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All photography by Carol Rosegg
Sound Design
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By Bryan Reesman
Amping Up
Power Balladz
Alex Ritter shares how he got that ‘80s sound just right in an unforgiving
room and an unpredictable show.
Following in the wake of the success of Rock Of Ages—though
reportedly thought up in a mere 18 hours about a decade ago,
beer being a key stimulant—Power Balladz combines nostalgia,
comedy and karaoke into a show designed to appeal to children of
the ‘80s. The basic premise is simple: two guys who were not cool
enough to be rockers back in the day front a band where they get to
sing their favorite power ballads. But during their performance they
discover that an old high school classmate (and unrequited flame
to one of them) is there, and she unexpectedly becomes involved
in their act. Will love blossom, friendship endure and power ballads
reign supreme? It’s a hokey shtick, but it’s meant to be. To top things
off, theatregoers are invited to participate in a karaoke session with
the full backing band after the 90-minute show ends.
The impressive aspect of Power Balladz is how sound designer
Alex Ritter managed to create a full, balanced sound with three singers
and five musicians onstage, even though they are crammed into
a 200-seat cabaret setting (the Midtown Theater) beneath a comedy
club that was clearly not meant for live music. The guitar work and
solos are crisp and clear, and the bass and drums do not overwhelm
the mix. We caught up with Ritter to learn how he did it.
Stage Directions: The show’s sound design strikes the right balance
between musical muscle and ear-friendly listening. How
tricky was it to mix a rock show for a small comedy club venue?
Alex Ritter: I would say mixing a rock show in any small space is
very challenging. The biggest challenge is stage volume; the amount
of sound coming off the stage almost dictates how loud the show is
going to be. On most shows the loudest instrument on stage is the
drums; luckily we were able to put him behind a shield. My biggest
fear with Power Balladz was that it was going to turn into mush as
soon as we turned things up, so when we first started our mix we
started with nothing on. I was then able to determine what was
going to dictate my level and build the mix around that. This allowed
us to keep a comfortable mix without creating chaos. It also gives us
a relatively large amount of headroom to boost solos and fine details
in the songs. I also played with the mic position on the guitar amps
for quite some time; I wanted to get the right balance of crisp, clean
sound versus punch. In retrospect, I would probably add another mic
on the guitar amps in order to get a better mix from song to song.
What kind of mics and transmitters are you using for the various
band members?
Because of my background in rock ‘n’ roll, I had a pretty good
idea of what kind of mics I wanted to use on the show. This isn’t the
right show for DPAs and Neumanns. I wanted to stick to the basics
and keep it as simple as possible. I have a Shure Beta-52 and Shure
SM-91 in the kick drum. Two Shure SM-57s are on the snare; one top
and one bottom. The hi-hat, overheads and gong are covered with
24 October 2010 • www.stage-directions.com