The Sixth Man- Ryan Pickett

[johnnYYac]

Ever since my second MMJ show, I make it a point to check in with Ryan Pickett, the front-of-house sound engineer, the man behind the board.  Of course, he's not alone in bringing the energy of live MMJ to our ears, but I've always appreciated his accessibility.  In Portland, when the boys were down in the hotel lobby gearing up to head to the Ramble in Woodstock, Ryan was with 'em, called my name, and is just as friendly and respectful as Bo, Jim, Carl, Tommy, and Patrick.

Here are a few articles I dug up on Ryan and some of the others responsible for bringing the live sound to the boys on stage and to the fans.  Next time you hit a show, stop by the board and give Ryan and the crew some love.



http://mixonline.com/live/tourprofiles/morning-jacket-tour-profile/

http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/vel14/2007/10/lp-questionnaire-ryan-pickett.html

http://www.sonicscoop.com/tag/ryan-pickett/

[weeniebeenie]

When MMJ were in Oz I met Ryan, Dave Kissner and Eric Mayers. They were all incredibily nice people.

[EasyRyder]

"Drummer Patrick Hallahan, with his long hair backlit like a flaming halo, likes a "wall of sound" out of his monitors: "[highlight]He gets a full stereo mix behind him because he wants to hear everything, even over his own drums.[/highlight] He gets enough to rock his seat, but not enough to rock him off the riser."

AWESOME. I've always thought of Patrick as the beating heart of the band whenever I see them live (Jim always finds a way to swagger back to Patrick during intense jams, Bo is constantly looking at him, Tom absorbs the vibrations through the whole show too), and to now know that he actually is tuned into everyone else is really great.

To keep this on theme, Ryan seems like a cool guy judging by the articles. I can't imagine having to make all of that loudness sound so well-mixed. I'll make sure to pay him a visit next time. Thanks Johhny!

[walterfredo]

I couldn't agree more Johnny, he is super nice.  Never knew is actual name, but for the ISM night at T5 we snagged the space in the back of the floor right up against the soundboard barrier, so he was literally 2 feet from me for the entire show.  I chatted with him before the show and briefly after, and he was extremely nice and engaging.  I gave him a little gift for his efforts, and he was very gracious.  Great guy!

[ChiefOKONO]

Thank you, this is awesome stuff!!

[johnnYYac]

This topic needs revival, as I look forward to seeing Ryan next week in Montreal and Ottawa.  Reading the notes of the taper of the Santa Barbara show, yet another example of what a cool dude Ryan is.

NOTES

Source info
Recording Made using 3 Mic. Mix
2 Sennheiser MKH8050's-V3-Digital out-Dr 680
1 Rode NT6 Cardiod Down the Center-Littlebox Transformer Pre
3 Channel Mix and mastering done using Wave Lab 6 (Normalization, Center Channel Phase reversal, and Tracking)
Mic's Set at Mix Position.
Ryan the Bands Sound Engineer was nice enough to allow me to set up on platform where board was but also lent me 3 xlr cables which i mistakenly left out of my bag.

[subinai]

This is awesome stuff. Thanks JohnnYY