NEWS FOCUS: Alice Cooper
Opposite: Cooper commanded the stage at the packed venue; Yamaha’s PM5D-RH was used at FOH; The view from behind the lighting console of Lighting Designer, Andy May; Alexandra Palace’s gothic architecture provided the perfect setting for the event; An appearance from a 12ft Frankenstein monster was one of many creepy treats the audience enjoyed.
the Theatre of Death crew mid-tour. On Night of Fear, Wood made himself at home on the already-in-use Yamaha PM5D-RH mixing desk, making use of its onboard processing. “I like the abilities of individual channel control such as input, delay, compression and gates. Input delays for time alignment and imaging are important to me. Having all that outboard gear would be a lot to haul around, plus the storing and recalling of scenes between multiple acts is a very nice thing to have.” Wood ran the majority of the sound effects
from a sampler at FOH, mixing on the fly, and simultaneously recorded the shows using the Samson Zoom H4n portable recorder to record four live tracks. Mics for the Night Of Fear tour included the Shure Beta 91’s, 56’s and 58’s; KSM 32’s, SM81’s and SM57’s. System Tech, Michael Wirth, has worked in
live music production for more that 10 years. After Cooper’s 2010 tour, the rental company Go Audio recommended Wirth again for the Night Of Fear tour. Using an L-Acoustics PA system, the main
hang consisted of 12 V-DOSC and 3dV-DOSC per side, the out hangs consisted of nine Karas per side. For front fills, six Karas were in place and all the components were powered with LA- 8 amplifiers. A total of 24 Quake MSE-118 subs, a single
18-inch horn loaded subwoofer, were set up in a line in front of the stage. A single Dolby Lake Processor used in Dolby / Mesa configuration controlled the system. Wirth said, “I’ve been working for many years with the L-Acoustics products and it was
the number one choice for Alice’s production. It offers flexibility even in difficult venues and we could adapt the system to every venue size. “Because of easy rigging systems and good
pre-calculation using the SoundVision software, we were very fast in building, tuning and rebuilding the system. Also, the LA-Network Manager offers a very good tool to remote the amplifiers, time align the system and tune it with the given filters.”
EXPENSIVE CANDY “I’ve always had a fascination for gadgets and electronics but at 16, thanks to some good friends, I got to experience standing behind a console during a concert. I was hooked and I started working for my cousin’s band as the roadie,” said Monitor Engineer, Paul Bostic. “Fascination turned into a job and the job
turned into a career. In the bigger picture over the years, it was the transition from analogue to digital that’s kept me interested in what I do and with the natural evolution of hardware and software finally being applied to the audio industry, the technology horizon has made amazing changes that enhance the experience for the artist and the fan. It’s like being a kid in a candy store except the candy is really expensive! “Looking back, I consider myself extremely
lucky to have worked with such great artists as Paul Rodgers, Alice Cooper, Foreigner, Twisted Sister and countless other acts. I hope there’s at least a few more years left but, more so, I love making all that technology work.” For speakers, Bostic used SB218 side fills and 115XT wedges. “I currently only use one
wedge downstage left. The artist prefers ear attenuators and a basic drum mix. The side fills are redundancy in case of an in ear failure.” His mixing desk, a Yamaha PM5D, is a
console he considers to be “bullet proof”. Said Bostic, “Logistically, it’s economical, versatile and easy to get if you’re ever in a pinch.” For IEMs, Bostic highlighted the importance
of having a support network behind the company. “For in-ear equipment, I’ve packaged what I consider the best available gear based on quality, service and support. Shure PSM 900’s and PSM 1000’s, pro audio Helical antenna, WinRadio frequency scanner and Ultimate Ears UE18’s. I choose these products because these companies truly give the best service and support when you need it the most.” In total, monitor world dealt with eight
stereo and three live mixes whilst also tracking 32 mono and six stereo mixes via Ethernet on Dante interface cards.
A CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONAL “Of course every artist is different; most have a good and bad side,” concluded Bostic. “But in the many years and bands I’ve worked for, Alice is truly the most unique. When the artist Alice Cooper hits the stage, he’s a consummate professional in every sense but, for those lucky enough to know him on a personal level, he’s much more: funny, charitable, creative and dedicated to his fans and he really takes great care and a personal interest in his crew.” TPi
http://alicecooper.com/
www.alexandrapalace.com TPi JANUARY 2012 • 09
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