While working a James Taylor concert/video shoot for Austin City Limits last month, I received a message about an upcoming project in Los Angeles. Chris Adamson, my old friend and frequently my production manager over these last 20+ years, had recommended me for an excellent FOH position. If hired, I would be mixing two special one-off shows at the beautifully restored Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. I let Chris know that I was available and very much interested in being on the team.
The Concept
When I contacted Scotty Haulter, the tour manager and point person for this event, he explained that the concept of the show was a celebration of the Southern California music and musicians that dominated the industry in the late 1960’s. Jakob Dylan from the Wallflowers would be fronting a band of incredibly talented L.A.-based musicians while performing a set of songs that were originally created in the rustic homes and mountain hideaways of Laurel Canyon. Special guests joining Jakob onstage would be Fiona Apple, Beck, Cat Power, Regina Spektor and Jade. I had lived in Laurel Canyon from 1979 to 2001, so my participation in this event felt truly special and totally appropriate.
“Echo in the Canyon” was conceived as a concept show reviving some of the great folk-rock songs that were so popular the 1960’s. Songs made famous by The Byrds, The Mamas and the Papas, The Beach Boys, The Turtles, The Monkees, The Association and Buffalo Springfield were included in the set list. These venerable and iconic tunes were to be performed either as solo versions by Jakob or as duets with each of his guest stars. Although I wasn’t exactly familiar with some of the artists who were on the bill, I was totally immersed in this era’s music. These songs were extremely popular when I was in college at Boston University (Class of 1970) and were all over AM and FM radio at that time.
With high hopes, I sent in my resume and waited to hear if I would be given the job. I am not always excited about doing one-offs, but this project was particularly intriguing. A few hours later I got the call back from Scotty Haulter informing me that the band’s producer and manager, Andy Slater, had approved my participation. I would be reporting to rehearsal the morning after flying back home from Austin. I felt confident knowing we had the luxury of four rehearsal days for this high-profile event.
The Rehearsals
Rehearsals were held at CenterStaging in Burbank. The band had previously worked with the local guys and had their monitor mixes set up on an Avid SC48. We ended up turning the Meyer sidefills out into the room for the P.A. and brought in an additional SC48 for use as the FOH console. I spent the morning and early afternoon building a show on the SC48 from my digital libraries of archived input and plug-in presets. From my nine years of mixing on Avid products, I have collected and saved input data from a great variety of microphones.
By the time the band walked in the door, I had created a very workable console layout. I had pasted head amp data and channel EQ settings onto each working input strip. I had pre-programmed each channel’s aux send, group and VCA assignments. Also completed were the plug-in racks containing all necessary channel inserts and effects units. In this age of instant access to music, I have found that many people no longer have the patience to allow a mix to be a work in progress — even at rehearsal! I definitely wanted to be as show ready as possible when I first turned on the P.A.
From the moment the band walked in the room, the mood was upbeat and positive. Everyone was obviously enjoying recreating this exciting period piece carved from California musical history. Drummer Matt Tecu was playing on a simple “Ringo style” kit. Bassist Dan Rothchild was working out on a Fender Jazz Bass. Stage right guitarist, Fernando Perdomo, featured a vintage Gretsch 6120, an early 60’s Telecaster and a beautiful cherry red Hagstrom 12-string. Stage left guitarist, Geoff Pearlman, played both a blonde and a sunburst 1960s Rickenbacker 12-string plus a mid-60’s Gibson 335. Keyboardist Jordan Summers played the only contemporary instruments on the stage. His rig included a Nord keyboard and a re-issue Mellotron. But he did play an old Vox Continental organ through a Vox AC-10 amp. Background vocalist, Justine Bennett rounded out the band’s complement.
The Sound
When the band kicked off rehearsal with The Mamas and the Papas’ classic, “Go Where You Wanna Go,” I immediately understood the reason for all the positive energy I was feeling from the musicians. With the 12-string guitars pealing like cathedral bells and Jakob Dylan, Jade, Dan Rothchild and Justine Bennett providing strong vocal performances in perfect John Phillips harmonies, I felt as though we had just stepped through The Time Tunnel. Every song performed had elements of authenticity that honored the original material. But the songs also possessed a freshness that made them completely modern. I immediately felt immense appreciation for the vision and leadership of Andy Slater, the creator and mastermind of this project. Andy’s stamp on the show was so complete that many of the instruments and amplifiers on the stage actually came from his personal collection.
After spending the day listening to the material and working with the FOH mix, I decided to bring in a few mics from my house to sweeten the instruments. In order to fatten up the sound of the 12-string guitars, I added a Shure KSM 313 ribbon mic on each of the two guitars amplifiers to use in combination with the existing SM57s. I replaced the existing Shure KSM 32s that were being used as drum overheads with a pair of my warmer sounding KSM 44s. I also replaced the existing Shure SM81 on the hi-hat with my Neumann KM-185 and brought in a Shure Beta 181C for a snare bottom mic. I next added my large diaphragm Soundelux U-195 on Dan Rothchild’s Ampeg B-15 amplifier to augment the bass DI’s output. The last change was to replace the existing SM58 for Jakob Dylan’s vocal with the prototype dynamic microphone that I have been using all year on James Taylor’s vocals.
The System
These changes helped me to create greater impact in the mix as I strove to create a larger-than-life audio tapestry. We were well aware that many members of the Los Angeles music community would be attending the two shows at the Orpheum Theatre and we wanted to put our best foot forward. To further help us accomplish that goal, the production contracted Schubert Systems to provide additional P.A. to augment the installed McCauley MONARC MLA3 line array system at the theater.
The Orpheum is a 2,000-seat venue. A majority of those seats are located in the balcony. The theater is not very wide, and therefore the balcony is high and the seating goes up rather steeply. I asked Jon Bullock, the house audio person at the Orpheum, to fly his eight-deep McCauley arrays at a high trim and concentrate the audio distribution on the balcony seats. We then deployed the supplemental gear from Schubert Systems by stacking four d&b V Series cabinets on top of two double-18 d&b subwoofers on each side of the stage. At least half of the orchestra level seats were located beneath the balcony overhang. Optimally covering this area required the allocation of this focused acoustical power. We also patched into the four installed under-balcony fills to ensure greater clarity for the seats farthest from the stage. Four d&b frontfill enclosures arrayed across the lip of the stage completed the system.
We had a rehearsal day at the Orpheum that included the guest stars. Having that extra day gave us the opportunity to fine tune and fully integrate all the elements of the sound system. When we performed the two shows on the following day, our hard work was rewarded with excellent results. The audio coverage was optimal and the audience responded enthusiastically to the music being masterfully performed by Jakob Dylan, the band and the special guest stars. It was a great week for all of us who were lucky enough to participate in this very special show. My thanks to all who worked so hard to make this event go so smoothly.
Safe Travels!
