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

…That’s what you hear as the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards go live to air in the packed to capacity Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. However, before all of the applause and packed seats of onlookers, the GRAMMYs go through a rigorous schedule of rehearsal and timed perfection. What you at home see on TV is the result of A LOT of hard work. The madness that is GRAMMY week is bigger than any single concert you’ve been to, and it is where we spent most of last week as things began to take shape for music’s biggest night.

Prior to entering the bowels of the Staples Center, Shure once again sponsored the Producers & Engineers Wing GRAMMY Week Celebration honoring Quincy Jones & Al Schmitt. Hang on… prior to that, we made a stop to In-N-Out Burger in honor of Mr. Mike Lohman, who could not be with us on this trip. It was worth the wait. It was delicious. Why don’t we have this in Chicago? Back to the GRAMMY stuff…

Making our temporary home in Studio B of The Village Recording Complex, Shure served up some fresh seafood and the latest in wired mics and headphones. It was amazing to hear so many stories about Shure mics being used on classic recordings from the engineers and producers in attendance. The Super 55 tree, as we have dubbed it, was a bit of a challenge to construct, but I’m happy to say that it made through the entire evening without incident! Aside from being in such esteemed company, the highlight of the night for me was watching a few very critical ears try on the Shure SRH940 and SRH1840 headphones and be completely blown away! That and the countless offers that were made to purchase the SM7B on site or the questions about it being included in some sort of raffle. Most visitors to Studio B had something positive to say about the sleeper hit that is the SM7B.

Okay, so breakfast at the hotel was not that good and VERY expensive, not doing that again. Never mind that, we were making our way to the tunnel into the madness I referenced (there it is on the left) to join in the fun of rehearsals, day one. By the way, the “we” in question is Ryan Smith, Artist Relations Nashville and Jenn Liang-Chaboud, Market Development Senior Specialist. There is so much that goes into this show and everything is in the same place every year… good thing, as I’m just starting to get this whole thing down. As we arrived to the backstage area, we were called into a meeting with production who were concerned about how much “fun” the band fun. was going to be having on GRAMMY night. The “fun” in question was the rain curtain you all undoubtedly witnessed, where the band, all of their instruments and microphones were all drenched in a rain storm. Of course there was concern that the mics may fail if exposed to that level of water, but we were never all that concerned… that’s how we test this stuff! Aware of production’s concern, we immediately put a few phone calls in to the home office in Chicago to have back up transmitters and capsules sent out the next day (thanks to all of the Shure people who came through in the clutch)! Needless to say, we never needed back ups. Those mics you saw on Sunday night were the same mics from rehearsal and dress rehearsal… that’s multiple rain storms!

Making our way around the arena, we found some familiar faces in Mike Parker and Tom Pisa working stage left and stage right respectively. We were also happy to see some familiar product in place as the exclusive in ear monitor system for all artists performing at the GRAMMYs. Twenty-four channels of Shure’s PSM 1000 was once again the preferred choice by production and most of the artists that performed this year. Rehearsals did not begin until about 1:30 pm on day one, so it gave us some time to catch up with everyone and provide them a little Shure swag in the meantime. It actually got cold there in California… nothing like what Chicago was going through, but even a hooded sweatshirt (this year’s swag item) struggled to keep me warm. I did refuse to opt for the winter coat stashed back at the hotel… I’m from the midwest and way too many people would be a little upset and quite possibly revoke my man card if I was discovered wearing a winter coat in California.

So anyway, as the rehearsals moved into full swing, lots of Shure mics were in some pretty important positions on stage. It was nice to see the KSM313 on the guitar amps of the Lumineers and Jack White, that’s quickly becoming everyone’s favorite mic for guitar amp… it looks pretty sweet, too! On vocals you saw Taylor Swift on an Axient Wireless System with a Beta 58, fun. on UHF-R Wireless with Beta 58s, Mumford & Sons on Beta 58As, Justin Timberlake & Jay-Z on UHF-R Wireless with SM58s… a last minute vocal mic change put Justin on a Shure mic for the evening and I thought he sounded pretty damn good on it too! Adam Levine from Maroon 5 was on a UHF-R with a Beta 58 when he joined Alicia Keys onstage, The Black Keys rocked on their SM58s. Kelly Clarkson brought the house down on an SM58! The Lumineers had everyone singing along on SM58s. Jack White tore up the stage while on an SM58. The Levon Helm tribute featured amongst others, Mavis Staples on a UHF-R SM58, Brittany Howard on a UHF-R SM58 and Mumford & Sons on UHF-R SM58s. Juanes sounded amazing on a UHF-R KSM9 and Frank Ocean debuted a new track on a UHF-R SM58. The night ended with two hip-hop icons blazing up the stage as LL Cool J and Chuck D performed on UHF-R SM58s.

All in all, a pretty good selection of Shure mics helped to provide the audio on music’s biggest night!  I would also like to mention the big win by Shure endorsers Mumford & Sons for Album of the Year, fun. for Best New Artist and Song of the Year, and The Black Keys for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album and Best Rock Performance.

So, things are kind of normal around here now, but I would be lying to you if I said I haven’t started thinking about next year!

Rock Out!
Cory

There’s another part of NAMM season that keeps us on our toes, though. By then, products we’ve launched in the past year or so have been rigorously evaluated by users and industry experts alike, and it’s time to hear their thoughts. How do we know what they think? There are the reviews. And then, there are the awards.

We’re thrilled to have received the following awards recently. They inspire us to keep pushing the envelope year after year.

TEC Awards

The TEC Foundation recognized Axient® Wireless Management Network for Outstanding Technical Achievement in the Wireless Technology Category.

ProSoundWeb and Live Sound International Readers’ Choice Awards

Axient was named Wireless Microphone System of the Year. KSM9HS won in the Condenser Microphone Category, and PSM®1000 received its second Readers’ Choice Award as the sole winner of the In-Ear Monitor System Category.

Musical Merchandise Review’s Dealers’ Choice Awards

MMR polled more than 650 retailers across the country about their favorite products. The SM58® received the Microphone Line of the Year trophy at NAMM last month.

Pro Audio Review’s PAR Excellence Awards

The Pro Audio Review editors, contributors, and subscribers named ULX-D™ Digital Wireless System a winner in the Wireless Microphone Systems Category.

Music & Sound Retailer 27th Annual Music & Sound Awards

The Music & Sound Retailer editorial team stopped by our NAMM booth to award the KSM9HS the Best Cabled Microphone of the Year and ULX-D Digital Wireless the Best Wireless System of the Year.

Pro Sound Network’s Best of Show Awards

The Pro Sound News and Pro Audio Review editorial teams recognized the new GLX-D Digital Wireless System with a Best of Show award at NAMM.

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

We’re humbled by the nice things reviewers have said recently about our headphones, mics, and PSM 1000. Here’s a sampling…

SRH940 Professional Reference Headphones
“If you’re an audiophile looking for professional-quality headphones, try the SRH940s before spending much, much more on the competition. These are incredible headphones at an incredible price.”  – Nic Vargus, MacLife

SRH1840 Professional Open Back Headphones
“The best headphones that I myself have ever used…almost everything sounds ‘right’ to my ears.” – Andy Hong, TapeOp

VP89 End-Address Shotgun Condenser Microphone
“The VP89 is an excellent, high quality microphone.” – Mark Holder, Videomaker

KSM42 Large Dual-Diaphragm Vocal Microphone
“There’s something weirdly comforting about the thought that I could throw this thing in front of 90 percent of the vocalists that wander in and be perfectly satisfied with the results.” – Luke Harper, Post Magazine

PSM®1000 Personal Monitor System
“In a perfect world, a church would be well off in having a whole rack of PSM 1000s to provide some of the best wireless monitors available in the market today.” – Nolan Rossi, Church Production Magazine

It was our honor to have System Of A Down as our Featured Artist of the Month for August.  We gave two tickets each to the last two shows of the tour – Detroit and Chicago.  I went down to the Chicago show to see their last performance of the tour.  I arrived and met both Chad Olech (Front of House, Deftones), whom I have known for years, and Pasi Hara (Monitors, SOAD), whom I had met previously; we walked through the backstage areas to the side-stage where Pasi had his desk set up, ready for sound check.

System Of A Down are heavy wireless users.  There are three channels of UHF-R for each Shavo (bass), Daron (guitar), and Serj (guitar) as well as Serj’s vocal channels (also UHF-R with Beta 58A mic elements).  Feeding the band, engineers, and techs their mixes are eight channels of PSM® 1000 with a PA821 antenna combiner and PWS’s HA-8089 helical antenna.  Pasi had connected everything via a 16-port Ethernet switch to his MacBook and administered the gear, held in various racks, with Wireless Workbench 6.  We geeked out a bit over the scans of the radio frequency environments; Chicago has an astonishingly crowded UHF-band.  In spite of the multitude of strong TV channels and random other radios in the Allstate Arena, everything was working and ready.

Sound check happened very quickly.  Pasi and I temporarily parted ways – he to the backstage area as I went to join Chad at the FOH position for the Deftones’ check.  He ran a few tracks recorded the previous night through the PA initially, soon joined by the band.  The empty arena reverberated as sound bounced off concrete and hard plastic seats where hours later the crowd would keep those waves all to themselves.

Deftones are also using PSM 1000.  They’re the first band I look after to use ULX-D.  Chino’s usual weapon of choice is a wired Beta 58A, taped in similar fashion to one of Roger Daltrey’s famous SM58s, though Chino’s moves can be considerably more chaotic than Daltrey’s famous circles.  The wireless version comes out when a mic on a stand is needed, ironically.  This is to minimize the liability of tripping on a cable bringing the mic and stand on and off stage.

At one point I was handed a P10R tuned to Chino’s monitor mix.  I popped in my earphones and went for a walk.  I made it through the crowd and around the circumference of the floor of the arena, then behind the stage without a single dropout.  All this was off a single, directional passive antenna aimed at the stage.  I am, of course, biased in my opinion of those units, but I thought that rather impressive performance for in-ear monitors.  Also, listening to their mix while seeing the show from the different perspectives added a sort of surreal quality to the show.  Earphones or no, the band brought it.

System Of A Down had not been through Chicago in years, which, as a fan, is not OK.  However, they brought it with a jaw-dropping set of 26 songs.  The lights went out and the set opened with the instantly recognizable staccato notes of “Prison Song”.  As the billowing shroud fell from the stage the audience turned frenetic.  As the saying goes, “all killer, no filler”.  During Suite-Pee Chino Moreno jumped up on stage to duet with Serj Tankian.  Drummer John Dolmayan was flanked by Abe Cunningham on his right and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante on the left.  System closed the set with “Sugar”.

After the gig was over I was able to meet up with Serj and geek out a bit over our ribbon mics.  He has been loving the KSM313 on the top end of his grand piano.  We covered a few other topics, including music distribution these days, before the aftershow crowd needed his attention.  I made my way to the crew bus to catch up with Pasi and Chad before heading out.

Richard

@Richard_ShureAR

A couple of exciting aspects of this years’ show included the fact that PSM1000′s were relied upon as the only system for ear monitors and Shure’s new Axient wireless system made 2 appearances on the show.  The first was with artist Chris Young and then later in the show with Shure Artist Sara Evans.  Both artists used the SM58 capsule and the system sounded incredibly clean.

One emotional point during the show was when Shure Artists Little Big Town sang a song with a children’s choir written by newcomer Hunter Hayes entitled “Here’s Hope.” The group started and ended with verses from John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Another magic moment came in the form of an actual wedding ceremony, performed during the song “Marry Me” sung by Shure Artist Martina McBride who was accompanied by Pat Monahan of Train.

Rascal Flatts debuted their new hit single “Banjo”, joined by Steve Martin whose banjo was captured using a KSM137.  Toby Keith brought out his “Red Solo Cup” for Vegas and sang while wandering through the crowd, joined by the one and only Wayne Newton and comedian Carrot Top. The Band Perry debuted their new single “Postcard from Paris” singing on a trio of KSM9′s.

Another big highlight for me was when KISS walked by backstage, a couple of times.  They were there to present the award for Vocal Group of the Year.  I grew up listening to these Rock Icons and to see them that close was pretty awesome.

The crew for the show worked extra hard this year as they were rehearsing 2 shows at once.  The next day after the awards show was a special concert – Lionel Richie and Friends – to be broadcast later this month.  It’s always a pleasure hanging with this crew as they are so professional and offer great advice/commentary on current and future products.

Click on this link to see some highlights of the show and all the Shure products in action.

There are so many elements that contribute to putting on an awards show like the GRAMMYs.  To list every aspect would take too long so we’re going to focus on our side of this trip.

As everything usually comes together at the last minute for this show, we sent out a nice compliment of Shure mics to supplement what sound company ATK Audiotek already had in stock. Appearing for the first time on this show was the Beta 181/C condenser mic. We sent 20 of those and saw several get used on tympani (The Beach Boys) and occasionally on drum overheads. We also sent a few of the KSM313 ribbon mics, one of which prominently appeared on John Paul White’s guitar amp during The Civil Wars short but very effective performance in the show.

We were also very pleased to learn early on that the PSM1000 ear monitor systems would be the exclusive system for the show this year. There were plenty of bodypacks on hand for the performers and many of the crew people made a point to let us know how well the system was working for them.

Watching the rehearsal and then the performances over the course of 4 days, there were many highlights for us that sounded amazing in the house, thanks to both Jeff Peterson who finely tuned the PA and Ron Reeves who mixes the acts so well.  The Beach Boys segment featuring Maroon 5 and Foster The People was quite a thrill to hear live in the house. Each group nailed the original harmonies, it was one of the highlights of the evening. The other was seeing The Civil Wars perform on this broadcast. They have quickly become a respected group that continues to impress well-established artists like Adele, Taylor Swift and now Coldplay, who Tweeted that they are now fans of the group.

The Glen Campbell tribute featured newly signed artists The Band Perry who sang “Gentle On My Mind.” It was great to see Glen having so much fun on stage in light of his ongoing battle with Alzheimer’s.

It was especially gratifying to have the industry standard SM58 open this years’ show in front of Bruce Springsteen and then have Sir Paul McCartney close the show on a wired Beta 58A. You can’t get more Rock and Roll than that!

Seeing the same crew that has been doing this successfully for so many years is always a wonderful part of this trip. Maintaining those relationships and letting them know we are there for support is a vital part of attending this show as well as talking with them about our products. There were a lot of people who have not had the opportunity to try the PSM1000’s out. Thanks to ATK Audiotek and the monitor engineers for this show, Mike Parker and Tom Pesa, over 20 acts were exposed to the new standard in monitoring.

Special thanks go out to Michael Abbott who is the audio coordinator for the show, John  Harris and Joel Singer with Music Mix Moblie, who take care of the music mix that goes out to television and Eric Schilling who shares music mix duties with John Harris. This years’ show was monumental in size and every year, it just keeps getting better and better!

- Ryan, Cory and Jenn

Wireless Systems

• Axient Wireless Management Network
  2012 NAMM “Best in Show—This Year’s Hottest Products” Gotta Stock It Award
• PGX Digital Wireless
  2011 TEC Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement, Wireless Technology
  2011 Music & Sound Retailer Music & Sound Award for Best Wireless System
• ULX-D Digital Wireless
  2012 Pro Sound Network Best of Show Awards: NAMM Edition

Personal Monitoring

• PSM 1000 Personal Monitor System
  2011 Music & Sound Retailer Music & Sound Award for Product of the Year
  2012 ProSoundWeb and Live Sound International  Readers’ Choice Award

Wired Microphones

• Beta 181 Ultra-Compact Side-Address Microphone
  2011 TEC Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement, Microphone Technology / Sound Reinforcement
  2011 Music & Sound Retailer Music & Sound Award for Best Wired Microphone
• KSM42 Large Dual-Diaphragm Vocal Microphone
  2012 ProSoundWeb and Live Sound International  Readers’ Choice Award for Best Product, Condenser Microphones
• SM58 Vocal Microphone
  2011 Musical Merchandise Review Dealer’s Choice Awards for Microphone Line of the Year

Earphones

• SE215 Sound Isolating Earphones
  2011 PCMag.com Best of the Year Award

Okay, success celebrated. Back to the grindstone.

Las Vegas – MGM Grand Garden Arena

This was the second ACA show for Fox Network.  Production Mix Engineer Klaus Landsberg invited me to come out on behalf of Shure for this years’ show as they were going to be using primarily Shure wireless.  Sound Company ATK Audiotek would be providing the 26 channels of UHF-R Wireless systems and the 8 channels of PSM1000 ear monitor systems with multiple beltpacks as well as a compliment of wired mics.

Before flying out for this show, I received a text Friday evening from Earl Neal, FOH engineer with recently signed Shure Artists The Band Perry that the group wanted to use stock Super 55 ‘s on this show.  Prior to this show, they used darker gold painted Super 55’s on both the CMA’s in October and the Grammy Nominations Concert just last week.   Earl said they wanted to use the stock model and did I know of any place in either LA or Vegas that would have those.  I suggested a dealer in LA but that was the only dealer I could think of that would have 3-4 of those.  On my way to the airport the next day, I called Earl to see if he had any luck. We talked about some other options but he then mentioned he might send his wife over to Soundcheck to grab the 4 that were stored in Patty Loveless’ locker (an artist he’s worked for).  He got Patty’s permission.  I told him I could swing by and pick them up on my way to the airport and carry them out with me.  The Band Perry has now requested this mic on 3 major TV broadcasts!  They love the Super 55!

I arrived after 10 pm in Vegas on Saturday. The next morning, I received credentials and headed towards the backstage area at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.  Stopping at monitor world, Mike Parker was deep into learning a new DigiCo console.  About the PSM1000’s, Mike commented “I never leave home without them.”

Right next to him, I saw a table lined with over 20 P10R’s waiting for fresh batteries… a thing of beauty!  Had to grab a shot of that! Behind me, I spotted another photo op. Two racks of UR, 26 channels and a rack of 8 PSM1000’s.    Of the 11 performances on the show, 8 of the used Shure on lead and backing vocals. They also used 2 UR2/KSM9 transmitters for hosts Trace Adkins and Kristin Chenoweth.  From Trace’s incredibly deep voice to Kristin’s whose voice is high pitched, the KSM9 worked very well. ATK also utilizes 2 UR1’s for their podium mic setup.

I then went out to Front of House where Mikel Stewart of ATK was at the house production mix spot, the same role he takes at the Grammy’s and probably many more shows.  At the House music mix position was Ron Reeves, the spot he also enjoys at the Grammy’s (and many other shows).  One of Ron’s first comments was to pay compliments to the KSM 137’s they have been using on overheads at this show.  He likes to get most of his drum sound off of the overheads and loves these.

Klaus Landsberg was a wonderful host and said I could come into the production mix truck anytime I wanted to.  It was also great to see a lot of familiar crew people in site.  The rehearsals went very well, mostly ahead of schedule.

The Shure artists that performed on the show included Trace Adkins, The Band Perry, and Toby Keith.  Other artists that used Shure vocal mics included Thompson Square, Scotty McCreery, Chris Young, Eli Young Band, and Alabama!  Everyone used and enjoyed the use of the PSM1000 for their ear mixes.

Another show full of great Shure products with great artists!

Ryan

Shure Endorsers Calle 13 performing Song of the Year, “Latinoamérica”              at the 12th Annual Latin GRAMMYs

November 10, 2011

Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino – Las Vegas, NV

Every year, in the beginning of November, Latin music’s hottest acts converge on Las Vegas to celebrate the Latin GRAMMY’s. This year Latin GRAMMY week was busier than ever with interviews, rehearsals and pre-Latin GRAMMY parties that had city of sin sizzling with excitement. I arrived on Monday to attend rehearsals all week in support of the show and make sure that our endorsers and any artist using Shure were well supported and had the gear that they needed in order to sound how they want for their performances. I was happy to discover that the majority of the artists performing chose Shure mics and in-ear monitors for their performances.

Tuesday’s rehearsals kicked off with longtime Shure users Los Tigres del Norte featuring Paulina Rubio and continued with Reyli and Pepe Aguilar with his Maricahi. Later that evening, Shure Endorsers Calle 13 took the stage after arriving from a 14 hour flight from Chile and a four hour drive from LAX. After almost 20 hours traveling they finally arrived to Las Vegas right before their rehearsal was scheduled to begin. Once arrived, they were exhausted but excited for their rehearsal with the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar of Venezuela that was conducted by none other than prodigious Gustavo Dudamel. According to Calle 13’s Tour Manager, they have been on tour non-stop and have not had a chance to rehearse with the orchestra. He said that they had to send the music via email to Dudamel and this was the first time they would be rehearsing together. It was amazing to watch Calle 13 and the orchestra, come together as if they have played a whole tour together after only a few run throughs. Of all the rehearsals I have witnessed to that point, this one was the most powerful, and it would go on to prove to be true of the rest. I could not wait to see it in front of a full house.

Wednesday’s rehearsals were not to be outdone. They kicked off with Marco Antonio Solis and continued throughout the day with Wisin & Yandel featuring Sean Kingston, Shakira, Romeo Santos featuring Usher, Pitbull and Marc Anthony and finished with Shure Endorsers Maná featuring Prince Royce. Needless to say it was an action packed day that was highlighted by entertaining rehearsals by Pitbull and Marc Anthony as well as Maná with Prince Royce. Later that night I attended BMI’s Los Producers Charity Show where some of the industry’s leading producers and engineers formed bands to play covers of popular 80’s jams to raise awareness and hold a silent auction for The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. Many artists came to this event to support their producers and engineers friends who usually reside behind a mixing console.

Thursday was show day and after a full run through of dress rehearsals it was time for the show. While the lights in the arena dimmed and the Orchestra led by the maestro Dudamel played, Rene “Residente” Perez of Calle 13, armed with a SM58 in hand and the PSM1000, opened the show with a simple message, “I’d like to dedicate this song, to all of the Latin Americans that are here tonight, from the deepest part of my heart, and to everyone watching on TV throughout Latin America, I hope it transports to your barrios, to your streets, to your roots, to the pains of your countries and that you feel it here in your chest.” The song Calle 13 performed was “Latinoamérica” which later went on to win the Latin GRAMMY for song of the year. The song begins by saying…

“I am, I am what was left behind, I am the left overs of all that has been stolen, A village hidden in the peak, my skin is made of leather to withstand any climate. I am a factory of smoke, A peasant working hand for your consumption, a cold front in the middle of the summer, Love in the Time of Cholera, my brother… The sun that is born and the day that dies, with the most beautiful dawns…”

After a few more verses the chorus says…

“You cannot buy the wind, you cannot buy the sun, you cannot buy the rain, you cannot buy the warmth, you cannot buy the clouds, you cannot buy the colors, you cannot buy my happiness, you cannot buy my pain…”

These words received a very emotional standing ovation because it was a very fitting and touching way to start the show since it poetically describes the struggles that Latin America has faced and how it has conquered them with its people’s unity and resolve. Looking around the room I saw many tears in the eyes of those around me. It was the most powerful musical moment I have ever witnessed. After the performance, I stood their wondering how this was received on the other side of the TV throughout the millions of homes not only throughout “Latinoamérica” but also throughout the homes of Latinos around the world. Shortly after I started receiving messages from friends and family saying how beautiful that moment was.

Watch Calle 13 perform “Latinoamérica” at the 12th Annual Latin GRAMMY’s here.

Calle 13 would go on to take over the night by winning 9 out of 10 Latin GRAMMY’s they were nominated for giving them a record total of 19 Latin GRAMMY’s which surpassed Juanes’s old record of 17.  After winning the GRAMMY for Song of the Year, their 8^th time up to the stage to claim an award, Rene said to the crowd, “I don’t have words anymore, really this is incredible. I want to dedicate this award to Latin America because it taught me how to write this song, from Tijuana to Calafate. Cheers to a united Latin America.”

Shure’s new AXT200/KSM9 at the 12th Annual Latin GRAMMYs

Other Shure endorsers who won awards on the night included, Zoé of Mexico and Maná who each took two Latin GRAMMYs. Of the awards they won, Maná won the Latin GRAMMY for Best Rock Album, and Zoé won for Best Rock Song. Aline Barros of Brazil won the Latin GRAMMY for Best Christian Album (Portuguese).

Another highlight of the night was that Shure’s newest wireless system Axient hit the stage for performances with Shakira, Wisin and Yandel featuring Sean Kingston, Romeo Santos and Usher as well as Pepe Aguilar and Reyli. The night was full of other great performances and Shure microphones and PSM systems were the choice for most of the performers to hit Latin music’s biggest stage.

Watch Romeo Santos perform live with Axient at the 12th Annual Latin GRAMMYs here.

For a complete list of winners visit http://latingrammy.com

Nelson

Shure Endorsers Calle 13 performing Song of the Year, “Latinoamérica”              at the 12th Annual Latin GRAMMYs

November 10, 2011

Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino – Las Vegas, NV

Every year, in the beginning of November, Latin music’s hottest acts converge on Las Vegas to celebrate the Latin GRAMMY’s. This year Latin GRAMMY week was busier than ever with interviews, rehearsals and pre-Latin GRAMMY parties that had city of sin sizzling with excitement. I arrived on Monday to attend rehearsals all week in support of the show and make sure that our endorsers and any artist using Shure were well supported and had the gear that they needed in order to sound how they want for their performances. I was happy to discover that the majority of the artists performing chose Shure mics and in-ear monitors for their performances.

Tuesday’s rehearsals kicked off with longtime Shure users Los Tigres del Norte featuring Paulina Rubio and continued with Reyli and Pepe Aguilar with his Maricahi. Later that evening, Shure Endorsers Calle 13 took the stage after arriving from a 14 hour flight from Chile and a four hour drive from LAX. After almost 20 hours traveling they finally arrived to Las Vegas right before their rehearsal was scheduled to begin. Once arrived, they were exhausted but excited for their rehearsal with the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar of Venezuela that was conducted by none other than prodigious Gustavo Dudamel. According to Calle 13’s Tour Manager, they have been on tour non-stop and have not had a chance to rehearse with the orchestra. He said that they had to send the music via email to Dudamel and this was the first time they would be rehearsing together. It was amazing to watch Calle 13 and the orchestra, come together as if they have played a whole tour together after only a few run throughs. Of all the rehearsals I have witnessed to that point, this one was the most powerful, and it would go on to prove to be true of the rest. I could not wait to see it in front of a full house.

Wednesday’s rehearsals were not to be outdone. They kicked off with Marco Antonio Solis and continued throughout the day with Wisin & Yandel featuring Sean Kingston, Shakira, Romeo Santos featuring Usher, Pitbull and Marc Anthony and finished with Shure Endorsers Maná featuring Prince Royce. Needless to say it was an action packed day that was highlighted by entertaining rehearsals by Pitbull and Marc Anthony as well as Maná with Prince Royce. Later that night I attended BMI’s Los Producers Charity Show where some of the industry’s leading producers and engineers formed bands to play covers of popular 80’s jams to raise awareness and hold a silent auction for The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. Many artists came to this event to support their producers and engineers friends who usually reside behind a mixing console.

Thursday was show day and after a full run through of dress rehearsals it was time for the show. While the lights in the arena dimmed and the Orchestra led by the maestro Dudamel played, Rene “Residente” Perez of Calle 13, armed with a SM58 in hand and the PSM1000, opened the show with a simple message, “I’d like to dedicate this song, to all of the Latin Americans that are here tonight, from the deepest part of my heart, and to everyone watching on TV throughout Latin America, I hope it transports to your barrios, to your streets, to your roots, to the pains of your countries and that you feel it here in your chest.” The song Calle 13 performed was “Latinoamérica” which later went on to win the Latin GRAMMY for song of the year. The song begins by saying…

“I am, I am what was left behind, I am the left overs of all that has been stolen, A village hidden in the peak, my skin is made of leather to withstand any climate. I am a factory of smoke, A peasant working hand for your consumption, a cold front in the middle of the summer, Love in the Time of Cholera, my brother… The sun that is born and the day that dies, with the most beautiful dawns…”

After a few more verses the chorus says…

“You cannot buy the wind, you cannot buy the sun, you cannot buy the rain, you cannot buy the warmth, you cannot buy the clouds, you cannot buy the colors, you cannot buy my happiness, you cannot buy my pain…”

These words received a very emotional standing ovation because it was a very fitting and touching way to start the show since it poetically describes the struggles that Latin America has faced and how it has conquered them with its people’s unity and resolve. Looking around the room I saw many tears in the eyes of those around me. It was the most powerful musical moment I have ever witnessed. After the performance, I stood their wondering how this was received on the other side of the TV throughout the millions of homes not only throughout “Latinoamérica” but also throughout the homes of Latinos around the world. Shortly after I started receiving messages from friends and family saying how beautiful that moment was.

Watch Calle 13 perform “Latinoamérica” at the 12th Annual Latin GRAMMY’s here.

Calle 13 would go on to take over the night by winning 9 out of 10 Latin GRAMMY’s they were nominated for giving them a record total of 19 Latin GRAMMY’s which surpassed Juanes’s old record of 17.  After winning the GRAMMY for Song of the Year, their 8^th time up to the stage to claim an award, Rene said to the crowd, “I don’t have words anymore, really this is incredible. I want to dedicate this award to Latin America because it taught me how to write this song, from Tijuana to Calafate. Cheers to a united Latin America.”

Shure’s new AXT200/KSM9 at the 12th Annual Latin GRAMMYs

Other Shure endorsers who won awards on the night included, Zoé of Mexico and Maná who each took two Latin GRAMMYs. Of the awards they won, Maná won the Latin GRAMMY for Best Rock Album, and Zoé won for Best Rock Song. Aline Barros of Brazil won the Latin GRAMMY for Best Christian Album (Portuguese).

Another highlight of the night was that Shure’s newest wireless system Axient hit the stage for performances with Shakira, Wisin and Yandel featuring Sean Kingston, Romeo Santos and Usher as well as Pepe Aguilar and Reyli. The night was full of other great performances and Shure microphones and PSM systems were the choice for most of the performers to hit Latin music’s biggest stage.

Watch Romeo Santos perform live with Axient at the 12th Annual Latin GRAMMYs here.

For a complete list of winners visit http://latingrammy.com

Nelson