A series of shows was being recorded during a residency at Grocery on Home in Atlanta, GA… audio in a small venue is always a challenge. Ben and company reached out to us and put us up to the challenge of capturing Ben’s vocals, cello and overall vibe of the room. Sounded like a job for the KSM9 on vocals and Beta 181 on cello and ultimate room vibe. The Beta 98AMP made an appearance on the toms and snare, KSM32 was on overheads duty and employed to mic the big bass drum, Beta 91A in the cajon, KSM9 on the box and the standard SM57 on amp. The captivating results are evident on Ben’s latest recording, Live At The Grocery On Home. Ben Sollee was joined by fellow musicians Casey Driessen (fiddle and mandocaster) and Jordon Ellis (drums, cajon and samples) and the vibe is certainly captured, it feels like you’re there, really. Here’s a link to the CNN story… http://bit.ly/xJToh3

Ben will be coming to Chicago soon and I will definitely be there. In the meantime, I will keep this CD on repeat, picking up on every nuance our trusty Shure microphones captured. Thanks to Grayson Hunter for the great photos and thanks to Mr. Ben Sollee for making us a part of this very cool project.

- Cory

A whole lotta rock, that’s what.

Shure Europe set out to find the best amateur drummer in Europe and the Middle East. Several rounds of competition produced five finalists, each with his own style. They duked it out at the Gamli Gaukaurinn Club in Reykjavik, Iceland. The winner was determined by Tom Colman of Shure UK and a jury led by seasoned pro drummer Darren Ashford.

Congratulations to Antonio de Marianis of Italy, who carried the day, and to the other finalists. Their skill and enthusiasm wowed us to the end.

Enjoy the killer beats in the competition video!

Watch more videos at http://www.drum-mastery.eu/.

Upon arriving to the Congress Theatre on a cold Saturday in late January for the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival, I encountered the Drive-By Truckers and their faithful crew, all set-up and ready to try out a few “special” KSM9 microphones I brought specifically for their live stage. Once I opened the case of mics I brought along, it was like that scene in Pulp Fiction, when Vincent and Jules open Mr. Wallace’s briefcase and the characters are captivated by what’s inside and giving off a soft, angelic, golden glow. Soon Colin (monitor engineer) and Matt (front-of-house engineer), were asking what I had for guitar cabinets, pedal steel, cymbals, overheads… Shure mics were soon everywhere on stage and ready for critique by the band and the engineers. KSM9s were on the vocals, KSM313, KSM32, SM7B and SM57s were on guitar cabinets, Beta 181C on pedal steel, KSM141 on cymbals, Beta 98AMP/C on toms, and VP88 on overheads.

I proceeded to the front of the stage and listened as the band ran through a few tunes. I could tell the focus was very heavily focused on guitars and vocals as Matt and Colin made their adjustments. Once everything seemed finely blended and at an ample decibel level, I made my way back to the stage to get some initial feedback on the recent microphone placements. Colin was completely floored by the “special” KSM9s I brought along, pointing out the frequency response and rejection. Matt kept it simple and said, “I like it.” When asked which one, he replied, “All of it!” This could have gone a completely different way, it’s not often that a band will change that many mics in one soundcheck and use those same mics for a show later that evening. There was certainly an element of trust; in me and moreover in Shure’s product line.

Once the Truckers made their way back to tour bus world, Dawes showed up for load-in, traveling light as this was a fly date for the quartet from LA. Yours truly was on microphone duty for this visit as well, but Wes Delk (front of house engineer) and I sorted through the mics and where they would end up on stage weeks prior to this show. I handed out a few mics to Wes and soon enough the guys were ready for soundcheck as well. Watching the guys run through a few tunes, some gawkers on the side of the stage started to marvel a bit and made a note to check out the Dawes set later that evening.

So with everything in its right place, there wasn’t much left to do besides have dinner and maybe catch a few bands on the extensive bill. There was certainly a lot of down time and this is where life on the road gets a little mundane. Somehow, we found ways to make the time pass and soon enough Dawes was making their way to the stage.

This whole “festival” started at around 4 pm that day. There were bands in the lobby of the venue, in the balcony of the venue and bands sharing the main stage as well. At around 10 pm, Dawes launched into their first tune. Again, as I mentioned in my earlier post about Dawes, this is a band you have to check out and get to a live show the next time they’re in own. There’s something there that a lot of us feel will be there for quite some time.

With Dawes off the stage and their dressing room filling with fans new and old, the stage is readied for the Drive-By Truckers set. It was now about 11 pm and the Congress Theatre was still filled with eager fans. Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and company proceeded to play for the next two and a half hours. They certainly have the musical catalog to support more than that, but a strict curfew made them complete their set by 1:30 am… making it officially Sunday morning. They sounded fantastic that night, maybe it was that microphone selection from earlier that day? Of course, Shure can’t take all the credit, the Truckers are a great live band; masters of life on the road.

As I packed up my last mic, letting Colin keep the vocal mics for their next gig (he wasn’t gonna let me leave with them anyway), I made my way back to the southside. Of course, no late night venture for a southsider is complete without a trip to White Castle, and at around 2:30 am, that’s where I officially ended my evening. Love this life.

 -Cory

Indianapolis, IN

The Percussive Artist Society International Convention (PASIC) is one of those events I look forward to every year. Being a drummer myself, this event is close to my heart.  So are a lot of people that attend from many other great companies like Pearl, DW, Zildjian, Remo, Vic Firth, Vater, Istanbul and so many other individuals.  I have been fortunate enough to have not missed one of these events for the past 15+ years.  Everyone pitches in to help make each event happen and it’s such a great feeling to see all of the same people each year.

The convention has been in Indianapolis for the past 3 years so the drive up from Nashville is not too bad, when you’re rockin’ the iPod.  Like the trip 2 years ago, I was in Nashville handling duties at the Country Music Awards and directly after the show finished, I loaded up the gear and headed North for Indy.  I arrived at about 5 AM eastern time, grabbed about an hour of sleep and then brought all of the gear I had in the PT Cruiser into the convention center so it could be passed out for the various events starting around 9 am.  After passing that out, I passed out in the hotel room for another 4 hours.  After that, I went back to the Convention Center and caught a few clinics and chatted with some of the aforementioned manufacturers.

Later that evening, I was invited to 2 special events.  The first was a short party for Pearl artists and employees.  Shure Artist Horcio “El Negro” Hernandez was there as well as a drummer from Australia named Grant Collins.  It was great to catch up with Horacio as he is always gigging somewhere in the world.  He was happy to have a DVD from the Modern Drummer festival from earlier this year.  His performance there was pretty amazing.  Go pick up a copy and see for yourself!  A 12 piece band complete with a Flamenco tap dancer.  I’ve never seen a performance like this before where a drummer was trading 8′s with a dancer.  It was very cool!

The next day, Friday, I arrived early in the morning as Jim Riley’s Clinic was coming up at 1 pm.  I was able to catch drummer Rich Redmond’s clinic at 11 am, which was very informative.  Rich is not only a great studio drummer but also tours with country star Jason Aldean.  He had plenty of great advice to offer attendees about how to succeed in the music business and  a lot of it has to do with having a positive attitude.

The first time I saw Jim Riley’s clinic, I was taken a bit by surprise by his ability to play other genres besides the gig that pays his bills – Rascal Flatts.  He mentioned during his clinic that the last time he played at PASIC a few years ago served as his launchpad for doing drum clinics. He is very well spoken and a solid groove player.  He has been with Rascal Flatts from the beginning and it’s great to see his success, not only as their drummer but as their Musical Director. I put up some Beta 98AMP’s on his toms and used the Beta 181/C for overheads.

AT 5 pm, Grant Collins, a Pearl drum endorser had an enormous kit but chose to not have us close mic it.  Instead, we put up 6 condensers around the front of his kit about 3-4 feet off the ground to capture his toms and his cymbals, put a Beta 91A on each of his  front 2 kick drums and Beta 52′s on the rest and his gong drum.  It sounded pretty amazing!

Friday night after dinner with the Pearl guys, I stopped by the Army Jazz Blues Band concert up in the Sagamore Ballroom.  Special guest drummers Peter Erskine, Simon Phillips, Keith Carlock, John Riley, and Ed Soph all joined the band for a few numbers each.  It was great to see each drummers style shine through with this group.  At the end of the evening, Jim Riley was side stage and I introduced him to Peter Erskine for the first time. Peter had noticed an article in the most recent Modern Drummer magazine about Jim’s studio.

Closing out the clinic events on Saturday for PASIC was Simon Phillips.  His Tama kit was placed on stage and he had already brought his mic set which consisted of KSM137′s in shock mounts on all of this toms, 2 SM27′s for overheads, SM57′s in his Octobons and 2 Beta 52′s permanently mounted in his kick drums.  Simon was interested in hearing how the new Beta 181/C might sound on a few of his toms.  We listened to his stock mics then switch out 4 of the 137′s for 4 of the Beta 181′s.  He liked them just enough to want to go with them for the clinic.  Simon did a long drum solo and then took questions at the end of the clinic while also mentioning all his supporting companies and their gear.

Once Simon was done, I packed up a few more things and headed to go see  a great new band Shure just started working with called Mona.  I will talk about them in a separate blog.

Thus ends another successful PASIC and planning will begin soon for next years’ event in Austin, Texas.  Looking forward to that trip – come join us, wont you?

Ryan

The Cannery Ballroom – Nashville, TN

OK, I know they just played here in July but I can’t get enough of this group.  It is so cool to watch and hear their vibe coming off the stage.  If you aren’t moving and grooving to this band, they will CALL YOU OUT! That doesn’t happen too often though because the crowd is there and they are into it.

Since exploding onto the scene, Fitz & The Tantrums has been touring like crazy, implanting their Motown infused pop into current and new fans.  They have 3 sold out shows in Chicago coming up on this run.  If you have not seen them live, this is the ONLY way to experience them and be reminded of just how much FUN music can be.  Crowd participation is not an option with this band, it’s required.  During the encore, which was the unforgettable “Moneygrabber”, they make the entire crowd – sound man included, get down low to the floor and then build it back up to a hopping fest as they bring us to the end.

Noelle Scaggs and her tambourine are one throughout the entire show.  I do not see many tambourine players on the road, especially ones that play the way she does – old school!  It awesome to watch!  Her voice works so well with Fitz’s.  Both of them are on Shure UHF-R wireless – Noelle on the Beta 58A and Fitz on the SM58.

Multi-instrumentalist James King is using the PGXD14/98H for his tenor sax and all are loving the freedom of wireless.  Noelle has just stared using the PSM900 ear system and enjoying the control it gives her over her volume leves.  Drummer John Wicks is enjoying some new mics as well: Beta 98AMP on his toms, KSM137 on overheads, and the Beta 52A on his kick.

After soundcheck, I got a great video interview with Fitz and Noelle. Fitz discussed his minimalist approach to recording Pickin’ Up The Pieces in his living room.  No label pressure, no deadlines, just a few mics and experimenting with mic placement.

Keep up with this group and where they are going.  Their show is well worth your money!

The Cannery Ballroom – Nashville, TN

OK, I know they just played here in July but I can’t get enough of this group.  It is so cool to watch and hear their vibe coming off the stage.  If you aren’t moving and grooving to this band, they will CALL YOU OUT! That doesn’t happen too often though because the crowd is there and they are into it.

Since exploding onto the scene, Fitz & The Tantrums has been touring like crazy, implanting their Motown infused pop into current and new fans.  They have 3 sold out shows in Chicago coming up on this run.  If you have not seen them live, this is the ONLY way to experience them and be reminded of just how much FUN music can be.  Crowd participation is not an option with this band, it’s required.  During the encore, which was the unforgettable “Moneygrabber”, they make the entire crowd – sound man included, get down low to the floor and then build it back up to a hopping fest as they bring us to the end.

Noelle Scaggs and her tambourine are one throughout the entire show.  I do not see many tambourine players on the road, especially ones that play the way she does – old school!  It awesome to watch!  Her voice works so well with Fitz’s.  Both of them are on Shure UHF-R wireless – Noelle on the Beta 58A and Fitz on the SM58.

Multi-instrumentalist James King is using the PGXD14/98H for his tenor sax and all are loving the freedom of wireless.  Noelle has just stared using the PSM900 ear system and enjoying the control it gives her over her volume leves.  Drummer John Wicks is enjoying some new mics as well: Beta 98AMP on his toms, KSM137 on overheads, and the Beta 52A on his kick.

After soundcheck, I got a great video interview with Fitz and Noelle. Fitz discussed his minimalist approach to recording Pickin’ Up The Pieces in his living room.  No label pressure, no deadlines, just a few mics and experimenting with mic placement.

Keep up with this group and where they are going.  Their show is well worth your money!

The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA

It was time for a road trip….and I knew this one was going to be worth it.  Why?  Because I’ve watched drummer Mike Mangini for years.  He’s been a Shure endorser for over 10 years.  This was the type of band that Mike has worked for, practiced for, and should be in.

So, Mike Farriss from Pearl and myself jumped into the Shure PT Cruiser and headed down south to hang with Mike in his exiting new role as the backbone for Dream Theater.  I have followed this group since the first album and being a drummer, was always amazed at the incredible musicianship behind this  group.  Anyone else who has been following the group knows of the changes that recently occurred and the interesting way the band held auditions to find their new drummer.  Watching the video of Mike playing with the group, you can see why he was picked.  His playing is like the glass slipper that fit perfectly. When Mike got the gig, I was so happy for him and his family.

Upon our arrival at the venue, we walked up the ramp that lead right to his monstrosity of a Pearl kit.  Drums, cymbals, hardware, and mics….was I at a music store?  Considering the group, they have the best of what’s available at a music store.   Mike is using our new Beta 98AMP’s on the bulk of his toms, a Beta 27 on his floor tom, KSM32′s covering  his overheads and then a few Beta 91A’s in the kick drums.  He mentioned that they get tons of compliments on sound after the shows.  Special thanks to Nigel Paul, the bands’ FOH Engineer for that!

Walking around the rest of the stage, guitarist John Petrucci has a pair of SM57′s and a pair of KSM313′s on each guitar cabinet.  He also mentioned that he used the KSM353 to track the album with.  There were also a pair of wired SM86 vocal mics on stage.  One for John and the other for lead singer James LaBrie.

Following sound check, I was able to squeeze in a video interview with Mike Mangini where we discussed his transitioning from being an instructor at Berklee to going back out on the road.  We also discussed his use of several Shure products, both for his many recordings and now live on tour.  Look for that video on our YouTube page soon.

We killed some time between that and show time.  I went downstairs to the merchandise table to see what they had and did something I had not done for many years….purchase a tour book.  It has such great photos and the coolest thing…each member of the group had a page where they list what gear they use on tour!

The other part of the book that I took special note of was the intro letter, written by John Petrucci – specifically a paragraph where he talks about recording with Mike Mangini.

John wrote:  “Recording Mike Mangini was one of the highlights of the album experience for me. Mike’s impeccable preparation and positive spirit were refreshingly infectious and set the mood for the kinds of performances we would capture from everyone on this album.  Between the sheer technical mastery of his instrument and the raw musicality that just oozes from his pores, his performances not only brought all of the songs to life but also infused an intensity and passion into the music that was a sight to behold, a pleasure to listen to and just incredibly inspiring. ”

This was $ 20.00 well spent and I encourage you to get one when you go see them.  Great photography!

The new album is called A Dramatic Turn Of Events.  A very appropriate title because when the group hit the stage, the crowd was ready to see this new super group and to witness firsthand how the groups turn of events has played out.    The show was a musically emotional roller coaster ride.  There are so many time signatures flying around on stage, it’s like being in the middle of the lottery ball machine where all the balls are time signatures instead of digits.  (OK, maybe that’s overdoing it a bit) It’s challenging to keep up with but a joy to watch the musicians do it so well.

About 5 songs in, the crowd was treated to a drum solo “from another galaxy.” If you have ever seen what Mike can do, it is truly jaw dropping.  Not only that, he brings so much intensity and energy that it’s exciting to watch.  When you understand the mechanics behind it, it makes it that much better…but also very depressing, because I know I can’t do that as a drummer.  :)

The rest of the show was great and the crowd loved the new addition the band, signified by a loud applause at the end when James announced Mike’s name again.

If you like progressive metal or if you just want to witness 5 incredibly gifted and creative musicians on stage, you owe it to yourself to find out when they are coming to your town.  If they are not, take a vacation and fly somewhere to go see them or do like I did – ROAD TRIP!

Ryan

Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN

The big rock show!!

How many hits can you pack into one night, especially with 3 super groups from the 80′s?  I was excited to find out as this is the era I grew up in.

Endorsing drummer Mark Schulman has reunited with Foreigner on this tour and it was great to catch up with him. I was escorted backstage for the Foreigner meet and greet and Mark was already busy with his bandmates posing for pics with fans.  I grab a few bites of finger foods while they finished up and joined Mark back in their dressing room. We chatted about some of the new gear Shure has out, specifically the new Beta 98AMP’s.  He loves the way they sound!

Since it was close to show time, he escorted me out to the house and I grabbed my seat in time to catch the last few songs in Night Ranger’s set.  I had caught Night Ranger over 12 years ago in Indiana, back when I lived in the Chicago area.  They are still as good today.  They closed their set out with “(You Can Still) Rock in America.”  Awesome!

Foreigner ran hit after hit.  Mick Jones was unfortunately sick this week so they had a fill in guitarist who did his homework.  Mark was slammin’ ‘em out and it was great to watch him play with so much energy.

Journey closed the show, again hit after hit along with a few new ones.  This was the first time I had caught the group with their new lead singer Arnel, who was signing on a UR2/SM58 wireless.  The background vocals were Beta 87C’s.  It was great to hear all of the hits live although, I really missed hearing “Escape” and “Only the Young”,  a couple of my favorites.  With the resurgence of “Don’t Stop Believin”   due to The Soprano’s and Glee, there was quite a range of age groups who attended the show and sang along.  It was great to see this show almost sold out at a large scale arena.  Definitely a good pairing of groups.

For their last song, the group was joined on stage by Joe Don Rooney, guitarist with Rascal Flatts.  He and Neal Schon traded solos at the end.

To say I was air-drumming to MOST of these songs would be an understatement!  This was part of my training as a musician and I am so thankful for each lesson I learned from these groups.  Thanks guys!

Ryan

Nashville, TN

2011 marks not only the 40 year Anniversary of the CMA Music Fest but also the 10th year of the Shure office in Nashville. I have been fortunate to be able to attend this show since Shure opened the Nashville Artist Relations office in 2001. It has been great to be able to support this event and meet with all of the great people who have put it on over the years. It has changed over the years as they are now taping many of the performances for later inclusion in a 2 hour television special. Roughly half of the artists that performed at LP Field during the 4 day event are either Shure Artists or used Shure on vocals. OK, why not, let’s list them all!

Shure Artists:

Sara Evans
Brad Paisley
Dierks Bentley
Little Big Town
Martina McBride
Trace Adkins

Josh Turner, Dailey & Vincent  and Rascal Flatts

Shure users:

Ashton Shepherd
Chris Young
The Band Perry
and The Janedear Girls

It’s always great to see the crews for each of these artists and meet new faces and engineers.   This show is the perfect place to get lots of business accomplished.  Although it’s very hot and the hours are long, I do look forward to this show every year.

Each night, the stadium filled up with enthusiastic crowds and there were several guest artists who showed up to sing along.  Alabama showed up on Thursday night to perform with Brad Paisley, American Idol winner Scotty McCreery joined Josh Turner on a song, Martina McBride and Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina made a great pairing on Martina’s song “Anyway“, Little Big Town joined  Rascal Flatts for an awesome display of vocal harmonies on a medley of classic rock tunes.

As customary, each night started off with the singing of our National Anthem.  On Saturday night, Shure Artists’ Dailey and Vincent sang their version which is THE BEST version that I have ever heard.  I’m sure it will be up on the internet soon enough,  keep an eye out for it.

Some of the products that were prominently used throughout the shows included the UR2/SM58 and the UR2/KSM9 for many of the lead and backing vocals, the Beta 98AMP for toms, a few KSM313 ribbon mics on amps  and well as many KSM32′s for overheads and guitar amps.

The annual appearance of rain was broken this year but it was a close one on Saturday evening.  It cooled off quite a bit (which was welcomed by some) but never a drop.

So comes to a close another great year of artists performing at this wonderful event.  Speaking of Anniversaries, my wife and I celebrated 17 years on Saturday!  Looking forward to many more!

Ryan

Montclair State University – Montclair, NJ

This was the first time in about 3-4 years that I’ve been back at the Modern Drummer Fest and back to MSU.  It was great to see this campus again and it has been growing and rebuilding ever since.

Last year, Shure sent a boatload of mics to the event.  This year, due to the fact that 2 Shure artists were on the bill, I decided it would be good to come out and support.  I arrived Friday afternoon and went over to the hall to see how set-up was progressing……quite nicely actually!  Shure Endorser Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez was setting up his group first as they would be closing the show.  He had 12 musicians and a flamenco tap dancer to top it all off.   Among these musicians was an amazing vocal singer from Spain that Horacio has been telling me about for years: Concha Buika.  Along a percussion player, 3 background singers (one being Horacio’s daughter) a couple of horn players, Keys, guitar, and bass, this would turn out to be one of the most interesting and musically complex performances I had ever seen at this show.  My compliments to Negro’s manager, Margaret Sterlacci for organizing all of these artists, literally from around the globe to come in and perform.  Of course,  I made sure that we had plenty of the new mics along for the ride.  On his Toms, we put up the Beta 98AMP and for his ride, the Beta 181/C.  On overheads, a pair of KSM32‘s.  On the guitar amp, the KSM313 ribbon mic always delivers amazing tone. On the Kick, the popular Beta 52A and the new Beta 91A combination.

The next morning, I arrived at the University around 9 am to catch the show opening with endorser Jim Riley (Rascal Flatts).  Jim was invited to do a Master Class for about 125 people.  Jim is also a fantastic player and a great clinician.  His focus was on using rudiments to enhance your playing on the kit musically.  He played along with several tracks that he had composed.  He also mentioned that as musical director for Rascal Flatts, he is allowed a lot of flexibility in arranging for them.  Jim also used the Beta 98AMP’s and the Beta 181′s for his clinic. A special Congratulations goes out to Jim for being voted the Modern Drummer 2011 Country Drummer of the Year.

Other artists invited this year included Gil Sharone, Trevor Lawrence Jr., Jeff “Tain” Watts, John Riley and Aquiles Priester.  It was a great show and there were plenty of great comments on the new Beta drum mics.

Shure Endorser Billy Ward also showed up.  It was wonderful catching up with him.

Special Thanks to the staff at Modern Drummer magazine for always putting together an exciting show.  Thanks to HB Group and Bill Dest for handling the sound needs and the crew for taking such good care of all of the mics.

I play drums and my drum kit of choice is Pearl.  I have a Reference series kit with a 22 inch kick drum and 4 toms – 10, 12, 14, 16 inches.  I switch between an all brass reference series snare and the Steve Ferrone signature snare.  For my mics selection, I would put both the Beta 52A and the Beta 91A in my kick drum.  This is a standard technique used both live and in the studio to capture the low end and the attack of a kick drum and to blend between the two sounds as appropriate.  For toms, I would use the new Beta 98AMP on my 10 and 12 toms because I like the clarity of tone they provide. The Beta 27 on the floor toms provides a nice, full low end and the super cardioid pattern give them great separation.  The SM57 on the snare is a must as it always naturally reproduces the acoustic sound of the snare drum. I use Remo drum heads – Clear Emperors on the top and Clear Ambassadors on the  bottom. The Reference snare has a coated Ambassador head on top.  I like to tune the toms so there is no tonal drop-off and the pitch is nice and long, not muted.  No gates please!

For cymbals, I choose Zildjian.  I would use a KSM137 on the Hi-hat as it is not to bright in the high end.  On Overheads, I would use the Beta 181/C.  My first experience with these was last Fall 2010 at the Percussive Artist Society International Convention in Indianapolis.  I was very pleased with the clarity and the tonality that came through these mics.  I heard various tones from the cymbals that I was only used to hearing when I listened to cymbals up close acoustically.  Like the SM57 on the snare, these seemed to truly represent what was in  front of me.

I am very comfortable with this set-up both live and in the studio.  Many drummers have used both similar and different set-up to track their drums.  You can find a some  examples from the Pro’s in our Microphone Techniques for Drums publication.

So there you have it!

Now it’s YOUR turn.  Please comment and tell everyone about your kit and what  Shure mics help you achieve YOUR sound.

Thanks !

Ryan

The Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN

This evening’s event has been an annual concert for over 13 years and Vince always brings in some wonderful artists to participate.  Benefiting the Mental Health Association, Vince and his many guests performed 2 sets of music, lasting over 2 and half hours.  FOH Engineer Hugh Johnson had a stage full of Shure wired mics as well as couple channels of wireless KSM9’s. Other Mics on stage included a pair of Beta 181/c on Leslie high, the Beta 98AMP on toms, and the KSM313 on Vince’s guitar amps.

Vince kicked off the first set with a couple of his hits and then got right to the business of bringing out the first of many guests.  Claiming comically that she wanted to go on first and head home, Vince’s wife Amy Grant joined him on stage for a couple songs.  The night continued with several songwriters and known singers from other groups.  At one point during the Del McCoury Band’s set, Hugh turned to me with a smile on his face and said “The KSM9 is the best microphone ever made.”    Hugh was there in the beginning of the development of that mic and has been using it on Vince and Amy’s vocals ever since.

Other guest artists included Keb’ Mo’, Taylor Hicks, Lynn Marie, and Larry Stewart of Restless Heart.