BOSTON – LMG Inc. might be known more for its corporate gigs than for concert touring. But for the Pixies' North American tour, the company is providing not only LED video and lighting support, but sound gear as well.
Craig Mitchell, who handles touring sales at LMG, heard the band's preference was for a d&b audiotechnik PA system, which LMG could provide. But if the "one-stop-shop" approach made sense on a logistical level, the Pixies' longtime house engineer, Ray Furze, was still a bit apprehensive.
"I wasn't familiar with LMG before the last Pixies U.S. tour," Furze said. "When [production manager] Simon [Foster] mentioned they had a d&b J-Series system and were interested in doing the whole package, I had to do a lot of asking around.
"Specifically, I made many calls to Craig to check they could supply all our specification, and if they had crew who were experienced and competent at rigging and tech'ing the system," Furze added.
Although Furze has mixed for the Pixies since they first became famous in the late 1980s, being based in the U.K., he felt the due diligence might have been warranted.
"This is not always an easy task at a distance and, although in the end all the boxes were ticked, I was still a bit apprehensive; with little production time when we arrived at the first show we didn't have a lot of room for things not to be right."
Mitchell noted that Furze "obviously knew the J-Series inside out and was very clear in describing his goals. Ray was taking the band into small and large theaters, and small arenas; whatever the venue he wanted to achieve that intimate Pixies sound."
As it turned out, as Furze recalled, he didn't need to worry. "The gear and cabling supplied was immaculate, and the two LMG Touring techs, Andy Vickery and Dave Kuhn, were well on the ball and were used to working with the J-Series."
Furze was particularly complimentary about Vickery's skills with the system. "Mixing a tight four-piece band has to be one of the most satisfying jobs for any engineer. Everything they play has its place in the mix.
"The Pixies have solid drums and a distinctive bass sound that has very little in the way of sub frequencies," Furze continued. "Both guitars play quite separate parts, so it is easy to distinguish between them, and both vocalists have very strong voices. Andy is very, very competent with J-Series and also has a lot of experience with most major systems. He has picked up on how I like the system to sound, how I work, and I have complete confidence in him."
While few would categorize the Pixies as a hi-fi band, their sound is unique and needs to be addressed correctly.
"They have a very dynamic alternative rock sound," said Furze. "What I am aiming for is a great club gig sound in venues that range from larger clubs holding 1,000 to 2,000 people through theaters, arenas, even festivals, for 70,000; quite a big variation in acoustics.
"The d&b J system, although capable of producing a very hi-fi sound, has been my system of choice with all types of act since it came out, and I have had excellent and consistently great results in a huge variety of venues around the world.
"EQ-wise, in most cases, I end up with just one or two notches to deal with room resonances. There is no getting away from the fact that this is a loud band, but people are a lot more tolerant of volume if it is well-balanced through the spectrum. I find the J loudspeakers to be particularly smooth in the high mid range, a range that can be very unpleasant and harsh with some other systems."
With bases in Las Vegas and Dallas, a new touring design studio in Nashville, as well as their headquarters in Orlando, LMG has considerable continental reach, so the Pixies recent touring stint around Canada was able to unload in Las Vegas when they finished off in Victoria BC.
"We started servicing tours just two years ago," noted Mitchell. "Last year we serviced 20 different acts. Because we float our inventory, none of it is base-specific; we can position equipment to suit our client's geographical needs.
"Consolidation is not just about common sense, convenience matters too," said Mitchell. "We invest heavily to give our clients what they want, where and when they want it."
For more information, please visit www.dbaudio.com and www.lmgtouring.com.
