The “Feral Joy” tour – the first North American outing since 2019 by singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers — kicked off Feb. 11, 2023 and wrapped up on March 5, 2023 at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, where we caught up with the audio crew.
FOH Engineer Bob Boyle
FOH engineer Bob Boyle began doing recording in high school, leading to The Hartt School (University of Hartford) in the Music Production and Technology program that grounds technical production in a music education. He then hooked up with a sound company, EPG, and started working gigs. “I booked my first tour through some friends in 2012, hopped in the van, and haven’t looked back since. I think starting in clubs and gradually moving up through different touring scenarios was a very helpful progression for me and has helped me stay curious and eager to continue learning every step of the way.”
Boyle’s tenure with Rogers began spring of 2017, a few months after his friend Mike Keidel was brought on as tour manager. “He and I had worked together for a few years at that point, so it felt great to get the call from a trusted friend to start something new. I was originally brought in to mix monitors and be a general helping hand, but shortly after my start, the FOH/PM position opened up and I stepped in. The first stretch of shows was a bit of a scary leap. At the time, we were not carrying any audio control, and my first big show mixing was a typical midday slot at Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco. Quick changeover, no sound check and management in attendance. Having a few months already under my belt with the band really helped me through that first gig, and I’ve mixed nearly every Maggie show since. The ability to grow in my career alongside an artist like Maggie is a rare opportunity. I feel very lucky.”
Clair Global has been supporting Maggie Rogers since they started carrying audio control in 2018, due in small part to Boyle’s standing relationship with rep Justin Weaver. “There are a lot of great vendors to choose from, but I’ve always been impressed with Clair’s ability to provide quality gear and creative solutions, especially when trying to keep things light and tight in the beginning. On this run, our monitor tech Corey Harris and the Clair team did an excellent job prepping us to head out. The package came out great, and we felt more than ready for the wide variety of venues and situations waiting for us on the road. And with the ability to rehearse at the Lititz facility, we felt taken care of from start. We’re not carrying a P.A. on this run, but I’ve always been a huge fan of L-Acoustics products, with the K2 in particular being a standout for me, so the rig for San Francisco was a locally provided L-Acoustics system. The venue [Bill Graham Civic Auditorium] is a bit tricky, this particular deployment did an excellent job mitigating some of these challenging factors.”
DiGiCo has been Boyle’s console of choice for a while, but this was only his second tour on the SD10 surface. “On previous tours, I gravitated toward the surface layout, size and workflow of the SD12, but by the time we ended our UK run last year, I had maxed out the available input channel processing. I wanted to add some FX processing that would necessitate more channel availability for returns, and keeping in mind the inevitable addition of instruments, guest vocalists / instrumentalists and toys that seem to join the party every new leg of the tour, I knew I needed to size up to a larger desk with more processing available. By day two of rehearsals, we were up to 76 inputs from stage, I had significantly complicated my FX processing and Group structure, and my Matrix requirements had grown extensively. The SD10 gave me everything I needed in this regard and still allowed for wiggle room to make add-ons and changes without sacrifice.”
Boyle rarely carried a plug-in system in the past, but he recently relinquished PM duties to focus solely on FOH and felt he had the time and energy to incorporate a few extra pieces to enhance the mix. “I landed on Waves for this application with a SoundGrid Extreme Server and a rack-mounted Mac Mini running SuperRack. These tools opened up a lot of possibilities. Before inserting a plug-in, I always want to make sure I can justify the choice, what problem am I trying to solve and why is this piece of software the best choice? Take Waves PSE — given our stage setup, we have a lot of open microphones in close proximity to each other, and I had been looking for a way to cut down on unnecessary bleed. Live background vocals, whether featured or blended with track, presented a problem as higher gain was needed to have them sit where I wanted in the mix. When set to this level, they began smearing a ton of elements, particularly the drums and percussion. Adding in the PSE plug-in on the background vocal channels changed the game for me, particularly with the keyboard vocalist who is positioned directly next to the drum kit. Once dialed in, the PSE allowed 10-12 dB of gain reduction when the mic was not in use without compromising the integrity of the signal while vocalists were singing, and eliminated a bunch of complicated fader moves, freeing my hands up for the rest of the mix. When I can, I like using what’s in the console, but there is no native tool on the SD10 that could have handled this so effectively.”
Boyle says he also relied on the F6 Multi-band compressor for some individual channel processing. “As the B insert of my lead vocal, it helped in the final smoothing of that sound and handled de-essing duties. For one particularly aggressive bass synth, it kept the growl and poke in the upper mid-range, but tamped down its tendency to mask other important elements of the mix. The rest of my plug-in choices were mainly for bus level processing. The API-2500 plug-in made a few appearances for drums and guitars, and the Manny Maroquin Distortion in a couple places for some added color.”
On this run, Boyle only has one outboard effects processor: the Bricasti M7, adding that he hasn’t found another piece of hardware or software that compares to what the Bricasti can bring to the table. “It has a stellar list of options for every imaginable type of reverb. The ability to quickly store, recall, and overwrite presets also makes it incredibly easy to operate. I use it primarily for my lead vocal and guest vocal reverbs, with just two presets that I switch between during the show (one vocal plate for the majority of the set, and one longer hall for the slower/more ballad-y tunes). Whenever budget allows, it makes my spec. The PSE and API-2500 plug-ins provide a huge enhancement to the mix overall. Another fun toy we added recently is the DirtBox by Dr.AlienSmith. Mike brought this in last year to help create a distorted snare sound in a key part of the song “Want Want.” It’s a phantom-powered, inline distortion device that we use on the second snare.”
When Boyle talks about mixing techniques, he says it’s something he was never able to put it into words until he started listening to the Pooch and Rabold YouTube series — and thanking them for making those videos. “Their description of mixing live sound as ‘a record with impact’ resonated heavily. As a mixer, I want all the little nuances and small bits of ear candy to come through to an audience, but I also know it is part of my job to help people feel something. I believe part of the reason people go out of their way to see their favorite bands perform is that tangibility. I want to deliver that force at a reasonable SPL while maintaining as much subtlety and accuracy as possible. It’s a balancing act I think any live engineer knows well,” Boyle notes.
“This band definitely presents some mix challenges, but when everything falls into place, the payoff is more than worth it. Maggie is a vocal heavyweight — that alone is a pleasure to work with, but the instrumentation of a 6-piece band plus tracks can be dense and overwhelming at times. There’s a pile of parts and instruments in similar ranges, often coming at us all at once, and every person in the band and on the crew is imperative in making it all come together. Our relationships and communication are crucial to success. I always hope to make each tour better than the last, and I am grateful to be a part of a team that makes that a priority.”
Monitor Engineer Mike Sassano
Mike Sassano has been mixing monitors for Maggie Rogers since 2018, getting hired rather last-minute at the start of a U.S. tour. He’s mixing on a DiGiCo SD5. He and Boyle upgraded their consoles this year as the band and input list grew to 76 channels. “I prefer to use DiGiCo when I’m at monitors, no matter what gig I’m on. I find the functionality and ease of use unmatched. I can accomplish any crazy requests I might get with ease, and I don’t need any bells or whistles to get a great mix really fast as everything is built into the desk. I love the placement of macro and snapshot sections. I even like the inlayed center screen feel more than the SD7.”
Sassano doesn’t use plug-ins when mixing monitors. He says he uses the onboard FX rack for all his time-based FX. “The only piece that’s an absolute must for me is the outboard Neve 5045 PSE. I use it for the lead vocal channel that feeds the downstage wedges so I can get the vocal ripping on stage, and I have the second channel on Bryn’s [Bliska’s] keys/background vocals. Not exactly outboard gear, but it did help tremendously, is a stream deck made by Elegato. There’s a software that integrates the hardware controller (which is just a bunch of buttons) with the console over the external controller network. It allowed me to have more macros available all the time.”
There are six d&b audiotechnik M2 wedges across the downstage, notes Sassano. “I love their coverage and tonality. I don’t have to hack up any EQ to get it loud enough and sounding natural. Maggie and I are also on JH Audio Roxanne IEMs. We both love them. It’s very easy to get a full balanced mix going with them, representing the whole frequency spectrum with ease and without having to run them loud, especially with the ability to control the LF contour. We did a few live streams and Maggie wanted to try wedges and in-ears, which I definitely understood because, let’s face it, stage monitoring is not an exact science, and in-ears aren’t always the most comfortable way to monitor your vocal. It took time to find the balance of wedge mix to ear mix, but we have great communication and she definitely trusts me, so it was actually a pretty fun puzzle to solve.”
Sassano mixes Maggie’s IEM’s off the main faders layer into groups to give him an extra layer of control in regards to dynamics, EQ, snapshots scope and being able to be more tactile and ride her mix. “So basically my whole console is in pre-fader, except any doubled channel that goes to the wedges,” noting that gave him control without having to flip to the wedge mix. “The band and tracks are pretty well balanced, so snapshots take care of the band really well, and I stay cued on Maggie to mix her live. I used a cue wedge and would pop an ear out when she would to make sure she had what she needed.”
The band uses a Shure PSM1000 for the IEM system and recently upgraded its Shure ULXD digital wireless to Axient on this run, which is used along with a Shure Beta58 mic for Rogers’ vocals. “We upgraded to Axient mostly because we own the ULXD, but it’s only two channels, and we needed four on this run,” says Sassano, adding that it also “sits in a now-crowded space in the frequency spectrum. Bob, Maggie and I all noticed a considerable upgrade in the sound quality of the wireless mic,” he says.
“I absolutely love this group of people,” Sassano concluded. “A huge shout-out to Shane Rawdon, our PM, and our TM Mike Keidel, as well as the whole crew for making it such an enjoyable experience. It’s very much a big happy family of absolute top-tier pros who also happen to be extraordinary people, and I feel very honored to be a part of it. Also thank you to everyone at Clair Global, especially our rep Justin Weaver and our audio tech Corey Harris, for being the best in the biz.”
AUDIO CREW
- Sound Company: Clair Global
- FOH Engineer: Bob Boyle
- Monitor Engineer: Mike Sassano
- Monitor Tech: Corey Harris
- Backline Techs: Kyle Lewis (drums/percussion), Gordon Allison (guitar/bass), Julien Laferriere (keys/playback)
P.A. SYSTEM
- Main Hang: (16) L-Acoustics K2/side
- Subs: (24) L-Acoustics SB28
- Out Fills: (8) L-Acoustics Kara/side
- Front Fills: (12) L-Acoustics Kara
FOH GEAR
- FOH Console: DiGiCo SD10
- Outboard: Bricasti M7, Waves SoundGrid Extreme Server
MON GEAR
- Monitor Console: DiGiCo SD5
- Wedges: d&b audiotechnik M2
- RF Mics: Shure Axient Digital
- IEM’s: JH Audio Roxannes
- IEM Hardware: Shure PSM1000 Series
- Vocal Mics: Shure Beta58, Shure SM58
- Drum Mics: Shure SM91 and B52 on kick, SM57 on snare tops; Sennheiser 906, toms, snare bottoms; Shure B52, floor tom; Shure KSM137, hi-hat; and KSM32s, overheads
- Percussion Mics: SM81 OH’s, 137 chimes; Audio-Technica ATM350U, conga
