM in the middle of her rendition of the national anthem before President Barack Obama was sworn in for a second term. Bob Goldstein, owner of Maryland Sound International (MSI), has an opinion as to why: “She preferred the MSI HEX12 Monitor at her feet to the IEM!” MSI once again participated in the historic day, and their contribution to everything involved with the event, held Jan. 21, 2013, was certainly very real and very live.
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Conductivity, Audio and You
This month, we’ll take a look at wire and conductivity, the electronic lifeblood behind our industry. In a rigorous sense, wire is metal that drawn through a sequence of ever-shrinking dies until it exists in fine, conductive form. If we relax that definition slightly to include any conducting element in electronics, like those on a circuit board or behind a touch screen, we have hit on a key piece of how virtually all audio equipment operates. Without electricity, and conductors to direct it, there would be no professional audio!
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DPA d:facto II Vocal Mic
It seems like only yesterday (well about a year ago) that DPA launched its d:facto handheld vocal microphone, with the intent of putting a studio-quality mic into a live stage package. And now, less than a year later, DPA debuts its second-generation d:facto design — the d:facto II. Clearly, there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with the original design — in fact, the mic was starting to pick up an increasing roster of users, including performers such as Sting, who seemed quite satisfied with the original design. However, the engineering team members at DPA tend to be extremely fussy about even the smallest details, and the new and improved d:facto II was born.
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From Russia, with Cher, Part II
The 12-hour time difference between Moscow and Los Angeles definitely caused gaps in communication. Upon hearing the news that the Avid VENUE Profile consoles were unavailable, monitor mixer Brian Hendry and I cobbled together a modified equipment spec for the rehearsal day in Moscow. Both of us decided to go with small analog consoles, as neither of us would have time to program an unfamiliar digital desk. However, when we arrived at work for the last day of rehearsal in Los Angeles, we were greeted with the news that the Avid consoles were now going to be in place on the Moscow rehearsal day. The upward trend was definitely continuing.
Read More »Time Bombs: An Era of Aging Superstars
Pollstar’s annual end-of-year summary of the concert touring business is looked forward to with equal parts anticipation and anxiety these days. A decade ago, as it was becoming apparent that the CD’s decline was going to be irreversible, the shift in revenue emphasis to live music was exhilarating. Shed and arena shows were slipping, but theater and clubs shows were accelerating. Festivals were establishing themselves as brands as much as events.
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