Balneario Camboriu, SC, Brazil, Dec. 16th, 2012
Here’s the story: Donovan Frankenreiter was playing a free show today on the beach near where I am living in Southern Brazil. He hit the stage with his guitarist soon after I got there, but they couldn’t get the show started. Apparently there was no sound check, and nothing was working. There was no sound coming out of the guitars, and the microphones were feeding back like crazy.
The musicians and sound crew were getting visibly frustrated with the situation and with each other. There was a beach full of people waiting for him to start, and after about 15 minutes of confusion, not to mention some stormy clouds gathering overhead, I went up to the front and offered to help. Some of my friends were backstage, so they let me past the fence. After hearing me speak in English, Donovan called me over and said, “Hey man, do you speak Portuguese?” I said yes, and he said, “Do you know how to run sound? OK. Make it sound good out there.”
As a somewhat seasoned live sound guy, I identified the major problems and we got the show up and running. There were cheers all around, lots of high fives and hugs. With my newfound folk hero status as the “savior of the show”, I snuck some friends into the backstage area and enjoyed a few free beers. The clouds above cleared on cue. Mission accomplished.
But wait, there’s more!
For what is to be the last song of his set, Donovan starts playing “It Don’t Matter”. Towards the end of the song, he asks the audience if anyone wants to come up and sing with him. I get pushed to the stage, and he calls me up. “This guy saved the show!”, he says to the audience. He turns to me and tells me, “Wait till I tell you to start.” He brings the song down, real low. He keeps it there. He gives me the nod. As I sing the first notes of the chorus, I think it’s safe to say most people are in shock, including Donovan.
I’m pretty sure the common sentiment from the crowd was, “Whoa, I can’t believe this Japanese guy can actually sing!” (note: all Asian-looking people in Brazil are assumed to be Japanese, and it's hard to convince people otherwise). Donovan takes off his sunglasses and tells me to put them on. “They’re yours”, he says. He tells me to keep singing, and we end the song together with a half-tempo refrain. “If it don’t matter to you, it don’t matter….TOOOO….MEEEEEEE”. I exit stage right to the pleasant sound of flabbergasted adoration.
Here’s the story: Donovan Frankenreiter was playing a free show today on the beach near where I am living in Southern Brazil. He hit the stage with his guitarist soon after I got there, but they couldn’t get the show started. Apparently there was no sound check, and nothing was working. There was no sound coming out of the guitars, and the microphones were feeding back like crazy.
As a somewhat seasoned live sound guy, I identified the major problems and we got the show up and running. There were cheers all around, lots of high fives and hugs. With my newfound folk hero status as the “savior of the show”, I snuck some friends into the backstage area and enjoyed a few free beers. The clouds above cleared on cue. Mission accomplished.
But wait, there’s more!
For what is to be the last song of his set, Donovan starts playing “It Don’t Matter”. Towards the end of the song, he asks the audience if anyone wants to come up and sing with him. I get pushed to the stage, and he calls me up. “This guy saved the show!”, he says to the audience. He turns to me and tells me, “Wait till I tell you to start.” He brings the song down, real low. He keeps it there. He gives me the nod. As I sing the first notes of the chorus, I think it’s safe to say most people are in shock, including Donovan.
I’m pretty sure the common sentiment from the crowd was, “Whoa, I can’t believe this Japanese guy can actually sing!” (note: all Asian-looking people in Brazil are assumed to be Japanese, and it's hard to convince people otherwise). Donovan takes off his sunglasses and tells me to put them on. “They’re yours”, he says. He tells me to keep singing, and we end the song together with a half-tempo refrain. “If it don’t matter to you, it don’t matter….TOOOO….MEEEEEEE”. I exit stage right to the pleasant sound of flabbergasted adoration.
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