Roadies in the Midst - Touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Beauty of Motion

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:32:06 -0800

And the oh so painful sensation of an abrubt stop. To jump is exhilerating, but to land can be a bit less enjoyable unless a proper preperation is made. Hence the trauma climbing to the great heights of economic wealth without an adequate safety net. And also hence the thrill of slicing through a giant wave while forgetting to avoid the facepart of my head hitting the planet earth. But please, let me rewind.

Sunday November 30th was a quite fabulous surf day. C-Street Ventura saw consistant sets of double overhead waves. My first session with the Gene and Larry from the am crew at 7:30 went pretty well and brought out my five dollar, 8 foot board I bought a yard sale.

It took a little repair work

but it is my favorite as it rides like a mini long board, is super light and fun. But that day with the current so strong, I switched up to the Rat Board for session 2

after breakfast and headed back out with Brian Rat and his two friends as they drove up from down south. All good and the waves were building and we lasted about an hour and a half before heading in.

So exhausted from over three hours out already and pulling out of the parking lot I get a text message from Johnny who Ventura locals may know from Tony's Pizzeria, an awesome cool Pizza spot right up the street. So out of the parking lot and up to park again just up the way and 15 minutes later I am wet suited up for session number three. Oh my, my arm are rubbery and I get the longest surf ride I have ever ridden. Google earth says it is just under a half mile.

I wish I still had a picture of the surf that day to show you but that is another story. Anyway, thrilled and so happy I go to exit the water and a little wave comes up behind me while paddling in and boom crunch ow! Turns out the strong current had dug a trench and while I was trying to paddle in, what seemed to be a small wave jacks up with the tail of my board and shovels me head first into the planet earth. I got no mirror but but my hand indicates lots o blood. Dazed and delerious I stumbled myself out and found an overwhelming desire to lay down and regoup my thoughts and contemplate the long hike bak to the car. Next thing I know the lifegaurds and paramedics have me surrounded and won't let me escape.

I must say that it really smarts to try and restraighten one's own broken nose. I got to ride in a lifeguard pickup truck and an ambulance and most of all I want to thank Johnny for being a hero and looking out for me. He recued my car, brought me my clothes and made sure my surfboard had a safe place to stay till I escaped stich giving nurses and hospital world.

14 stitches and a broken nose and no surfing for three weeks later I was back on track. Not that I missed a day of work.

Most importantly, don't worry, I know what you are thinking and it is ok, the Rat surfboard is fine! What comes to mind is a short story that Anthony K told me once, so I looked it up and found it:

The Story of the Taoist Farmer

This farmer had only one horse, and one day the horse ran away. The neighbors came to condole over his terrible loss. The farmer said, "What makes you think it is so terrible?"

A month later, the horse came home--this time bringing with her two beautiful wild horses. The neighbors became excited at the farmer's good fortune. Such lovely strong horses! The farmer said, "What makes you think this is good fortune?"

The farmer's son was thrown from one of the wild horses and broke his leg. All the neighbors were very distressed. Such bad luck! The farmer said, "What makes you think it is bad?"

A war came, and every able-bodied man was conscripted and sent into battle. Only the farmer's son, because he had a broken leg, remained. The neighbors congratulated the farmer. "What makes you think this is good?" said the farmer.

As told by Executive editor, Elise Hancock, in the Johns Hopkins Magazine, November 1993, page 2, in section entitled Editor's Note

I am not sure what the good part is yet but I know I will find it!

And as far as sound world, I guess the latest on the Rat front is http://fohonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2041&Itemid=1

Till soon again and Happy New Year!

Dave Rat

The Roller coasters of Perception

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:58:47 -0800

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

The Glory of Wrong

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:30:38 -0800

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

Precipice, Balance and Dismay a cheery Launch into a New Day

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:49:20 -0800

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

The future swallows the past

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:54:50 -0700

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.

Ideas and Observation

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:31:12 -0700

**** 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

Time Sponges and Mind Sparkles

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:23:49 -0700

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,

Continue reading "Time Sponges and Mind Sparkles"

The Wrong Side of the Microphone

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:01:51 -0700

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

Continue reading "The Wrong Side of the Microphone"

Who Woulda Knew!

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:34:37 -0700

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? ...........

Continue reading "Who Woulda Knew!"

Me versus We

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Sat, 03 May 2008 23:44:59 -0700

"How was Prince?" I keep getting asked. Well, I saw a lot of bands the last few days and several that I really like. The two bands playing here though that held the most hype were Roger and Prince. As I lay in my after show hotel bed rolling over in my mind the few nights past, a contrast dawns on me clearly. Prince with a magnificent show, skills immaculate add in Sheila E, Morris Day and a show that was refined and rehearsed to every detail of talent and impact perfection. Roger's presentation was built on decades of concepts and ideals and talent as well, bold statements, perfect alignments of technology and vision. What is it about Prince's show that has my defenses up and Roger's show that I feel trusting? It was the the words still resonating that were forced into my own and everyone else's ears, that define it best, "What's My Name?, Say My Name!" and watching the crowd respond quasi-unified act as commanded and I realize that Prince's show is all about the perpetuation of the 'ME' that is the 'him' that we are occasionally allowed to call Prince. In what I am sure is was an unintended yet amazingly perfect 'ying and yang' contrast, Roger Waters' show carried message after message focused on the benefit of the 'WE' that is 'us' as a human group and individuals sharing the planet that surrounds us as "Don't be led to Slaughter" floats away on an inflatable pig.

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

Enough of that and lets take a look at the main stage. 15 deep V-Dosc with triple dV's under, 6 V's over 6 dV's on the side hangs and a thundering 40 Rat Subs across front. 8 of which are loaded and processed separately as they are Rat Super Subs and quite a bit more powerful than the standard Rat subs. As things develop down that front, I will share more in time.

Each day FOH changes a bit and consoles come and go with the various bands, here we have a pairs of Digi Design Profiles, Midas Heriti 3000's, Yamaha PM5D's and one Lee.

Out in the field there were eight surround sound clusters loaded with 6 to 8 V-Dosc.

Two left, two right two mid field pointing toward the stage and two rear field pointing toward the stage. Plus the midfield clusters had Kudo on the back side as delays and the stage left clusters had ARC's acting as VIP fills. All in all, there was a whole lot of everything everywhere which would account for why we needed eight semi trucks to haul the sound gear out here, yikes!

While we are sound nerding out a bit, check out the new EAW MicroWedge 12's rocking the Outdoor Theater Stage

And loading into the Sahara Tent.

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

But more important than the gear, cause anyone with a wad o cash can mish some mash together and end up with a pile o boxes, how about let's start meeting the crew!

**** Mini Ratchella Crew Special Part 1 ****

Grandpa rocks the old school Rat shirt working the Sahara tent.

Hoover bunnies the FOH duties on the vintage Rat rig in the Gobi tent.

Continue reading "Me versus We"

Time Circles and Gatherings

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:41:09 -0700

How cool is it when time loops back on itself and the past becomes the present from a differing point of view. When I was 16 I was listening to music as loud as the headphone/stereo combo would get, lost in a state of timeless bliss trying to pick out all four guitars on the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young live album, 4 Way Street. I was 15 years old when I bought the just released Pink Floyd "Animals" record and are there actually a pig sounds in the recording or is it just the swine references that make it seem like they are there?

Anyway, fast forward 30 years and here I sit surrounded by hundreds of surround-sound speakers sprawled out in a giant field. The reality did not hit me until the show and I heard my memories in real time. Me and my friends that built, run and operate this evolving entity called Rat Sound are providing audio for Roger Waters! Who would have knew! Ha, that rules! And not only that, since the moment the show ended and I got done pinching myself, I have been drilling to find memories of a show that was more impressive and amazing.

If if that was not enough, check this out. You know the big pig that is all over the news that got away? The $10K award for finding it pig?

Well, check out piggy's front right paw:.....

Continue reading "Time Circles and Gatherings"

To Road or not to Road

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:22:05 -0700

I am back before gone and what better way to keep friends around than to give them free stuff! So, if you are interested and send a letter with a "Self addressed stamped envelope" inside to:

Rat Sound - Stickers
321 Bernoulli Circle
Oxnard, CA 93030
USA

We will drop in 3 Rat stickers and post it back to ya!

So who woulda knew that diving into blogging about roadies would be so read? So read that somehow the Spike TV show "ManSwers" found me and sent a crew out to interview me on some roadie-ish stuff. Don't know when it will be on or whether I will end up on the digital parallel to the cutting room floor, but I must admit that it was really fun and I had a blast. Especially the part where I felt very manly while getting my face powdered

The ManSwers crew was super cool and I realized that in a way, they are a special breed of TV roadies that travel in a small herd of 4 in a minivan. And what do roadies love? Yep, you got it, SWAG!!! So to test whether they were truly roadies, I offered swag which they seemed to be quite happy with.

Rock on Sacha and crew!

**** Not Sound but just the same, Nerd Speak ****

What else,,,,, Oh, a special treat for our bloggery friends that use the somewhat awkward combination of Blackberry phone and Macintosh computer. There is now and finally a way to tether your computer to your phone. For those unfamiliar, tethering is where you connect your phone to your laptop via cable or Bluetooth and utilize your cell phone's internet connection to access the internet on your laptop. This is super cool, though a bit slow, as you can surf the web for free from anywhere you have cell service. (assuming you have the unlimited data plan on your cell phone that is). Anyway, tethering with a PC laptop into a Blackberry or similar phone is pretty common and fairly simple. Tethering with a Mac is a bit more illusive as Apple likes to block those kinds of things. But finally the puzzle has been unraveled and Mac users can now enjoy that wonderful internet connectivity freedom that I have come to depend on.

http://www.blackberrycool.com/2007/07/19/005156/

**** End Not Sound but just the same, Nerd Speak ****

Into a fleeting gap in the onslaught of projects streaming by, I wedged in enough time to capture a snapshot of roadie adventure past. Rewinding back to Ireland we find our roadie friends fearlessly braving frigid rain at the base of the majestic Slane Castle. Yes, the Peppers made a DVD and too did the Foo. Puzzling at it is, I realized that in their haste and exuberance of filming the sliver of time occupied by the evening of "rock", both somehow have overlooked what occurred behind the scenes during the bulk of the day preceding. Alas, all is not lost for by sheer luck and a clear sense of the impending obvious, I had spent that August day wandering the roadie encampment with a tiny video camera documenting those roadie creatures frolicking in their natural habitat.

Without further ado, here are three 5 minute shorts of:

Roadies in the Midst - Slane Castle Unplugged

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

And finally, a parting shot for the day, on a whim I decided that I need some tunes in my office so I headed back into shop world, grabbed a few bits and set myself up a little sound system to enjoy while I work and make phone calls.

Two double 18 cable and two EAW MicroWedge's, a couple thousand watts of power and an MP3 player and I am ready to rock!

See you all soon and would love to hear how ya like the Slane video. I have several more old video tapes from tours past that I can put up if people are into the Rat Roadie Films.

Dave Rat

Pretending I am a Real Human

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:26:27 -0700

I tour well. Perhaps naturally nomadic or maybe just that I have spent much of my adult life traveling between hotel rooms. Either was, landing myself down in one place for more than a few months is an incredibly challenging process. First there was the hazy shock of solid ground, the realities of washing my own clothes and figuring out the proper food purchase to consumption ratio. The glory of a full fridge followed by the dread of tossing away piles of rotted food only to be followed by scouring the kitchen for something edible. Then sets in the dreaded weight of repetitive patterns. Drive to work, wash car, clean house, being at various places at certain times. All the while fighting the sensation of collapsing freedoms. I tell myself it will be ok once I get used to, I tell myself that tour looks so shiny from a stationary standpoint and try and keep the downsides in focus so I do not slip away into "grass is greener on the other side" envy.

As I navigate the doldrums and desirable aspects of the non roadie lifestyle, the bright spots of my days pull me like magnets past the trenches. One of those magnets is surfing so I would like to introduce you to a few friends that form the core crew. Meet Randy, John, Mac and Ray with whom I spend the crack of dawn surveying the waves before diving into the icy waters. I would like to thank John for the loaner of the rattle snake skin hat for the photo op.

And No Wave Dave who's ability to focus right in on what I call "poking the bear" is a constant source of smiles.

And Gene whom I hold I hold personally responsible for getting me hooked on surfing and spending my mornings hanging out with this motley crew.

Gene and Dave are not part of what they term the "goofy hat wearers." Clearly, I have no issue with it. Speaking of snakes, snaking is a term used to refer to the act of taking off on a wave in front of someone which you can see occurring to Gene in the photo below. You may also notice Gene entering "the bear pose," a clear indication that he is less than pleased with the maneuver.

And to better enjoy the adventure in wave, hey, why not make something a bit different and fun? Hmmmm, how about a custom Surfboard? Well, upon searching through my computer I seemed to have an abundance of a certain logo so.....

I sent out the graphics to Ray and had some silk printed and the Blinky (William Dennis) at Ventura Surf Shop made it up for me. Thank You, the board rocks!

Moving on to another source of smiles, here is a picture of a speaker I made with my mom on Christmas day. Together we worked in my garage just hanging out and though I am not a celebrator of corporate holidays, this was one the best Christmases ever. It is a 6 feet long polished aluminum tube with progressively dense filler and an open back. The tweeter is a bundle of 6 microphone capsules. The sound is amazingly clear and open.

Oh, and I have another way cool aluminum tube speaker coming. Just thinking about that zone and rhythm of building creations in the garage makes me happy.

First in line of the source of "making home being worth while though is being soccer coach for AYSO U12 girls team and going to softball games to watch shorty #1 and #2 rock out on their sports skills.

**** Sound Nerd Speak ****

MicroWedge 12 is out and about and in bloggery modern networking tradition, I even persuaded EAW to embrace an "Official MicroWedge Myspace Page."

http://www.myspace.com/microwedge

How many wedge's have their very own myspace site? Ha ha! Al in good fun and I made a little slide show as well.

Also the official EAW MicroWedge site is up as well.

http://www.eaw.com/products/microwedge

So I head out to EAW about once a month for all kinds of secret designing and such. The all new EAW MicroWedge 15 that is smaller and sexier than the old one, an EAW MicroWedge 8 and Shhhhh.... rumor has it, if I was to spread rumors, that a speaker box like you have never seen of the ultra cool EAW MicroSub 15 could very well be in the pipeline. I so wish I could share the MicroSub 15 prototype pics as it is a design I have been working on for a long long time and finally unraveled the answer to what I believe to be is the most useful and versatile stage sub ever. And it looks cool too!

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

Ok, I will try and pick up my bloggery pace a bit from once a month but no guarantees other than I will be back.

Rock On!

Dave Rat

Emerging From Hibernation?

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:15:17 -0800

Well, it has been a bloggery while since my last post and not for forgetting, as I truly have been intending. Being in the sound company business is not for the faint hearted and winter time is the toughest of all when you depend on touring bands as your primary income.

Way back in 1980 I started Rat Sound with my friend Brian when we both worked at Hughes Aircraft. Prior to that I was recording bands and though we did not adopt the pet name Rat for a few more years, 1980 is really when it began. I had started at Hughes in Radar Systems Group testing components for jet planes like the F/A 18, F15 and F14 fighters. Got bored and worked it out so I was loaned to Space and Communications Group doing a similar but less monotonous gig for Telstar and Telsat satellites. Still bored I applied for a transfer and was picked up by the engineering department of Electo-Optical Group working on TOW Missile systems. Youngest guy in the department and the only one without a college degree, it was actually pretty darn fun, for while. Military government paperwork sucks! Meanwhile, nights and weekends I did rock shows, punk rock shows mainly with big band and 60 piece orchestras scattered amongst the sundays.

Every cent I had went to PA gear, I had no savings. Mid Reagan era military expansion filled my non-gig weekends with overtime at my day job. In November of 1980 a giant fork appeared in the road ahead. My vacation and sick leave time had been consumed by friday load-ins, rumors and memo's regarding various departments enacting mandatory overtime were abound and I was making as much money doing rock shows in two days as 5 days of my 7am to 3:30pm "real job" landed.

Career, medical benefits, retirement plan and some semblance of parental respect versus late nights, loading trucks, loud music and freedom. December 12th I gave 30 days notice. January 12th I was free. February 12th I was broke, hungry and selling off sound gear to buy food and gas. That was when I learned, the first time and then proceeded to learn every year there after. With a few exceptions, winter means starvation for furry little critters and touring sound companies. It is never a surprise, at least not anymore, but that does not change the fact that it is a challenge.

Now a days, it is different than it used to be. Now the threat of not eating is long gone while what remains is the necessary time, care and focus to navigate the ship through the low tide. So in short or in long, that is what has grabbed my focus and what I have been up to.

**** Sound Nerd Speak ****

MicroWedge update. First the official stuff. The new EAW MicroWedge 12's are done and the first delivery will be at Rat any day now (read "tomorrow"). Processor settings are done and super cool! There are three settings and they will be coded as colors.

White - The Flat Setting. I don't have the final spec yet but it was plus or minus a couple db throughout it's frequency range. This is a industry standard starting point so engineers can tailor the EQ to suit a wide variety of applications.

Gray - A 1 db per octave slope rolling off as frequency increases. A warmer setting that sounds more natural and requires less EQ to dial in.

Blue - We took several industry standard microphones, plotter their real world response and created a curve that counteracts the inherent peaks. It was surprising how similar the Neumann, Sennheiser, Shure and Audix responses were. The Blue setting is tailored to get very loud, not feedback and sound amazing with no external EQ and reproduces both music and live mics extremely well. True plug and play usability.

Now for the rumors. If I was to say, I would say that a new sleeker, smaller, louder MicroWedge 15 and more is hot the tails of the 12", though the Micro 12 was developed to go lower and get louder than the best 15" monitors out there already. I would also say that cool new tilt legs (The MicroLeg) are being developed and they allow the MicroWedge's to be utilized at various angles. Say bye bye audio blocks, say hello to optimum wedge angles!

Oh, and I wish I could show you the latest MicroSub prototype but that would ruin all the fun and anticipation. I will say that if it makes it through the maze to market, it is useful in ways unlike anything else out there and is something that the few monitor engineers I've shown it to already have all said they could use them right now.

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

Speaking of useful, I was at the NAMM show and stumbled across a few items that I can not imagine how I have managed to live my life without. First we have what appears to be the ultimate PA speaker.

Not sure if it is a 5 way or a 7 way stack but wow, that is a high concentration of Piezo speakers.

Next in line, I find myself wondering "am I the last know?" and "how come everyone does not have one?" when I spotted this beauty:

That's right, a 7 string bass! Clearly marking the end of the 4 string era.

But wait, what do we have here? Is it? Yes! A guitarasurus!

So handy yet so eloquent. And if one is to rock a guitarasurus, one had better get an adequate guitar rig. Hence I present:

The ultimate rockers dream and sound guy's nightmare. "Yes, of course they are all plugged in, why else would I have brought what I need?"

And so it was and off till next time.

Dave Rat

Equilibrium

nospam@example.com (Dave Rat) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 18:31:33 -0800

**** Special News Bulletin ****

As you may have or not noticed, I have all but vanished from the bloggery world and a few other's as well. Though fret not as because I am lost no more than I ever usually am, which is most of the time. Anyway, I have just returned from a full week of audio nerdery bliss, hanging out with the talented humans at EAW. Oooooh, speaker heaven! The days are numbered and soon comes the all new EAW MicroWedge and more as well. New designs, new prototypes being considered. This was the most comprehensive interaction with them so far. I am being welcomed into the inner workings of a machine of mind boggling complexity. Each department has an amazing talent, each also is cared for and run by unique and interesting humans with a true passion for what they create. Maybe I can even do a "Meet the MicroWedge Design Team" bloggery post.

So, on my way to EAW I made a 5 day stop in Brooklyn.to hang out with Bart, Niki and Robin and build the super secret prototypes of a potential new MicroWedge product. Cross your fingers!

**** Wood Working Super Tip ****

If you want the best of the very best wood working tools money can buy, check out http://www.festool.com/

The concept of precision fences where you move the saw rather than try and move the whole sheet of wood. Dust collection that allows you to router edges with nearly no dust. Plunge circular saws that follow the precision fence and cut the same line at any angle, oh, and check out the Domino Joiner! Thank you Bart for the cool prototypes and lessons in using those cool tools.

**** End Bulletin and Tip ****

Equilibrium

The state of balance. Beautiful flowers attract insects to devour them. Hard working wealth attained is magnetic to those that seeking an easy grab to the top. A plethora of bunnies becomes a feeding ground for coyote's. Extended pure pleasure breeds weakness while prolonged unrelenting stress creates blind viciousness. To stop and look at the other side. 10 bricks of building and 5 bricks to to prevent the flooding. Seatbelts and insurance policies not for the "just in case" but more accurately for the inevitable. Only in question is the magnitude of the counter-growth event. It will rain, the car will be dented, someone or thing will consider us to feed upon. There is no "if," only a what and when and whether it is significant, irrelevant or somewhere in between. Equilibrium is a given, it will occur. I am only faced with the choice of whether to accept or deny it and the option of whether to dedicate reasonable resource toward preparedness. Yet to over-prepare is to invite stagnation and to under-prepare is to live in a gamble. If only I could keep remembering to step back and see things clearly. If only that was not one of the eternal challenges.

This natural preemptive attempt at equilibrium is what creates the desire for societies to create things like fire departments and police forces. Speaking of police, I have learned long ago that it is much better to join them than try and beat them as they tend to be very vigilant in their endeavors. Unfortunately for me, though I try very hard to never do anything wrong, my experience has been that I tend to be a police magnet. So working toward the "just in case" meet my new best friend:

Regrettably, he was on duty and could not join me for my next adventure into confetti land:

Aargh! Another life fact, eternal constant of the ages that is undeniable is that cell phones have a very short and unpredictable life span. My cell phone came down with a life threatening illness, yet again and off to the emergency room we headed. Prognosis: "I am sorry to inform me but you must operate immediately." "The bad news is that my cell phone needed USB Jack transplant, the good news is that suitable donor has recently passed away."

Talk about soldering some tiny things, this was a rough one! I had to take pictures and then zoom in just to see if I did it right.

*** Simple Sound Nerd Speak ****

In pro live audio, gain structure refers to the alignment of the the various electronic audio levels as they pass through the equipment on their way from microphone to loudspeaker.

If you run any gain stage too high, you will get into distortion. Too low and excessive noise becomes an issue. So there is an optimum range where you operate at fairly high levels with out overloading the circuits. Finding an optimum gain level for the gear combination you are operating requires a bit of knowledge of the gear, the dynamics of the signals your dealing with as well as some hands on experience to master.

When a good gain structure is set up, all the knobs tend to be in "comfortable positions," Faders are neither crunched to the top nor wallowing near the bottom of their travel limits, the signal meters would read clear signal without pegging and there should not be a need for "make up gain" as the signal levels are well balanced throughout the system.

Finally, a well structured gain exhibits minimal hiss, buzz and noise and no undesirable overload distortion.

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

Dave Rat