Following on from his hit single, End of Beginning, Djo – the stage name of American actor and musician, Joe Keery – and his six-piece band hit the road with a scalable production design curated by creative studio, Human Person, with lighting delivered by Colour Sound Experiment and audio supplied by Triplex Productions. TPi heads to Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse to get an insight into the making and mixing of the tour.
The artist’s rise in popularity saw his management team get in touch with Only Helix, who appointed Tour and Production Manager, Dan McKay to oversee the tour’s execution.
“One of the great things about this tour has been the rare opportunity to build it from a blank slate straight into a 10-person-strong crew, it has been special for the band to be able to start their touring career playing, and selling out venues of up to 6,000 people,” McKay said.
This support extends beyond the crew, with McKay praising the consistency of the tour’s technical suppliers on both sides of the Atlantic. “They have gone above and beyond what we expected, they are just as invested in the project as we are, and to be in that position is incredible and truly seamless for our operation on tour,” McKay added. “We even have the privilege of having Triplex’s Senior Account Manager on the run as our Monitor Engineer, which has given us a direct line to audio support if we need it.”
Monitor Engineer, Barney Cushman mixed on a Solid State Logic SSL 350 Plus console bolstered by a Sourcerer plug-in. “Sonically, we decided this console would be a good fit,” he said. “The SSL stage rack design and ADPSM format allow us to have 64 channels of audio and 14 IEM mixes all within a double 12U rack. Perfect for wheeling on and off festival stages.”
Six wired sE Electronics microphones and a Shure Axient Digital RF microphone with sE Electronics V7 capsules made up the mic package with 64 Audio A12T and A6T in-ear moulds adorned by the seven-piece band, covered by an Axient Digital PSM in-ear monitoring system. “The support from Ricky and Jared at 64 Audio has been amazing in getting us on the road,” Cushman said.
The artist’s longtime producer, Adam Thein, also toured with the band, acting as one of the many moving parts on stage. “Having him on the road has been exciting for me as we can delve into the vision of the album. The entire band was involved in the album-making process, so it’s trying to recreate it in their ears for them, which is a fun challenge for me,” Cushman said, further citing the support of the tour’s audio supplier and his employer, Triplex. “I’ve been with the company for four years, and it has been great and for this particularly tour, I’ve been directly involved in fixing problems as they arise.”
The benefit of having Cushman as a direct line on the tour also extends to FOH Engineer, Anna Dahlin, who also mixed on a Solid State Logic SSL 350 console. “They have an invested interest in making the package easy to deal with. The way their audio packages are put together is both space-efficient for travel, and time-efficient when loading in and getting ready for show,” the engineer said.
“The band is very vocal-driven, so it’s important to get clarity on both Joe’s microphone and the six backing vocals. This is where the SSL Sourcerer has been very useful to get rid of inevitable stage noise on the vocal channels. It’s a very rewarding show to mix with many intricate keyboard parts and stringed instruments carefully arranged.”
According to Dahlin, the band are attuned to how they want the gig to sound – with sound levels sometimes even hitting 104dB given the loudness of the adoring crowd. The engineer elaborated: “Given that they are relatively new to shows of this level – it’s interesting to be able to guide them and show them why certain things sound better in a live environment.”
In the build-up to the tour, Dahlin – who was mixing the show on an SSL 350 console for the first time – was supported by Solid State Logic’s Jen Watman and Sam Bath, who were on hand amid production rehearsals and on-site for the first few shows.
“When you jump on something you’re not 100% on, it feels good to know that the team at SSL are there to support us. Jen was basically a walking manual, who knew the answers to every single one of our questions,” she laughed.
Having had an extensive history mixing in the pop and dance world, the move to mixing Djo changed the FOH Engineer’s workflow, she explained: “It’s an interesting change. Pop and dance shows often have a foundation of playback, with a live band functioning as an added layer on top. This is different since it’s a live band with minimal playback. The only parts coming from a track are sound effects and some minor parts that nobody on stage has time or spare hands to play,” Dahlin said. “With a fully live band, there are more changes from day to day, which ultimately leads to more involved mixing.”
Having successfully navigated both sides of the pond, Cushman was reflective about the close of the band’s latest inaugural live chapter: “It’s an excellent show, with a fun rock band that is still finding their feet but still absolutely dominating the stage while they figure it out. It’s fun for us as crew, so to have that passed on to the crowd is all we can ask for.”
Words: Alicia Pollitt
Photo: TPi
