[Dixielandjazz] response to Bob R. on "lyrics" & more

[philwilking]

With regard to the vocalist being buried, how many so-called "musicians" 
under the age of 70 these days have any idea of dynamic control? That is, 
drop your own volume by about 2/3 when backing up a vocalist (even if she is 
trying to swallow a microphone). Never mind the person on the mixing board 
who just throws all the gain sliders to the top with the intention of 
causing permanent hearing loss to everyone in the room. And then you have 
the trolls in the home office who "know" that louder is always better.

With regard to hearing the lyrics first, that is extremely common in country 
music also. In the popular mind, the lyric writer "wrote" the song, the 
music, such as it is, is just a convenient frame for the words

Back to dynamics. One of my best memories in dealing with a "sound guy" is 
the time I was in a banjo band which was supposed to follow a rock band 
outdoors at a church street fair. (No one was paying any attention to any 
bands, being more interested in stuffing their faces with "church ladies'" 
food.) I got there early and approached the sound guy to ask whether he had 
ever worked with an acoustic band. When he said "Yes," the look he gave me 
told me he was lying. So I kept at him until he got angry and turned off the 
board and stomped away. (I was significantly larger and beefier than he, so 
I was reasonably safe.) That was just what I wanted, as that gave us 
complete control of the dynamics, and what banjo band needs amplification 
anyway?

Phil Wilking - K5MZF
www.nolabanjo.com

Those who would exchange freedom for
security deserve neither freedom nor security.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Ron L'Herault

I suspect that one reason "normal" people hear the words first these days is 
that in today's music, there is not much except the words.  The rhythm is 
metronome-like, no swing, drumming with little variation or subtlety. 
Chords are few and repeated.  Even the lyrics are few and repetitive. 
Worse yet to my ears is how vocalists seem buried in the instrumental mix, 
rather than being out front of the other musicians.