Chris Tomlin “Love Ran Red” Tour: Bringing That Sanctuary Sound to Arenas
Over the years, EMI records’ Christian music artist Chris Tomlin has been building a loyal following of fans throughout North America. This month, Tomlin on piano, guitar and lead vocals — with his regular four-piece band of supporting musicians (along with opening acts Tenth Avenue North and Rend Collective) brings his own brand of rock and worship music to more sold-out arena shows to promote Love Ran Red, his tenth album. With multiple Grammy and Dove awards and nominations to his name, Tomlin has enjoyed mega success in the Contemporary Christian market and shows no signs of slowing down.
Read More »
Mixing FKA twigs’ World Tour
Up-and-coming British pop sensation FKA twigs (Tahliah Debrett Barnett) began her career performing as “Twigs,” but after a dispute with another artist using that same name, changed it to FKA (Formerly Known As) twigs, and the new moniker has stuck with her ever since.
Read More »
Bringing Ol’ Blue Eyes Back
Sonny Maupin Helps Bob Anderson Channel Sinatra at the Palazzo Theatre in Las Vegas
There is no shortage of singing impersonators in Las Vegas, of course. But for FRANK The Man, The Music, which opened at the Palazzo Theatre in Las Vegas on Jan. 24, 2015, Bob Anderson is carefully made up to resemble Frank Sinatra in his later years, and the veteran singing impressionist also channels the nuances of voice and mannerisms for Sinatra, who died in 1998, to eerie perfection.
Read More »
Revisiting Subwoofer Design and Thiele-Small Parameters
Subwoofers are arguably the most popular and fun topic in all of pro audio. The majority of low frequency sound reproduction is from vented loudspeaker enclosures, which is to say loudspeakers that have a port in the enclosure. The vented subwoofer loudspeaker enclosure makes a great entry point into the world of building loudspeaker enclosures. Building a box, wiring it up and then hearing the beast rumble to life is an extremely rewarding experience.
Read More »
Logic Systems’ Attention to Detail Adds Up to Success
For Chip Self, while you don’t need to sweat the small stuff, you should take the details very, very seriously if you want to be successful in pro audio. The case can be made that by acting on the “small things” other companies shrug off, his St. Louis-based Logic Systems Sound & Lighting has grown every year for 29 years straight.
Read More »
State of the Industry: 2015
The total — the buying power of 20,400 FRONT of HOUSE readers — racks up to an impressive $4,939,000,000 — nearly five billion dollars. Compared to the pharmaceutical and automotive industries, the audio production and installation markets are fairly small. We as an industry may represent a market that’s admittedly “small,” yet nonetheless is thriving and even expanding. And with that in mind we would like to present some solid information as well as some indicators on the relative size and health of the event audio and installation markets.
Read More »
QSC TouchMix-16
QSC started out only making amps. Very good amps. Eventually, the company branched out into speakers, and I was impressed with how their speakers sounded. Now QSC got a digital mixing board, and I’m beginning to think they’re on a winning streak here. In the case of the recent TouchMix digital mixer line, QSC chose wisely again, this time collaborating with legendary mixing console designers Greg Mackie and Peter Watts.
Read More »
Cymatic Audio uTrack 24 Live Recording System
Some time ago (FRONT of HOUSE, June 2013) we checked out the Cymatic Audio LR-16, a 16-channel recording solution for capturing 16-tracks of live audio from analog boards. At $499, it was priced right, but besides having a 16-rack limit, it also was built in a non-rack configuration — issues when considering gear used in a live environment.
Read More »Mixing the MusiCares Bob Dylan Tribute Concert
Mixing FOH sound at large-scale, multi-performer events is a specialized task that I usually choose to avoid. I know myself well enough to understand that I possess neither the organizational skills nor the temperament necessary to successfully navigate through the rapid-fire changes of bands, musical styles and production formats. Over my 40 years of mixing, I have most definitely evolved into an “evening with” kind of a guy. I do my best work when my concentration is unbroken and when I have heard enough repetitions of songs to really get inside the arrangements. A distraction as slight as having a surprise support band can easily sidetrack my show day preparation process.
Read More »