Rockin’ Christian group Third Day is well on their way to crossing over - to the mainstream, and although they may have not yet achieved household-name status, their production team is working over time to make sure this happens.

The group’s success of the last few years and latest release have catapulted them into larger arenas; a more refined and plain ‘bigger’ show was the production result. With help from three critical vendors, TLS, I-Mag Video and Eighth Day Sound, Third Day (Ed. Note- I know, these days can be confusing) is putting out a world-class production, scaled to perfection, and utilizing a few unconventional touring tenets along with way. There’s nothing wimpy or scaled-down for this show at all - and it could potentially serve as the model for getting the most you can out of your four trucks ...

PRODUCTION
TP’s host for the day was Third Day’s Tour Manager, Andrew Stone. Over his history with the band, he’s performed many duties, and now fortunately is able to give TP US other people to interview on FOH sound, production management, etc.
Stone says while Third Day definitely are a Christian southern rock band – the emphasis on rock over southern has increased. “The band has been together 11 years,” Stone explains, “and I’ve been doing their tour managing for five; they’re really starting to cross over into the mainstream now.”

Stone was overseas with Kitaro when he got the call to work with the group. “It was great, and I went around the world several times,” says Andrew, “but I had been doing the ‘new-age’ thing a while.”

After Andrew met the group and did a few shows, he was hooked. “The thing that was apparent to me,” he explains, “is that Third Day tour larger than what their record sales dictate – they put more production and expense into this than any other band I’ve been with. They are platinum-selling – and so are many other groups that have half of our production expense. And that’s what has held my interest - I could really see their focus for touring. I have never been told to scale it down – we do have budgets – but we don’t ever go naked.”

There are some interesting combinations of job descriptions on this production … a lighting designer who is head rigger, and a few other surprises. “We have combined some jobs based on the tour’s structure – this tour plays a few more ’b’ markets – so my LD is doing the rigging – nobody out here wants to be a briefcase guy.

“Our stage manager, Derek Anderson, has been doing the set carpentry, the risers and staging, as well as handling some of the stage management responsibilities. For several years I did FOH sound, handled the production and tour managed – but things took off very quickly, and the shows got too big. So we branched out, and got some really good people involved; my production manager Chris Ferrari is a real ‘festival’ guy – we’ve seen him around for years on these large festivals – and I just liked his attitude and approach. He’s very easy going, and we try to foster that attitude. Some promoters are thrown for a loop because nobody is yelling. And I tell them, ‘We’re here to have a good day, and another good day the next time we see you – there’s no reason to burn the bridge’.”

AUDIO
Convincing audio reproduction is paramount for a tour of this production standard; to this end, Third Day contracted audio vendor Eighth Day Sound Touring Services (www.8thdaysound) to provide crew and equipment for their shows. For several past tours the audio vendor was Clair Brothers; Andrew Stone says that they still use the Bros. and maintain great relations, but specifically wanted to go with a vDOSC system for these shows. To this end, the excellent Eighth Day stepped up to the plate. Behind the boards, FOH Engineer Garry Brown is joined by Monitor Engineer Bobby George. Rounding out the five-man audio crew are Systems Engineer Doug Fowler, Monitor Tech Shawn Williams and Stage Technician Darin Pawlus - all from Eighth Day.

Brown, last seen as monitor engineer for The Newsboys, came into this leg on the fourth show, and just finished FOH mixing the last 25. Although the equipment choices had been made Garry hit it off immediately with his Midas XL4 console. “The XL4 is great,” he says. “It would have been my first choice.”

Ditto with the L’Acoustics line array, utilized gloriously in a wider-than-thou setting in most arenas. “The array was originally meant to be 10 and 6 – meaning ten on the main hang (with 3 dv’s underneath) and six on the side hang – but we ended up changing it to 12 and four for greater impact and coverage,” he says. They also employed eight FB18 subs.

TP US asked Brown why he liked that amount of low energy with an act of this genre. “I think I mix it more heavy on the low end than other people would, purely because the vocals are such an important part of their sound. And to get the energy and feeling, I’d pull the guitars down a little so the vocal can fit in the right pocket.”

The amp racks hold Lab Gruppen 6400s and 4000s. “I really do like them,” Garry affirms, “especially when the 6400’s came out; the sound was great, and the weight – you’ve got amp racks that weigh nothing.”

Though Fowler and Smaart Live are on hand each day, Brown usually does the room the old-fashioned way - by ear, and a little help from his Lake tablet. “When I started on this gig I wasn’t totally happy with the rig – so we spent a bit of time with near-field measuring – but after that, I eq’d by ear.

“We did use the Lake Contour for system eq – we had five of the console modules; I’ve never used it before but I loved it ! The fact I had a wireless tablet pc and was able to walk around the room and do whatever I wanted – it made my life so much easier.”
From a stereo perspective, Garry says he mixes Third Day fairly wide. The main electric guitars are panned hard left and right - and reversed on the side hangs. “I generally ran the drum kit up center,” he admits, “as I’m not a fan of toms being panned wide.”

Front-fills were handled by six d&b Q7’s and dv-DOSC. “The Q7’s offer 70 degrees of dispersion,” he explains, “so we use a pair in the center and also one on the inside of the subs. And we used the other four if the sides weren’t doing as much as we needed them to.”

He relies wholly on the Midas’ mic-pre’s for their classic warmth, which he says sounds particularly good when they changed the main microphone to the Sennheiser / Neumann combination; he also runs it through a Summit TLA-100.

Other mic choices include Shure 55’s on background vocals (‘I pretty much smother them with Eventide’) and a Shure-heavy smorgasbord on drums, including a 52, a 91, a 57 on top snare, a 441 on the bottom, a beyerdynamic 201 on the second snare, KSM184s on hi-hat and ride, a 90 on the high tom, 421’s on the floor toms, and 414’s as overheads.
Guitars are mic’d with Shure 57, 56, a couple of 421’s, and an 87. The Hammond Organ’s Leslie cabinet is mic’d with two 57’s on the top rotor and a beyer M88 on the low rotor. Garry says he gets four channels of acoustics off the stage. “I compressed them and added a bit of reverb,” he confesses.

Brown does not compress the master bus, but inherited no shortage of compression. “When I turned up there were 19 channels of compression, and I ended up removing most of it,” he laughs. “I did use two Summit DCL200’s – I put one on the kick and snare, which brought them to life! The bass also had a Distressor in the chain. I squashed the mic, just to balance his bass tone, which was quite bright – to make it fit in with the DI. When I started with Third Day there was no bass mic, so I added that, and ended up getting a richer tone for the bass player.” The dynamics bag also contains five dbx 160s and eight channels of BSS 404.

Brown had reverbs and delays for days with a TC Electronics 2290, a TC D2, a TC M1, a Yamaha SPX1000, as well as Eventide Lexicon PCM80 effects. “I run the delays on vocal,” he says. “If we’re playing arenas, why am I going to put on the reverb - when I’m already hearing so much? So I’ll use a short or long delay on certain songs, just to fatten it out a little bit.” Drums get a plate preset on the SPX1000 – a two second reverb with a long pre-delay.

Third Day is the kind of music that keeps Garry on his toes; “I guess it to be fairly straight-forward, and if you look at it on the surface they’re easy to mix – but when you really listen to what’s going on up there - it’s quite sophisticated, and there are a lot of subtleties in this music. I’m still learning after 25 shows,” he laughs.

TP US caught up with Third Day monitor engineer Bobby George, who has pro audio blood running through his veins. With his father, Bobby runs Pro Audio Group, based in Chattanooga, TN. “My dad’s been doing it for 18 years, and I grew up with this,” says 26-year-old Bobby. “It’s cool coming to work and sitting beside my dad – but then again that can bring a whole new set of problems.” He also credits Randy Mitchell of Spectrum Sound for showing him the touring audio ropes.

Bobby, who mixes Third Day on a Midas Heritage H3000, says he definitely prefers mixing monitors over left-and-right at FOH. “It’s a little bit more of a hotseat,” he admits, “and I like the pressure of having to get something done in a short amount of time. At front-of-house you basically have a left and right; here it’s left and right per band member!”

The wireless package is Shure-based as well, except for the Sennheiser / Neumann package for lead vocals. Ear-pieces are Westone UE5’s. Mr. George’s effects rack holds Lexicon PCM80 and Yamaha SPX 990 and 900 units. “I use a snare plate, depends on what snare he uses – he has a steel and a wood – sometimes I use a drum chamber on the steel and a plate on the wood – but really it’s the basics – the Lexicon PCM80, and SPX 990s are easy to get around on – and they’re pretty versatile. The drummer usually wants a lot of high-end introduced into his mix – and it’s easy to do on the 990’s parametric.”
The d&b C7 side-fills and single 18” d&b subs were powered by the new D12 amps, which Bobby says “worked out very nice by being able to do little parametric and delay tricks.” They hung the side-fills at about 17 feet and a 30-degree angle, which gave Bobby and the band plenty of thump.

VIDEO
The touring video package for Third Day was provided through I-Mag Video (www.i-magvideo.com). The crew of three includes touring Video Director Kevin Daniels, engineer Peter Blue and a camera op Scott Stoughton. Once Daniels filled in TP US on his two years with Third Day, we were ready to dissect the powerful video statement the production was making this time out.

“I’ve done the last two tours with these guys, and we’ve really grown the video production,” says Kevin. “I got my start running a video camera for Reba in 1996, then toured with Jimmy Buffett and Brooks & Dunn - and worked my way up to directing.” He’s been wearing that director’s hat for around three-and-a-half years now.

“We started out with two cameras,” Kevin recalls, “and when we first opened a video shop, we started out doing industrial stuff – just rentals – until Randy Travis. That was our first tour, and things just snowballed after that. We started out doing this with very small-lumen projectors, and now have video walls that can keep up with any light show.”Of course, the fourth song reveal introduces the audience to the full video concept, augmenting the side I-MAG screens with a huge central presence. The B-roll footage was created by a friend of Tai’s, Kevin says, “and I really liked how it went with the live video – obviously there were times that we did all video, times that we did video and IMAG on the sides, etc. I think it fit together really well.”

Further to that, Daniels is now quite comfortable with the required video style, and says the band let’s him run wild creatively, a bonus at any gig. “What’s really great about the guys is that they let you do your gig – of course they have some things they want – but for the most part, they’ve liked what I’ve done and just let me do my thing. Obviously, I’m up for making the client happy!”

Kevin controls video world from a Grass Valley model they moved to following reliability issues with another switcher. He says the Grass Valley is problem-free and “does everything we want it to do”.

The video design called for multiple live sources, including one camera at FOH, a handheld operator stage right, Kevin’s Robotic camera stage left - plus two POV lipsticks – one on the drums and one shooting straight out for a house look. “Sometimes it took me longer to set up the POVs than half our gear,” he laughs, “but the band and management really liked them. Plus it gives me something else to go to – which is always nice.
DVD’s are used for Chevy sponsorship videos and the like, while a DoReMi hard drive recalled the B-roll archive Daniels deftly mixed with live shots. “A DoReMi hard drive?” he asks rhetorically. “That’s exactly what we had – and it’s the only way to do it.”
Control of particular images to particular screens is accomplished through routing via the engineering rack. To match their followspot and video levels, the team does a daily white balance. “We get our colors right before the show starts,” Kevin reaffirms.

The central screen unveiled on Consumate Fire is typically an 18’ x 24’. “When we can’t use the full rig, we have a 15’ x 20’ we use.” They also travel with the two 12.5’ x 14’ side screens.

Daniels says one of the wildest memories of this run is how they built the video screen in stages to accommodate other departments. “We’d put the top on, and then the sides, and then some of the screen – so they could do backline and everything else. Chris Ferrari told me he did this on Mercy Me, and I was kind of sceptical at first. Sometimes you have to do that to keep all the parts working.”

Projection for Third Day is all Barco; “We’re a big Barco house,” says Kevin, “and are also getting ready to put a bunch out on Three Doors Down.” (Ed. Note - I know people who know people with Three Dog Night.) Mighty Barco G8 projectors – and 65’s on the sides - are punchy yet even, showing all the preferences one might hold for this type of video medium over another.

Interestingly enough, they’re already talking about using a central video wall for the next tour, and taking the G8’s to the sides. In the meantime, Kevin will have the Three Doors Down time to figure it out.

LIGHTING

Supplying a delicious variety of old and new to the lighting scheme was Theatrical Lighting Services (TLS) in conjunction with Scott DeVos of Delux Productions. Lighting designer Daniel Connell stepped up to the plate - this time without tour co-designer Scott Moore - for the most industrially satisfying Third Day show yet. There’s no telling what kind of cool stuff you might find poking around TLS’ (www.tlsinc.com) warehouse.
For his fourth Third Day tour, Connell hit the ground running. “ I got my start with LD Scott Moore,” Daniel says, “and he’s worked on the previous designs; it’s really been a privilege to collaborate with Scott over the past few years, and likewise, this is an excellent opportunity to do my own design.”

The show’s lighting concept came from a band performance at a local festival - scaffolding had been erected as a cost-effective trussing alternative. “One thing the band said they wanted to see on this tour was an industrial look - and this is about as industrial as you can get. So we played with a lot of different options, and it ended up being a 70’ x 40’ scaffolding wall ... with lighting anywhere I could fit it – and the big screen in the middle.” Third Day’s scaffolding came from Safeway Scaf Co., which raised more than a few eyebrows but ultimately met with the engineer’s approval.

Best of all for Connell, the band really wanted to augment their stage set this year, and lighting was on the list. He opted for a HES-heavy rig with nice Coemar, ETC, etc. bits added in. The LD says TLS provides all the channels he needs for design bliss. “Theatrical Lighting Services is really great about getting us the High End products we need.”

In addition to the lighting package and other obvious touring gear, they also supplied soft goods - the shark tooth scrim and rear curtain; the band owns the white curtain behind the shark tooth.

The scaffolding holds a prodigious amount of automated firepower - 30 HES Studio Spot CMY and 14 Color Commands across the rear wall, along with Thomas 8-liters sans color changers.

“This is the first time I’ve got to use the Color Commands,” says Connell. “I already had 30 Studio Spots, so I needed some kind of soft-edge fixture to tone with – just something to wash the air with - and originally I wanted Studio Beams for that task – by far one of my favorite wash fixtures. But it came down to budget, and we looked at the Color Commands. Though they’re new on the market, they turned out to be really great fixtures. The color mixing on them works great; the only downfall is you can’t focus them in pan and tilt – but we came up with a very generic focus that was easy to get done every day - and went with that.”

The support structure for the Third Day scaffold wall was seven sticks of Tomcat that held six x.spots and six Studio Beams, while a mid-stage truss held the same complement of x.spots and Studio Beams A final four Studio Beams live on the floor. Connell used six Coemar Panapowers to color wash the scaffold. “A half-dozen of the Panapowers on the ground did a great job of backlighting that scaffolding,” he says.

Automated lighting gets utilized for some Moore-ian positional tricks during the concert. “Sidelighting is one of the things I’ve picked up from Scott,” says Connell. “If you look at any of his shows, there are certain side lighting positions he always goes for – a downstage left and downstage right across the mics, and midstage across the band risers – and an upstage row of wash or spot fixtures ... I guess working with him for so long I picked up a few things!”

The downstage truss has 12 ETC Source Four 19-degree lekos and four Thomas 8-lights; “That was really the only part of the rig we had to focus every day – which was nice.” The Source Fours handled specials for the band, with two lekos per band member. Control was via the venerable Whole Hog II; Connell adds, “It did a great job, like it always has.”

Trim height varies from 38 ft. for the scaffolding wall at the motors, 32’ at the midstage and 34’ downstage. Connell is also handling the head rigger duties on this run, ensuring good cooperation between the lighting and rigging departments.

Daniel says the opening numbers prior to the video reveal proved to be the most challenging. “From a design perspective it was sort of painful,” he laughs. “We use no-color for the first four songs – and I’m running out of ideas by the third! But seriously, they wanted it toned down so that once that curtain drops and everything is revealed, it’s rockin’ from that point on.”

Two ETC Sensor racks handle dimming as well as non-dim loads. Power distro consisted of two Leprecon power distros – plus a 12-channel 5k rack for the 5K fresnels – another blazingly unique part of the show. “I found these old 5K fresnels in a box at the back of TLS’ warehouse - I said ‘Hey, I want these….”

Four house spots are used, partially because the weight limit imposed by the video screen, etc. ruled out truss spots. “I’m a big spot fan, because I like to keep everyone isolated – but this ended up being one of the less spot-intensive shows. The band wanted a really bright look to the stage, and between the 5Ks, the strip lights downstage and the lekos – there are songs where I don’t use spots at all.” Communication system is 100% Clear-Com provided through TLS.

Smoke and haze is handled through dual Reel EFX DF50s. “Normally we only had to run one a night,” he says. “We don’t want it to get too ‘foggy’. And the band has an F-100 we use before ‘Consuming Fire’ – just to give it a little extra kick.”

Lighting flies on six half-ton and 16 one-ton CM’s – all controlled from a Motion Labs system from TLS. “The system worked flawlessly the whole tour – not a single problem with one motor. We used automation on the last tour, and we may again in the fall, but sometimes it can be nice to get through a tour without it,” he laughs.
TP US asked Daniel about his typical Third Day color palette. “They’re a rock band with a soft side,” he says, “and I’m a huge fan of blue, so that works out well. I’ll have 4-6 different shades of red, 4-6 shades of green, and of yellow, and at least 12 shades of blue. That’s more of a personal thing than a Third Day request, but it really plays well to their look.

“I’m all about the total show,” he continues, “and when it’s not for broadcast, and the choice is a better looking live show – rather than a side screen that 1/8th of the audience will be looking at, the choice is obvious. But it really isn’t a bad problem – between keeping them saturated in no-color from the 5Ks, strip lights and lekos – I’ve got everybody where I want them as far as color temperature.”

Daniel says on this tour the band asked for more monochrome looks, “but when you’ve been with a band for four years, you’re going to do the same colors on some songs - but because of what they’ve asked for, there’s a nice mix.”

The LD says the pattern he ‘almost wore out’ was the Shards litho in the Studio Spots. “Shards is a great breakup pattern – it looks great in the air, and since I had a wall with 30 Studio Spots I definitely had a lot of Shards. With the x.spots, I think everybody’s personal favorite is the blue glass – if you put it on the right white curtain, it looks amazing.”

Up to eight DFD splitters – a mix of 3 pin and 5 pin – help segregate the data distribution. The production also had two loose data distributors kept out in the rig.
Joining Connell on tour is TLS crew chief Brian Palmer, and technicians Zac Zagrodzky and Seth Alley; Seth is out on his first tour for TLS.

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