AudioMedia - December 2008 - (Page 70) 12|08 AM THE EX FACTOR Extreme: Live At The Corn Exchange 90’s funk-metallers Extreme have been the subject of significant internet-based hype lately, attracting a wide spectrum of supporters to their current Take Us Alive tour dates. DAVID MACKENZIE goes backstage to find the secrets of their recent success. welve years on since their last live tour, ’s funkmetallers Extreme are out to prove that they’ve still got it. Original band-members Gary Cherone, Nuno Bettencourt, and Pat Badger have reunited, along with newcomer Kevin Figueiredo, for the Take Us Alive world tour, coinciding with the release of the band’s new studio album, Saudades de Rock, released earlier this year. Although it’s been a while since the entire group has performed together, they have gone on to participate separately in other high-profile projects. Cherone spent three years as lead vocalist for Van Halen, whilst Nuno Bettencourt has had mixed solo success, and maintained a reputation as one of the world’s guitar heroes. I caught up with Front Of House Engineer Joe Brown, and Monitor Engineer Jay Phebus, before their show on November 11, at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, to discover what lay behind the rifftastic sound of Extreme’s recent success. T approach a little soulless – the only judgement I can make is that the show sounded great. Technician Tetris While they may still have some convincing to do before they win over the most die-hard of analogue junkies, the benefits in terms of space reduction are undeniable. During Extreme’s current Take Us Alive World Tour, the pair have set up in a wide range of venues, from large theatres to small clubs. For the club dates, the small footprint of the consoles has been a major advantage. “It can fit into places that no other consoles can fit into,” explained Phebus. “Especially when you factor in all of the dynamics. I mean, where in the world would you put all the processing racks? It just wouldn’t happen. I set up the other night in a little DJ booth in Belfast. It was so small; I was literally in a 6-foot wide, 4-foot deep barrier, which most consoles wouldn’t even fit in, and I had both the stage boxes. I sat on one for the whole show while mixing on the console.” The setup for the evening found Monitor Engineer Jay Phebus on an iLive , and FOH Engineer Joe Brown on an iLive . They used an analogue split on the audio leaving the stage, leading to a dedicated iDR- stage box for each control surface, giving them total freedom to get on with their own thing. Looking around Brown’s FOH booth, I was surprised to find a total lack of outboard. It turned out that the show was entirely dependant on the internal effects of the iLive 112. The guys insisted that it was totally capable. “It’s so much better than all of the racks full of marginal crap that you have to deal with in this profession,” insisted Phebus. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a relief that is.” He makes a good argument; every input has a gate, parametric EQ, compressor, limiter, and delay. However, some might find the digital-minimalist The S etup > 70 AUDIO MEDIA DECEMBER 2008
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