kanker (aka Kevin Anker) played close by tonight and my wife and I saw his group perform. It's basically a blues band but they also throw in soul and a few 70's type tunes.

The singer, Tad Robinson, was absolutely first rate as was everyone else in the band. The drummer played time and threw in a few fills from time to time but basically just laid down a groove.

The bass player did his job extremely well and I especially enjoyed his sound which I call jukebox bass - no higher tones, just what you'd hear from a jukebox.

The solo guitar player played very well and took excellent solos.

Kevin nailed the style perfectly and took excellent solos as well.

This was a 90 minute show and the only thing I can fault would be the overall sound level; it was loud, not just a little too loud but way too loud.

Kevin and I spoke briefly. It was great to meet another forum member!

DH, it is great that you and your wife were able to catch Kanker's performance and meet him too.

It is unfortunate that some "sound men" believe everything is supposed to be loud nowadays.

Sound reinforcement needs more "sound engineers" with musical ears. Not folks who sacrifice the music in order to get off on what the speakers can do.

While speaker technology provides high SPL capabilities, it is possible to provide a sound the audience can hear and feel without making them deaf in the process.

Pardon the rant. I'm glad you all were able to see Kanker work. The man can play.

Very cool Dave.

Thanks!

Tom

I'm as excited for Kanker getting to meet you as I am for you getting to meet & hear him. Has any other forum member ever ventured into your neck of the woods?

Tad's a 1st rate singer- I've had the pleasure of hiring him to sing on a handful of jingles (& even blow harmonica on one). Great talent. Kanker, of course, rocks too.

Kevin is a very cool player. I had the privilege of meeting him at the House of Blues in Dallas a while back. One can tell by his impressive tour history that he can play. Nice going Kevin.

Dave, what a pleasure getting to meet you finally. You are a true gentleman, hanging out that long with music that loud to say goodbye. Hopefully next time I'm in the area we can sit down to a good meal or some coffee in a location a little more suitable for conversation. Your wife is a lovely woman, and please give her my regards.

I'm up (4:40 am here), showered, packed, and ready to head home. Got a few hours of good sleep last night, but not enough to stop me from sleeping a bit on the plane home, at least I hope - I don't fall asleep in vehicles very easily. Greasy hamburgers, BBQ, and mac and cheese, here I come!

Thanks again for coming Dave

Have a good trip back Kevin.

And Daviel - Happy Birthday!

ProfD said: It is unfortunate that some "sound men" believe everything is supposed to be loud nowadays.
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In my experience I have found that many sound men for touring groups have a severe hearing loss from working with those huge PA systems for years. To them the volume sounds fine...to other with good hearing it is usually far too lound.

I have toured all over Holland three times but regrettably it was before I was a member of this forum! I wish would make it back so I could also have the chance to play music that's too loud for DH!

Kevin, it was great to meet you!

I'll pass on some additional information that you might want to pass on to the tour promoter. My wife and I showed up at around 5:25 PM, twenty-five minutes or so after the first act started.

I did an estimate and thought that around 250 people were there. The place was packed when we entered late though the hand written numbers on the back of our tickets were 53 and 54. I didn't actually see those numbers until I got home. That seemed odd.

Regarding the sound levels, my wife brought along a pack of ear plugs for me since I'm always complaining about how loud most events are, but she used them for herself; I had my own. She had never used ear plugs before but she did last night.

If anyone from the local government were there, they would have used a decibel meter to measure the sound level and the sound man would have turned down or someone would have gotten a fine.

If I were in charge of the band, I would have asked the public, how's the sound level, does it need to be louder, softer, or is it just fine where it is?

The Dutch government is attacking this noise level problem head on so to speak. There's a genuine concern of the sound levels used by those who use mp3 players. We're going to have an entire generation of deaf folks ... with piercings and tattoos as well.

At any rate, I really enjoyed the music but it would have been infinitely more enjoyable if the sound level had been lower.

Everyone in the band did their job extremely well - no one over played and no one under played. Well done!

Totally cool that you guys were able to get together. I would love to see Kevin play at some club here, hopefully soon. It's unfortunate that the sound was was a bit much for the venue but despite that it begs the question...how was the piano stereo image?

Thank you, Joe - and I enjoyed meeting you, too.

I'm hoping next time we can spend more time together, maybe I can see you and one of your bands play.

I don't mean to side-track this thread, but:



A good soundman (audio engineer)carries a few tools with him to the console. One tool is an inexpensive (e.g., Radio Shack) sound pressure meter. It may not be precise or accurate, but is consistent enough to provide objectivity to the engineer, in order to keep an objective handle on how loud the overall volume is: 96 dB SPL? 104 dB SPL? 110 dB SPL? Just how loud is it? When people complain, looking at the meter is a good objective reference for the soundman. Now, "blare" is another issue altogether.

On another note, how was Kanker's MONO image?

Yeah, Dave and I were able to talk (yell) about this briefly (as the cd player blared music through the mains). With the ever growing trend for smoking bans, I think we should hope that there will be a growing trend for dB maximums. As Dave says, there's going to be a generation of deaf folks, particularly my age and younger, thanks to massively overpowered car stereos, ridiculously loud PA's and mp3 players. I think for a musician of my years of experience, I'm fortunate to have significantly less hearing loss than most. My ears are noisy, but they don't ring - yet. I definitely need to get proper, professional plugs, and I need to get a little better at taming my own stage volume sometimes.

Those ticket numbers are interesting. Perhaps some new math at work? I believe we were payed a flat rate, but I don't bother myself with those details too much. I get payed an up front, agreed upon fee for each tour that is quite fair.

Thanks again Dave, for your presence and your compliments!

Kevin, when you were in Holland did you get a chance to eat any stroopwafels? I meant to bring a package of some for you but it was Sunday and the stores were closed.

When I first moved here my wife bought a package of them from the market and I ate the entire package of ten in one sitting ... and they were larger than the ones in the photo; lots of butter and sugar, but they are tasty.

We did not, although I believe I have had something similar. Nothing that looks that deliciously gooey though...

BTW - the whole Sunday and the stores are closed is hard to get used to as an American, much less the lack to 24 hour shopping. People have to plan a little more in Europe than we do in the US, and that may not be such a bad thing.

'
Is this true that all the stores are closed on Sundays?

That really surprises me in such a liberal country as Holland.


I thought it was bad here in England that stores are only allowed to open for 6hrs (they can choose whatever 6hrs they like).

(I say England, rather that UK, 'cos I believe our Scottish 'friends' have different laws on this).

.

Not everything is closed. The local government will set aside so many 'shopping Sundays', but food stores are closed.

There are small food stores in train stations that are open on Sundays. If you need milk or bread ... or cigarettes, you go to a large train station and the small Albert Heijn will be open.

This entire 'closed on Sundays' deal is being discussed here ... and it does surprise me as well that a liberal country such as Holland has most stores closed on Sundays.

Cafés, bars, and restaurants are typically opened on Sundays.

Congrats on the tour, Kanker, and on your bands success. I enjoyed some of the videos on your home page. Check out your web site calendar. It appears like it does not have the current dates up. Cheers!

Exactly.

Unfortunately, as Kanker mentioned, folks have gotten used to loud music. It is reflected from the studio to stage.

Recordings are mixed hotter, compressed and pumped up to blare through the speakers. I'm not advocating Muzak volume levels.

But, I do think an SPL meter and mixing the music in such a way that folks can dance and/or hold a conversation i.e. enjoy while listening is possible.

A combination of loud volume and spit in the ears certainly can't be good for long-term hearing.

As musos and listeners, we can help to bring the volume down.

Exactly

The US should bring back the blue laws IMHO. It's a quality of life issue. Open late two nights a week and closed from Sat at 5:00 PM until Monday at 9:00 AM. Who needs a nation of consumerist mall rats?

Ummm, the Fortune 500?

--Dave

Hey Dave H, I'm jealous that you got to see kanker's band. I missed them when they were at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. That's a great room and I really meant to go see them there, but something came up and I didn't go.

The sad thing is, I don't even remember what came up now. Which to me is a clear indication that I prioritized incorrectly. I'm sure that if I had gone to see kanker, I would remember doing so today. <sigh>

--Dave

Sounds like agood time with some good music! I've also checked out the videos on your page, Kevin; they were quite good!



ZOMFGSHZ! STROOPWAFELS! YUM!

+1. I spent 6 months in Sweden, and it took me a while to get used to the store hours. It's even worse in the summer season, where some shops are only open 2-3hrs, and never seem to be the same from day to day.
They're definitely not as mired in the rat race however.