In a word BRRRRRR.... note all the parkas, blankets, tarps and toques in the picture above, it really was a chilly weekend, but it is Harvest Moon and all is forgiven. From the first moment we wheel the 5 ton into the field it feels like we have at long last arrived home to a good old friend. Robert or Sir Robert and Sven meet us on arrival and it's hugs all around followed by "hey I remember you! You're that asshole from last year!" Insults and ribbing that will continue for the rest of the next 3 days. Eric Kinsman, Tim Iskierski and I are out to have a great last weekend of music at what we have all collectively decided is probably Manitoba's best/funest/bestkeptsecret/ allround Music Fest... I don't know, hard to call but every year the talent, altho mostly local, is so top notch and the beautiful surroundings and mixed crowd made up of organic farmers to aging hipsters to neonSamsungteenyboppers it's all just a feel good event with great music. I always look forward to this one every year. It's special.
This time we are treating the Festival and ourselves to Jimi K and Audioworks newest RCF Array rig, a big improvement over the JBL Tubs this fest has been using for years. They are lightweight, compact, self powered, and most important, super sweet sounding speakers...and very efficient which works well here because we're yanking power from the nearby building from a 50amp stoveplug, not a lot of resources. In the days of old we would have boxes 3 times the size powered by amp racks that drew 100's of amps, weighed 400lbs and took up twice the truck space. It's a lot less stuff overall now that requires less energy to work. Anyhoo sounds sweet in the field....
This time we are treating the Festival and ourselves to Jimi K and Audioworks newest RCF Array rig, a big improvement over the JBL Tubs this fest has been using for years. They are lightweight, compact, self powered, and most important, super sweet sounding speakers...and very efficient which works well here because we're yanking power from the nearby building from a 50amp stoveplug, not a lot of resources. In the days of old we would have boxes 3 times the size powered by amp racks that drew 100's of amps, weighed 400lbs and took up twice the truck space. It's a lot less stuff overall now that requires less energy to work. Anyhoo sounds sweet in the field....
So it's a nice casual setup Friday afternoon. The first band Yes We Mystic show up around 7pm to get in what will probably be the only soundcheck of the festival. What a lot of peeps(even bands) might not realize is that in these festival situations there is rarely any time provided in the schedule for changeovers- the time when one band finishes and the next band sets up. You have to get 1 set of rubes off the stage with all their stuff and get the next bunch up there, set up, line checked and monitors checked… all of this is usually happening while there is an MC onstage bantering away, telling jokes, thanking the festival volunteers, and Oh yah, thanking the event sponsors, sometimes that can go on for miles, but either way the MC keeps looking back at the stage hands and new band and going “are you ready yet? cause I ran outta material about 3 minutes ago!” It can be messy especially when the MC just gives up and announces the band anyway when they’re still 10 minutes away from being ready…sigh…I can’t say enough about the importance of having a professional guy doing that job….
So we start off the fest with the above mentioned Yes We Mystic a kinda prog rocking pop band with Cello’s Violins Mandolins Moog bass with Andy Summers Gtrs, nice songs, nice presentation, I think I’ve mixed them 3 or 4 times this summer, ha ha they’re as busy as me…Nice bunch o talented humans…
and oh yah it takes a minute or so, but the PA sounds sweet, bit of a challenge to hear the left stacks, but the wide 120 degree throw of the RCF arrays makes it a little easier to hear. This can quite often be an issue in certain fields. Ideally as an engineer you want to be exactly in the centre of your 2 stereo speakers. This allows you to maintain stereo balance of your mix, for instance when you see the drummer reach over and lightly pings on his ride cymbal in a quiet part of a song that cymbal should sound as if it’s coming distinctly from the physical direction you see it coming from- when the guitarist on the other side of the stage solos the instrument is panned there- this is what we do as engineers to recreate the realism of the visual / audio experience and there is a whole realm of logic and thought behind what the casual listener is hearing….I digress tho… the point I was trying to make is that sometimes the centre mix position doesn't always end up in the middle and it doesn't take much for a whole speaker array to disappear...the mix takes on much more of a mono presence when you can only hear one stack.
On comes Shotgun Jimmy, from Brandon Manitoba Jimmy revels in two minute pock punk intelemocking commentaries on life. Love this guy, his humour, his minimal approach, first time seeing his band with a bass player? That’s OK getting bored of bands without bass players. Gimme a Sousophone or gimme death!
Last band of the evening takes the stage, Ridley Bent, and backstage I see 2 old buds Steve Broadhurst and Brent Perrin, the rhythm section from hell & think hmm this should be good, he’s also got twin Chris’s Carmichael and Chris Sumthin sum thin best tele player I seen lately Chris as well as this Steel player I’ve seen on gigs before and been impressed. Now I’m not a big country guy or fan but Ridley (if that is your real name haha) is a pretty normal guy that writes real songs and tells stories in a very compelling way almost to the point of your not thinking about the genre cause it’s just so real what he’s saying and drawing you into his conversation that you forget about the absolute crack ass band rippin up the shit behind him. Now what I am a huge fan of is the sound of telecaster guitars, the more the better. Ridley Bent, the band sports 3 telecasters onstage and 1 steel player that would be a tele player if he could! Naw this band rocked the whole set, top to bottom 1st note to last, and if I may say so, I thought it sounded quite pristine on my 25000 watt personal stereo that night. Oh did I mention that it was cold? 2 degrees Celsius, kinda forgot cause the music was so good.
Saturday also included a B stage over at the only restaurant in town, our bud Eric Kinsman, after a serious night of revelry has to set up at 10 am. He's got the bands Heartbeat City, SC Mira, French Press, Reverend Rambler and others over the next 2 days. He's got a much smaller version of our RCF rig but manages to make a big noise. We have a couple of hours before our show starts with a puppet show and kids entertainers an man I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open till JD & the Sunshine Band jolt me awake with their brand of halfwayhouse rawk, hilarious weird and I'm awake now. Slow build thru Kip Kocay and Slow Spirit. At about 7 Del Barber hits the stage and like Ridely, he's got that sincere storyteller thing going for him. By himself he commands the stage for a full hour, this is an accomplishment at an outdoor rocknroll festival for a single guy with a guitar. He means it man, and it shows and comes across that way. Lets hear it for being real.
Next up is Jess Reimer, who by recollection is a bluegrass singer in the old school tradition, I guess she's got a fancy record deal now?(I could be totally wrong about this, not a journalist) and a semi rockin band, gone is the acoustic gtr to be replaced by swampy telecaster and a full drum kit. Somehow the mandolin player who was an integral part of the band before seems like he's wailing away trying to find his way into the dynamic which is now louder and less obvious in subtlety. Maybe the new band is just finding it's stage legs, I don't know, it kinda sounds like the band can't decide whether to be newgrass or a rock band, I'm sure time will tell.
Les Jupes hit the stage 930ish, it's dark finally and this is a cool band, led by Mike Petekau with his deep baritone voice and great songs that have a college appeal but sophisticated melodies and some great vintage keyboard sounds. I got a great mix going with these guys. You know even the best of us hotshot sound guys are always fighting our PA's to get it sounding where we are satisfied, it's a rare thing when it all comes together and nirvana happens back at the console. Tonight, like last night with Ridley Bent, it's all coming together, it sounds awesome, and I find myself actually dancing back at the board, this is a sweet feeling and this why I do this, these moments like this.
Beggars Banquet is a sloppy half drunk fun rollicking and roiling tribute to the Rolling Stones. They take the stage and all sorts of mayhem breaks out, they kinda have the guitar sounds down and capture the sloppy effect of the Stones but the simple things, like getting the simple guitar melodies right seems to elude them, and the musician in me wants to know why they bother to go go the trouble of learning the tunes but can't be bothered to reproduce some of the most iconic solos in rock n roll. Even Jeff Beck, when he covers a Beatles tune pays homage and respect to the melodies. I know I sound like an old fuddyduddy here because I can tell the audience is really having fun with this sloppy drunk punk rock version of their fav Rolling Stones tunes, but I just think sometimes that if you're covering iconic music you should at least pay it the respect it deserves by not butchering it... the singer is great, energetic and having a lotta fun with his Mick rendition...
So we start off the fest with the above mentioned Yes We Mystic a kinda prog rocking pop band with Cello’s Violins Mandolins Moog bass with Andy Summers Gtrs, nice songs, nice presentation, I think I’ve mixed them 3 or 4 times this summer, ha ha they’re as busy as me…Nice bunch o talented humans…
and oh yah it takes a minute or so, but the PA sounds sweet, bit of a challenge to hear the left stacks, but the wide 120 degree throw of the RCF arrays makes it a little easier to hear. This can quite often be an issue in certain fields. Ideally as an engineer you want to be exactly in the centre of your 2 stereo speakers. This allows you to maintain stereo balance of your mix, for instance when you see the drummer reach over and lightly pings on his ride cymbal in a quiet part of a song that cymbal should sound as if it’s coming distinctly from the physical direction you see it coming from- when the guitarist on the other side of the stage solos the instrument is panned there- this is what we do as engineers to recreate the realism of the visual / audio experience and there is a whole realm of logic and thought behind what the casual listener is hearing….I digress tho… the point I was trying to make is that sometimes the centre mix position doesn't always end up in the middle and it doesn't take much for a whole speaker array to disappear...the mix takes on much more of a mono presence when you can only hear one stack.
On comes Shotgun Jimmy, from Brandon Manitoba Jimmy revels in two minute pock punk intelemocking commentaries on life. Love this guy, his humour, his minimal approach, first time seeing his band with a bass player? That’s OK getting bored of bands without bass players. Gimme a Sousophone or gimme death!
Last band of the evening takes the stage, Ridley Bent, and backstage I see 2 old buds Steve Broadhurst and Brent Perrin, the rhythm section from hell & think hmm this should be good, he’s also got twin Chris’s Carmichael and Chris Sumthin sum thin best tele player I seen lately Chris as well as this Steel player I’ve seen on gigs before and been impressed. Now I’m not a big country guy or fan but Ridley (if that is your real name haha) is a pretty normal guy that writes real songs and tells stories in a very compelling way almost to the point of your not thinking about the genre cause it’s just so real what he’s saying and drawing you into his conversation that you forget about the absolute crack ass band rippin up the shit behind him. Now what I am a huge fan of is the sound of telecaster guitars, the more the better. Ridley Bent, the band sports 3 telecasters onstage and 1 steel player that would be a tele player if he could! Naw this band rocked the whole set, top to bottom 1st note to last, and if I may say so, I thought it sounded quite pristine on my 25000 watt personal stereo that night. Oh did I mention that it was cold? 2 degrees Celsius, kinda forgot cause the music was so good.
Saturday also included a B stage over at the only restaurant in town, our bud Eric Kinsman, after a serious night of revelry has to set up at 10 am. He's got the bands Heartbeat City, SC Mira, French Press, Reverend Rambler and others over the next 2 days. He's got a much smaller version of our RCF rig but manages to make a big noise. We have a couple of hours before our show starts with a puppet show and kids entertainers an man I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open till JD & the Sunshine Band jolt me awake with their brand of halfwayhouse rawk, hilarious weird and I'm awake now. Slow build thru Kip Kocay and Slow Spirit. At about 7 Del Barber hits the stage and like Ridely, he's got that sincere storyteller thing going for him. By himself he commands the stage for a full hour, this is an accomplishment at an outdoor rocknroll festival for a single guy with a guitar. He means it man, and it shows and comes across that way. Lets hear it for being real.
Next up is Jess Reimer, who by recollection is a bluegrass singer in the old school tradition, I guess she's got a fancy record deal now?(I could be totally wrong about this, not a journalist) and a semi rockin band, gone is the acoustic gtr to be replaced by swampy telecaster and a full drum kit. Somehow the mandolin player who was an integral part of the band before seems like he's wailing away trying to find his way into the dynamic which is now louder and less obvious in subtlety. Maybe the new band is just finding it's stage legs, I don't know, it kinda sounds like the band can't decide whether to be newgrass or a rock band, I'm sure time will tell.
Les Jupes hit the stage 930ish, it's dark finally and this is a cool band, led by Mike Petekau with his deep baritone voice and great songs that have a college appeal but sophisticated melodies and some great vintage keyboard sounds. I got a great mix going with these guys. You know even the best of us hotshot sound guys are always fighting our PA's to get it sounding where we are satisfied, it's a rare thing when it all comes together and nirvana happens back at the console. Tonight, like last night with Ridley Bent, it's all coming together, it sounds awesome, and I find myself actually dancing back at the board, this is a sweet feeling and this why I do this, these moments like this.
Beggars Banquet is a sloppy half drunk fun rollicking and roiling tribute to the Rolling Stones. They take the stage and all sorts of mayhem breaks out, they kinda have the guitar sounds down and capture the sloppy effect of the Stones but the simple things, like getting the simple guitar melodies right seems to elude them, and the musician in me wants to know why they bother to go go the trouble of learning the tunes but can't be bothered to reproduce some of the most iconic solos in rock n roll. Even Jeff Beck, when he covers a Beatles tune pays homage and respect to the melodies. I know I sound like an old fuddyduddy here because I can tell the audience is really having fun with this sloppy drunk punk rock version of their fav Rolling Stones tunes, but I just think sometimes that if you're covering iconic music you should at least pay it the respect it deserves by not butchering it... the singer is great, energetic and having a lotta fun with his Mick rendition...
Which brings us to the final act of the night Royal Canoe... these guys have been around for a number of years but have been working really hard at their craft and it shows. Fresh innovative pop music with a definite modern soul vibe, cool instrumentation and dual drummers, a very dry but tight sound. Their sound guy Elliot Filbert is an old buddy and colleague (we worked the Garrick Theatre together for years) and his mix is first rate, the band sounds fantastic and this is a great way to finish off the mainstage festivities for the year. I like Elliot a lot, he introduces me to his friends as Chris, the mixer, nice to show respect brutha. The boys in Royal Canoe have nothing to worry about with him behind the faders, his is a world class talent... as is theirs.
So with sadness we come to the end of my summer festival season. It's been, like most summers, full of long days, late nights, earlier mornings, incredible awe inspiring music, and a couple of hangovers (you gotta have sum fun after a hard day's mixin) I work with a great crew of young guys from AudioWorks Productions in Winnipeg, including monitor/ FOH techs Eric Kinsman, Tim Iskierski, Tim Clark, Lighting Designer Doug Porisky, and a whole cast of support characters too numerous to mention here. These guys are not only serious talents themselves but they've been covering my ass for the last couple of years, what with my bad knees and all the aches that go along with my 55 spins around the sun. They are the glue that hold AudioWorks Productions together and they are the reason that every year we get called back to do almost 30 festivals a year. Like myself, these guys are devoted and motivated by the love of the music we get to mix.
I'm lucky enough at my age to have a kinda dream job, lucky enough that my ears still work and lucky enough to have the most incredible experiences traveling around these festivals that I felt compelled to document it this year. It's kinda technical because I'm suspecting that this might be read by my musical / geeky engineer / producer friends. I'm not really a gearhead but I'm intrigued by the fidelity of such improvements so I've talked about what I do know to at least maybe start a conversation or 2 and offer the perspective from my POV. What good is knowledge if it can't be shared?
I've had a lot of fun writing these bits this summer and I'm starting to formulate some plans for a regular engineering / producing / music blog. I can't decide which, I'll let you know when I grow up and decide. In the meantime please feel free to peruse the other areas of my site here, have a listen to some tunes I've recorded over the years with other artists or have a listen to a few tracks from my own band Dash And the Dots. Next week I'm off to Belize for a holiday and then I'm back to mixing at the WECC, finishing the Dots Album, and starting a couple of new recording projects. This I'm thinking, will keep me busy until next festival season, we'll catch up then...
So with sadness we come to the end of my summer festival season. It's been, like most summers, full of long days, late nights, earlier mornings, incredible awe inspiring music, and a couple of hangovers (you gotta have sum fun after a hard day's mixin) I work with a great crew of young guys from AudioWorks Productions in Winnipeg, including monitor/ FOH techs Eric Kinsman, Tim Iskierski, Tim Clark, Lighting Designer Doug Porisky, and a whole cast of support characters too numerous to mention here. These guys are not only serious talents themselves but they've been covering my ass for the last couple of years, what with my bad knees and all the aches that go along with my 55 spins around the sun. They are the glue that hold AudioWorks Productions together and they are the reason that every year we get called back to do almost 30 festivals a year. Like myself, these guys are devoted and motivated by the love of the music we get to mix.
I'm lucky enough at my age to have a kinda dream job, lucky enough that my ears still work and lucky enough to have the most incredible experiences traveling around these festivals that I felt compelled to document it this year. It's kinda technical because I'm suspecting that this might be read by my musical / geeky engineer / producer friends. I'm not really a gearhead but I'm intrigued by the fidelity of such improvements so I've talked about what I do know to at least maybe start a conversation or 2 and offer the perspective from my POV. What good is knowledge if it can't be shared?
I've had a lot of fun writing these bits this summer and I'm starting to formulate some plans for a regular engineering / producing / music blog. I can't decide which, I'll let you know when I grow up and decide. In the meantime please feel free to peruse the other areas of my site here, have a listen to some tunes I've recorded over the years with other artists or have a listen to a few tracks from my own band Dash And the Dots. Next week I'm off to Belize for a holiday and then I'm back to mixing at the WECC, finishing the Dots Album, and starting a couple of new recording projects. This I'm thinking, will keep me busy until next festival season, we'll catch up then...