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PRESS ARTICLE
JANUARY 1, 2008
MOZAMBIQUE ENTERTAINMENT
MIX
PROFESSIONAL AUDIO AND MUSIC PRODUCTION
Clubs Go Beyond the Stage
Jan 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Jason Scott Alexander
RECORDING, STREAMING SUPPORT NEXT-GEN BUSINESS MODEL
With telltale white headphones dangling from our ears, for a while it appeared that download culture and video blogging might usurp live performance as the musician's primary means of interacting with audiences and introducing new material. But even as live music venues have struggled to survive in recent years, the emphasis is beginning to return for bands to get out and gig again, to build their careers onstage rather than through record sales.
Almost ironically, it would seem that the Internet age has fueled a number of value-added services that fans love, artists and labels need and only live venues are positioned to deliver. For example, we've been seeing a lot of high-end clubs installing multitrack recording gear and HD video-capture systems to complement their standard mixing boards and P.A. systems.
DINNER AND A SHOW
Laguna Beach, Calif.'s Mozambique Steakhouse started to record audio and video of performances when the club first opened in August 2005. Owner Ivan Spiers wanted to capture any magical live events that would occur onstage, allowing his guests to experience the best of South African cuisine and enjoy great musicians like Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers and Rolling Stones crew - Vocalist - Blondie Chaplin, Bernard Fowler, Lisa Fischer, Bassist- Darryl Jones.
From the comfortable perch of his well-stocked control room isolated just off from the stage, in-house audio/video engineer Tony Tin Nguyen simultaneously mixes audio and cuts live video in a one-man production effort.
Performances are first mixed through a Yamaha DM2000 console and sent to front of house, as well as directly to a Digidesign Pro Tools HD system for full multitrack audio recording. Four monitor and three in-ear mixes are sent to the stage while the Pro Tools mix is fed to Final Cut Pro 6, capturing audio to video for archiving and streaming to the Internet. Meanwhile, three Sony BRC-300/300P 3CCD color cameras capture HD video — controlled by a Sony RM-BR300 remote — and cut to three camera angles using a Sony DME switcher. An AJA Io box feeds the picture to Final Cut Pro where SATA drives provide more than 3 terabytes of nonlinear storage.
“The Pro Tools mix is also used to feed the live audio signal to private rooms and to the patio for a high-fidelity mix throughout the venue,” says Nguyen, adding that the band can also be seen on any of the club's 10 LCD (17- to 60-inch) televisions.
Mozambique's total investment into a full-service live music production setup now tops the $1 million mark, including all A/V equipment, major facility design and an impressive backline: Gretsch “Classic Series” drum kit, SWR bass rig/Goliath 4×10 cabinet with SWR Working Head, Steinway grand piano with original ivory keys, B3 organ with Leslie cabinet, Fender Twin Tweed reissue, Fender Deluxe amp, 62 original VOX amps and more.
According to Nguyen, though, the coolest acquisition that the club has made recently is Wirecast 3 HDV for its ability to stream live high-definition audio and video online, and at the same time to record iso views to hard disks for future use.
“Wirecast was actually used to stream the Live Earth Concert, which was the largest audience concert stream ever online, and is ideally what we want — to be able to stream to the masses online,” says Nguyen.
The vision and business angle of the club's rich and eclectic assortment of goodies came entirely from Spiers, a multifaceted businessman who owns Mozambique Records and Mozambique Studios. Also a musician, Spiers decided to give back to the musical community by creating an outlet for local and international band/artists to be able to come and play at a high-end, upscale venue.
“We did allocate a large budget for entertainment, and the return would be that people would come from everywhere, from all walks of life, to experience fine dining and entertainment under one venue, making it an authentic place [to] visit,” says Nguyen. “And if they physically couldn't make it, they could be there online.”
Every show gets recorded and musical guests performing for their first time are given one live CD and a one-song DVD as a courtesy. Artists have the option to purchase their audio/video masters and or edit the media with the club's production facilities. Currently, the recordings are being used only for marketing the entertainment at the Mozambique Steakhouse Website. The club does not sell the recordings, but is open to offering the right artist an opportunity to release their music on Spiers' record label.
“Being able to make a deal with certain band/artists with their media for distribution is another way of potentially generating revenue,” adds Nguyen.
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