I’m on a plane heading back east to work three one-off events with James Taylor. The first is a music festival in Greenwich, CT. James will be the headline act following a full day of entertainment on the main stage. Mr. Taylor will be performing with the full band and singers. The second event is a benefit concert in Newtown, CT. The musicians comprising this performance will be as follows: James on guitar, Larry Goldings on piano/keyboards, Owen Young on cello, Andrea Zonn on violin/vocals and vocalist Kate Markowitz. The third concert will be a multi-performer event at Boston’s TD Garden benefitting Boston Strong. In addition to appearing with the full band and singers, Mr. Taylor will share the stage with Carole King and Jimmy Buffet. Two members of Mr. Buffet’s entourage will also be sitting in during James’ segment of the performance.
At each of these shows I will experience different levels of familiarity with the audio systems that each production will provide. In Greenwich, I will be using a Meyer Milo PA and will be mixing on an Avid VENUE D-Show. The onsite audio contractor will be New England Audio Tech, a regional sound company based in Atkinson, NH. The show in Newtown will be a much smaller format using locally provided gear. The Boston benefit event will be a full-blown arena show featuring multiple artists. The audio contractor will be Clair Global of Lititz, PA and they will furnish their proprietary i5 system and Avid VENUE consoles.
The Five C’s of Success
There are basic informational guidelines that can lead to a successful outcome and create a positive environment well before the event commences. I believe in a simple set of five C’s: contact, communication, creativity, cooperation and confidence. I try to make contact with a vendor as early as possible to ensure there are no surprises and to ascertain that I am speaking with the right people. I then provide as much documentation as possible: input lists for FOH and monitors, a comprehensive stage plot, complete stage and FOH patching information plus a in-depth equipment specification detailing our precise needs on stage and at FOH. After engaging in these initial information exchanges, I want the vendor to believe as much as I do that we are going to produce a great show.
Riding the Rider
Whenever I participate in these one-off events, I try to adapt my window of expectation to the reality of existing conditions. I try not to make over-the-top requests or ask the sound provider to senselessly spend money on non-standard pieces of highly specialized gear. The contactor is, after all, operating on a one-off budget. If there are somewhat esoteric microphones or transducers that I believe are critical to the success of the performance, I will most often provide them myself. Similarly, our bass player, Jimmy Johnson, always brings his own custom built preamp/DI/ear monitor amplifier for his Alembic bass rig.
For this trip, I have packed the two Earthworks SR40V vocal microphones we use on James. I have also brought along the Earthworks PM40T piano mic system and the Barcus Berry 4000XL pickup we prefer to use inside the grand piano. Additionally, I have brought the Neumann KM-185 Steve Gadd prefers on his hi-hat and the Shure Beta 181C we’ve been using lately for snare bottom. And, finally, I am bringing one Shure KSM313 ribbon mic so that Michael Landau’s electric guitar sounds just right. The mics go in my carry-on bag and the Earthworks PM40 fits into my checked-in suitcase. Easy stuff…
For the Greenwich show, I adapted our normal touring input list (see Fig. 1) and specified more readily available products than the multiple high-end condenser and ribbon mics that usually populate our stage. I try to be amenable to acceptable substitutions if that option is requested by the sound provider. In these cases, I’ve always found that cooperation rather than rigidity makes the show day much smoother. Doing one-offs is stressful enough without adding any unnecessary pressures.
Show Files and Plugins — Ready to Go
I also carry with me all the specialized software I require for effects and plug-ins. All the necessary installers and licenses are stored on my various iLoks and USB sticks for the software packages I use to supplement the VENUE Pack Pro package that comes with the Avid consoles. Along with my selected console or show file, I will install Waves 9 Mercury, TC Electronic VSS3 and DVR2 and Trillium Labs TL Space when I arrive at load-in. If the vendor has time to pre-install these plug-in packages, it creates more time for me to participate in other tasks, but I’m always fully prepared to do a full install of everything I will need.
As Mr. Taylor is closing the Greenwich show, the particular status of being the headliner has afforded me the freedom to choose a preferred console platform. New England Audio Tech will be providing an Avid VENUE D-Show at FOH and at monitors. The entertainment begins at noon on the show day, so we will be loading in and sound checking the evening before the show. That gives us plenty of time to prepare both consoles for the show. I have archived every tour I have done on the VENUE system and have all the individual Show Folders saved as well as the input channels, effects return channels and plug-in parameters saved in Preset Folders.
In this case, I will load a show file from our most recent performance in Hawaii last month. Both the musicians and many of the requested transducers will be the same. For the grand piano, I will need to load the input data from last summer’s preset folder, because we used locally provided DPA mics in Hawaii versus the Earthworks PM40 system we will employ in Greenwich. When on tour, we employ a fourth transducer element — an AMT M40 — inside the piano, but we will work without it in Greenwich. I don’t own one yet, and I certainly wouldn’t ask the audio company to buy a $500 transducer for a single show.
Arrival: First Contact
When walking into any venue for a one-off, my first task is to engage in conversation with our stage manager, Jonah Lawrence, and our lighting director, Tom Wagstaff, to place Mr. Taylor’s performance position. We try to be flexible and consider all the production elements that come into play. We want the audience to get the best show possible, but you can’t go into a festival and try to reinvent the wheel or get into contests of will with the people who are working for the entire festival. We are only there briefly as guests who are part of a larger whole. Smiles are cheap, but reap great rewards.
Once the mic position for James is determined, I then head out to front of house. I first ask the systems engineer for an overview of the setup and what sends he would like to receive from me to make optimum use of the audio rig deployed in the venue. Before I load data, I need to know if the console on which I will be mixing is shared, or exclusive to our performance. If the console is mine alone, or if I am the first guest engineer on site, I will load a full console file downloaded from the last relevant show. If the console is set up in a shared format, I will only load a show file and preset folder library while leaving all other previously saved data intact.
As it turned out, we were the first act to sound check in rainy Greenwich today. Bobby, the New England Audio Tech systems engineer, invited me to load my complete console file. I definitely appreciated his accommodating and helpful attitude. With the time saved by not having to go through the show setup input by input, Bobby and I were able to rapidly — but meticulously — go through each element of the sound system and create an integrated whole from the many areas of the performance space at which speaker systems had been distributed.
Even with the rain pouring down, and the rather short time window allotted for a full set up in adverse weather conditions, everyone pulled together and had the stage ready for the musicians at the appointed time. Everything went smoothly for Mr. Taylor and the band as we proceeded through a soggy but successful sound check. And in spite of the rain, we had a great show here in Greenwich. We are all extremely appreciative of the effort put forth by New England Audio Tech and their onsite personnel to make this one-off feel as seamless and painless as a regular tour stop.
Safe travels!
