Gig Report: Dec 27th

Junior Giant

Well attended show, and I got to enjoy the chili this time around!  I think we have officially reached the point of "not enough PA" for Junior Giant.  After the show, Spencer told me that he could barely hear himself...and I was at full throttle on his send!  I also drove something at FOH into audible clipping during the heavier vocal parts.  I think it's "science project" time again.

Gig Report: Dec 26th

Wasatch Music Coaching Academy

WMCA decided to have a post Christmas party with food and bands, and I think it was a solid idea.  Being a WMCA show meant that the turnout was very strong, and I got to experience some very fun "rock and roll moments."

I think I'm going to try and find some situations where the WMCA Rock Ensemble could open for some folks, as I think it would be fun for the kids (and educational, too.)

Gig Report: Dec 20th

Self Promoted:

By Tonight

A Cassandra Utterance

Larusso

Mary May I

The After Autumn

Cool night, went well, reasonably solid turnout.  I made a mistake in trying to replace the seized amplifier fan with too little time to spare before load-in, but I ended up having just enough time to get everything in working order when I really needed it.  Other than that, my end of the night felt very smooth and comfortable - a great way to end a long week.

Gig Report: Dec 19th

Self Promoted:

Peter Harvey

Sarah Songer

Show was canceled due to unsafe driving conditions.

I really applaud the decision, actually.  There is no show worth being injured over, and so I have to congratulate Peter Harvey on making a very mature and responsible decision.  In the words of The Gorgeous Hussies: "Don't rock yourself to death."

Gig Report: Dec 18th

Self Promoted:

Zach Galanis

John Louviere

Cameron Rafatti

I was anxious for this show, but my anxiousness was unfounded.  The long, luxurious soundcheck afforded by Zach's schedule made for the ability to kill lots of gremlins before showtime.  The subwoofer amp finally killed the fan on the A channel (10 minutes before soundcheck!), so I had to run both subs off one side.  No noticeable problems, though.  When you win, you win.

The only thing that really bugged me was how the crowd talked through the sets played by Cameron and John.  As much as I try not to let things get under my skin as much as they used to, this kind of thing is sandpaper on my nerves.  Here are these guys playing some excellent music, and I've got half the room yapping loudly in my left ear.  This really marred the night for me, because it made the truly excellent audience turnout into sort of a bad thing.  I would have settled for only having had the 50% of the crowd that actually listened, personally.

Although I've tried to put away my "jaded, mean, cynical audio technician" hat away, I'm going to put it back on now.  Underground is not a bar, where bands and solo artists are booked for the purpose of attracting buyers of various alcoholic beverages.  Underground is a place to HEAR music.  If you just can't be bothered to shut your trap, please find somewhere else to be.

I'm about 99% sure that I'm preaching to the choir with this, but if I'm not, and the preceding paragraph has offended you...GOOD.

There, I feel better now.

Gig Report: Dec 17th

Self Promoted:

Double or Nothing

Greg Mann

Jebu

Sara Janey

Empire of the Forgotten

Marci Thorne

The Dockets

Okay show, turnout was a bit "eh."  Pushed the monitors a bit too hard for (Nick?) from Double or Nothing, and got some unpleasant feedback until I corrected myself.  I also got a little confused during the changeover to Sara Janey, and tried to get guitar out of a channel that definitely was not the guitar.  Ended up with a weird situation with...Jebu, I think?  From what I can gather, they could only just make it down right in time for their set, but we were running long.  I guess they had to pack up and leave without playing, which is a bum deal."The best laid plans" and all that, you know.

Still, the show happened, and ultimately the technical issues didn't stop us for more than five minutes at a time.

Gig Report - Dec 13th

Self Promoted:

Crashing at Dawn

aTiLast

I never would have thought before that a show with only two bands cold be a rough night, but there's a first time for everything.  My problems started with alternatively losing one side of Crashing's keyboard, getting that back, and then promptly losing the other.  This little exercise chewed up a big chunk of aTiLast's check time, and my issues were further compounded by me not having the good sense to pick a stage layout and snake patch that would give me flexibility.  We did eventually find physical and electrical space for everything, but that didn't solve all the problems.  I had some weird balance issues amongst the instruments, and I managed to start everything out with a muddy, over-bassy tone.  Yikes!  Big credit goes to aTiLast for being troopers, and pulling off their set with all the challenges (including some weird shorting issues on the main vocal mic - gremlins, I tell ya).  Thankfully, (mercifully, perhaps?) Crashing's set did not suffer from any major problems, although I got some gnarly feedback for myself in a couple places, maybe because I was running on adrenaine all night...

Wow - this post is big enough for two paragraphs!

I think aTiLast's set highlighted another issue, which is hard to have to acknowledge - but it's necessary.  There are just times where our FOH PA and monitor rig aren't enough.  We could definitely do with more inputs to the mixing console, and more SPL available from FOH - but those weren't the issue for aTiLast.  For them, I think the major issue was the linearity of the monitor rig.  There are some spendy wedges out there that can get incredibly loud without feedback, but those aren't the ones we have.  Consequently, I couldn't apply the gain required to put Taryn in the "right place" monitor wise.  I was at full throttle on the sends, but I didn't dare add any global gain, because taking somebody's head off with a screech of feedback is a really bad idea.

Actually, I need a bigger stage AND a monitor engineer...

I guess there is one good thing about having a night where I really struggle - I write bigger posts!

Gig Report - Dec 12th

Self Promoted:

Spontaneous Kennie

Suburban Bordumb

In Key Drop Outs

Illegal Beagle

2 and a Half White Guys

"Happy Ska-lidays" show.  HUGE night - like 180+ people huge.  The differing horn arrangements between bands made for some tricky changeovers, but everything seemed to fall into place just in time for the next set to begin.  I'm pretty sure we used absolutely every minute between 7 PM and 10:30 PM for this show.  Had a little problem when the slamming started a bit too wide - our Christmas tree took some damage, and the stage left mid-high got knocked backwards onto the snake head.  Everything was pretty fixable, thankfully, although one of our rope lights eventually got hammered past the point of no return (but that was just wear and tear from changeovers).  I'm pretty sure that this was the biggest night ever for Underground.  I'm not sure that it can (or even should be) topped, unless there was somehow a system for rotating audience in and out.

Gig Report - Dec 11th

Self Promoted:

Jahnre

Mason Jones and the GT's (Formerly called The Tangerines)

Great night.  Smooth as silk, well attended.  Serious, no-holds-barred, fun rock.  I had a stupid grin on my face multiple times during the night.  Had one not so great spot when I learned that Blackhounds rolled their van while on tour.  Yikes.  Everybody, please find out how you can support Blackhounds - they're great guys, and it would stink for their music to stop, even for a little while.

Gig Report - Dec. 2nd

Self Promoted:

The Resistant

Crudus Nex

Fatal Remedy

As Grace Falls

The Average

This was one of those shows that "got away" a bit.  Everything seemed to be going as smooth as silk, the turnout was good...and then I suffered an epic fail when trying to put together a monitor mix for Fatal Remedy.  I managed to get them the exact opposite of what they needed, while ripping the head off of the stage right guitar player with a blast of high-end.  They troopered through, and seemed to have a pretty solid set in spite of the weirdness.  Well done, Fatal Remedy!  (And really, well done to all the bands.  "Metal" nights can be hard, but this one wasn't - that is, until I managed to bungle my monitor mixes, and that was my own fault.)

Gig Report - Nov. 29th

Self Promoted:

KiraMesa

Marie Bradford

Good show, well played, somewhat light attendance.  Good sound overall, though I should have started with the monitors throttled up a bit more.  Didn't have the struggles I usually have with instruments like the cello.  Giant reflectors with resonant boxes attached can play real havoc with sound reinforcement, but volumes were very reasonable and the show went smoothly.

Gig Report - Nov 28th

Self Promoted:

Crashing At Dawn

Junior Giant

Super fun show.  Great turnout.  Crashing at Dawn did a lot of work on their stage volume between the last show and this one, and so we had far fewer audio problems.  There were several times during the show where I just stood at FOH with a big, stupid grin on my face, and simply enjoyed the "big rock cool."  Seems like Junior Giant's fan base is starting to re-energize as well.

Gig Report - Nov. 22nd

Self promoted:

Burnt Orange

Scarlet Lace

Empire of The Forgotten

I think almost all the PA gremlins have been exterminated, or at least in strong cages.  Feel like I have a bit more gain after the loudspeaker management stages, meaning that I don't have to run the faders as "hot" on the console.  Another slow night, in terms of attendance.  I think the merch tables did a little bit of business though.  It would be interesting (scientifically speaking) to be able to "copy and paste" a particular show to a different week, and see how the amount of audience changes.

Still, keeping busy is always good for a venue, even if only a few folks show up.  Any audience is better than no audience at all.

Gig Report - Nov. 21st

Self promoted:

Outlet

Blackhounds

Larusso

The Tangerines

Alas The Dreamer

Offsuit

Long show - six bands in one night is a rarity.  Seemed to work well, though, and changeovers weren't a problem.  Had all the chairs torn down, which luckily made room for all the gear that was in the room all at the same time.  Crowd was a little thinner than I thought it would be, especially considering the strength of the bands involved.  I swear, if people only knew that they were missing cool shows...

Still debugging the new system tuning.  One or two gremlins are still running around.

Gig Report - Nov 15th

Wasatch Music Coaching Academy

Early show - started at 10 AM.  Long day - it was a pair of two-hour performances.  It was cool to see the students perform with the teachers.  I love Dave Murphy's shell pack - it sounds good no matter what.  Recitals like this are more "chill" than the shows, which makes for a less chaotic feel overall.  Revised PA tuning performed well.

Gig Report - Nov 11th

Stone Vista Media:

Birds Without

Jeff Stone

Emily Maher

Geoff Koch

Arienette

The Takeover UK

Alternately good and not so good night.  Solid turnout over all, but lots of people took off before Geoff and Takeover took the stage.  Was trying a new PA tuning, which sounded pretty good for Geoff, but didn't have the feedback resistance needed for Birds Without.  Back to the drawing board...

Gig Report - Nov 8th

Stone Vista Media:

Maybelle's Music Box

Pony Ride

Parley's Drifters

Bluegrass night.  Very light audience - maybe this was just a strange week for shows?  Saw the ultimate micing technique for double bass, which is wrapping a mic in something soft, and then wedging it in the tailpiece (pointed up at the bridge).  Actually had enough gain on the banjos, which surprised me greatly (usually, I end up not being able to really hear the banjo player, no matter how many strange tricks I try).  Of course, I offset that triumph by not quite getting the mandolins right.  You win some, you lose some...

Gig Report - Nov 7th

Self Promoted:

Ben Johnson

Michael Gross and the Statuettes

Nicosia

Fun night, though the crowd was pretty sparse.  Felt pretty good about the audio, although I think I've made some kind of fundamental error in the system tuning.  I'm always perching the vocal mics right on the edge of the system's point of stability.  I think I should knock down all my settings and see if starting over helps.  I wasn't really sure of myself with Nicosia's guitar tone, but I did settle on a darker, more middly sound after a couple of songs.

Gig Report - Nov 6th

Self Promoted:

Crashing at Dawn

Junior Giant

Okay night, lightly attended.  Had no trouble getting Junior Giant going in a short amount of time (which maybe is better than when I can sit and fret about every little thing).  Felt pretty good about the tones of things all around, but I felt like I never quite got enough vocal for Crashing at Dawn.  Luckily, I get to try again in a couple of weeks.  

Gig Report - Nov 5th

Solid Ground Cafe (@ New Song Underground):

Denison Witmer

Emme Packer

Seafinch

Amazing night.  Packed house.  Lots of waterbags/ portable, self-propelled absorbers (that is to say, humans) made the room sound pretty nice.  Along with the relatively low volume of the show, this led to an overall show sound that had pleasant low end, and rich (yet crisp) vocals.  I missed a couple of cues when Emme's guitar player did some quiet work with his e-bow, but I eventually caught on.

Gig Report - Nov. 1st

Rising Artists Studios LLC:

Carma

Codi

Julia

Brodie

Aubree

Excellent show, very well attended.  The room really sounds a lot better with lots of people in it - they soak up all the "garble" in the low-mids.  Soundcheck was extra long (and actually more of a rehearsal), because it was the first RASllc showcase without a wireless system.  Everybody seemed to adapt well, though.

Gig Report - Oct. 31st

Self Promoted:

Junior Giant

The Halloween bash came off well, although we struggled during soundcheck with getting everything just right.  Got another opportunity (with the opener) to try using a "vanilla" mic on a kick drum, and was pleasantly surprised (again).  Attendance not as high as hoped, but pretty okay as far as I was concerned.

Gig Report - Oct. 30th

Self Promoted:

Wasatch Music Coaching Academy

As expected, WMCA put on a great show that was very well attended.  A special highlight was "Thriller" being performed by an 11(?) piece funk band.  Reasonably solid sound throughout, although the feed from the keyboard amp was noisy, and not every guitar amplifier got a microphone during changeovers.  We were also trying to be less loud than last time WMCA came through - I don't know if we succeeded.

Pictures From The Resistant

They took a lot of them. The whole set is here.

Video From Discard The Day

This contrasts somewhat with the video from Six Ways To Sunday. ;)

Abomination

Lots Of Videos From Six Ways To Sunday!

Check it out:

A Woman's Plea

You'd Never Leave

Farmer's Prayer

Redneck Cadillac

Technical Data For New Song Underground

Because of some questions that have come up in recently in booking discussions, my inner audio nerd decided to get me busy with doing with a technical overview of New Song Underground.  There is quite a bit of "audio nerd content" in this, and some of the language may be unwieldy to parse - but I'm trying to be something that reasonably approaches precise.

Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't.

Anyway, here it is:

Technical Data for New Song Underground

This document is an attempt to provide meaningful, quantitative data regarding various aspects of New Song Underground. It does not (and can not) address every possible situation encountered, and the testing discussed is not infallible. However, this document may still be interesting and useful in various cases. Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors.

PA Equipment

FOH PA System:

Two stacks, each biamplified, consisting of one subwoofer enclosure of one direct radiating 18” low frequency (LF) driver, and one mid-high enclosure of one direct-radiating 15” LF driver, one direct-radiating 15” mid frequency (MF) driver, and one horn-loaded 1” exit high frequency (HF) driver.

The FOH stack style is parallel (one stack on either side of the stage, with the stacks radiating on a line perpendicular to an imaginary, vertical plane intersecting the proscenium).

The FOH PA is configured to operate as a monaural source. One channel is reserved for the mid-high amplification, and one channel is reserved for the subwoofer amplification. These channels are fed from the output of the mixing console in such a fashion that an audio technician can allocate signal between the mid-high and subwoofer systems by way of the pan controls on each mixing console channel.

FOH PA management consists of one “equalization (EQ) emphasis” loudspeaker management system, and one “crossover emphasis” loudspeaker management system, in series.

Stage Monitor System:

Four monitor wedges, each biamplified, each being a mid-high enclosure of one direct-radiating 10” LF driver, and one horn-loaded 1” exit HF driver.

One drum fill, comprising two stacks, each triamplified, each stack consisting of one subwoofer enclosure of one direct radiating 18” LF driver, and one mid-high enclosure of one direct-radiating 15” LF driver, and one horn-loaded 1” exit HF driver.

The stage monitor style is wedges across the downstage lip, and the drum fill centered near the upstage wall.

The stage monitor system is configured to operate as five monaural sources. Mixes for the sources are derived from the first five auxiliaries available on the mixing console channels, typically using console channels configured to be independent of channels used for feeding the FOH PA. (Channels used for feeding the FOH PA can be used to drive the monitor mixes, if independent EQ and compression for monitor sources is not required.)

The stage monitor system's management consists of one parametric equalizer for each wedge, and one graphic equalizer and “crossover emphasis” loudspeaker management system (in series) for the drum fill.

Mixing Console:

One digital mixing console with 32 channels and 16 physical inputs (one usually reserved for a submix of talkback and house music). Typical configuration is channels 1-16 feeding the FOH PA, each channel having four bands of parametric EQ, a gate, and a compressor available. Channels 17-32 are used to derive monitor mixes, each channel having four bands of parametric EQ, and a compressor available. Gates are not available on channels 17-32.

Performance Measurements

Warning! Performance measurements are made in open-loop (no possible feedback) conditions, using pink noise. It should not necessarily be expected that maximum performance can always be obtained in closed-loop conditions, for example, with a microphone, or indeed in any performance situation where multiple, unforseen and potentially uncontrollable factors exist! Also, please be aware that these measurements were not taken using “scientific grade” instruments, and so may not stand up to measurements made with full scientific rigor – they are a guideline only.

Maximum continuous sound pressure level (SPL), FOH PA:

For an observer approximately 1.676 meters (5.5 feet) above the floor, on a line perpendicular to the fourth “panel” from the front on the south wall, and intersecting a plane perpendicular to the floor and the FOH PA stacks, emanating from the south edge of the bottom stage step:

104 dB SPL A (mostly emphasizing midrange) weighted

107 dB SPL C (more low frequencies measured compared to A) weighted

Method:

Pink noise was introduced to a console channel, with the panner centered. Pink noise was increased in level until the “crossover emphasis” system management system was indicating intermittent limiter operation on the high-frequency output. Limiter operation was approximately 5 times per second. Amplification for mid-high enclosures was steadily indicating onset of amplifier limiter operation and/ or clipping.

Maximum continuous SPL, single monitor wedge:

For an observer approximately 1.676 meters (5.5 feet) above the floor, and approximately 1 meter (3.280 feet) from the monitor on a line parallel to the floor and emanating from the approximate geometric center of the monitor's front face:

113 dB SPL A

114 dB SPL C

Method:

Pink noise was introduced to a console channel. Pink noise was increased in level until the monitor's clip/ limit indicator illuminated, and then decreased in 2 dB increments until the indicator no longer illuminated.

Maximum continuous SPL, drum fill:

For an observer approximately 1.676 meters (5.5 feet) above the floor, centered between the drum fill stacks:

110 dB SPL A

115 dB SPL C

Method:

Pink noise was introduced to a console channel. Pink noise was increased in level until the mid-high enclosure's clip/ limit indicator illuminated, and then decreased in 2 dB increments until the indicator no longer illuminated.

Environmental reverb time, full bandwidth:

For an observer approximately 1.737 meters (5.7 feet) above the floor, on a line perpendicular to the fourth “panel” from the front on the south wall, and intersecting a plane perpendicular to the floor and the FOH PA stacks, emanating from the south edge of the bottom stage step:

1.536 seconds

Method:

Pink noise generated from a “region” inside a recording program was introduced to a console channel, with the panner centered. Pink noise was set to an average of 100 dB SPL C as measured at FOH, with both the FOH PA and the monitor system being audible to the observer. A recording was made of the pink noise ending, and the subsequent reverberation. The recording was analyzed to determine the length of time between the end of the pink noise, and the point where the recording level decayed beyond -55 dBFS (decibels referenced to full scale, or the maximum possible input level for the console channel). The PA system was equalized as normal.

Environmental reverb time, in half-octave bands (spectral decay):

Method:

Pink noise generated from a “region” inside a recording program was introduced to a console channel, with the panner centered. To generate the noise passbands, a multiband compressor (set to a 1:1 ratio) was set so that each passband could be reproduced in isolation. Each passband of pink noise was set to an average of 100 dB SPL C as measured at FOH, with both the FOH PA and the monitor system being audible to the observer. A recording was made of the pink noise ending, and the subsequent reverberation. The recording was analyzed to determine the length of time between the end of the pink noise, and the point where the recording level decayed beyond -55 dBFS (decibels referenced to full scale, or the maximum possible input level for the console channel). The PA system was equalized as normal.

Gig Report - Oct. 25th

Self Promoted:

Discard The Day

Another show where the bill went through massive upheaval.  Geppetto ended up not being able to play, but Discard The Day really wanted to do the show.  I'm glad they did.  It was a cool (yet dark, doomy, and heavy) evening.  Turnout was light, but it couldn't be expected to be otherwise.  I had to do some quick tweaking on the first song, as I managed to get myself some pretty severe "one note bass," but after focusing on the high end for FOH (and letting monitor world carry the lows and mids), I think things got noticeably better.

Gig Report - Oct. 24th

Self Promoted:

Outlet

The Resistant

Crudus Nex

Deadwire

I feel bad for Outlet, because their drummer got yanked away to Saint George, so they weren't able to play the gig they themselves booked.  Still, Tyler was a good sport, showed up, and handled the door.  Another show that was "stupid fun" (remember, "stupid" combined with a positive word is a GOOD thing), because I love metal when it's done well, and the three remaining bands played very well.  Turnout was better than I expected with all the upheaval the bill went through.

Gig Report - Oct 23rd

Self Promoted:

Chris (Mury)

Blackhounds

Mesa Drive

A Cassandra Utterance

Seriously fun show.  Big crowd.  Great idea on Chris's part - hope we can do it again!  I especially liked when the percussionist for Mesa Drive hit (PUN!!) on the idea of putting two foam cups together.  Sometimes, I say "stupid" when I think something is dumb, but in this case, the show was "stupid fun," which is a GOOD thing.

Gig Report - Oct. 22nd

Promoted by Robin:

Reviver

Contrast

Drug Sh*t

Murdock

Think Fast

Hardcore show.  I needed three times more PA than what is installed.  Was in the limiters all night long - HARD into the limiters, you understand.  Definitely had one mic de-spec the capsule, and I'm pretty sure at least one mic cable is not in working order.  (Oh well - the weak links get weeded out eventually.)  Impressive turnout.

But I still wish I had more PA.

Gig Report - Oct. 20th

IE Concerts:

Jesse Rogers

The Gorgeous Hussies

Tartufi

Another show for a touring band.  Sparse attendance - which surprised me, because somebody said that Kilby sold out the last time Tartufi was in town.  I think I need to start shows with a different "monitor assumption," because I'm having trouble getting enough vocal for folks.  I also discovered a strange DM-24 software glitch, where sending audio to an internal reverb munges all kinds of mutes and routing, resulting in the output of one channel being sent to all the monitors.  Curiouser and curiouser...

Gig Report - Oct 18th

Self Promoted:

Shannon Curtis

Empire of the Forgotten

Alternate Projection

This was a "bailout" for Shannon's tour, which was supposed to play at another venue that closed down (Addicted Coffee?)  Lightly attended, unfortunately.  I was glad that Alternate Projection got on the bill, as they had to cancel the last time they were to going to play.  Rough day overall, as the drum fill EQ simply died with no warning.  There's now a small, yet relatively expensive box acting as the nail holding the drum fill together - along with an entire spare console acting as a level converter.  Oh, the funny things we do to keep things working...

Public Service Announcement

This "funny smiley" is my new favorite.  That is all, carry on.

Gig Report - Oct 11th

Self Promoted:

Six Ways To Sunday

Emily Maher

The Precinct

Very cool show.  Emily Maher did all the songs I wanted to hear, and The Precinct (which I have heard a lot about) was excellent.  Had a tiny bit of trouble at the beginning of Six Ways' set - Matt's guitar wouldn't hold its tuning, and I forgot to unmute the monitors for part of the first song...shhh...don't tell anybody.  The crowd was light, but the show was a good experience for me, regardless.  (I'm good friends with everybody in Six Ways To Sunday, so that always helps to make their shows fun.  I also like their songs a lot. *Grin*) 

Gig Report - Oct 10th

Self Promoted:

Saint City

Young Mindz

Ill Fede

Sammie Vegas (special "sit in" guest)

Good stuff as usual, very solid turnout.  I feel like the vocals were more in the right place this time.  Also, the monitors were finally done right for Gita from Young Mindz.  We were a bit louder than last time - I'm not sure if that's good or bad. :)

Gig Report - Oct. 4th

Self Promoted:

Scarlet Lace

Empire Of The Forgotten

We Call The Shots

Burnt Orange

Good show, nice folks all around.  I'm a sucker for harmony work, so Scarlet Lace's opening set hit one of my soft spots.  The headlining bands also put on entertaining shows, and the turnout for the night seemed pretty good.  We set a new SPL record by hitting a peak of 118 dB SPL C at FOH.  That's not incredibly loud compared to some places, but to me, that's a LOT of level.  Thanks again to Dave G. (and Stephanie G.) for coming in to help with cleanup.  It made a giant difference to when I was able to get out the door and go to bed (important with a cold...)

Gig Report - Oct. 3rd

Self Promoted:

Junior Giant

A guitar and drums duo that I can't remember the name of for the life of me, sorry.

Junior Giant always creates an excellent show experience, from music to homemade food.  Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it very much at all, because I caught a pretty solid cold THE DAY BEFORE THE SHOW.  GAAAHHH!  Still, all the music was good, and the crowd was pretty substantial.  Huge "Thank You's" are due to Dave G. who totally bailed me out by coming in and taking on a big portion of the setup I usually do - the show wouldn't have happened otherwise.

Gig Report - Sept. 27th

Self promoted:

Garrett

Samson and Goliath

Arcadia Green

The Tedronai Project

Solid, well attended show.  Crowd was entusiastic.  I'm very impressed with Elan (from Tedronai and S&G) who put the whole thing together in a professional fashion.  Loud night.  I think I overdid the guitars and bass a bit, but nobody complained (at least to me...) :)

Pictures From Geppetto

Geppetto sent me some pictures from their last show.  Click on the image to get a closer look.

Video From Stone Vista Media

This is Arienette performing "There Are Monsters."

There Are Monsters

Gig Report - Sept. 13th

Stone Vista Media:

Arienette

The Tangerines

Blackhounds

The Dockets

Nathan Scott

Solid gig, reasonable turnout.  Good music from the bands.  Blackhounds is a very ambitious project - lots of cool gear up on the stage.  Experienced the loudest snare drum EVER, which sounded almost exactly like a gunshot.  (For a split second, I thought someone actually had discharged a firearm behind me.)  I didn't have quite enough PA at times, but everybody seemed pretty jazzed about the show's outcome anyway (which is all that actually matters).

Gig Report - Sept. 6th

Krump Academy:

Krump Dance Battle Off Finals (canceled)

Saint City

Young Mindz

Ill Fede

This was, essentially, another "bail out" show performed by the Hip Hop groups.  Crowd was very light, as there was no time for promotion.  All three groups performed well, though.  I think I need to rethink my mix strategy for Hip Hop, as I tend to push the vocals a little too hard (and thus obliterate the track in the background.)

Gig Report - Sept. 5th

Krump Academy:

Krump Dance Battle Preliminary Round

Saint City

The run up to this gig was pretty impressive.  Krump dancers were e-mailing the promoter with their commitments, and the City Weekly did a very nice write up in advance.  The outcome, though, was ironic (and tragic.)

A grand total of one (1) Krump dancer showed up, but two important industry folks (one from utahfm.org, and one from Catalyst magazine) DID show up.  So, here was a chance to really make an impression on the local media - and nobody was there!  Luckily, there was something salvageable about the night, as Saint City and members of Young Mindz performed a "bail out" set to the industry folks, and the few audience members that did actually come down.  At the very least, Saint City got some personal attention - but what an opportunity missed for Krump!

Venue/ Show Runner Database

The "open source movement" has a big place in my heart, and so I'm trying to "open source" the venue as much as possible. In the spirit of that idea, I'm making our database available to the public so that someone can, maybe, get some use out of it.

Here are the caveats:

-It requires OpenOffice. You can get OO here: http://www.openoffice.org/

-I can't really support the thing. I'll certainly try to answer questions as they may arise - but remember how much you paid for the database. :)

-There's some "fake data" already entered so you can get a feel for how things are meant to work by default.

-I very much encourage you to customize the database to your own needs. Right now, the database is built very closely around what I want - but I think it could be modified and extended in various ways without too much grief.

-I certainly don't mind getting credit for the original design if you like it and find it useful. If you dislike it, DON'T TELL ANYBODY I MADE IT. :D

-I wouldn't really characterize the design of the database as user friendly. I wouldn't really characterize it as user unfriendly. I would probably call it "user selectively-antisocial."

-Try (as much as possible) to use the forms instead of the tables - and remember to populate data about bands, promoters, and crew members BEFORE you go into the "Add And Manage Shows" form.

Here's the download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/142440046/Venue_Runner.odb.html  

Best of luck!

Gig Report - Aug 30th

Stone Vista Media:

Arienette
Nate Eye
Birds Without
Emily Maher

A cool night overall, although less well attended than Stone Vista's first date. There were some slightly frenzied changeovers, and I felt like I was constantly riding the "front edge" of system instability. I also think I need to go back to my original method of mixing kick drums, where I actually have some kick in the mid-highs. My "kick drum is all sub" method just eats all my LF headroom, and doesn't seem to actually get me anything cooler than a "more bandwidth" method might. Still, the night was pretty fun for all involved (at least, as far as I can tell). I also reinforced the sound of a bed comforter for the first time ever. Another first! :)

Aug. 30th - Stone Vista Media: Acoustic Night

The folks involved with Stone Vista Media do good stuff, you know.

Gig Report - Aug. 22nd

Self promoted:

Saint City
Young Mindz
Ill Fede

The thing about hip-hop shows is that they seem to bring a crowd that's truly animated. The folks there to see the show are seriously into what's going on, and you can actually have "call and response" between the stage and the house. Great stuff by all the performers. The beats were well produced, and the MC's knew their material backwards and forwards. It got a little bit chaotic with 6 microphones being passed around between different people, but everything stayed reasonably within control - after I figured out who had what mic, of course! I was also impressed by how well the groups treated their fans after the show, by the way.

Gig Report - Aug 1st

Self promoted:

Geppetto

Strange that Geppetto couldn't find anyone to open for them. Surprising because there are a lot of rock bands in the area that want opportunities to play. (I think. I guess. I mean, that's the impression I get.) Nice long soundcheck. I think my mic placement on the guitar cabs was a little less than perfect. Still sounded okay most of the time, but I think I'll try something different on the next go around. Reasonable crowd for only having one band, and highly enthused at that.

Gig Report - July 26th

Stone Vista Media:

Katie Ainge
Kenny Ainge
The Tangerines
The Dockets

Festival style show - no "real" soundchecks except for linecheck and Katie. Discovered that KBM412's are the wrong choice for live sound reinforcement (or, at least mine is. Low frequency feedback gremlins all over the place.) Everything ended up sounding pretty decent, though. (I might have left a bit too much midrange in the piano.) Solid turnout, crowd seemed enthused.

Gear, Part II

Okay!

I went through with swapping out the monitor rig. It's a lot more consistent now, and we have a proper drum fill. (Or, at least, something that resembles a proper drum fill.) Also, everything (at the "rig" level) is now at least being run in a biamped configuration - except the drum fill, which is triamped.

I'm updating the slide show, and I'll post the pictures here as well.

Regards!

August 26th: Jeremy Spence, Kenny Ainge, The Tangerines, The Dockets, Katie Ainge

Just $5!

Gear

So...if you're looking at the slideshow that's current as of this posting, I need to say one thing for "100% transparency." I'm thinking of re-doing the monitor rig to make it both more compact and more consistent.

Notice that I said "I'm thinking of."

If I do decide to change the monitor rig, the downstage monitors will "only" have 10" LF drivers, but I will also be putting in a drum fill upstage.

Now I just have to decide whether or not I'm actually going to go through with it. Hmmmm...

Jason Riggs

Okay, everybody. We need to get one thing straight right now.

Jason Riggs is superbly awesome. He's sort of a "JohnnyDylanCash" type of writer, and he tells great stories about his songs.

...and he's moving away.

Which sucks.

I just thought I'd let everybody know.

Go here and buy things: Jason's Website

On The Booking Of Shows

First, make sure that everybody involved (that means everybody responsible for promoting OR playing at the show) can agree to the following:

Please enjoy Underground at your own risk - and please be excellent to each other at all times.

REGARDING TOURS: Touring acts are as welcome at Underground as anyone else.  However, Underground does not have the resources to directly support touring packages needing guarantees, and with our short hours we cannot support touring packages with more than two acts.  In order to have any kind of crowd present at your show, you must have strong local support, and if you have guarantee needs, you will need to work that out with the local bands or a local promoter.  Again, this is not to make anyone unwelcome - it is just to ensure that everyone has a worthwhile night.

VERY IMPORTANT: Underground has no staff other than the audio technician (that's me)!  You MUST bring your own person to handle the door.  Remember to bring change, or ask for exact change only!

Underground is very much about bands having control over their own show whenever possible.  For this reason, it is also the responsibility of the band booking the venue to put their own bill together, and approve anyone requesting to join the bill.

The "house split" is $2 per admission.  You can set any price for admission that you like that is above $2.  The split makes it possible for me to do Underground as a full time gig (which I like very much).

In order to be good neighbors, we need to end shows by 9:00 PM.  Keeping the neighbors happy is key to our survival!

As a result of this, the suggested show is a 2 - 3 band bill that has doors at 6:30 PM, and starts promptly at 7:00 PM.  You are welcome to start a show earlier if you think that your crowd will show up that early, of course.

I would characterize our PA system and monitor rig as small, but reasonably decent.  However, we don't have loads of power or unlimited gain before feedback - please take this into account!

If everybody can agree to this, then the next step is to get in contact. The phone (801.638.7975) is good, but it can be better to send an e-mail to dmaland0@gmail.com (that's a zero after dmaland, not an "o").

Some information that we'll need is:

• Which band(s) (if any) want their show multitracked. We can only multitrack the first 16 channels.  A "faders up" quick mix of the recording is $10.  A full multitrack mix is $150 (per band/ performer).  Please note that, as of this time, we only record upon request.
  
• The websites or Myspace pages of the bands playing the show.
• The input list for each band.

After that, we'll get soundcheck times squared away, and everything will be ready to go.

I Heard You Missed Us...We're Baaaaack!

Yeah, okay, so.

What you're called to do? It's not optional. Thanks Nate, for the sermon.

What this means is that New Song Underground lives again! Hopefully the lessons learned last time have made me wiser.

Hopefully.

Maybe.

Instead of a regular website, I've opted for a blog. I figure that it's better than a regular website with a regular calendar, because it's easier to configure and manage (it's a content management system with no software to install!), and people who want to get continual updates can subscribe to the feed.

I had grand visions of hosting audio through the webserver set up for New Song Underground, but somebody bought newsongunderground.com out from under me while I wasn't paying attention. I suppose I could get newsongunderground.net.

Maybe.

We'll see.

I'm non-committal because I don't know if hosting audio is really that important to me or not.

So there ya go.

Bottom line: Utah bands, we're here for you. We want you to have a place to play, so make use of us. The plan is to be "the venue that loves you," and though I'm sure we'll screw up royally along the way, we're going to try hard.

See, that couple of sentences would never make it out of a marketing department. I have an engineering mentality though. Truth before hype.