Indy Fest 2009 - The official site thread

[dtel]

That was not the answer I was expecting []

I can see it now Michael and P Thump standing behind the mixing board and the kid playing the guitar hits the first note and the whole audience falls back on there chairs and crawl for cover holding there ears and everyone in the first 3 rows lose most of the hair from there arms and face from the flames shooting from the speakers.

Maby a slight exaggeration but you two sound dangerous together, really it's a good thing y'all don't have access to unlimited equipment and amps......birds would be falling dead out of the sky from shock.

[colterphoto1]

well you have to be louder than any of the junk coming off the stage. if there's a drummer beating the crud out of the skins, the PA has to trump him for the vocals to be heard. Same thing with some power hungry guitarist and a 100 watt Marshall. It takes a ton of PA to be heard over that stuff and deliver a reasonable mix of sound to the audience.

It's not my fault all the cats in the county are now hairless! []

[nola]

Hello all

On a rainy afternoon in Toronto. Well, I had a blast last weekend. Michael's hospitality was wonderful and he managed not to have a heart attack while stressing out at the park. It was fun to be a roadie-once. Roger was also great having us over at the house. Klipsch folks were nice too.

These are things I will never be able to do in the French Quarter-can't have everything.

The friendship and fellowship were worth the travel schlep.

"We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when........."

[picky]

Michael: While standing next to the board I told Hunter I thought we were pushing out about 110-115 db and he nodded. The best part is that it was clean! -Glenn

[customsteve01]

Well I guess I need to put in my two cents worth about the weekend, Ben did a great job in his post.

Wednesday I loaded up the Harley and left home (near Richmond.VA) around 10:00, the weather was great but I knew there was a line of thunderstorms between me and Indy. around 1:00 I hit some sprinkes and thought need to stop and throw on the rain suit. Well I stop at a gas station and as I'm filling up the bottom falls out and it starts pouring, good thing I'm under the canopy. Put the suit on and head out. I get to Charleston, WV and its still raining but traffic is stopped, listening to the chatter on the CB the truckers going the other way say a one car into the gaurdrail is the problem. We creap along and within 45 min or so we get to really moving. Around 5:00 I am able to loose the rain suit and make it to Micheals around 10:30. I find him out in the shop building up connectors. We chat for a while and he gives me the grand tour of the House of Klipsch (very nice). I was pretty beat from the ride and I think it was around 1:00 or 2:00 when we finally crashed.

On Thursday we went and had a great big breakfast at this little dinner that had great food but they gave you way too much food. Then had to go shopping for some electric cable and I needed some slacks and a shirt for a interview, I somehow forgot to pack them. Then it was basck to the house to work on getting the last few things of the PA ready. We were listening to the KP250's??? and I asked Mike if I moved the MWM to the other side of the workshop could I hook them up. He said yea so I rearanged his shop so I could move them and proceeded to hook them up. I asked Mike what order to hook the speakers into the crossover and I got it backwards. We turned them on and it sounded terable (go figure) luckly we were not playing at any volume, about the same time Roger, Glen and Verna showed up and Roger happened to look at the crossover and asked why were they hooked up backwards. After reconnecting the correct way they sounded awesome. The joke the rest of the weekend was they sound good if they are connected corectly. I am just really glad I didn't fry anything. We had Subway for dinner and worked more in the shop. Later we went inside and Mike said pick out a movie, he has a large music selection but is limited on the movies, I had never seen Borat (and now wish I never had) enough said on that.

I got up Friday and Mike was already in the shop and we traded out soldering cables till Ben arrived then he and I loaded the trailer then I had to take off to meet an old friend for a job interview at Rolls-Royce (which went very well). I met up with the gang at Klipsh HQ. Bens write up on this was very good so I wont write it all over other than the Paladium HT was outstanding. Then dropped the bike off at Mike's and we headed to Rogers. I still am just amased at his house and HT every time I see it. Totaly Awesome doesn't describe it well enough.

Saturday we headed to the park and I had a great time helping with the setup and sound check for all the bands. We did 12 band changes. All the kids were great and all thanked us for letting them play on a big rig setup. We were all beat afterwards and I think we all fell asleep while Shine a Light was on.

Sunday I needed to get an early start so I got up showered and packed up the bike. I met Glen and Verna for coffee on the way out of town. the ride home was great weather the whole way and I arrived home about 11:30.

I will say it was a really fun weeend with really good friends and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Thanks for being such a great host Mike, come out to Virginia any time you want.

[Professor Thump]

Steve,

It was a pleasure to have your help and friendship. I hope you get the job in Indy so we can hang out more often.

[colterphoto1]

It was a pleasure having you on board Steve. Stop by any time, you're a great Klipsch Brother.

Hey, did you get a chance to spend much time with the Jubilees? I'm looking for reports on my setup on the 2ch thread. Thanks!

Michael

[picky]

I want to take the time to thank a few people for making this past weekend well worth the drive out and back:

First, I want to thank IndyKlipschFan (Roger) for once again opening up his house to Verna and I and allowing us to bunk there for a few days. It's always a pleasure to spend time with you and your family. You always make us feel like we're at home there. Thanks so much for that and for hosting the Friday night open house once again, which is always fun. I'm so glad we've all become such close friends. I wish we all lived closer!

Next, I wish to thank Colterphoto1 (Michael) for opening up his house and Roadie's shop to us all. Thanks for letting us all play with your "big boy toys" at the concert and for opening up you house to us all so we could listen to your various outstanding systems. I'll talk more about your Jubes in the Picky Report. Thanks for helping supply us with food and beverages at the concert. You are the first forum member I had ever met face-to-face (years ago) and you are the first forum memeber to visit our home and allow us to share our theater with you for a few hours. Just as in our case with Roger, it's amazing what close friends we've become. Who says the Internet is all about bad things? You will always be my brother from another mother! LOL

Professor Thump (Mark): Thank you (and Amy) so very much for allowing us to visit the Klipsch building on Friday and for making us feel right at home by asking us to join in your employee appreciation day. A special thanks for the beer! Mark, thanks for providing us with a really nice tour of the building and the product auditions. We happened to see a few of the usual suspects along the way such as Amy Unger, Jim Hunter, Fred and Judy Klipsch and I know know there were others but their names escape me at the moment. Thanks also for working the concert with us and also for helping provide us all with food and beverages while we worked.

A special thanks goes to nola (Brian) (thanks blsamuel) "The Cajun, Bandit Bar-B-Quer" who cooked our lunch for us on a gas grill despite the protests of an angry vendor who thought his license to sell food to patrons entitled him to the right to force the sound crew, who all volunteered their time to be there all day long and work hard, should not be allowed to lunch on their own food and instead should be forced to buy our lunches from him! I'm really sorry that dude gave you so much grief buddy. You did a great job even though you were forced to rush everything. Thanks, man!

And finally, thanks to all of the forum memebers who showed up. None of this would have been possible, or any fun without each and every one of you! Great fun, great friends, great audio: Let's do it again next year! -Glenn & Verna

It all started with the first band, "Cities of Noise"; a group of 15 year-olds. Professor Thump's doing a mic check here. This was their first gig, ever and they actually weren't bad!

[BLSamuel]

Small correction. Nola is Brian "The Cajun, Bandit Bar-B-Quer" (I like it) thankfully got us all fed as I didn't get any breakfast nor did Michael, Steve (Customsteve01), Brian, or myself as things were pretty hectic Saturday morning at HOK / Roadie's.

And thanks here to Michael for letting me play sound dude and roadie and otherwise showing us all a great time, Brian for all his help with the food and the "acoustic" stage, and Steve (Frypwr from Forest Park who I've often identified as Steve from Chicago) for all his help with the "acoustic" stage. At times there was a few comments that the small "acoustic" stage was going smoother to the mainstage to which my standard reply, in my best (and very terrible) English accent was "It's so simple, anyone with half a brain can run it."

I think I'm still pooped from the weekend. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.

p.s. Though I spent most of the day at the small "acoustic" stage I did get to listen quite a bit to the mainstage rig Michael and friends put together and it sounded awesome. Even from about 400 feet away. So good that I ended up avoided playing any music between sets so I could listen to the mainstage. I also caught a few of the mainstage sets too.

To answer Professor Thump as to how loud the mainstage rig got at the mixing station - VERY. But more importatnly, it was very clear and effortless. Besides, I'm not sure I have enough information or know how to accurately calculate more than a SSWAG... (somewhat scientific wild arse guess)

[colterphoto1]

was just reflecting on past years... it was fun having the group to Indy last year. One year later I've worked on crew at Key West Song Writers Festival, got a local gig running sound a couple days a week, a trailer to pack it all in, MORE Klipsch PA speakers, and all the processing and amps have been moved to smaller racks. Whew!

[BLSamuel]

Indy Fest 2009 was a lot of fun. And quite a bit of work. Those kids on the main stage ant TAMF09 must've felt like rock starts as Michael's MCM ++ big rig flat out ROCKS.

So was working in Key West like work? I mean it's just so doggone pretty in the pictures.

A regular gig is nice. So are you runnin' the Rathskellar's outdoor system with the sound board on the big knobby tires? Tres cool.

Small processing and amp racks. So room for more speakers now?

For those of you who haven't heard it, Michael's small, by comparison, bar rig totally ROCKS.

The last gig I pretened to be his roadie they brought up the hose (typo I meant house but....) system as we were loading out with some small (rhymes with hose) "speakers". Played some Harrry Chapin and I wasn't sure it was Harry Chapin. ughhhhhh!

[colterphoto1]

yes Ben, that is the system. The large portable JBL/Crown/Mackie PA is used primarily for the Biergarten band shell, but for inclimate weather we hook it up inside in the large Rathskellar hall, or if that's booked a smaller system with Mackie powered speakers/sub is assembled on a small stage in the restaurant. And there is also the large theater in the attached Anthaneum building which Karl and I have run sound in several times. My system would also work for this theater room so I might pick up a gig or two renting my system to them.

[BLSamuel]

I'll try to comment a bit more about the acoustic stage performers as most didn't get to see them though a few others did and apparently could hear them between sets at the main stage. (HOSS Rock! - HOSS == Heresies On a Stick Stand - actually KP250's but pretty much a vented professional Heresy)

Please excuse any spelling mistakes as a few of these were penciled in as the day went on. The main stage started at 11:00, the "acoustic" stage at around the scheduled 12:20

p.s. Over half the performers are written in so the wrinkled and torn list of perfomers I have is probably the only complete record of who performed on the "acoustic" stage

Alex Hauptman

• Alex and a small Yamaha keyboard plugged directly into the mixer as was Michaels Shure SM58 microphone
• Alex's thing was to take requests for genre and topic I think - I forget the topics and the songs but I remember he was getting into the first song and was getting into trouble and ended up delivering a very entertaining set mixing some very cerebral humor with music - all improvised on the fly and turned out to be very entertaining

The Young Minds

• Surprise! A 5 piece band but only 3 members could make it.
• They had their own mixer, mike's and mike stands and wanted some reverb so we plugged the output of their mixer into Michael's -
• One small problem, to me anyway, is that they added too much reverb for my tastes and their microphone's picked up too much of the instrument amplifers and drums somewhat burying the vocals in the mix but it still sounded pretty good - Steve (K? from Chicago area) went and asked Tim Brickly who was watching and Tim said there really wasn't anything we could do but it still sounded pretty good
• Delivered a solid set and probably would've been even better with the full band

The Audacity of Youth

• Single young man by the name of Joey playing his guitar and singing
• Michael's microphone didn't seem to pick up too much of Joey's guitar amplifier so to me the vocal / instrument mix was much improved to my old fart ears
• I don't recall much other than I though Joey did a good job. Maybe even very good
• Now I remember more, Joey had a tambourine at his feet which added some nice rhythm to his performance and he was quite good
• Even seemed to have a few groupies, as did others, for lack of a better term

An open slot

• Nobdoy signed up for this slot so Jethro and Simeon the announcers for the "acoustic" stage earch performed a couple of numbers and were both really good
• Plugged Jethro's acoustic into the board along with the SM58 and we were good to go
• Michaels little system, while obviously quite puny compared to the big beast of a PA he put together for the main stage, was still VERY GOOD. Amazing how much clean, clear sound 2 smallisch cabinets can put out and I'm not sure we really pushed it (with the bands, the instrument amplifiers were responsible for most of the instrument sounds though some naturally did get picked up by the vocal mics)
• I wondered out to where Tim Brickly was watching and he commented that Jethro didn't look like a teenager (or was it Simean?) and I told him we had a blank spot so the announcers filled in to keep things moving. Tim seemed to be enjoy several of the "acoustic" stage performances

Catherine

• Irish Dancer with iPod
• I aksed her if she preferred our small wood stage or concrete - she said wood until she saw it was only 4x8' so concrete it was. I'm not sure we used the stage for more than Alex - and I got one of the waiting band members to help me move it back when she came witin a foot or two of running into it while dancing backwards
• Plugged in her iPod and let her dance, she did ask that I stop the 1st number at the 2:20 mark as it went into a new song
• I believe she did 2 more numbers
• Very talented young lady

Rachel Bell

• I think Steve covered Rachel as I went to the main stage to watch Tim Brickley and The Bleeding Heart's set and then assisted the drummer load his gear into his car

Brian and Derek

• I made it back to at least watch most of their set but don't remember if I was there at the beginning...
• Quite entertaining. I think a friend even joined them for at least one song
• They did an Avril Livigne song and did it pretty well though it did get a bit humorous when they tried to sound like Avril
• They were having fun and so did the audience

Steeling Thunder

• These guys were there pretty early watching quite a bit of the other acts from backstage or I think even in front of the stage
• Very talented - I'm not sure I really noticed but Michael did point out that the drummer was a bit off rhytm at times but I was too busy watching the guitar and bass player who were glancing at one another and rolling their eyes at times... and putting out some really good licks
• These kids, even with the drummer being a bit off at times rocked
• They were joined for I think the last number by one of the member's brother's on cowbell

Caliber.77

• One of the more interesting instrument lineup on the "acoustic" stage - ukelele, 12 string acoustic and electic guitar, lead guitar, and drums - I'm not sure they had a bass player - I want to think they did but the band's roster lists only 4 musicians. I guess being in the sun and on one's feet most of the day isn't good for my memory...
• The young gentleman who I assumed to be the leader and played the 12 string electic and 12 string acoustic though the ukele player played it on one number reminded me a bit in appearance of Michael Hedges
• One of my biggest gaffes of the day was asking Garth if he needed to mike his acoustic 12 string not realizing he had plugged it into his funky looking Vox amp - the ukelele player played it into a mike as he did his ukelele
• I'm not sure the ukelele was heard very well as it seemed to be buried whenever I stepped out in front of the speakers a bit - I tried to give it a little more level but couldn't to avoid feedback - probably when we blew a fuse (Michael was so proud... I hope that's all we blew)
• These guys also rocked
• Michael said someone over our way did a killer cover of a Dylan song - but I don't remember so not sure if it was these guys or the previous band but suspect it was these guys given the timing

Meghan Anderson and Brittany Casavant

• Our last act of the day, both stages, they started after the last speaker, Professor Thump, finished on the main stage
• I tried to turn it up a bit to attract a few more people from the main stage but hit some feedback - that said the volume seemed about right for 2 young ladies singing with one guitar
• Meghan had to work until 6 when Brittany or someone came to sign them up so Jethro or Simean or maybe Matt who was somewhat in charge of things pencilled them in to follow the 6:15 PM "acoustic" stage act
• Very nice performance from a pair of talented young ladies
• Their last song, titled "Strong" was dedicated or written for a friend who was going through some tough times - a very personal performance delivered from the bottom of their hearts

I'm not much of a music critic and would need to take notes rather than go on my memory 2 days later. I think the plan was to play on the "acoustic" stage during set changes on the main stage and vice versa. Not sure that happened most of the time. Matt was hoping / trying to herd some of the main stage audience over to the "acoustic" stage but I'm not sure he was real successful. Once or twice we brought things up to try and get a level check for the vocals compared to the instruments and they took off playing. But it seemed to go pretty well.

Gotta thank Jethro and Simeon.

Jethro had a black t shirt from one of the vendors at the gear petting zoo I guess and it was big enough for him and his girl friend when he tried it on so he asked me if I wanted it, so sure, I'm not going to turn down a 2XL black cotton t-shirt. So I'm now the proud owner of a black SWR t shirt. Back has large GET THE GIG with smallish SWR PROFESSIONAL BASS AMPLIFICATION in a box beneath it. Jethro or Simeon also gave me a Fender sticker.

Simeon really came through for us. Providing a couple of microphones and a mike stand. Michael had the aforementioned Shure SM58 and later scrounged up a mike stand. We thought a couple more mikes and stands were going to be provided but they never materialized. Matt also had scrounged up a mike stand so we ended the day with 3 vocal / instrument mikes and stands after starting with one microphone.

More memories.... my one day playing sound guy. not sure we got any pics of anybody on small "acoustic" stage. All of the kids were good to really good. Note to self - keep at least a small camera handy. I thought I would've took one but not sure but think I left it at HOK. I'll have to check if any pics for the small "acoustic" stage. I forget.

I'm not sure who but either Caliber 77 or Stealing Thunder did a killer cover of "Welcome To The Jungle"

Meghan and Brittany's "Strong" may have been this one? The chorus doesn't seem quite right... should've googled back in 2009. But was a very moving performance dedicated to a freind and a nice way to end the day.

Songwriters: RIMES, LEANN / MATKOSKY, DENNIS / CATES, JESS

"Strong"

The light of my life's been stolen

I've walked in every shade of black and I never thought I would get me back

It's funny how life can change you and make you who you are today

I wonder if God set it up that way for me to be



[Chorus]

Strong even when it hurts

The heat it's gonna burn gotta let it burn

Strong, strong

To make a big mistake now I've run away



There's nothing like this feeling to be free and unafraid

And who ever thought I could be this brave

Learning every day



[Chorus]

Strong even when it hurts

The heat it's gonna burn gotta let it burn

Strong, strong

To make a big mistake now I've run away



I wanna push away the boundaries

I wanna love outside the lines

I wanna stare at the sun I don't care if I go blind

Whatever comes, whatever breaks, I'll stand up straight



[Repeat Chorus]