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Here We Go

Here comes summer sunshine and time to jump back in to making the world a louder place to live in. Red Hot Chili Peppers have a new album coming out at the end of August directly followed by a world tour schedule that keeps rolling through 2013. Bye bye home. well, not really as Peppers tend to travel a 3 week on, 2 week off pattern so I wont totally disconnect from the world I currently live in. Plus with my daughters now 15, I am planning to have them take turns coming out to visit on and get in some travels and adventures. Oh, and the first gig is in Hong Kong, never been so its always cool to go to a new city.

But before all that kicks in, I will be out for all of July mixing Soundgarden for a one month North America run. It just all comes at once. Unfortunately I could not take the upcoming Blink 182 tour as it overlaps both Soundgarden and Peppers, but at least two of the three bands I mix have schedules that fit well enough.

Whenever I head out on the road for a major full production tour, I try and formulate some sort of useful or memorable adventure to attach to the travels. On Rage Against the Machine tour in 1996, I decided I would learn HTML and build a web site, back when it was not a point and click process. Unfortunately "Way Back Machine" did not capture the images of the old Rat Site but here is a link to the archive.

And if you are not familiar with Way Back Machine, it archives the internet so you can see web sites as they were, way back when.

Google beta site 1998

Enron from start to collapse

The very first Twitter Web Page

I find it both interesting and useful. I use it to look up old specification on audio gear that is no longer made and with a bit of digging there is all kinds of seemingly long lost info that is still around.

Speaking of way back, way back in April Rat Sound provided the gear for our 11th Coachella Festival and our 5th year supporting Stagecoach Festival, except this time there were three weekends instead of two and a the Big 4 show with Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth kept us in the desert for three weekends with 7 semi trucks of gear.

Oh, so back to useful and memorable, one tour I learned to weld and had a 200 amp welder shipped to my hotel and made an electric gocart, another tour I learned to scuba dive during a week off in Bali, but mainly I try and focus on the fact that I have a giant sound system at me disposal and try and figure out some sort of new or improved way of presenting large scale audio.

So, for these tours, so far, I have four things on my plate:

1) I have a new sub setup that appears to be an improvement over the Vortex/Orgasmatron configuration

2) I have worked out a sub woofer processing method that should reduce if not eliminate the two primary nulls realized from two spaced sub sources. I did some youtube vids on subs setups and I look forward to testing the new processing.

3) As the sound world clamours deeper into the layered menus of digital control, the amount of information involved with mixing is growing exponentially while the amount of useful information we have access to becomes buried and diluted. Maybe it is all my punk rock anti follow the flow tendencies or perhaps I just want a simple clean controllable environment to mix in. Either way, I am excited about adding big giant VU meters to my setup. http://www.dorrough.com/ There is more to this than just a having a big meters as these provide some valuable insight into the sound being reproduced directly in line with my mixing strategy.

4) And more down that line, I had a great time mixing Paul Van Dyk in the Sahara Tent at Coachella this year. Two inputs, both Left and Right. I made a point of running the audio in a direct super clean path and used some Tonelux Mic pre's, EQ's and went directly into the amps from there. The sound quality difference over the more complex audio path from the normal setup was audible and preferable So, I am going to do some work on cleaning up and reducing the complexity of the audio path to get a cleaner sound to the speakers.

Ok, that's it for now, except one more thing. I officially declare the recession over. Just as it took a year for the realities of the recession to penetrate deeply enough into the depths of our economy for all to agree that it actually existed, the recovery will be denied by those late in the healing process until long after positive momentum is firmly entrenched and and driving the powerful core economic direction in a positive direction. Unfortunately the late healers involve employment figures and housing prices, so bemoan if you wish but the reality is that now, right now is the time that point that 5 years from now you will look back and go "man, I should have blah blah blah'ed back then because the people that did are on top of the world."

Ok, that's it for now, I will try and get some regular pattern for blogging again now that I am getting back into touring mode. In the mean time to fill the spaces between the blog posts that actually require me to sit down at a computer, I will continue doing updates and such via twitter and Facebook as well as posting links to stuff on daverat.com. Cool cool and see ya'all soon!

Dave Rat

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Matt Garrigue on :

Cool blog man, just wanted to say guys like u give me inspiration, I've never done a gig as big as coachella but hope to aspire to that level some day. I also have a passion for welding! But Sound is my true love. Keep up the good work, I'll be following your blog.

John Garlick on :

Awesome to hear you mixing Soundgarden. I just found out that the Mars Volta is opening as well show so I'm buying Forum tickets for sure! I presume that tour is on K1? Looking forward to your soundgarden mix and postings for the Peppers world tour! PEACE

andrew on :

Websites quote Flea & Josh stating that Oz will be included in the tour. Do you know if Perth will be ? Would love to meet you. And.. would you be shipping your system down here or pick up local production ? Andrew

Id on :

Glad u r back in the saddle again cowboy.

GuyR on :

I'll be at the Soundgarden gig in Toronto... I hope you guys are bringing the K1 rig! can't wait to hear SG through it... particularly Matt's drumming If I walk by the FOH area and you're there, I might stop by for a handshake. -Guy

Dan Meier on :

Good to hear that your blog is going to be updated more often. Your posts been a good source of ideas and inspiration for me... On another topic, you talked a while ago about a new treatment for your chronical sinusitis... Do you have any follow up? Did it work for you? I'm having similar problems, and I disovered lately that taking good care of muscle tension in my neck and shoulders area improved this alot. Cheers Dan

Dave Rat on :

Not sure what is wrong with me and cant seem to fix it regardless of what I do. Sugar, yeast and alcohol don't help but nothing solves it. will keep trying and in the mean time, rock out on some more enjoyable adventures.

arek on :

Please say something more about this new subs configuration

Dave Rat on :

I will release more as the tour ramps up.

Bob Howes on :

Have fun in Hong Kong...been there a few times and always enjoy it. If you have time, take the funicular railway for the views and a ferry to Kowloon to look back on the skyline. Some nice street markets in Kowloon too...

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