Boston, MA, May 15, 2013 – Eastern Acoustic Works® (EAW®) delivered a temporary sound system to the House of Blues in Boston for a one-night performance by alt-rock powerhouse Paramore, whose front-of-house engineer Eddie Mapp (photo at left) requested the opportunity to use the system. According to EAW President Jeff Rocha, Mapp had visited EAW’s Whitinsville, MA factory during Anya’s development and had heard the system at Coachella, but schedules prevented him from using the system in a live performance.
“Eddie gave us valuable insight during the development process for Anya,” Rocha said. “When we saw that Paramore’s schedule brought them through Boston, we reached out to the House of Blues to see if we could get Eddie a chance to mix on Anya. The team at House of Blues was fantastic about this unusual request, and the result has been great.”
Like many large concert halls, the House of Blues in Boston features a large, steeply-raked balcony notorious for challenging sound reinforcement systems, particularly in that it reaches high above the PA. Many traditional line array systems struggle to cover areas “above the hang”….
Indio, CA, April 12, 2013 – Influential sound reinforcement company Rat Sound deployed the new Anya ™ system from Eastern Acoustic Works® (EAW®) at the Coachella Festival’s Gobi tent. The system employed seven Anya modules per side with a single out fill module flanking a main column of six. This was the first use of the new Anya system for a public event, and the Coachella Festival is one of the largest and best known in the world.
Rat Sound principals Dave Rat and Jon Monson, who worked with EAW to develop the MicroWedge™ line of stage monitors, contributed throughout the research and development process for Anya. According to EAW President Jeff Rocha, the decision to deploy the initial pilot build for the high-profile event came relatively late in the planning cycle.
“When Dave and Jon came to the factory to work with the final engineering prototypes, they asked if they could use the first 16-module build live at Coachella,” Rocha said. “Naturally, we were thrilled to showcase our new product at one of our industry’s most important and demanding events.”
Even though the first part of South by Southwest – the Interactive Conference – doesn’t start until Friday, the first wave of EAW staff and our associated partners are already onsite at The Belmont. The first order of business is to strike the existing PA so we can fly the temporary KF740 rig supplied by our long-standing partner Gemini Light, Sound & Video from Dallas. (Photo at left: Gemini’s Chad Cain cables the stage right array.)
Our regional factory representative firm Aldridge Marketing pitched in with some NTS250 powered subwoofer systems they had in their inventory as well as a wicked cool matrix to help us manage signal flow amongst the three separate PAs we’ll have set up.
Local riggers Shur-Rig have supplied new, safety-rated rigging points to set the main arrays as far to the corners of the stage as possible, opening up sightlines for the large numbers of video cameras that will record and potentially televise some of these events.
Austin-based Big House Sound, who installed the existing PA and have worked with the venue for years…
Yesterday, we posted to Facebook about a story we saw announcing that DJ Magazine has moved their Winter Music Conference pool parties to the Delano Hotel. Again for 2013, EAW will supply the Delano with a world-class Avalon by EAW™ sound system. (Photo: Benny Benassi at WMC 2012)
Unlike last year, we will have four SUB.two hybrid subwoofer systems to power the dance floor. And, unlike last year, the Delano will run programming for the entire WMC event. Keep any eye on DJ Magazine for more info on their events.
South by Southwest
Before we can get to the Delano, however, we will spend the better part of two weeks in Austin, TX, where we’ll bring a KF740 systems and a separate Avalon by EAW system to The Belmont for their South by Southwest events.
The Belmont is a “buy-out” venue, meaning that client organizations book the venue for one or more days to produce their concerts. One client that has already announced their line up is The Warner Sound. They will be showcasing acts…
Our weekend at the Columbus Theatre for Revival! and Revival Too! was a memorable one. 7, er, 8 acts on 2 stages for Revival! on Saturday and then 5 acts on one stage for Revival Too! on Sunday. On Saturday, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras came on stage to deliver certificates of recognition to the Columbus’ owner Jon Berberian and Columbus Cooperative founder (and our production manager) Bryan Minto. And then the Mayor sat in the VIP box for Brown Bird.
Compared to our recent experiences with Decibel Festival, the so-called New Folk scene could not be more different. Where EDM performers deliver a simple left/right feed, these acts brought every conceivable acoustic instrument, including ones they invented themselves. More on that below.
First, let’s just appreciate the vast array of instruments used, in no particular order:
Orchestral strings - playing string bass is pretty much a requirement to even hang around this scene, and 5 of the 8 acts…
The patch sheet for The Barr Brothers starts off like many with a 6-channel drum mic requirement. But then, well, this:
7 – Drum amp (SM57)
8 – Bike wheel (DI passive)
The Barr Brothers also include a concert harp that is mic’d acoustically, carried via transducer direct to an XLR cable and amplified separately. Yes, that harp amp also needs a Sennheiser 421.
So three channels of harp. And a bicycle wheel.
Such are the requirements for one of seven acts scheduled for Revival!, a reopening celebration at the historic Columbus Theatre in Providence, RI. (Photo above courtesy of Frank Grace.) Just as the technical requirements above defy convention, so does this one-of-a-kind event spearheaded by internationally-renowned artists The Low Anthem.
The Low Anthem and the Power of Place
The Low Anthem, an indie folk rock act from Providence, seem obsessed with place, especially their hometown. They recorded their most recent album Smart Flesh in an abandoned pasta sauce factory in nearby Central Falls, RI and held the record release event there, as well.
As a 20-year resident of Providence, I can attest to…
This past week, I had the great fortune to attend the very first of EAW’s new KF740 Red Certification training program at the H.A.S. Productions shop in Las Vegas NV.
Presented by EAW’s veteran audio instructor Bernie Broderick, this 2-day instructional program included everything from basic audio physics, hands-on rigging and assembly of the KF740 line array to an in-depth study and hands-on training with both of EAW’s revolutionary software systems: Resolution™ and Pilot™.
The class provided me with a hard-copy manual covering the entire content of the training course, which included some very cool real-world, value-added audio tips as well.
I found the Red Certification training manual to be both extremely well written and easy to understand and follow. Lot’s of helpful illustrations too!
The class included a complete step-by-step PowerPoint presentation, whereby questions from attendees were strongly encouraged at all times. Yes, we had plenty of questions!
I was most impressed by how easy both the Resolution and Pilot…
Call them “post-grunge”; call them “alternative metal”. Whatever genre you put Filter in, the fact remains that this band is loud and aggressive. It’s not likely that this act would be satisfied with a PA that’s anything short of explosive.
So it might be somewhat meaningful that after their recent gig at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel’s Rehab Pool, Filter front-of-house engineer Jack Saurez said:
Such a small box with so much power - I can’t imagine doing another gig without a KF740 rig. It just wouldn’t be the same. And the bottom end is amazing!! (Jack’s exclamation points, not ours. Ed.)
Once again, Larry Hall and his team at H. A. S. Productions (HAS) delivered a PA that added yet another top FOH engineer to the list of audio pros that love the KF740.
For this gig, Larry’s Resolution™ models showed that he only needed six KF740 modules per side to blast the outdoor, poolside venue with, well, Filter. We should note that the 12 SB2001 dual-21 inch subwoofers, arranged in Larry’s bent cardioid array detailed here, might have influenced Mr. Suarez’s opinion of the bottom end.
For front fill, HAS used a pair of KF200NT compact, self-powered, three-way systems that he…
Our friends at Dallas-based Gemini Light, Sound & Video just returned from a month-long tour with four superstars of old-school soul and R & B on the Summer Fest tour. Hitting 17 dates over 33 days, Summer Fest featured Frankie Beverly, Patti LaBelle, Babyface and The O’Jays.
To power these performers in the large-scale venues that booked the tour, Gemini used arrays comprising 16 KF740 three-way, line array modules per side. Four KF730 three-way systems distributed as single elements across the stage lip provided immediate front fill. Finally, left and right 3-high by 4-wide arrays of SB1000 dual 18-in subwoofers delivered the bottom end.
The photo at left shows the tour in a semi-enclosed amphitheater (aka, a shed). These venues did not require any side fill arrays because the KF740′s true 90 degree horizontal dispersion ensured adequate coverage of the wings. In other venues such as indoor arenas with seating to the side of the stage, arrays comprising 8 KF740s per side delivered extreme side fill coverage.
Gemini powered all these loudspeaker systems with Powersoft K2 and K3 amps, using…
Where does one start with 2Cellos? Two good-looking young men, classically trained cellists, deliver rock concert-style performances with a set comprising unique arrangements of popular songs.
A “cover band”? Um…no.
They’ve recently enjoyed a string of performances with Elton John, and in September, they will appear with Sir Elton at the Peace One Day festival at Wembley Stadium. (Wembley, by the way, is an EAW installation.)
Providing sound reinforcement for this act is not your run-of-the-mill rock concert PA; the quality of the audio reproduction might be a pretty big deal. Now imagine that you need to deliver a PA for this unique act, exploding onto the global music scene, only it’s in the largest venue in Zagreb, the capital of their native Croatia.
Pressure? Perhaps a bit.
This was the situation faced by Croatian rental house Eldra. Lucky for them, 2Cellos prefer EAW.
For this concert, Eldra used a range of EAW KF Series line array systems. Main left/right arrays comprise 12 KF760s…
Our friends at Dallas-based 
The photo at left shows the tour in a semi-enclosed amphitheater (aka, a shed). These venues did not require any side fill arrays because the KF740′s true 90 degree horizontal dispersion ensured adequate coverage of the wings. In other venues such as indoor arenas with seating to the side of the stage, arrays comprising 8 KF740s per side delivered extreme side fill coverage.
Where does one start with 
Pressure? Perhaps a bit.
