For decades, Sammy Hagar has been considered one of rock and roll’s all-time great lead singers and musicians. He has now been honoured for his philanthropic work at the annual Adopt the Arts Rock Gala at the Avalon Theatre in Hollywood with Kings of Chaos FOH Engineer and Production Manager Greg Rideout choosing a selection of DPA Microphones for the event.
Adopt the Arts co-founder, and former drummer for Guns n’ Roses and Velvet Revolver, Matt Sorum, took to the stage along with an all-star lineup of some of the biggest names in rock and roll, featuring Matt Sorum, Steve Stevens, Billy Duffy, Dean and Robert DeLeo, Kenny Aronoff, Michael Anthony, Paul Ill, Steve Luthaker, Phil X, Bernard Fowler, Damon Fox, Stevie Salas, Billy Gibbons and Frankie Perez.
“This particular gig had many challenging components, including dual drum kits, over 8 guitar rigs, a kids’ choir plus a complete audio input interface with redundant stereo program feeds to AXS TV for Sammy’s show,” said Rideout. “From the beginning, the level of support I received from the DPA team has been incredible. DPA delivered the mics and the company was there for me every step of the way. DPA completely covered my input list. Sound Image Nashville was a big help in dealing with time constraints on the day of show by letting me come into the shop and pre-program the console.”
In total, Rideout used 6 DPA Microphones’ d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones, 9 d:dicate 2011C Cardioid Microphones and 6 d:facto 4018V Supercardioid Microphones for vocal. The d:vote 4099s were used on all toms for drummers Matt Sorum and Kenny Aronoff’s kits. The d:dicate 2011Cs were used on all cymbals and choir (rides, high hats and overheads) and the d:facto 4018V mics and capsules were used on all wired vocals, the main wireless vocal mic and the MC’s wireless mic.
“DPA sent me an arsenal of mics,” Rideout continued. “They have such a great sound, are small, easy to deploy, travel well and handle very high SPL levels with gain before feedback. They are such transparent mics that sound so natural. DPA mics are also very reliable, which is important because they allow me to focus solely on my mix. With the DPAs, I don’t have to colour or decolour a lot of the microphone inputs. I just use a little bit of high pass and low pass filter and very minimal EQ. In addition, the mounting hardware and accessories are amazing. DPA is definitely the main microphone in my inventory.”
“It was an honour that Abby and Matt entrusted me to mix a cast of legendary rock stars,” concluded Rideout. “It was challenging, in a good way, and all parties involved worked really well together. Everybody came together and really made this a great event and it was a pleasure to be involved.”