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Entec Sound
Out The Kings of Leon
Back to Headlines
Entec Sound supplied a d &
b audio system and crew to cult
US band The Kings of Leon, for
their first - totally sold out
- UK production tour.
Their unique country 'n' blues
style, rock 'n' roll is taking
the music world by storm. The
band - three Followill brothers
and a first cousin aged between
17 and 24 - hail from Tennessee.
Their father was a Pentecostal
evangelist preacher, so they
were raised in an environment
where music is celebrated a
proactive and expressive element
of life. Signed to RCA, the
Kings of Leon look set for massive
success.
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Brent Rawlings is the band's FOH
engineer and production manager. He
started working with them in November
2002. At the time, they were looking
for someone who could mix sound and
offer a number of other on-the-road
skills - like production and tour
managing, driving the truck, etc ..
However as the band have gained popularity,
he has been able to concentrate increasingly
on the sound, as more crew have come
onboard.
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Kings of Leon have played the
UK twice previously this year,
but used house systems, and this
time they stepped up to touring
their own production. When Rawlings
was casting around for a sound
company, Entec was recommended
by several sources, so he asked
them - and others - to bid, and
Entec won that process.
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He
specifically wanted a d & b system because
they'd used one when supporting The
Strokes earlier in the year, and Kings
of Leon sounded great through the system.
There was the additional benefit of
it being a sensibly sized system, and
versatile and adaptable enough for the
wide variety of venues they were playing
- ranging from London's Brixton Academy
to Nottingham's Rock City.
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Entec's Dick Hayes managed
the tour from their end, supplying
20 d & b boxes - a mix of 402
subs and tops and B2 subs, plus
C7 tops and subs for the side
fills. The consoles were both
Midas XL3s, and the monitor
system was an Entec APW wedge
system, two for each band member
and a third - with the top end
de-selected - for the drummer.
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Out front, Rawlings
mixed the sound as 'pure' as possible,
with very few effects, just one repeating
delay - used once, "I take their sound
and just make it bigger" he states,
adding that d & b is the ideal system
for helping make this happen. He used
standard KT graphics which were touched
as little as possible.
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The band themselves also get
very involved with how they
want to sound through the PA,
"They are highly descriptive"
about what they want, says Rawlings,
which he then interprets technically
and sonically through the desk.
They all play vintage 1970s
guitars which sound rich and
beautiful, and enhance the overall
roundedness of the sound.
Needless to say, VERY LOUD
onstage is the order of the
day! The monitor system also
features KT graphics, and Entec's
Liam Halpin, co-opted as monitor
engineer, utilised Presonus
gates on some channels, and
a CL44 compressor featuring
a 'nice' optical emulator giving
the sound of a valve device.
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Rawlings
is impressed with the service from Entec,
who he says, have paid plenty of attention
to the small details as well as the
bigger picture, and all the equipment
has been in excellent condition. Entec's
systems tech and FOH babysitter was
Spike Maloney.
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The Kings of Leon rounded off
a phenomenally busy end-of-year
for Entec Sound, that also saw
them service Blur, The Bootleg
Beatles, Dexy's Midnight Runners,
Amici (The "Opera Band") and The
Saw Doctors. The latter was in
conjunction with Concert Sound,
with Entec supplying FOH and control,
and Concert Sound monitors and
stacks.
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