tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161Fri, 18 May 2012 21:19:37 +0000"No one goes home humming the light show" Adventuring around earth from a sound perspective.http://daverat.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)Blogger34125http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/blogspot/xbYTbhttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-1262113917502451134Wed, 09 May 2012 17:45:00 +00002012-05-09T10:45:47.427-07:00Oh my the days blur together into the fog of tour. This is the part where we settle into a groove. Everyone knows their gig well enough to become comfortable yet not smooth enough to be harmonious. The shows are smooth and rocking and sometimes I feel like I am stuck on a merry go round. Oh, I can of course jump ship from the tour and hack my way from city to city or shack up on bus rides into http://daverat.blogspot.com/2012/05/dave-rat-blog-virginia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-6694379113045549Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:51:00 +00002012-04-15T15:51:35.278-07:00 One of the most exciting aspects of rock and roll touring is that you get to carry a really giant passport and so my travels continue. Say hey to the Memphis Seminar crew! What I am striving to do is communicate a universal theory encompassing live sound. Our purpose in live audio is not perfect sound, rather it is way more important, our goal is to help create unforgettable memories. Sohttp://daverat.blogspot.com/2012/04/dave-rat-blog-peppers-us-leg-1-done.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-1252079659893463243Sat, 14 Apr 2012 17:30:00 +00002012-04-15T15:27:30.013-07:00 I came into this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction adventure lumping the event in with award shows like the Grammy's and Academy Awards. You know that reality TV mentality that survives off of pitting artists and actors against each other in events that they never intended on competing? The hypocrisy of award shows where popularity versus talent clash as and if too much attention to http://daverat.blogspot.com/2012/04/dave-rat-porta-blog-rrhof.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-5481302948751792579Sat, 14 Apr 2012 03:57:00 +00002012-04-15T15:28:45.880-07:00Oh, I so hate working TV gigs. Being a sound guy at a televised concert is like being a fine chef working at McDonalds, it is all about pleasing the masses and the importance of my gig in the bigger picture is somewhere between annoying and meaningless. The deal is that the attendees are such a small fraction of the people that will see/hear the concert via TV and other recorded mediums that ashttp://daverat.blogspot.com/2012/04/dave-rat-blog-friday-april-13-rrhof.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-8258021738568752087Thu, 12 Apr 2012 02:24:00 +00002012-04-11T19:24:56.269-07:00Seminar #4 went great in Raleigh, it was a small group of three, (thank you Hal, Tracy and David!) so we held it at the venue in a spare room. Doing these sound speaking things is very interesting and gets me really thinking and focused on audio, ha, for a change! As I do more of them I am realizing an underlying theme that forms the foundation of how I approach audio reinforcement. The same http://daverat.blogspot.com/2012/04/dave-rat-blog-columbia-april-7.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-5211363531916600734Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:41:00 +00002012-03-31T17:41:55.427-07:00 Here we go with the second show.  Thank you to all who came to my seminars in Tampa and Orlando.  Forgot to grab a Tampa pic but here are my Orlando sound friends. So great to hang with you all and hope you found it interesting and informative. Oh, and thank you Kim, I could not do these without you! And after the show, since I had my motorcycle at the hotel, I took a leisurely torrential http://daverat.blogspot.com/2012/03/dave-rat-blog-seminars-and-rock-show-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-2818611076971553691Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:43:00 +00002012-03-30T09:43:34.720-07:00So the Peppers' show last night went really well, with the tour machine back up and running after 3 months down time we looking at a year or so of 3 weeks on 12 days off. Ominous yet and exciting as well. So I did my first sound seminar in Tampa and it went well.  I get more nervous speaking to a small group of audio world humans than I do mixing a rock show for 10's of thousands of people.  Allhttp://daverat.blogspot.com/2012/03/dave-rat-blog-new-adventures.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-1378300566706425471Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:14:00 +00002012-03-25T17:14:33.379-07:00Yay, new adventure! Off to Peppers' tour tomorrow and I think have found something to keep me challenged and should be fun.  I've decided I am going to do some sound seminars while I on tour and share real time information as well as speak on a variety of subjects.  If all goes as planned, the seminars will be on show days from 12 to 3pm or so at the crew hotel in a small meeting room. Looking athttp://daverat.blogspot.com/2012/03/dave-rat-seminar-adventure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-1711692055681109651Mon, 12 Mar 2012 02:37:00 +00002012-03-11T19:52:55.478-07:00 Cool cool, doing a blog post of pic that I never (I think) got around to blog posting. So here is 40 snapshots of how I spent July 2011. This is an overhead shot of the sub setup I used for Soundgarden.  I call it "The Fan" and it is based on the rear  sub facing backwards (in polarity, no delay) and the front subs all at the same time delay (8.5 ms) that is equal to the distance between http://daverat.blogspot.com/2012/03/cool-cool-doing-blog-post-of-pic-that-i.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-8562905846433231477Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:34:00 +00002012-03-06T19:34:09.977-08:00Well alright, break time is nearly over and Peppers tour will be hitting the road again soon.  We were all slated to head out late January but we had a little set back and in the bigger picture it is good news that Anthony's foot is healing well from a painful injury that he had fixed up early Jan. Rehearsals start next week and by month's end we'll be finessing gear into a venue in Tampa Floridahttp://daverat.blogspot.com/2012/03/dave-rat-blog-flying-power-and-wires.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-7990448946887796715Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:27:00 +00002012-01-09T07:02:25.998-08:00 Well alright, I guess I've been mostly offline for a while. I took a bit of a social network and thought sharing break to acclimate and get my head around the realities of this 18 to 24 month jaunt Touring is a quandary for me and also like many things, I am really good at figuring out the exact same thing, over and over again. I love the travel and unfolding adventures yet I struggle with http://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/12/dave-rat-porta-blog-dec-29-2011.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-4559420598717328311Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:58:00 +00002011-11-30T05:59:19.171-08:00Hmmmm, well I came up with a very simple subjective method of comparing digi to analog based on what I once learned from asking a jeweler questions. "How do you know a good diamond from a bad one?" Well he showed me the x10 magnifier and went on to show me flaws in various diamonds not apparent to the untrained naked eye that we clearly visible magnified. Hmmm, how can I apply this to audio? http://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/11/dave-rat-porta-blog-distilling-clarity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-7753843688671839673Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:04:00 +00002011-11-11T09:16:39.871-08:00 Well alright! The MTV club show in Belfast went well, as expected. Enthusiastic audience plus Peppers in small room always equals a great time. Back to the hotel by 8:30 and can't get in, hmmmm. Wristbands to get into the lobby? Really? Yes, I have room key, whatever, got a wristband and off to find dinner. Awesome tapas, wine and some acoustIc guitar guys rocking, perfect eve and http://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/11/dave-rat-porta-blog-belfast-to-glasgow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-7315411913852017124Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:11:00 +00002011-11-11T09:17:25.265-08:00 One of the the things I strive for is sonic consistency from show to show, worldwide. To achieve this it is critical to work with the backline techs to assure a consistent volume and tone. Once they find a good sound, I have them mark the settings, take photos and I photo as well. Then if we drift, we have a reference point. Furthermore I ask them to let me know whenever changes need to be http://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/11/dave-rat-porta-blog-belfast-smooth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-4610632316789646011Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:46:00 +00002011-11-11T09:18:18.066-08:00 2 weeks ago - Rotterdam A large plastic cup following airborne liquid traversing what seemed to be a slow motion high arc through the air comes crashing down dead center on the console and the cool liquid splashes across my chest. Beer bombs away and instantly the full sound system mutes. Silence in a world dependent on sound. Red and yellow lights scatter across the channels as a http://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/11/mixing-consoles-are-never-thirsty.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-7939323386986028848Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:53:00 +00002011-11-11T09:18:59.101-08:00 Well we had great time on the first tour leg. I was way busier than expected so lagged a bit blogging, though I do keep up on facebook and twitter posts. Will try and focus more on mini blog posts and see how that works for me. So as we start up leg two and looking at my notes, thought I'd share how we handled a wireless reception issue for the band in-ears we encountered. It first showedhttp://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/11/dave-rat-blog-getting-stepped-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-477684101728633330Sun, 23 Oct 2011 07:49:00 +00002011-11-11T09:19:54.945-08:00 Fell asleep on the plane as it pulls away from the gate only to wake up two hours later freezing cold. Shit, why are the doors open? Why are we so close to the ground? Why is the airport still hanging out under the plane? Just because they can't find source of a burning wire smell, we gotta switch planes? Whatever. Well, at least it so far looks like they are gonna get us out of http://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/10/dave-rat-blog-patience-and-smiles.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-208580209628049522Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:50:00 +00002011-11-11T09:20:47.055-08:00 Rock in Rio mix came in hot and solid. I stalled back at the hotel and skipped the 7:30 am lobby call near 18 tour-bus-less hours before the 1am show time. Sharp, fresh and clear versus loads of time to sort things perfectly., its a bit of a quandary as both sides have their challenges. Having my console and Jim FOH teching out here gave me the confidence to know I can do the http://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/09/dave-rat-porta-blog-driven-or-be-driven.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-6373738355635548196Sat, 24 Sep 2011 23:04:00 +00002011-09-24T16:05:55.770-07:00 I'll start with a shout out to our Peruvian surf friends Thank you and cant wait to see ya next time! So I started thinking. Wow, have I been with Peppers a long time. Maybe 21 years and I still enjoy it. And then I started thinking, Hey, what was I doing 20 years ago this month? And then I realized that one of the things I was not doing was taking pictures but.... 10 years ago I was so, http://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/09/ill-start-with-shout-out-to-our.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-276628241213205986Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:33:00 +00002011-11-11T09:22:43.347-08:00 I remember being in high school with long hair and the joy of being able to hide behind it. Watching the world I felt so disconnected from without its ability to watch me. I've learned since not to be uncomfortable feeling disconnected yet still enjoy the disconnection. Day off in Sao Paulo, Peppers tour surf trip #3 and rolling large. I love simplicity and freedom andhttp://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/09/noise-makers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-266725134494792122Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:02:00 +00002011-11-11T09:27:25.792-08:00 I used to find way more stress in making life directional decisions. Oh, what to do and how to navigate all the choices? I remember the anxiety of deciding to forgo a conventional career for the uncertainty of what led to self employed and life on the road. Over time using retrospective happiness as a guide, I distilled a formula that works well for me. There are three primary http://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/09/dave-rat-blog-peppers-peru-decision.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-5169787729189301613Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:26:00 +00002011-11-11T09:30:10.104-08:00 One of the more challenging aspects of mixing sound is developing an awareness and compensating for the fluctuating nature of our humanly perceptions. From the inside out we cannot help but see the world and develop our decisions, preferences and opinions based on comparisons against the reference points we hold within our minds. "Am I Tired? Hungry? Warm? Happy? or Successful? Perhaps http://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/09/dave-rat-porta-blog-chaos-and-anarchy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131834850989610161.post-5712784709878539947Mon, 12 Sep 2011 02:24:00 +00002011-11-11T09:30:52.898-08:00 Bogota Columbia and a nice day off crew wander and meal followed by a 5pm lobby call. 'Day before presetup' and though I don't like to gig hug, we really do need it. It's another ice cold audio start. This will now be the 5th time monitor eng Tim-Sam and I have dialed up fresh consoles, repatched and started from scratch. At least it is only for 30,000 people with "TBA" on the sound http://daverat.blogspot.com/2011/09/camping-trip.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Rat)2