Ben Folds mentioned once to me that he loves the SM5B and wanted to see Shure reintroduce it.  Here’s a shot from the recent Ben Folds Five album artwork with Ben’s own SM5B in the studio:

I began thinking about which mic I would like to see reintroduced into our line. The Shure 300 was a beautifully crafted Ribbon microphone. Sleek and elegant with a timeless design, this mic was used in many applications including vocals and instruments.

I think this microphone would be a hit on stage, in music videos, maybe even a USB version for on the road interviews by radio stations or bloggers.  Shure now has the capability with the KSM313 and the KSM353 to make more Ribbon mics and I think this would make an interesting “throwback.”   There could be some subtle design changes but it would bear an instantly recognizable resemblance to its predecessor.

With in ear monitors becoming the norm on tours and even in smaller rooms, having a bi-directional mic on stage is much more possible today.  Like the 55SH and now the Super 55, we are seeing those models all over music videos and on major award shows.

What about you?  What Shure mic or product would you like to see brought back?

Ryan

The SM7B is my favorite Shure microphone.

Not only is it extremely versatile, but it is inexpensive. It has been used on so many Grammy Award winning recordings and to this day, remains to be a favorite among artists and engineers alike, both live and in the studio. It was originally called SM7 and then some enhancements have been made internally over the years and it has now called the SM7B.

From Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to Sheryl Crow’s “The Globe Sessions” and so many more in since, engineers and artist have chosen the SM7 over microphones several times its cost.  Why? Plug one in and try it – you will understand why.

Not only is it warm and rich on vocals, it shines on just about anything you put in it on.  Guitar cabinets, Brass instruments, Leslie Low, Bass cabinet, and even as a Hi-hat mic. Just this week, I saw 2 of them on drummer Chris McHugh’s kit – one on the Hi-Hat and one under his ride. In both cases, the windscreens were removed!

Here’s a great video with Sammy Hagar on an SM7B with Chickenfoot in the studio tracking their latest record (about 4:50 in):

John Paul White of The Civil Wars mentions in an interview for us that he used it to track his vocals for their Grammy Award winning album Barton Hollow.  See that interview here (about 7:28 in):

Country Artist Hunter Hayes also uses it to track demo vocals while on the road.  We can thank producer Dan Huff for recommending it to him early on.

Serj Tankian of System of a Down fame and solo work talks about his use of Shure mics including the SM7 for vocals in the studio (about 2:13 in):

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So why it this going to be an ongoing series?  I constantly run into artists that share my love for this mic and I love hearing about its many uses.  I am also inviting you to send in your pictures and tell your stories if you currently use this mic in any way.  Please join in and tell us how the SM7 has helped your sound! Until then, I leave you with another great Blog post on the story of the SM7B:

http://blog.shure.com/shure-notes/sm57-on-steroids-the-shure-sm7-b-story

Ryan

Held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with several segments over at the Orleans Arena, Las Vegas was again overrun by the most loyal fans in music.  People were hanging out everywhere to catch a glimpse and possibly an autograph of their favorite stars.  As in years past, we got to hang out behind the scenes and check in with all of the engineers and A2′s who work so hard to make this show happen.  By we, I mean one of my Shure Associates, Jenn Liang-Chaboud and myself.  Jenn works for Market Development and has done a fabulous job at maintaining many key relationships on the West Coast and in Vegas.

We arrived on Wednesday and made a few visits to some local shows, namely Blue Man Group and the Shania Twain show.   The folks at Blue Man gave us a quick behind the scenes tour, which was amazing.  So much creativity and design goes into the many “out of the box” ideas that they create.

Thursday, April 4 was the first rehearsal day for the awards show.  If you caught the show, you saw the amazing performance by Shure Artist Little Big Town of their new single “Your Side of the Bed.”  Today, they just planned to rehearse the acrobats. The group showed up to watch and ended up singing along with the track.  Karen said to the crew “Please forgive our vocals on this as we have no ear systems.”  They were RIGHT ON PITCH!  Such talent!

Next up was Shure Artist Hunter Hayes rehearsing his new single “I Want Crazy.”  For those of you who don’t know Hunter, he learned and played over 30 instruments on his current album as its sole performer.  Quite a feet and he played them well!  This segment would segue into his introduction of the legendary Stevie Wonder, who would join Hunter and band on stage for “Sir Duke.”  Hunter and Stevie had met previously and discussed performing together one day.  That day would be April 7, 2013.  Hunter uses a UR2/SM58 on tour and that’s what he and Stevie used on the show.

The day closed with the legendary George Strait who, for this performance, also used a UR2/SM58.  He would later be joined by Garth Brooks on stage, who used the same, for a tribute to Dick Clark.

Friday Morning, we headed to the Orleans Arena to visit with Shure Artist Brad Paisley and crew. Brad would be hosting the Fan Jam concert on Sunday after the awards show.  In addition, Brad performed several slots on the show, including with Hunter and Shure Artist Dierks Bentley. Brad and Dierks both sang on a UR2/beta 58.    After that, we headed back to MGM to catch Kelly Clarkson’s rehearsal of her new single “Baby Don’t Rush” – such a great song!

Following Kelly’s rehearsal, co-hosts Blake Shelton and Shure Artist Luke Bryan were joined on stage by the Pistol Annie’s and Shure Artist Sheryl Crow for the show’s opening number called “Boys Round Here.”  Both Luke and Sheryl were on UR2/SM58′s.

Saturday’s rehearsal featured a number of Shure Artists including Dierks Bentley (UR2/SM58), Little Big Town (UR2/KSM9HS), Florida Georgia Line (UR2/SM58), The Band Perry (UR2/KSM9HS and UR2/SM58) and then Hunter Hayes w/Stevie Wonder.

All Artists on the show used the PSM1000 system for ear monitors, which were provided by ATK Audiotek in addition to the UHF-R systems.

Shure Artists that took home awards that night included: Luke Bryan – Entertainer of the Year, Little Big Town – Vocal Group of the Year, and Florida Georgia Line – New Artist of the Year.

This was a fabulous trip and it is always a pleasure to be able to maintain these great relationships and show our support at these events.

Ryan

PSM1000'S

Luke Bryan & DR. Pepper

SM57's on Brad Paisley's cabinets

UHF-R at Orleans Arena

PSM1000 packs

ACMA's from Front of House

Jeff Peterson (FOH), Ryan Smith, and Steve Anderson (Announce Mix)

Brad Paisley at Orleans Arena

Luke Bryan's Kit

When I arrived, Buddy’s crew had just finished setting the stage for his soundcheck.  I had brought along one of our yet to be released GLXD guitar pedal wireless system to show to crew and hopefully have someone demo. Everyone who has tried this system so far has been very impressed with it’s sound and features.

After Buddy’s soundcheck, Jonny’s band showed up and began to set his stage.  After a 30-40 minute check, I went up on stage to say “Hi” to Jonny and show him the system.  As usual, he was impressed with the features and said “Let’s give it a try.”  After a 15-20 minute trial, he was definitely interested and wants to try it again once it’s available.  He mentioned that he hasn’t used wireless in quite a while and he would love not to be dealing with a trailing cable again.

Jonny took the stage first and immediately the room started heating up.  Jonny has been singing on the KSM9 for quite a while now and he’s got a KSM313 Ribbon on one amp and the KSM32 on another. He’s been performing for so long and it’s incredible to see how much emotion pours out of him in performance.  He’s such an approachable person and music just flows out of him.

Buddy Guy is legendary!  You are hooked right when he walks on stage.  He has been through so much and never seems to stop performing, even in between recordings, he’s still out there.  Buddy Guy has been a Shure Artist for well over 20 years.  He commands the stage through is KSM9HS yet can be as subtle as a kitten on guitar.  Your attention is quickly drawn in when he starts out a song with a guitar lick at almost at an imperceivable level.  Every show I’ve seen with both of these artists is a treat and I will always make it out to their shows when I can.

Who are some artists that you will not miss when they come to your town?

Ryan

Buddy's KSM9HS

Buddy Guy's amps - KSM313's

Jonny's KSM9

Jonny tries GLXD

Jonny Lang

Buddy Guy On Stage

This year, we had a host of great performances in the booth.  The Makepeace Brothers and Yellow Marbles are two great up and coming groups based in the LA area. They both performed 10-minute sets on Thursday.  Friday brought us 2 a cappella groups – a new group called Pentatonix who won the first competition on the TV show “ The Sing-Off” and the second was Shure Artists Take 6, who are now celebrating 25 years as a group.  Both of their performances brought an amazing amount of energy and a large audience into our booth space.  On Saturday, we welcomed famed producer Eddie Kramer for a discussion of how he used and continues to use Shure products to work his magic.  Last but not least, a great local LA artist named Britany Christian performed short demos for our newly introduced wireless line GLXD.  We are very thankful to all the groups who spent some of their time with us at NAMM.

Other artists that came by to visit included Sheila E., Sinbad, Christina Perri, Tony Royster Jr., and Actor/Musician Charles “Chip” Easton who plays Deacon Claybourne on the hit TV show “Nashville.”

Ryan Phillips and Adam Russell from the group Story of the Year also came by to interview yours truly as part of a documentary called “Who Killed (or Saved) the Music Industry?”

Since I have started Tweeting, I have been followed by a number of artists. One in particular, 10-year old Claire Stevens, came out to NAMM with her family.  She is a singer/pianist/guitarist who is writing her own songs and is determined to be a big artist someday.   She already has a 5 song EP that she recorded and her parents bought her a Super 55, which she has used at many performances including some at various House of Blues venues.  Keep an eye out for Claire because you can tell she loves to perform and now she has her eye on our wireless products.

OK, so here’s where the “+” comes in from the title.  After a successful NAMM show, I stayed in the area to catch The Who perform in Anaheim.  Definitely a BIG +!  The group Vintage Trouble has held the opening slot on their tour for the last few months and they know how to get people moving.  I’ve been fortunate to see The Who about 5 times now and it continues to amaze me how much energy they still have for performing.  Pete Townshend moves like someone half his age. Roger is still swinging around his vocal mic (now a Beta 58A) and had a big hand in the arranging of this presentation of Quadrophenia for this tour.  The encore consisted of several of their biggest hits.

The next day, I went up to the LA area to visit a few artists and management companies.  I got to catch Simon Phillips recording some new tunes with KSM27’s all over his toms as well as Kenny Aronoff playing at The Baked Potato with the Bombastic Meatbats, Chad Smith’s group.  What a great way to spend time in LA.  Loved every minute!

Dare To Be is a message to all the women who attend that they have the amazing, God given ability within them to do so much with their lives.   Charlotte Gambill is a Senior Associate Pastor at the Life Church, Bradford, England who meet Natalie years ago by chance in a church in California.  Both have been friends ever since but have had this dream of putting a show together to inspire women to Dare To Be, well, anything they want to be or do in life – to never let anything or anyone tell them they can’t do anything.

If you have yet to see Natalie perform live, you should look up the schedule in the link below (after you finish reading this of course) and try to make it out to one of these events.  There’s a good blend of music, speaking, and video to support the message.  Natalie’s songs also tie in very well and her delivery is such a pleasure to listen to.  She’s won several Dove awards as a leading female vocalist – well deserved!

Charlotte was a delightful speaker who tells some wonderful stories to inspire her audience and show them that there is always hope.  Natalie sang some of her hits: “I Will Not be Moved”, “Held”, “Human”, and “Alive”  and the crowd loved it.  Her music is energizing and her voice commands your attention.

I was so glad I stayed around till the end of the show.  Natalie mentioned the last part of the show was her favorite part.  She started to  tell the story of a local single woman with three children who had been in a head-on collision.  She had surgery after surgery and unfortunately, had to have one of her legs amputated. After all that had happened to her, she persisted through it all and never give up on her dreams.  She also recently got married.  Natalie called her up on stage to be recognized as an amazing example of someone who never lost  hope and always moved forward. Her children and new husband were in attendance and met her up on stage.  Natalie and Charlotte gave her a special bag of gifts but the biggest gift was to see the entire church on their feet clapping for this amazing woman.  They were all standing together as sisters.

After the event was over, I came backstage to say goodbye to Natalie and Charlotte. I also had a chance to chat with Natalie’s husband and producer Bernie Herms about Natalie’s next record.    I told them that I hope they can find a way, amongst both of their busy schedules to keep this event going.  It was such a powerful experience and message that needs to be spread throughout our amazing planet.

For more information, go to this site:  http://www.daretoberevolution.com

Ryan

There were several artists that had opened for Toby but I had arrived just before he and his Grammy Award winning group took the stage.  This was a hometown show for Toby so lots of family and friends were in attendance, not to mention a healthy Nashville crowd.  Looked like it was almost sold out.

The show kicked off like a house party with a BOOMIN’ sound system.  I felt like I was driving down the road in a Caddy with the wheels jumpin’ up and down.  It was pretty AWESOME!  DJ Maj was perched atop a steel tower of staircases fronted by a tall LED wall.   After 5 songs, the band came in to join the party. They went from hit to hit and then took a moment to walk out to front of house and do a few songs acoustically.

Toby just received the new KSM9/HS capsule. Monitor engineer Heath Mahon, Front of House engineer Ryan Lampa as well as Toby are all loving the upgraded sound and increased rejection.  A few weeks ago, I sat with Toby for an interview and he also mentioned how much he likes the sound of the PSM1000 monitor system.

Visit Toby’s site and make sure to catch this show if he’s coming near you.

Ryan

Although, my first task when I showed up on Sunday morning for rehearsals was to try and solve a feature issue with our PSM1000 system.  Monitor Engineer Mike Parker had accessed a certain menu to take advantage of some of the “special features” of the system but could not get the unit back into it’s regular operating mode after doing so.  I called up to Shure HQ’s on Monday morning and a few emails later we had the solution.  I find it exciting to learn something new every single day!

As in the past, ATK Audiotek provided over 20 channels of UHF-R wireless systems for both vocals and instrument packs.  They also sent a rack of the aforementioned PSM1000 systems for monitors.    Shure Artists that appeared on the show this year included Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, LeAnn Rimes, and one of the shows hosts Trace Adkins, who performed alongside Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Mixing the music for the show was Randy Faustino and sending it all out to the public was production engineer Klaus Landsberg.  FOH for the venue was Mikel Stewart with ATK Audiotek.

Shure Artist Luke Bryan took home 9 awards that evening and Little Big Town brought home the Video of the Year award.  Congratulations to all of the artists that were nominated and those who won.

Ryan

What Shure Artists, you say?   OK, so here’s the rundown:

fun., Luke Bryan, Maroon 5, Dierks Bentley, The Band Perry, and newly signed Shure Artist Hunter Hayes all performed on the show. Shure Artist Sheryl Crow appeared to announce along side Chris Young.  To top it all off, Maroon 5 performed a 40 minute set after the hour long broadcast.

Let’s talk nominations!  Several Shure Artists are up for awards including: Mumford & Sons, fun., Arturo Sandoval, The Civil Wars, The Black Keys, Alabama Shakes, Maroon 5, Chris Botti, Megadeth, The Roots, Dierks Bentley, Ronnie Dunn, Little Big Town, Al Jarreau, Casting Crowns, TobyMac, Fonseca, Lila Downs, Dailey & Vincent, and Dr. John.

A big CONGRATUALTIONS to these and all who are nominated. Best of luck in February 2013 !

I’d also like to give a big shout out to all the crew who work this show.  Joel Singer, Jay Vicari, Mark King, Jeff Fecteau, Mikael Stewart. Steve Anderson, Andres Arango, Jackie Brooks, Danny Breedan, and so many more. You guys ROCK!!!

Ryan

Opening this show is a new group that is primed to explode with the right ammunition – Vintage Trouble.  Their lead singer, Ty Taylor, is singing primarily through a Shure 565SD microphone until he grabs a UHF-R and runs offstage to get the crowd going.  Nashville loved the group and so did I.  We wish them the best of luck as they progress in their career.

Since this is the Quadrophenia tour, The Who performed the entire set to an almost sold out crowd.  I am still amazed at how much energy both Pete and Roger have on stage.  Roger is still swinging his mic (now a Beta 58A) around on a wire, taped up like crazy.  Pete still whips out his signature wheel house on guitar.   In the drivers set on the drum kit is Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr who is such a great player.  Once they made it through Quadraphenia, they closed the show with a few of their big hits like “We Don’t Get Fooled Again”, “Pinball Wizard”,  and “Baba O’Riley.”

The crowd was energized and I had a great view from the side of the stage, mezzanine section to catch all of the action.  If you have a chance to catch the group who have part of the Shure family for over 45 years, it’s an awesome show!

Ryan

Not only this, our PSM1000 system was exclusively relied upon for all wireless ear monitor mixes. 16 mixes and over 50 belt packs were used for all of the acts.

Shure artists Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, Vince Gill, and Little Big Town all used the UR system with various capsules.

Speaking of Little Big Town, a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to them for winning Single of the Year for “Pontoon” and finally getting the award they have been working towards for 13 years, Vocal Group of the Year!

Other artists that used Shure UR handheld transmitters included Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Willie Nelson, Eli Young Band, Taylor Swift, Hunter Hayes (who won Best New Artist), Brantley Gilbert, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Kelly Clarkson, and Carrie Underwood.

As usual, I was able to attend both rehearsal and the show to hang with the crews and the greet the artists.  I was also pleased to have fellow Shure Associate Bill Ostry visiting from our Market Development team. It’s always a pleasure to have Associates come down to visit and get a taste of all of the action in Nashville.

There are plenty of YouTube videos of the performances from the show online.  Check out them all out, including a very special duet with Kelly Clarkson and Vince Gill.

Ryan

Speaking of William Shatner, Ben produced one of William’s recent albums entitled “Has Been.”  I have my good friend and fellow Shure Artist Relations comrade Richard Sandrok to thank for introducing me to this record.    It’s full of fun songs, some deep lyrical content and just plain craziness.  The craziness comes in the form of a song called “I Can’t Get Behind That” in which Bill and Henry Rollins go off on all kinds of topics.  If you are still reading this, take a short break and go to iTunes to download this entire record.  It’s worth your time and money.  Joe Jackson’s on the first track and Brad Paisley is on the last.  The band is killer!

The other time I got to experience Ben Folds was when he was backed by the Nashville Symphony at TPAC in Nashville.  Amazing show!

Back on track now….

So the title of this blog is Ben Folds Five, right?  Never seen them before and I am not familiar with any of their songs.  I do like it sometimes when I go to a concert that I am not familiar with the groups catalog.  It causes me to pay closer attention to the show and the band rather than just rocking out and signing along.  (I like those concerts too!)

I arrived at The Ryman in time for sound check where the group was joined by Ke$ha and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.  They were working up a special cover of a Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn duet called “You’re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly.”

The opening act was an Australian singer named Kate Miller-Heidke who was joined by a great acoustic guitar player.  Kate has had operatic training and works it very well into her material.  During the set they rattled off a pretty funny version of Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady.”

When Ben Folds Five hit the stage to thunderous applause, Ben kicked it off and the crowd went wild.  After the first song, he announced that this was their first tour in 13 years.  As the show went on, Ben prepared for another song by installing mute’s on certain piano strings to get a muted guitar sound.  As he explained what he was doing to the audience, a crowd member shouted out an exclamation of doubt.  Ben quick shot back through his SM58 vocal mic “No, I’m actually going through a car wash backwards with a plastic bag over my head.”  (crowd laughs) Then he proceeded to play the muted piano keys, which sounded exactly like they should and Ben said to the crowd member “See?  No but that’s OK,  I encourage ignorant heckling like that.”

Ben Folds Five is such a great band to see live because there is such a fun aspect to their personalities.  People come to see great music and are treated to some comedy along the way.  They have a few shows left in the States before they head overseas to Australia and then to Europe.

Ryan