Band on the Go (Tour)
Interview with Bart Millard of MercyMe
With an armload of Dove Awards, CDs that continually rise to the top of the Billboard Christian Charts and sales at the platinum level, MercyMe is a band with a mission. We caught up with lead singer Bart Millard via cell phone in Cape Girardeau, Missouri smack dab in the middle of a 50-city tour.
Did you start out in Christian music?
We started out as a garage band in the beginning, but we had aspirations of being in the Christian industry the whole time. We all grew up in the Church. Those were the kinds of bands we were listening to.
Do you play exclusively in churches?
No. We play colleges; pretty much wherever - the "Go Show" tour we're on now is mostly arenas - you name it, we've played it.
Do you bring your own mics or do you use whatever the house supplies?
We bring our own. I'm the lead singer. My night is ruined if the wrong mics are used. For me, it's gotta be a certain mic or I have a rough night.
What mic do you use?
I use the Shure 87C, a wireless. My biggest problem is that I'll wreck my voice if I don't have a mic that lets me back off a little bit. I don't want to crank the volume so much that I'll go deaf. I like the clarity - it covers a broad spectrum as far as the high end and low end and full sound. It's the next best thing to a studio mic. If I can't go around with a big tube mic that costs several grand, I'll take this one - it's phenomenal.
You were talking about in-ear monitors. How long have you been using them and how do you think they've changed the band's sound?
We've been using them for about three or four years. We had to get them because our stage wedges were getting so loud we were almost going deaf. I was turning my wedges up louder than the guitar amps to hear my vocals. We got the in-ear monitors to save our hearing. It's night and day - like wearing headphones in a studio. If you're not dead-on, then you've got personal problems because you're hearing perfectly.
So what kind of mix do you put in your in-ear?
For me, I get a little bit of everything. I get a decent, even mix of the whole band and then I start cranking up the vocal so I can hear it clearly.
You're on the road most of the time?
We're on a 50 city tour right now. It's called the Go Show and we're about halfway through it. I haven't been home since the end of February, so it's pretty strenuous right now.
Do you have any parting advice for sound technicians trying to get good sound in a church environment?
If you want the perfect sound make sure the congregation is NOT in the building. Get it the way you want it and then let them hear it. The age-old argument's going to be "It's too loud - it's too loud". Some of the worst EQ on the planet is in churches.
Fixing the sound doesn't mean turning the high end or the low end down. That doesn't adjust the volume because eventually you'll just have a horrible EQ and you just keep turning knobs hoping people will be happy.
For eight years, we performed exclusively in churches. Our keyboard player is a sound engineer and he would come in an overhaul those systems and people were pretty grateful. It's just a matter of time and getting the right person to fix it.
That's good advice.
For current information about MercyMe, tour dates and discography, visit their web site at www.mercyme.org
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