music festivals

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 10:31 am

this weekend i'm working my first outdoor music festival of the season !! oh man I cant wait... i love this stuff.

I'm bringing along my new laptop so i can recording everything via my Onyx mixer -> firewire. 20+ bands, camping, frisbee golf course, 2 stages..

AWWW yeah

www.musicappreciationday.com if you care. it's not a great one, just sort of small. my favorite was www.OnTheSly.org/slyfest2 . they're doing another one this fall too, which I'll be running sound for.

psyched! thats all

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 12:19 pm

Congrats man. That's awesome. Music festivals are the best.

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 5:42 pm

Right on!

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 6:12 pm

Are you aware of this one????I know its well known in the midwest. And it used to be a lot hipper before all the corporations took over most of the stages, but its still a pretty incredible festival that should be better known than it is. 700 bands over 10 days.

Check out the acts. All except the mainstage acts are included in the admission price (and there are a lot of daily deals on those as well) Only a few stages are listed so far, but it is 11 stages for all 10 days.

http://www.summerfest.com/flash/

When I was growing up, admission was about $5 and beers were $1. Used to spend day after day hearing local and touring groups. A great education.

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 5:18 am

I've worked a few small outdoor festivals - a lot of work - very long days, and a blast. Have one coming up in June in Evansville, Indiana - http://www.backslashmarketing.com/insideout/
Did this one last year too - a different venue - somebody's big back yard out in the country - a real nice time.

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 6:36 am

Ahhhh.... Summerfest... one of my best memories of Milwaukee.

I remember seeing the likes of the Modern Jazz Quartet, Leon Redbone and Little Feat all in the same day... with $1 beer!

Festivals are brutal work, but I gotta agree... a lot of fun.

Just be sure you do yourself (and a LOT of others) a huge favor and establish a lightning policy! PLEASE!

The 30/30 rule;
30 seconds from flash to bang (of thunder) YOU ARE NOT SAFE! Seek substantial shelter immediately! Shut that power off NOW!

Then, wait 30 minutes after the last flash or clap of thunder to resume activities.

The life you save... might very well be your own!

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 10:45 am

Get rubber faders, you'll be fine. Also pretty good if you drop it too Wink

Just don't touch the cases....

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 1:41 pm

I love doing outdoor fests. I did my first one in '73. Things have certainly..."progressed"... since then. Be prepared, there are some productions that are well-oiled, some are buttheads. I remember one that I did in Texas where, when I asked where the talkback mic was, I was told that, "it better be in your back pocket"!!! So here's what you wanna have handy:
Sunblock, SPF30 or better.
"Spike tape" and a Sharpie to add your own console notes.
Your own pair of phones.
Plenty of bottled water in your own coola with ice. Maybe some G2 or Gatorade, too. And some snacks, because you may not want to pay $6.00 for a hotdog at the venue (not to mention standing in line at the food carts!).
And a 58 in the back pocket.. Laughing

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 2:13 pm

May I adapt your list?: if you're in Scotland (T in the Park etc...) you will need;
- Waterproof tarpaulin and a frame to hang it on
- Hot drinks
- A translator fluent in the local dialect

Of course, if you're a native, all you need is an umbrella for the mixer/rack gear and a pint for the laughs.

Does anyone make waterproof mixers? Like, watertight fader seals and all the inputs have covers on them?

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 8:19 am

Codemonkey wrote:

Does anyone make waterproof mixers? Like, watertight fader seals and all the inputs have covers on them?

good question, although it seems very unlikely. just get a 10'x10' EZ-up canopy with walls. total cost: $125.

anyways, i helped to put on the festival - so i got myself free food, free beer, and i'm really good friends with the people who own the land.

i brought my Onyx + laptop and multi-tracked every band who played on the main stage.

i wont be seen by my friends for several weeks , since i have so much to mix down!

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 8:25 am

Was a little more informal Razz

"In Scotland, if it isn't raining, it's pouring." Sunny right now but its still mild.

Dunno about waterproof, but dustproof fader seals would be a good thing to have.

Free beer? How did you get into this live beer ehh PA thing again?

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 9:14 pm

Codemonkey wrote:

Free beer? How did you get into this live beer ehh PA thing again?

hippie jam fest 2008 !!

haha, i'm great friends with the guys who were putting it on. they help me with my festival, i help them with their festival.

lately i've been the "go to guy" for festivals in upstate NY

beer and food are always mandatory as part of compensation

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