Just another day in the life
We wrapped up the “My Small Package Tour” a few weeks ago. It was a rather interesting experience to say the least. I learned a lot on that tour, and was forced to deal with a lot of less then ideal situations. What really blew my mind on this tour was the sound systems in most of the venues. Or should I say the lack of sound systems!
We’ve played small rooms overseas in Europe, Japan, the UK and Australia. Even in the 500 cap clubs, the sound system was completely usable and well maintained. But here in the USA, it’s a completely different story. Most of the systems I came across were from the 80’s, or worse. They were old, tired and in questionable condition. It was quite the task every day trying to make these systems shine again. Some days I was more successful then others. It definitely made me appreciate the larger venues a lot more.
I didn’t really do much mixing on this tour. Each night was more of a damage control then anything. I spent the night figuring out how I can make the sound suck less, instead of concentrating on the mix as a whole. In larger rooms, I have complete control of the sound, as the sound from the stage has somewhere to go. In the smaller venues, Rian’s drums we so loud on their own, that I used most of the PA just to get over top of his drumming.
Needless to say, I’m glad to be done with small venues for a while.
Now that the touring season has passed, I find myself catching up on a lot of things I’ve neglected this year. Family, projects around the house, and most importantly, reconnecting with old friends. I’ve set aside a lot of time during my off time to catch up with old high school friends and see how everyone is doing with their lives thus far. It’s been a rewarding experience to see how far everyone has come since we’ve graduated.
I’ve also been working hard on my Christmas Light show for the past few months. Each year, I put up quite the light display. 15,000+ lights all synced to music. It involves a lot of programming, a lot of wiring, and A LOT of patience. But, when it all comes together, it is very impressive. I can’t wait to get everything up and running!
But, that’s all for now. Until next time…
