REM Live

Text: Mark O’Connor

FOH ENGINEER – BRETT ELIASON

REM FOH engineer Brett Eliason’s last visit to Australia was with Pearl Jam in 2003. Brett’s been the Pearl Jam ‘sound guy’ since the band’s inception. While he was understandably reluctant to draw comparisons between the two bands, I enquired how mixing each of them presented different challenges, drawing upon different areas of expertise.

Brett Eliason: Certainly there are differences. I mean this is a different band to mix than Pearl Jam. With Pearl Jam it’s generally more rock-oriented, more in-your-face. I think there’s more variety with REM – they play a slew of styles that range from pop to more in-your-face riffy rock kind of stuff. And Michael’s definitely a different kind of singer. There are different tonalities on stage – with REM you have six musicians that are playing very arranged, very different parts that take a little while to get your head around, to figure out what you want to do with it and where it all needs to go.

Mark O’Connor: So there was some ‘learning the ropes’ in early stages of the tour then?

BE: Yeah, definitely. This is the first tour I’ve done with REM and I’m definitely getting my feet wet, figuring out how to shape them – what I want to hear out of them and of course how they want to be presented. It definitely takes a few shows to get that under your belt. I like to think that we came out pretty strong, but as the tour’s gone on it’s progressed and developed and matured quite a bit.

MO’C: Was there much direction from the band in terms of what they wanted from you, or was it more about intuitively feeling your way?

BE: It was more intuitive. We definitely had some conversations at the beginning – I went in for a week’s worth of rehearsals in Athens [Georgia], sat in with them, watched instrumentation, watched the members change around, and got a feel for what they were going to be doing on stage. Also, a mobile recording truck was brought in for me to record one of those rehearsals (which became an Apple iTunes exclusive presentation of some of the material) – which was a nice opportunity to put what I was doing under the microscope. And I was asking them quite a few different questions about how true to the record they wanted to sound.

MO’C: What was the response?

BE: I think there are certain key effects, certain things that are very important in the record, and those things are obvious. For example, when you think about the song Drive, the slap-back delay on the vocal you hear in the verses… that kind of thing is important to them. And definitely knowing what the dominant instruments are throughout the arrangements. But I personally tried to make them a little bigger, a little more rockin’ live than perhaps what their more recent records have been. There’s a different timbre to the more recent records – I’m not saying it’s a bad thing by any means, it’s what the records are – but live I prefer to open it up and make it thump a little more.

MO’C: You mentioned earlier Michael being a ‘different kind of singer’. Can you tell us about your approach to his vocal?

BE: Well, we changed quite a few things – when I say ‘we’ I mean, myself and George Squires, our monitor engineer. This is George’s first tour with the band as well, so we sat down and talked about everything from mics and mic placement to… just all the technology that goes into it, because we have to share all the stuff that’s up on stage. So he definitely had a hand in some of the decisions as well. For example, we talked to Michael about changing microphone types. He was a Shure Beta 58 user – always has been. I didn’t really care for the sound of that mic on his vocal. We still use a wireless version of it and it works just fine, but for the wired vocal that goes on throughout the show we switched to an Audix OM7. It’s a very clear mic that has a nice warm low end and great gain-before-feedback characteristics – you can really crank up his foldback; it gives me something extra for front of house; and retains good stability. The other thing I do with vocals is I have a preamp on stage and I run the main vocal – both his wireless and his wired mic – to that preamp, and then line drive that signal out to front of house. Doing that decreases the amount of signal degradation that I get over long cable lines. It doesn’t get as mid-rangey, and it also lowers the noise floor – things can get kind of buzzy when you’re running a mic signal hundred of metres, so it really cleans up that path. The other thing I use is an Empirical Labs Distressor on his vocal, and on the other vocals as well. It’s a compressor that can be used in several different ways. I find that it really helps with Michael’s transient information. He’s got a lovely voice, but everybody’s got their characteristics and he can get quite bright in the top end, so the Distressor helps control that a little bit – helps control his dynamic and really keep it solid.

EAW 760 LINE ARRAY

MO’C: What was behind your decision to go for the EAW PA?

BE: Several years ago I was planning a change in PA for Pearl Jam and tried an EAW 760 line array for a couple of arena shows. I was quite blown away by it – its presence, its coverage, and its punch. It’s not perfect – none of them are – but for the way I approach things, the way I mix, I find it a very, very friendly PA to use. There are great aspects to many of the other line arrays but, thus far, this one’s still my favourite.

MO’C: Norwest has supplied the PA system here but you’ve brought in everything else?

BE: That’s correct. We’re very self-contained – everything from our power distribution, our multicores, mic stands… everything between stage and FOH. This maintains a level of consistency that’s comforting. We could pick up just about everything I’m using out here in Australia – Norwest and other companies have everything available. But there are places in different parts of the world where we’ve played – or are yet to play – that aren’t quite so geared up. Also when you show up with everything basically preset, all you’ve got to do is just wrestle the PA into place and you’re ready to go.

MO’C: You’re using the Midas XL4 console. What led you to that choice?

BE: Firstly, it has a tremendous number of routing capabilities. Also, it’s a big console – this is a 56-input frame and every input is full. The EQ is very useful – it’s smooth, yet active. The preamps sound wonderful – they’re warm and punchy. It’s just a really lovely-sounding console that tours well. I’ve used Midas’ Heritage series, which is a nice board, but I had some problems with the computer section and eventually went back to the XL4.

MO’C: Can you take us through some of your outboard gear?

BE: I’ve got a lot of stuff – quite a few Distressors, which we talked about, a couple of Manley Vari-Mu tube compressors, a Summit DCL200 stereo tube compressor, some BSS404 compressors, a couple of your typical dbx 160s, an Alan Smart compressor and a solitary gate. I don’t really gate drums, but I use one for snare bottom and also the Leslie bottom because it tends to be a rumbly beast. As far as delays go, I’ve got a TC2290, a Roland SDE3000, and on the multi-effect front: an Eventide H3000, a TC Electronic M2000, and an old Lexicon PCM60.

MO’C: To what extent do you apply those effects, reverbs and delays to the vocal?

BE: I do play with it, though subtly. There are a few songs that have very obvious delays that are a big part of the song – of the melody or the rhythm of the vocal – but for the most part it’s subtler than that. Although I make quite a few changes, it’s just to help the vocal fit the room as well as what it needs to fit into the song. And when rooms are really boomy I just back it off – if you’ve already got a ton of reverb you don’t need more.

MO’C: How have you found the venues out here?

BE: I always find Australian venues to be very nice. Sydney Entertainment Centre is decent; the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne is a beautiful sounding facility; Adelaide Entertainment Centre is great. I’ve done the Burswood Dome in Perth before and it’s not as nice a room but compared to some of the arenas in The States and whatnot, I’d rather do the venues here any day.

MONITOR ENGINEER – GEORGE SQUIRES

While monitor engineer George Squires has previously toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Offspring, and Fugazi to name a few, this is his first time out with the boys from Athens, Georgia. “Every band is a new challenge. It’s about getting on the same wavelength with them, understanding what they’re going for and trying to achieve it.”

MO’C: George, can you run through what you’ve got on stage.

George Squires: We’re using Microwedges – a very compact, co-axial, good-looking, loud, high-fidelity wedge designed by Ratsound (LA production company providing the monitor gear), which helps me get the sounds I need. I’m also using a Sennheiser [evolution] G2 in-ear system, which sounds great and has loads of frequency choices. The guys have Futuresonic moulds in their ears – they’re a single transducer, ported earpiece that provides lots of volume and low end with a very natural sound. They are also very durable, and I love dependability!

MO’C: What are the pros and cons of using an IEM/wedge combination?

GS: As far as in-ear and/or wedges go, it really is just a preference thing. Some of the guys like to feel the sound on stage as well as hearing it, and having the wedges does make for more energy on stage. Though, quite frankly, it also makes for more work. Sometimes musicians try to compete with the in-ears, which can make the stage very volatile and increases the chance of feedback. Plus the added volume just bleeds into all the mics, which makes it harder for both myself and Brett at FOH.

In terms of each guy’s setup: Michael uses in-ears and wedges. He will sometimes take an ear out, sometimes have them both in, and sometimes he’ll take them both out and just use the wedges. Mike Mills uses one earpiece and wedges. Peter Buck uses wedges. Both Scott McCaughey (guitar and occasional keys) and Ken Stringfellow (keyboard player, plays guitar and bass as well) only use wedges, and drummer William Rieflin uses a combination of wedges and in-ears. So they’re all a bit different.

MO’C: How would you go about describing each player’s monitor mix?

GS: It changes from song to song, and depends a lot on what instruments they happen to be playing. Michael likes mainly vocals with some drums, electronics, loops and shakers in the in-ears. He also has drums and vocals in the wedges. Mike Mills likes a full mix with his vocals on top in both the in-ears and wedges. Peter has drums, loops, mandolin, acoustic guitar, banjo, with Michael’s vocal in wedges only. I could go on, but I’d have to break it down song by song.

REM is a band that changes instruments and stage positions constantly, which is why I use the Yamaha PM5D as a monitor console. It allows me to store all my mixes and settings for every song, which is fantastic – I can recall anything at the touch of a button. It also has all the compressors, gates, equalisers and effects on board. Initially getting my head around the PM5D was a challenge, but it’s been well worth the effort – this has been my first tour with a digital console, but not my last!