Burbank, CA — The effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans was catastrophic, and among those who suffered the storm were members of New Orleans' Dirty Dozen Brass Band, some of whom lost their homes, so the group's record management inquired, "So what's going on?" Right there, the idea to cover Marvin Gaye's soulful 1971 hit What's Going On? was born, and Royer Labs helped make it happen. The project is given voice by the band and special guests G. Love, Ivan Neville, Bettye LaVette, Guru, and Chuck D. The CD was produced and arranged by Anthony Marinelli, co-produced by Shawn Amos and recorded and mixed by Clint Bennett.
What's Going On? was recorded at LA's Westlake Studio D and Bismeaux Studio in Austin, TX. Clint Bennett, the CD's mix engineer, said, "We secured a combination of R-121s, R-122s, an SF-12, and an SF-24."
Bennett used a combination of Royer R-121s and R-122s as spot mics on each of the two trumpets, the trombone, a tenor sax, and a baritone sax, while the players were positioned in a semi-circle around an SF-24 phantom-powered stereo ribbon mic that served the brass section as a whole. The sousaphone was placed in an isolation booth with yet another R-121. "This arrangement enabled me to blend the composite brass section sound with that of the individual instruments," notes Bennett.
Bennett reports that, in addition to the brass, the R-121 was used to close mic the guitar amp for the sessions and an SF-12 Stereo Coincident Ribbon Microphone was placed into service as a drum overhead. Bennett also used Royer's SF-24 to record some backing group vocals/chants.
For additional information on Clint Bennett and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, visit them online at web.mac.com/clintbennett and www.dirtydozenbrass.com respectively.
Additional information can be found at www.royerlabs.com/session_photos/dirty_dozen.html.
