Equip For Success

Talent, sex appeal, money, inspiration, luck, friends in high (or low!) places most, if not all of these attributes are necessary requirements for success in the music business. But having the right tools for the job and knowing how to use them correctly is an equally important prerequisite.
No matter how much you've rehearsed, practised and sweated, if you can't get your sound across in the way that you intended you're probably wasting your time and alienating your audience into the bargain. Poorly maintained instruments, dodgy leads and plugs can not only ruin your day but can put paid to your chances of getting anywhere. Unfortunately, most musicians learn this the hard way.
It doesn't have to be like that. With a little care and attention, and some rudimentary knowledge, you can learn how to get the best from your instruments and equipment and avoid most of the problems that plague inexperienced musicians.
The HALL OF FAME ALL-STARS is an exciting new supergroup which has been exclusively assembled for a Sunday afternoon residency at Dublin's newest venue, HQ at The Hall of Fame. The band's line-up features some of the most experienced players and singers in the country. Ray Harman, Conor Brady, Steve Hogan, Robert Malone, Michael Buckley, Ronan Dooney, Paul Harrington and Niamh Kavanagh form the nucleus of the group, with special surprise guests expected to turn up each week.
Just before they went onstage for their inaugural performance, Hot Press spoke to members of the band on their approach to their own instruments and equipment, with particular reference to playing live.

String Selection
Ace guitarist and band leader Ray Harman is perhaps best known as the Something Happens axe-man, but he has also over the years lent his playing and production talents to a diverse range of acts (you can hear his distinctive chops on the current Dove single 'Don't Dream It's Over').
Ray's current favourite guitar for live work is a Gibson 347, but he also maintains his trusty Fender Telecaster, which was his first ever guitar, bought almost 20 years ago. His approach to looking after his instrument is a common sense one.
"Keep your guitars well maintained and you can't really go wrong," he offers. "Keep things simple, invest in quality gear and keep your leads, plugs and cables in good nick. Remember that they will wear down and corrode over time."
When it comes to effects he adopts an equally direct approach, limiting pedals to just a handful. "I have a Boss GX 700 guitar processor which I use quite a bit, although they can be a bit unreliable for live work. There's no real reason to hire something like a Vox AC 30 amp to get that retro sound," he adds. "There are companies like Line 6 who have a programme called Amp Farm there's a pedal version called the POD. It's an amazing amp simulator and they are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing probably better in fact."
As for the dreaded business of soundchecking, Ray has this to say: "The Happens hardly ever soundcheck when we gig these days. In the past we used to spend a lot of time trying to get the sound exactly as we wanted. Now we just arrive, set up the gear, keep the volumes as low as possible and adjust them as required. As long as you can hear yourself that should be enough."
Finally, when it comes to performing live on stage Ray offers this advice for guitarists:
"The problem with most guitarists is they generally stand with their back to the amp and cab. When you think about it, if amps were meant to be behind you, you'd have ears pointing backwards! It's far better to have a really small amp on the ground in front of you, tilted up towards and miked into the PA. People who've been around the block a few times tend to work that way."
The HALL OF FAME ALL-STARS's other guitarist, Conor Brady, is currently treading the boards with his own outfit The Sofas, but he has also played in the past with The Partisans, Bird and The Revenants and has sessioned for major artists of the calibre of Terence Trent D'arby, The Commitments and, most recently, The Corrs. Like Ray Harman, Conor also espouses the keep-things-simple philosophy.
"There's a direct relationship between the tone of the guitar and the quality of the music," he offers. "The more shit you put between the guitar and the amp, the more work you have to do. If you've got a decent tone, the music has to do the work, if you go for fancy sounds you become dependent on them for your sound and you can tire of them easily."
His current guitar is a Gibson ES 335 a single cutaway with a wooden bridge and a P 90 pick-up. "It's a classic Gibson," he says. "I've tried other guitars and I used to think that once you could play one guitar you could play anything. But you get very used to your own guitar and even if you pick up another one of the same model it's not quite the same. You can get quite neurotic about it."
As for amplification Conor insists that the smaller, the better: "I've a bunch of amps, but the one I use mainly is a Fender Pro Junior. It's not very macho, just a tiny 15 watt which you can carry onto a bus or in a cab. Anytime I had a big amp the soundman was always telling me to turn the sound down.
"Leads can be a guitarist's biggest expense," he adds. "It can costs £25 for a decent lead, and they inevitably get stolen or people borrow them and you never get them back. The other problem for guitar players can be dodgy pedals. The real pros, the sharp guys, have all this stuff sorted. There's just no sense in winging it with dodgy stuff there's a lot at stake."

Piano Man
On piano and vocals with the HALL OF FAME ALL-STARS, Paul Harrington needs no introduction. Best known for his Eurovision winning partnership with Charlie McGettigan on 'Rock & Roll Kids', he has gigged consistently over the years at home and abroad, his energetic and highly entertaining solo shows always in demand.
His current chosen keyboard for live work is a Korg SG 1D, which he's had since 1991: "Generally it's been great, he says. I've never had a problem with it it hasn't broken down or anything like that. You just take two leads out from the back of it into the desk through the PA and it's set up. Some people like to use a keyboard amp but I've always been happy with the sound I've had from it."
He does, however, feel that it might be time for an upgrade: "It's showing signs of being a bit dated so if I get myself sorted, I'll probably go for a Kurtzweill they seem to be the industry standard these days, especially in the States."
As a piano player Paul doesn't usually find much use for fancy keyboards with hundreds of different sounds and effects. "You're never going to make a decent record from one of these things," he offers. "If I want drums I'd rather get a good drummer than use a drum machine. Most keyboard players in rock bands don't come from a piano playing background like myself, but the piano sound never really goes out of date in the way that some keyboard sounds do. Tricks and effects always get in the way of decent music."
However, if more than one keyboard sound is required he recommends avoiding multi-sound keyboard set-ups. "What most people do is to have a decent quality 'mother' keyboard and any amount of modules for those extra sounds as needed."

Brass Tacks
On Saxophone with the HALL OF FAME ALL-STARS is Michael Buckley from the Buckley jazz dynasty (he's a brother of Richie and cousin of guitar player Hugh Buckley). Just back from Barcelona where his own jazz quartet had a residency, the first piece of advice he offers is to insure your instrument if you can. "Prices have gone crazy on saxophones," he says. "You can pay close to £3,000 for a Selmer model which is what I play."
For playing live Buckley recommends a normal microphone on a stand set-up rather than pick-ups attached to the instrument. "I have used pick-ups but they're not ideal, you can't pull away when you want to vary the sound.
"That's another thing," he adds. "Sound engineers don't generally know much about brass, apart from someone like Paul Ashe-Browne who really knows his stuff. I usually wait til the singer finishes his or her soundcheck and I ask the soundman to put the sax at the same level. It's the best way to approach it and it usually works quite well."

Drum 'n' Bass
In every respect drums and drummers can cause the most grief within a band when setting up and sound-checking for a gig. The HALL OF FAME ALL-STARS stix-man is Steve Hogan, who has toured recently with the Riverdance band and The Swans. He has learned to avoid most of the pitfalls that can befall drummers.
"I always try and arrive early and set up the kit before anyone else arrives," he says. "It can be a nightmare trying to set up in a small venue, especially when the guitar and bass amps are already in place. Usually when you get to a venue the soundman will make most of the decisions regarding miking the kit. I was in the Roisin Dubh recently, which is a very small room, using brushes, and the soundman still wanted to mike it up. It worked."
His current kit is a Yamaha 9000 with Pearl 7 1/2" snare and 10", 14", and 16" tom-toms, but he concedes that he is seriously thinking of getting into more hi-tech percussion.
"I'm at the stage where I'm going to either get a new kit or get into the technology. One of the top session drummers in England is now one of the top programmers, and that's the way things are going, especially when it comes to studio work."
Steve insists that if you're playing the kit in the right way you shouldn't break sticks or skins, but you should always carry spare sticks, felts, and a spare snare skin, just in case.
Practising your timing is absolutely the most important element in playing drums," he concludes "If you can't play a 4/4 beat with feeling, the whole band will be affected."
Bass player Robert Malone recently toured with the Hothouse Flowers who supported The Rolling Stones on a number of stadium dates around Europe. He's also played with Lir and Hazel O'Conor amongst others. He currently uses a 1964 Fender Precision bass guitar and an Ampeg SVT mark II amp.
"It's cumbersome, the equipment is heavy, and the bass can sound different in different rooms," he says. "But you have to do it that way and you've also got to love it. If you want to be upfront singing or doing guitar solos, bass playing is not for you. But as for the rhythm section drums and bass are the foundations of the band. If they work well together you're almost there."
Robert confesses that he doesn't spend a huge amount of time soundchecking or setting up. "If the soundman is happy and I'm happy that's good enough for me," he says.