If only amongst the turmoil I stole the free moments to document the unbelievable flurry of last month's ride. So that leaves me with looking back in retrospect to share the hazy highlights. The glee of Obama victory waning yet the momentum lingers. I don't care much for 'hope' and 'faith' as they are to me is just versions of self deception, so in my life I have chosen to replace those lazy crutches with a vector of positive momentum. I don't hope, but rather I push pressure in the desired direction to do my best to unravel a desired outcome. Though I can not foresee the how it will unfold, my experience leads me to believe that I can increase the probability of ending up in the vicinity of where I desire. At least that is what seems to happen except when it doesn't.

As tempted as I am to say times are hard, they equally challenging in a wonderful way. Home prices collapse as gas skyrockets only to plummet, the banks dissolve the lines of credit that fuel and support business and productivity trying to bankrupt the unprepared and over exposed. Batten down the hatches as we are deep in the storm.

Last month the one of our banks pulled Rat Sound's credit line with 4 days notice. Not good news indeed as we head into the winter slow down. Fair enough, we were wise to use more than one bank and we have other resources. Off to find a new one and a bit of time and a brand new credit line. Then same thing happens to me personally, a letter saying I used to have access to a home equity that is now near zero. Aaargh and a few days and some phone calls later, I get that lined back up. The banks are trying to bankrupt a successful business. So dumb. It brings back the memories of battling financial institutions in the early days and reminds me once again that to rely on an outside entity is weakness. Always have a backup plan and let no one hold the reins of my future.

Anyway, on the more fun side of things, in perfect punk rock rebellion, what better way to celebrate economic hard times than to do the exact opposite? Come on, lets go shopping and if you are going to do something, no reason to bother unless you are going to do it right, right? So then what shall we buy?  Oh, I know!  How about the hottest new super cool best sounding bad-ass PA system ever made! We at Rat have spent the last two months lining up a purchase of a full stadium-sized L'Acoustics K1 sound system. It's only a bit more than a cool million and the largest equipment expansion in Rat Sound's 28 year history.

Oh, and so a few pics of parts of the sexy new system:

Here you can see 24 SB28's, 24, K1's 8 K1 subs, 200,000 watts of LA8 power, fly bars, amp racks and all kinds of other goodies that make up the best sounding PA I have heard yet and this is only the first delivery.

Silly annoying banks and the beauty of this whole adventure is how much I have learned in the business world, nothing like a challenge keep things interesting and I felt this video clip eloquently shares my feelings toward those financial institutions:

Stay tuned for Rat Holiday Party, my run in with planet earth and aargh, I lost yet another camera!

Dave Rat

As a human I celebrate how sweet it is to be wrong. I must admit that after the election I felt a glee equal to the dread realizing that our future was Bush, not once but twice. If you are up for an eerie grin, take a look at this spookily prophetic tongue and cheek article published January 17th, 2001. The day Bush took office:

Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'

Ah but then the earthy aspect of wondering how this regime change will effect me, my business and my world. I cringe as well as I believe that balance of power is fundamental to stability and ultimately happiness. Be it in a relationship, a company, a band or the houses of our government. The republicans in all three houses wreaked the havoc in which we now bask and democratic over-swing in the opposite direction concerns me as well. If only a happy medium could be found. But in the mean time, how about a visit to the happy medium of a Weezer show?

I have been so wrapped up and smothered in the business world of Rat Sound, I find myself forgetting and a trip to a rock show is refreshing. So much is going on. The economic crisis is crushing our credit lines, and launching us into defense mode. Good thing we have the experience of difficult times in our past help navigate.

I remember way back in Reagan era recession when economic issues washed through. I remember military expansion screeching into corporate downsizing and out of control interest rates and inflation. I remember the collapse of huge 70's rock tours and the counter-bloom of punk rock rebellion gaining traction and in turn becoming the tide which carried Rat Sound to new heights. Like the greenery upon the hills after a fire. The strong and positive will survive. In the mean time, much work is to be done to insure a positive outcome. And speaking of tides, this is what a short wander from my front door looked like right before I dived in to the chilly waters of Oxnard Shores with a smile and a surfboard:

I guess it is all just a matter of perspective,

Dave Rat

As we teeter on the verge of of what is presented as selection, an election. A tally of national opinion as check marks and button pushes are swept together into a theoretical pile upon which our future hinges. Ahh, the value of a vote where100's of hours of in-depth research and whimsical impulses driven by whom has better hair, are equally weighed. A vote for greed and a vote for humanity. A vote for hate and a vote hope.They are all as equally worthless as they are valuable. The great embrace of those that are willing to participate. I believe the system is flawed, I believe that just as we modern Americans gorge on junk food and television, we as Americans can not help but lemming our way into whatever we are least afraid of.

Dave Rat election prediction is McCain wins by a slim and controversial margin. Allegations of voter fraud, some founded, some not. The scales tilted by the an over estimation of the young actually voting and an underestimation of the primal fears and the true persuasive strength of the good 'ol boys.

Did I mention that I believe it is the balance of power that keeps things from spiraling off the deep end? Perhaps the republican 3 house trifecta with six years of total control guided our American ship to the depths of the rocky waters that our world now lays. Oh well, the world has seasons and perhaps a prolonged financial winter was inevitable. To observe the seasons does not mean I have the desire to change them.

Oh, this video is funny:

http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/index.html?nid=ln4DSfnE4lgGUqbDYQQAWzMxMzg3NDY-&referred_by=10991004-E01k8mx

Speaking of gullible humans, here is the sucker magnet of the week

Tubeolator http://web.archive.org/web/20010406053513/http://www.altmann.haan.de/tubeolator/default.htm

And a spew of senseless gibberish trying to appeal to simple minded logic:

http://www.mother-of-tone.com/speaker.htm

Whether it is political character assassination or snake oil salesmen, I find moments where in confusion I wish there was some sort of moderator. Some imposer of ramification to discredit and silence those that propagate untruths for personal gain. Then clarity returns and I realize that just as the unsuspecting rat is eaten by the snake camouflaged and hiding in the grass, the naive human whom allows themselves to be preyed upon by the deceptive, is just another aspect of the natural order.

Since my last dive into bloggery sharing, much has happened. First and foremost, we have lost a friend. Sound man down I am sad to say. Jim Douglas is someone whom I have held much respect for many years and I will hold his memory with a smile.

Another shocking and unexpected event hits home with some scary reality. A plane crash and Travis Barker is someone I have toured with and am honored to know and relieved to know he is doing well. Losing two of 'our people' and two of our plane flighty friends sends shudders deep. Good bye Little Homey.

And absorbing sadness, to mark a point to stand upon and launch ahead, lets slip back into the world of sound.

I did a couple of speaking gigs in early October. First was AES in San Francisco where I had the honor of sitting on a panel with

Phil Garfinkel from Audix, me, Richard Bataglia does Flecktones sound, Dan Healy ala Grateful Dead sound engineer and worked on the Wall of Sound, Mick Wheelan did sound forever for all kinds of cool bands and is now with Sennheiser, Dean Giavaras from Shure was the moderato and brought me on board and Mark Gilbert also from Shure.

The panel was about live mic techniques and how cool is that that I got to hang out with some industry heavy hitters? Oh, and I even got to chat with Dan Healy for a bit about the Wall of Sound and what I was doing with the double hung PA. It was definitely one of those moments I would never have ever guessed would exist.

Taking a wander about the AES trade show, easily the most curious thing was this speaker that looks like a fan:

The way it works is the blades quickly tilt back and forth and push or pull the air accordingly. They had a demo setup in a hotel room and it was quite an impressive sub woofer. The downside was that they needed a second hotel room to act as the speaker box. But talk about going low, this thing can all the way down to 0 hz! Yep, that would be DC or put another way, "wind!"

http://www.rotarywoofer.com/

Not much more did I see that excited me. I did like this Earthworks piano mic setup though:

It is nice to see simple clear solutions and I did end up getting to use one and I liked it.

Yet even in the seemingly safe and credible world of AES, do not under estimate the ability of people to come up with ways to weasel and scam. Check out this "you can definitely hear the difference" promo:

They are selling AC cords! Ok, lets think this through. AC power travels hundreds of miles on high power lines before hitting your local transformer somewhere a few blocks away. It then travels down power company wires before getting into your house or the venue where it travels some other lengthy distance down some old solid copper wire though numerous connections. Finally, you plug in this fancy shmancy power cord to bring the AC the last 6 feet and "wow! hey, that sounds great!" It just don't make no sense. Though a friend of mine often says "money will always revert to it's rightful owner." Hence I guess people dumb enough to buy into this deserve to to have their money fretted away.

Finally for today, my last adventure is another speaking gig but this time at Citrus College where I talked to a group of Japanese sound students.

Thank you Alan! That was really an interesting experience and I truly enjoyed it. It is really crazy talking through an interpreter. The new experiences just keep coming and I love it.

Rock on!

Dave Rat

I would so love to share some in depth observation or revelation of usefulness that would leave all that read these words with a smile. Hopefully by the time time I finish writing this entry, I will stumble upon something down those lines but in the mean time I will offer a brief update on my wanderings.

Though no one like a quitter, I did take a small break from my break from mixing bands. Actually, it does not really count because I'm not against mixing, just trying to see if I can both survive and not tour at the same time. Anyway, off to Santa Monica to fill in for my good friend Craig Overbay who mixes Weezer.

The morning radio shoot was not a major enough of an event to fly Craig down from Seattle so I got the honors to fill in and actually quite enjoyed it. Here is a live video from the radio show:

Cool how the Rat made it in, not so cool that the camera has trouble finding a focus. For those of you who may not be familiar with Weezer's actual Pork and Beans video, it is really cool! They went and found the people that did the most popular YouTube videos, flew them all out to the same place and filmed a Weezer video based on the YouTube videos. This site has a link to the Weezer video and then links to the original video from which Weezer built it. It is worth a watch as some of them are really funny!

http://valleywag.com/392972/weezer-undestands-how-to-work-youtube

And while roaming the world of web, check this out:

http://www.metafilter.com/74482/Rat-Sound-the-original-punk-rock-sound-company

I received an email asking Rat was ok with a post on MetaFilter and to be honest, I had not heard of it before. Anyway, I guess I am in the minority there cause after the post went up, I got a bunch of emails from people who saw it.

**** Sound Nerd Speak ****

What else, oh! I went to see Radiohead at the Santa Barbara Bowl and they were touring with the new L'Acoustics K1 system.

Here you can see 4 K1 subs per side at the top of the array, 8 K1's per side, 3 dV-Dosc per side and 3 clusters four SB 28's configured 3 forward and 1 facing backward in each. Also there are some assorted deck fills. As expected, the system was clean, clear and impressive, nothing surprising other than how darn great it sounded! I want one! This is destined to be the sound system by which all others will be judged.

While in the sound side of things and in web cruising video mode, check out this video EAW made covering the MicroWedge features. Love to hear comments on it.

On a less cheery note Dolby has announced that their state of the art processors http://www.dolby.com/professional/live_sound/Products/lake_processor.html

will be discontinued and users have less than 30 days to place all orders for any units that they will ever need for ever and ever.

Since its introduction, the Dolby Lake Processor has helped the world’s top touring sound companies and performing arts centers to improve the performance of their systems and has been widely recognized as the state of the art:

As Dolby looked to the future, we observed an accelerating shift toward integrated speaker processing, equalization, and digital audio networking into amplifiers and powered speakers. As a result of these observations, Dolby and Lab.gruppen developed a program to take advantage of this trend by creating an amplifier that integrated DLP technology. So the Lab.gruppen PLM 10000Q Powered Loudspeaker Management system with “DLP inside” was launched to great success—and we understand that more models will be introduced soon.

With the success of the Lab.gruppen project, and to align Dolby with our future corporate strategies, we have decided to exit the Live Sound business. As a result, we are announcing the final production run of the DLP, after which we will discontinue its manufacture. We have allowed the next 30 days (through September 30, 2008) for you to calculate your needs and to place final orders. This final production run will be set to fill the open orders we have as of the close of business on that date. Delivery schedules may vary from our previous norms, so please plan accordingly.

Dolby is committed to supporting both the DLP and Lab.gruppen’s efforts for the future. We will provide our standard warranty coverage and one-year of software maintenance on this last run of DLPs (see the attached Warranty Statement and End User License Agreement for these details). Dolby is no longer developing new features for DLP or Lake Controller software after release 5.1.

We would like to thank you for your support and hard work as we built this business. Your dedication and enthusiasm for the Dolby and Lake brands was a key component of the success we achieved. We are gratified to know that DLP technology will live on through our partnership with Lab.gruppen and we wish each of you much success in the future.

All I can say is Yikes! So glad that Rat Sound went with XTA processors, and my heart goes out to the companies that are mind crunching the decision of whether to stock up or liquidate their DLP inventory.

Stepping back and looking at the bigger picture, as drastic as this notice seems, it does highlight something interesting. Just as the Line Array caused a monumental shift in pro audio, I believe we are at the doorstep of another massive shift and the days of the "dumb amp" in cutting edge audio is over. These new generation of smart amps are incredible. Things like being able to sense the impedance profile of the speakers connected to it and tell you if the system is wired wrong and what type and how many of each speaker type is connected to the amp is just the beginning! Exciting stuff so perhaps rather than loose too much sleep over last years processor, may as well start diving into next years Procamplifier.

And for the smaller companies? Well, expect a lot of cool used amps and processors to show up over the next few years as we audiots make this painfully expensive step forward into yet another new realm.

**** End Sound Nerd Speak ****

Other news and such, I had the pleasure of seeing Jack Johnson

and Bob Dylan as well, as I got out and about and I really need to figure out a new system to remind me to bring my camera. The whole "attach it to the Peppers laminate plan just does not work well anymore.

**** Sound Nerd Speak ****

So I found this interesting

http://www.audioprointernational.com/news/625/JBL-rocks-Rio-with-Gabisom

and I was happy in that one of the larger festivals in the world has adopted
the double hung PA concept and an honor that something I spent so much effort
on, is catching on. And saddened a bit as well that the company did the press
releases as if they had come up with the concept on their own. Which is entirely
a feasible possibility as the idea of a side by side PA makes a lot of common
sense. Had I not been at that same festival:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4FUJA_en___US237&q=Gabisom+Rock+in+Rio+Vertec+Dave+Rat

on the last Peppers tour while touring with a double hung PA, I discussed the
concept with that same company, it's feasibility and advantages. Otherwise,
I would have given them the benefit of the doubt that they stumbled on the same
idea. That is not to say that the Peppers tour was the only time versions of
a dual system have been implemented, though to the best of my knowledge, the
Peppers tour was the first time it was implemented to increase the headroom
and clarity of a large scale line array system.

**** End Sound Nerd Speak ****

**** Other Nerd Speak ****

So, what else is up? Well, I thought this was cool. A 6 Stroke gasoline engine
that improves efficiency by adding water injection and expansion strokes while
increasing cooling and eliminating the radiator

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crower_six_stroke

Kind of a unique and creative way to massage existing technology in a refined
direction.

**** End Other Nerd Speak ****

Me? well, I have been reading emails and notes an such sent to me but lax on
responding much. So strange how time slows down and all the gaps fill when I
stop moving around the world quickly. The question I so often heard, "Where
do you get all the time to write the blog?" is now one I find myself asking.

Speaking of time and being honored, I am taking the time to travel up to AES
as I have been asked to speak on a workshop forum discussing microphone techniques.

http://www.aes.org/events/125/livesoundseminars/session.cfm?code=L8

Fair enough, I can handle talking about that and what is really cool is that
I will be on the forum with none other than Dan Healy. Some may ask "Who
is this Dan Healy guy?" Well, Dan not only mixed the Grateful Dead for
many years but also was involved in developing the "Wall Of Sound"
PA.

http://dozin.com/danhealy/house.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Healy_(soundman)

Oh and if any of you are coming to AES, please come say hello!

And finally as a last note in this picture less blog, I thought this was interesting:

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-cows26-2008aug26,0,3764260.story

Cows naturally prefer to point north, according to Google Earth images. Hmmmm,
if credible, it does lend itself to us earthly critters being a bit more perceptive
than those who thought not may have thunk.

Dave Rat

Seven months home and the rhythms of tour are as clear in my recollection as the food I ate 7 weeks ago tuesday and even if I mind-smunch my brain deep enough to retrace my steps, I could not possibly recall more than rudimentary guesses as the sensations and aromas have long ago drifted into oblivion. Where does my time go? And why do I let running around in daily circles sponge my life away into gas receipts. How is that important? Yet the desire to get there or here can seem so desirable and crucial and looking back all I see are tail lights and patches and broken things and a few smiles at the moments when I broke free of the pattern. Oh to look forward to a magnetic future that pulls happiness from the monotony. A single phone call holds the power to shift drudgery into closed-eye bliss or to obliterate euphoria into a slap-stinging reality of the past haunts I've created. Run away! but I wont as I have chosen to stay. I have stepped off the moving ship that allowed me to live in the disconnected reality of motion. Sir Isaac Newton, the falling apple on the head guy, once said "an object in motion will stay in motion till acted upon by an outside force and an object at rest is bored." Or something like that. Do we watch the movie or do we strive to be actors? Ooooh! The beauty of disconnected observation. And ooooh, the temptation of jumping into the limelight of celebrity attention. Each with their downfalls both so alluring depending on the moment. Claps and cheers for those who ramp up and are willing to crawl out of their defeats on the way to success. Boos and hisses for those that crawl shifty behind deception to force their greedy goals. Am I wrong to remember gas was $1.50 a gallon when "we" (in the soft and broad unfortunate form) elected that slurring annoyance? Ah, but is it so wrong that the spiraling bumblefuck around us is reinforcing we humans into getting our shit together and bumping up our minimization of crapping on the earth about us? Ah the "Barney Syndrome," the purple dinosaur so bent on happy-cheery and perfect it invigorates resentment in even the most kind hearted observer. A peon propped into power so bent on ass kissing his indebtedness away to the string-pullers that all he touches begins to decay, creates the Barney syndrome in reverse. Here we sit at a hopefully a zero crossing upward as the natural oscillation from dark to light, fight to fun and falling to climbing enters the next stage. Speaking of the cycles and competitions of life, check this out. I would like to say nothing makes me cry but I have spent too many plane flights with sunglasses on watching sappy movies to say that with any integrity, anyway, this video made me smile with watery eyes so I figured I would subject you 'all to it as well:

And out of the ramble and into midst lets go for a wander to see what we can find in the world of France. Meet Christian Heil, the big kahuna creator of the modern line-array sound system configuration. For those of you outside the audio realm and maybe some within, in the mid to late 90's a PA created by a French company called L' Acoustics began gaining considerable traction on large tours with a system called V-Dosc. Immediately all the major players in the speaker building industry started coming up with reasons the line-array systems do not work and are inferior. Then they realized that there profits were in jeopardy so they all copied it. Today, with only three manufacturers that I know of,

Before I sweep up the tail end of some straggling Coachella shots, I want to share a bit of a different adventure. As you most likely realize by now, I try and dedicate a percentage of my time sharing back bits of info. Part of the motivation is rooted in the desire to offer glimpses into the touring and sound world that I wish I had when I was getting started while the other part is me trying to capture the memories in a way that wont fade into the abyss of the falling away past. Anyway, though it does not phase me to stand behind a mix board with 100,000 humans dependant on every knob twist, the thought of standing solo on stage and being on the band side of the microphone when the show starts, scares the shit out me. Sooo, what better adventure to partake in than exactly that?

I have been trying to fit it in to my schedule for a while now and finally a gap formed large enough for me to run out of legitimate excuses. "Yes, Gene, I would love to come out to Full Sail University and speak to the students." "Did you say 250 will be attending? Four hour time slot available?" Yikes! Perfect, all good, I am on my way and off to Orlando I headed.

I need a plan, an approach, a way to figure what to say. So my plan was not to have a rigid plan. Since I am headed to a stage, I will approach it a band, minus the whole rehearsal part. My set list will be a folder on my laptop with some pictures that look interesting and have some background. More importantly, what better way to figure out what to talk about than to ask? None better.

I really enjoyed the whole experience, and though I do not have any comparative reference, I am told it went well. Four hours of chatting with and to 250 of my new best friends I felt nothing but welcome from everyone.

Oh, so at the end I tried to take a picture of everyone before they left but the lights were pointed the wrong way and all on me. Since I could not put the lights where the people are, why not put the people where the lights are! "Hey everyone, come up on stage!" I have always wanted to do that, seen so many punk bands do it, never thought I would get the chance!

Thank you Gene and Kristi and Dana and especially everyone that came to hang out with me! Rock on Full Sailers and good luck in your adventures ahead.

That was fun, I could definitely do that again. While I am thinking about it and on the subject of learning and getting into the business, I may as well cover a question I was asked:

"Is it better to go to a school such as Full Sail or learn another way?"

And the answer in my opinion is

The Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals are about 180 miles from home out in the hot and often windy desert. As seems to be the case with any adventure, there is a lot to be seen and learned. Fortunately I was pay attention enough to grab a few pics.

Whoa! Check out this massive propeller farm!

And a bit later I look to my right and what do I see? ...........