Click here for part 1 | Click here for part 2 | Ireland, Scotland, & England

Okay, I am going to cheat here and tell you about the last show of my tour with Suicidal Tendencies, because it was so great. Imagine being out on a plain in the middle of Spain, it’s late at night, and the band you’re with hits the Rock Machina festival stage while a full moon hangs in the sky overhead! And a crowd of thousands of rockeros goes totally insane!

Doumé Septier

I also want to take this opportunity to say that, for years, people were indoctrinating me with a bunch of propaganda about how dangerous Spain is, compared to other European countries. Right before we left England to fly to the Rock Machina date, I finally asked our French merch guy, the King of France, and a monster MC, Dominic “Doumé” Septiere, if all that was true. He looked at me with an amused smile, and said no, Spain is pretty much like any other country. Because, really, you can get a bad system, or be robbed, in the hinterlands of any state in the U.S., or for that matter, in France, Canada, Germany, or Mexico. All the Spanish people I dealt with were there to do their jobs, the same as in any hotel, airport, or festivaI that I have ever been to, in any other country.

One of the most pleasurable moments in the last few years of my mixing life took place, when I unmuted my inputs on a Midas Heritage, after the line check, and went for it. Let’s hear it for Barcelona’s Twin Cam Audio, and their fine assortment of Meyer MSL-6’s, DS-2’s, 650-P’s, and MSL-5’s! They put up a lovely system! The overall tone was so rich, strong, and inspiring, I thanked FOH tech Edu Arribas repeatedly. His colleague Pere Valles took good care of ST on stage in the monitors, as well.

Chris Kathman and Mike Clark, Rock Machina 2002

Pere Valles and Edu Arribas of Twin Cam

I have talked about a certain phenomenon before, when I used to write for Pro Sound News. That is, I have mixed on “name” systems that metered flat, but were frustrating and unmusical. I have also run into systems in out-of-the-way clubs that some veteran has labored over, until some unfashionable components combine, and are tuned, in such a way that the human voice - and real-world instruments, rather than a test tone - are flattered and framed in an incredibly wonderful manner. The rig in Spain was like a giant version of those hot-rodded club setups.

Bouyer 100-volt paging speakers in Madrid airport

Twin Cam also supplied a Meyer box that I had never seen before, the four-way full-range MTS-4, part of their self-powered series. These were used for sidefills, and each one incorporates 18, 15, and 12 inch speakers, and a 2” compression driver. Can I get two of these for my home stereo? Or maybe those Bouyer speakers that I spotted in Madrid airport, which sure looked cool, although I did not get to hear any program material through them. I would like to mention a practical topic to watch out for, which I had not been aware of, and that is weight limitations on the baggage that each passenger is allowed on intra-European flights. My previous trips to Europe all entailed flying to a major city, getting on a tour bus, driving around and doing a bunch of shows, and then taking another international flight back to the States. We were quite startled to be told at Gatwick that we each could take 20 kilos of luggage to Spain, and more than that would be charged as excess.

My big rolling bag full of clothes for a couple weeks on a bus definitely weighs 20 kilos (about 40 pounds) by itself, and so does my smaller roller, with all my tools in it. Two of the guys each had a main suitcase plus two guitars apiece, gaffed together to count as one. You get the picture. The problem was, these folks do not go by the two pieces per person rule that almost all U.S. domestic flights enforce.

Laura Sanchez and C.K.

My new friend Laura Sanchez received a large number of calls from me on her cell phone, as she worked in Valencia, coordinating the arrival of many different bands. Off we went, stopping in Madrid, and then proceeding to the Vora Fira hotel in Valencia, where I was happy to find out that I could make a dial-up Internet connection easily.

Both sending and receiving worked OK; I had just been through some frustrating days in the UK where I could get my messages, but not send any. The Earthlink webmail page then becomes a very useful device.

Laura Sanchez set up her “office” at the Vora Fira front desk the next morning, coordinating shuttles to the festival site in Moncofa, about forty miles away, and just dealing with all the inane little issues that bands at festivals inevitably generate. She was a champion, a saint, an angel, and it was our good fortune to be the beneficiaries of her resourcefullness and constant willingness to help.

The crowd hailed ST as conquering heroes - it is always nice to wrap up a tour with a strong show. I still can’t get over how exciting that system sounded. I certainly hope to return to Spain again someday, and when I do, you can bet I will be requesting Twin Cam!