Toys for Tots Benefit: Jimmy Wayne @ Chumash Casino Resort

[DwightMcCann]

As I noted in my previous Toys for Tots thread, I shot a benefit at the Chumash Casino Resort that brought in $30,000 and featured three Big Machine Record artists. This post is of Jimmy Wayne, a young man who lived through a terrible childhood, pulled himself up by the bootstraps, became a correctional officer and finally has gravitated to country music. So, with no further ado:

#1 I have come to dislike those monitors/speakers always spread across the front of the stage:
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Downloads/Chumash/Jimmy800/JimmyWayne0004.JPG

#2
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Downloads/Chumash/Jimmy800/JimmyWayne0021.JPG

#3
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Downloads/Chumash/Jimmy800/JimmyWayne0051.JPG

#4 When he gets excited, he laughs!
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Downloads/Chumash/Jimmy800/JimmyWayne0052.JPG


#5
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Downloads/Chumash/Jimmy800/JimmyWayne0070.JPG

#6
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Downloads/Chumash/Jimmy800/JimmyWayne0082.JPG

#7
http://www.dwightmccann.com/Downloads/Chumash/Jimmy800/JimmyWayne0096.JPG

[taygull]

Again, the blue bacground is perfect...HEY LIGHTING GUYS take a look!

Great stuff Dwight, I would have liked to see some from an angle where the monitor does not cutt off the feet. I hate monitors as they are really not needed for this level of musicain and venue. They should have in ear monitors.

[DwightMcCann]

Chris, in every one where I was between monitors something was wrong with Jimmy ... blurred, eyes closed, etc. I actually think that those boxes are speakers for people in the front rows and should be mounted below the stage floor ... I'm going ask, not that it will change anything but I am curious.

[Edit: The LD at the casino is superb! When he designs the lighting it is always superb. Sometimes the talent brings their own people in and that is often a disaster. I have heard our guy, Rich, make a trivial suggestion to their guy and the reaction was thermonuclear so Rich walked away ... later the artist and audience both were unhappy with the lighting and the guy blamed it on Rich not being helpful! The casino keeps only first rate staff.]

[johnstoy]

Yes, I agree with this lighting scenario as in the other post from these shoots...However those speaker boxes really spoil the show for many sitting in the front row...and taking photos around them leaves out a lot of good opportunities...

[taygull]

Chris, in every one where I was between monitors something was wrong with Jimmy ... blurred, eyes closed, etc. I actually think that those boxes are speakers for people in the front rows

I think you will be suprised to see they don't have anything to do with what the crowd hears. Monitors are important and I understand them as I do some gigging myself. I just think that "national acts" should respect the show enough to use other options.

The Vince Gill show I shot was a joke, he had two huge monitors in front of him. The entire front portion of the stage was setup with these.

[DwightMcCann]

Um, I will be very surprised if they are monitors rather than speakers ... they are in place even when every member of a band has earphones on, and when I stand in front of them they sure have a lot of sound coming out.

[taygull]

Um, I will be very surprised if they are monitors rather than speakers ... they are in place even when every member of a band has earphones on, and when I stand in front of them they sure have a lot of sound coming out.

Which way are the grills facing? That is what will tell you.

OK, what are we going to bet?

I say...monitors!

[snedigity]

What lens were you using with these pictures Dwight?

[johnstoy]

I stand corrected...Monitors, they must be...just saw the fronts of them on a concert presentation of "Heart"...There is clearly, script on the front screen of these "pain in the neck" boxes...

[Rjohnston]

Love them all.

[murphman]

Even if the band does not use them as monitors, the people in the front rows still hear the sound out of them. Depending on the placement, sometimes they hear more of the monitors than of the main array. The technical term is "front fill." In many venues without seating, when the engineer doesn't use the monitors, you'll often see an unintentional space between the band and the audience. They move back because they can't hear the music!

And nice pics Dwight.

[DwightMcCann]

Sned, there is EXIF and IPTC in all the images. If you aren't comfortable with getting at the EXIF then we want to help you ... there are plugins for most browsers free at Opanda.com and it is something that is too useful to not to have in hand. Speak up if you need help. Oh, the EXIF will contain lens and exposure and camera information.

John, I will be asking at the casino.

Richard, thanks.

Murphman, thanks! So, does that make them monitors or speakers? :-)

[taygull]

Well,

A monitor is a speaker. Here in Texas a monitor is a speaker that is used for the benefit of the performer, this allows him to tell the sound engineer what "mix" he wants to hear, very important so they can tell if they are on "pitch", most of the time you hear a very good singer sound not so good is usually because they can not hear themselves well enough. Usually they will want the instrument they are playing and their voice to have more presence then the sound engineer would put to the "mains", which are speakers for the audience (at least here in this part of the country).

I've never heard a musician or sound engineer ask for info or feedback on the "front fill" even though it might be a more accurate term. My honest opinion is if it is defined as front "fill" then the sound would be more for the audience then the performer.

You may have noticed on occasion a performer looking towards the soundboard and pointing up or down. Most of the time he is asking for more or less volume in his "monitor", whether it is in ear or on the floor in front of him/her.

[Croasdail]

Hey Tall Dude.... never noticed your site before.... very nice. Just thought I would mention it.

Back to your regular programming now.....

[narlus]

dwight, #5 and 6 are great; love the blue lighting and the contrast between spot and background. #7 is a very nice shot too, though i'd go for a tighter crop myself.

i agree that monitors are tough, but so are mic stands...no getting around either of them in my world.

j mascis (dinosaur jr) had the largest monitor i've ever seen in use; clearly it was his own, and it looked pretty old too.

http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/p652608186-4.jpg

[taygull]

Hey Tall Dude.... never noticed your site before.... very nice. Just thought I would mention it.

Back to your regular programming now.....


Hey, "croasdail"....thanks....but it is "Taygull" not Tall Dude...

It comes from..."Tay"lor and sea"gull" guitars.

[DwightMcCann]

Narlus, thanks! The lighting was blue for these guys but they also did some other colors for the other parts of the event.

[murphman]

Well,

A monitor is a speaker. Here in Texas a monitor is a speaker that is used for the benefit of the performer, this allows him to tell the sound engineer what "mix" he wants to hear, very important so they can tell if they are on "pitch", most of the time you hear a very good singer sound not so good is usually because they can not hear themselves well enough. Usually they will want the instrument they are playing and their voice to have more presence then the sound engineer would put to the "mains", which are speakers for the audience (at least here in this part of the country).

I've never heard a musician or sound engineer ask for info or feedback on the "front fill" even though it might be a more accurate term. My honest opinion is if it is defined as front "fill" then the sound would be more for the audience then the performer.

You may have noticed on occasion a performer looking towards the soundboard and pointing up or down. Most of the time he is asking for more or less volume in his "monitor", whether it is in ear or on the floor in front of him/her.

All true. The musicians rarely care about the front fills, as they have no bearing on their performance. Bigger venues, especially with flown arrays (hanging from the ceiling) need them. Again, the audience at the stage can barely hear the mains.

Notice in pic #4, the box on the floor on the left doesn't appear to be leaning towards the performer. It's sitting on one of it's big sides, which means it's probably firing straight ahead towards the audience. The other boxes are angled towards the performer.

This has been a message from "Pro Audio Geeks of America." We now resume your regularly scheduled programming...

[Croasdail]

Hey, "croasdail"....thanks....but it is "Taygull" not Tall Dude...

It comes from..."Tay"lor and sea"gull" guitars.

Whoops... (head dropped in shame)... sorry about that. Still a good site.

[DwightMcCann]

Yes, Murph, the casino has "flown arrays" ... a tall stack of speakers hanging from the ceiling, one on each side ... the bottom speaker is probably ten feet up or more, way over the heads of the front rows, which is why I think these things on the stage are speakers.

[Ladylynn]

Great shots, Dwight! But, newbie that I am to these boards, I've already learned to watch for your posts. Your pictures are always wonderful.

Based on the angle of the box in front of Jimmy in #1, #5, #6, I would guess these are monitor speakers, or at least that particular one is. My husband is a live sound engineer -- I can ask him when he gets home.

[DwightMcCann]

Thanks, Lynn ... I can ask the sound guys next time I am at the casino ... probably not until New Year'e Eve at this point! :-)

[murphman]

Great shots, Dwight! But, newbie that I am to these boards, I've already learned to watch for your posts. Your pictures are always wonderful.

Based on the angle of the box in front of Jimmy in #1, #5, #6, I would guess these are monitor speakers, or at least that particular one is. My husband is a live sound engineer -- I can ask him when he gets home.

Yes, those are monitors. There is one box that's not angled though. Still, some venues still use the monitors to provide some front fill, which they can do without facing the audience. Also, some performers, even if they have in-ears, will still use their wedges to push some air in their face, as it were. Old habits die hard!

And in the end, it all doesn't really matter! Can we ge back to talking about photography? :lol:

[alan_potter]

I normally am not terribly interested in photographs of males performing; girls seem to be so much better at facial expressions, at smiles, and at just overall looking great.

But #4 here is an exception. He just looks so happy to be there and doing what he's doing. It's infectious even on a photograph; it must have been electrifying on stage.

Brilliant moment, expertly captured - well done!

But I have a question. Are country singers allowed to have such long hair? Isn't it a bit... well, you know...? <grin/duck>

regards,
/alan

[taygull]

I normally am not terribly interested in photographs of males performing; girls seem to be so much better at facial expressions, at smiles, and at just overall looking great.

But #4 here is an exception. He just looks so happy to be there and doing what he's doing. It's infectious even on a photograph; it must have been electrifying on stage.

Brilliant moment, expertly captured - well done!

But I have a question. Are country singers allowed to have such long hair? Isn't it a bit... well, you know...? <grin/duck>

regards,
/alan

You must be out of touch with the country singers of today;) , long hair short hair, no hair...they are no different than society!

[alan_potter]

I confess that the last country singer I listened to was Jimmy Buffett... and I'm not sure I've listened to many prior to that. A mother in law who adores Tammy Wynette is just too much for me...!

regards,
/alan

[DwightMcCann]

I normally am not terribly interested in photographs of males performing; girls seem to be so much better at facial expressions, at smiles, and at just overall looking great.

But #4 here is an exception. He just looks so happy to be there and doing what he's doing. It's infectious even on a photograph; it must have been electrifying on stage.

Brilliant moment, expertly captured - well done!

But I have a question. Are country singers allowed to have such long hair? Isn't it a bit... well, you know...? <grin/duck>

regards,
/alan

Actually, I think we refer to such hairdo's as "Big Hair" in Texas! :-) Truth to tell I think he was laughing at his own joke ... he certainly has and tells stories. My experience with country singers is that they have fewer tattoos and piercings but about the same diversity of hair as other musicians. My wife loved his hair. Two of the girls in the audience asked me if I knew whether he insured his hair. I think getting that much mileage from your hairdo as a guy is about like Dolly's boob job!

[murphman]

I normally am not terribly interested in photographs of males performing; girls seem to be so much better at facial expressions, at smiles, and at just overall looking great.

But #4 here is an exception. He just looks so happy to be there and doing what he's doing. It's infectious even on a photograph; it must have been electrifying on stage.

Brilliant moment, expertly captured - well done!

But I have a question. Are country singers allowed to have such long hair? Isn't it a bit... well, you know...? <grin/duck>

regards,
/alan

Willie Nelson. And his hair is even braided!