Here comes another summer — and with it, festival season. You better get some sleep while you can, because the next stop is Labor Day. As a tour manager and FOH engineer, I figured I’d offer a few suggestions to help you survive the ordeals.
An RTA (Real Time Analyzer) is a tool that most of us have used at some point in our audio careers. The proliferation of software-style RTA’s on phones, tablets and computers have made them ubiquitous. Practically every engineer has an RTA in their pocket, or at least has one close by. Although I feel that RTA’s are an invaluable tool for any audio engineer, I’ve also spent many years listening to people knock the use of RTA’s using that old refrain of “we never had RTA’s back when I was learning sound” or “don’t use an RTA, use your ears.” In fact, a simple RTA can be a very useful tool if you understand what influences its measurements and what its limitations are.
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Many artists are imbued with an intangible quality that makes them compelling to an audience or a viewer. For that matter, many politicians, athletes and business people maintain an intangible aura that often defines their careers as well and — while they may be analyzed, criticized and ostracized for all their quirks and idiosyncrasies — they still preserve a quality that makes them persuasive and successful in their chosen profession. If we examine the strengths and weaknesses of athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter, we can come up with very definitive reasons for their success, but while their records might be exemplary, there is still an unlabeled intangible quality that propelled each of them to notoriety, fame and greatness.
Back in January 2015, FOH engineer Chris Aman answered the door of his Thompsons Station, TN home. Sound Image had delivered an Avid VENUE Profile console so he could start building the show for his newest client, Pentatonix. After winning the third season of NBC’s The Sing Off in 2011, the five-member a cappella group continued growing in popularity and was now going out on its biggest tour yet. And Aman suddenly realized what he was up against.
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American prog rock band Dream Theater was founded in 1985 under the name “Majesty” by Berklee School of Music students — guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung and drummer Mike Portnoy. The three added a keyboard player and vocalist and soon became a popular hard rock cover band playing throughout the Northeast.
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In five short years, the Newbury Park, CA-based quintet The Neighbourhood has made its presence known, earning a prime spot at SXSW, performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live and performing in Europe and throughout the U.S. Currently on tour supporting Wiped Out!, the band’s second album, The Neighbourhood is selling out halls and theaters.
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