DAY after a long ass drive ... LONG, LONG ASS DRIVE.....
well... after a long ass drive.... and a rather pleasant one at that( remember kiddies, these folks i am out with are a gas to hang with. we do not attempt to eat our bandmates in times of long term confinement!)
The drive in was very , very beautiful. we sometimes forget how awesome America is. i had not been out that way in 4 years, found myself remembering some things, marvelling at others! (currently listening to "Traffic- John Barleycorn Must Die" and being distracted from my thoughts)...
the moose... yuck. i realize that we must make ourselves available to the masses. we want to do that as performers. bring the music to our fans.
funny thing is that some venues are NOT really set up for these things in a way that is conducive to providing a comfortable environment for the bands, crew, etc.. one cannot objectively mix from a point 6 feet in front of a limited range speaker pointing up a stairwell and 10 feet vertically above the front of stage left. if you look out of the "booth" you can see the heads of the vocalists.
you cannot effectively mix monitors without a cue wedge, or for that matter a cue wedge that even remotely sounds like the wedges on stage. and when the cue wedge is situated in such a position that it projects down to the stage...well, you can imagine the personal hell i was in.
forget that the house guy neglected to correctly explain how the rig was zoned, or that there were "fills" that had no way to control them from the mix position( they were sourced from the amp racks that were in the corner BEHIND the drummer) and they had a completely different sound as well..i almost do not want to mention having to shout for the house guy quite frequently. another BIG PEVE of mine.. if your going to staff a room the staff should be AVAILABLE to do their tasks.
gonna write a little rant about this shit too.. look for it... those of you who have been there will no doubt feel my pain.
the bright side of the gig... the folks were going nuts! seems to be a constant with this tour..
the fan's love the music. there in lies the great reward.
PWHS
sigh.