Traveling around the world and performing in a different city each day, it’s somewhat difficult to establish a lasting sense of continuity within one’s daily professional experience. We consecutively encounter venues that vary in age, size and architectural design — with each structure presenting its own unique set of physical and acoustical challenges. One of the few constants on a world tour with a major artist is the presence of those few pieces of essential gear that we carry everywhere with us. For example, I have been mixing on the same DiGiCo SD5 console since this tour began last May. It is both the cornerstone and the centerpiece of my mobile office.
We are now winding down the last USA leg of this year’s James Taylor tour and, for this particular run, the venues have all been basketball or hockey arenas. One of the benefits reaped from the cold weather forcing our performances into warm and dry structures has been the more predictable nature of the space in which we set up our gear.
MySpace
My mixing office typically exists in the middle of an arena floor about 110 feet from the front of the stage. The FOH area for the James Taylor tour is a three-tiered, front-to-back setup with audio occupying the area on the floor that is closest to the stage. That space measures 12 feet wide and 10 feet deep. Behind the sound mix area is a riser for the lighting control that is 12 feet wide, eight feet deep and one foot high. Behind the lighting riser is a four-foot high, eight-by-eight-foot video camera riser. Aligning the FOH area in this fashion produces the fewest number of seat kills in a typical arena setup.
I always set up my gear on the floor because I am 6’4” tall and usually have little trouble seeing over the average concert attendees. Being on the floor also makes it possible to set up and tear down my system with a minimum of help from local labor. I also want to avoid the low-frequency resonance produced by some riser materials. Within my 12 x 10-foot rectangle, I allot the first foot of horizontal width closest to the stage to the bike racks that separate my gear from the audience seating. Additionally, that foot of space allows me to access to the back of the console if that should be necessary during the show. It also creates a space to deploy the Tannoy or Genelec nearfield monitors I carry for use in “problem” venues.
In this smallish space, my setup becomes rather compact. However, it is also prototypical of the 21st century touring model for audio production. Seats on the floor are always at a premium, and my setup maximizes the space available for the highest dollar seats. My FOH rig includes only five cases: the SD5 console, the Clair double 10-space rack on top of which the console sits, a single 10-space rack that houses the Mac Pro Tools recording rig, a Cadillac case that holds my chair and other essentials and a Clair FOH workbox. I borrow one more empty case to use as a desk for the tablet computers that control the P.A. processors.
In my Cadillac trunk, I carry a four-by-six-foot rug that helps me correctly position each element of the setup. In addition to the rug’s important role in defining the spatial relationships within my territory, I find it comfortable to have a clean oasis where I can briefly remove my shoes after a long day pounding the concrete. Over the years, I’ve mixed quite a few shows in my stocking feet. It’s rather liberating.
Everything in Order
Arena setups allow me to indulge my particular strain of FOH Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder. While I am no Adrian Monk, I am very conscientious about how cables are run. I hide my AC outlets under the console overhang where no traffic will disturb them. Any AC outlet boxes are off the floor and safe from liquid damage. Any excess cable gets coiled and tucked under the racks so there is no danger imposed by random chair carts or mishandled bike racks. I try to repeat the same setup order and cable layout each day. There is a strong streak of Monk in my behavior, but I prefer the term “fastidious.”
The Chair-man
Until this year, the only compromise I have tolerated in my FOH rig has been in my choice of chairs. Over the years, I have tried sitting on empty cases, bar stools, stacked chairs and a wide variety of unsatisfactory swivel chairs. Most often I have opted for drafting chairs for stability while extended to a useable height. When the console is placed on top of the Clair table rack, it’s 40 inches from the floor to the top of the SD5 armrest. However, drafting chairs are generally armless and I have often found myself leaning forward with my elbows on the console to anchor my body. This position provides no back support and the pressure on the underside of my thighs inhibited good circulation in my legs. These various stresses on my body caused me to feel more physically fatigued at the end of a three-hour show than when I first sat down.
And then came Steve Knight’s Stealth Chair from stealthchair.com. “Using patented technology, the designers of these revolutionary chairs were able to design a conventional looking task chair which allows the user to adjust the seat pan with enough downward slope to keep the lordosis curve in the lower back. Combining a seat shell which pivots as the user leans forward, with a convex shaped, specially tensioned mesh surface, the Stealth allows the user to eliminate the harmful loading of the intervertebral discs in both the active working position and the reclining passive or resting position.”
Is the product an answer to a prayer? When I first encountered the Stealth Chair, I was skeptical. It looked as though it was designed for smaller individuals and would neither have the vertical extension necessary for my FOH setup nor provide enough back support for taller people. But Mr. Knight quickly provided a solution by sending a taller mast and a base with much larger casters. I found that the new mast alone raised me to the proper level for mixing on the SD5. I further discovered that the lumbar support, when raised to its absolute highest extension, ended up in the perfect place to keep me upright with my spine in correct alignment.
I can personally attest to all the potential benefits listed on the website. Sitting and mixing is no longer an uncomfortable exercise. I look forward to the time spent in my Stealth Chair and get up feeling relaxed and rested. I want to thank my old friend Mark Frink, and my new friend, Steve Knight, for making me aware of this awesome product. Perhaps this item should be on every engineer’s Christmas list. Safe travels and Happy Holidays!
