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CBGB May Have Closed, But the Brand Never Left

CBGB Lives On

CBGB May Have Closed, But the Brand Never Left

You thought all that was left of New York’s legendary rock club CBGB were some tourist T-shirts sold on St. Marks Place and Canal Street in Chinatown? Think again — the legendary dive bar brand that incubated artists like Television, Talking Heads, The Ramones, Blondie, Sonic Youth and Patti Smith is coming back. In the process, it reminds us that the club brands of the 1970s and 1980s remain a potent force in live music, as the industry sees shrinkage in arena gigs and small rooms once again become ascendant.

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Fig. 1: Typical setup using rear (balcony fill) and/or a front fill. The system processor applies a delay to the rear speakers (entered in feet or milliseconds), so the sound from the main speakers arrives at the listener at the same time as the delayed fill. The front fill requires no delay, but is often fed a submix that is different from the main PA, due to the proximity of stage sources to the listener.

Using Front-Fill and Delay Speakers

Last month, we discussed some of the issues that plague rooms with poor acoustics, as well as some ideas on how to deal with them. An issue closely related to room acoustics is distribution of sound, which can be hindered by room shape or interior design, even in rooms with favorable acoustics.

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Launched in 1939, the Shure Unidyne 55 was a mainstay on church pulpits for decades.

Podium Microphones

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. A short time after the beginning, God needed a whole bunch of preachers to get the word out. Well, most of the preachers asked for podiums. And we all know, if you have a podium, you will probably need a podium mic. So, before we knew it, podium microphones had arrived. This is essentially an abbreviated version of how these things came about, but I think it’s fairly accurate.

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Ilustration by Andy Au

Whistle While You Work

Anyone who has seen Walt Disney’s 1937 animated movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, should remember this classic tune by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey: Just whistle while you work…Put on that grin and start right in To whistle loud and long; Just hum a merry tune, Just do your best and take a rest, And sing yourself a song . When there’s too much to do, Don’t let it bother you, forget your troubles, Try to be just like a cheerful chick-a-dee, And whistle while you work. Come on get smart, tune up and start To whistle while you work…

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