Carolyn Dawn Johnson on the Opry

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

Is this a joke? Is this supposed to be talent? Off key and weak. Oh yeah, she is cute though. Studio pitch control anyone?

Theresa Galbraith · From: Goodlettsville,Tn. USA

Kevin,
She may have been having trouble hearing. Charlie sounded like he was too.

Theresa

James Lutz · From: Wisconsin

You know, I think that is a chronic problem on the Opry. I've heard a lot of singers on there that have had trouble finding their pitch. I wonder if there is a monitor problem?

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

last year I went Bowling..I couldn't get strikes because the humidity in the room was a little hi and my finger got numb and got stuck in the hole and then when I threw the ball down the alley the guy next to me made noise and distracted me and I then my foot slipped because there was moisture on the alley left by the guy that used the lane before me.And the ball return transferred oil onto to my ball and then got on my jeans so now everytime I picked the ball up and started to swing it some of the oil got on the ball and caused it do go the wrong direction from what was intended.

Otherwise I would have rolled strikes everytime.

t

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

Bad monitors can kill even the best singers.

I have heard Judy Collins twice, arguably on of the great singers of our time.

Once with a good stage mix she was awesome and strained your heart with emotion. One of the best singing perfornmances I have ever heard.

The other time was a very poor stage monitor mix, even with a hand to her ear she couldn't hear herself well enough to be on pitch.
She seemed very amature.. if you didn't know how sandbagged she was by this.

I don't know this Carolyn from Eve, but if the stage mix was poor,
and no reports coming back from the Opry have told me otherwise,
a new talent is likely to have a very hard time of it.
Just an observation.

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

"Bad monitors can kill even the best singers".... I don't think so!! When I first started playing in the late 50's while in the Army, we never used monitors in any situation. When I got out of the service in '63 and started playing full time in the clubs of southern California a monitor was an unknown item. No one used them! The singers would just sing like they were supposed to do and listen to the band or their own instrument to stay in pitch. I once saw Loretta Lynn on the Nashville network and she (right on camera) asked the sound man to turn down the monitors so she could hear the band as that's what she used to stay on pitch. Now they're using those ear monitors which is really taking it over the top. In a road band situation I was working in the middle 70's we'd use two of those large Kustom tuck & roll cabinets with the 2-15 JBL set up on each side of the bandstand but still no monitors and everything was fine. All that said, personally, I like monitors but some singers want the d@mn things so loud you can't hear anything else and that $ucks big time. Have a good 'un...JH

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Jim Hartley · From: SC/TN

Jerry,

I too remember working many times without monitors and everything was just fine. When monitors first became popular, they made things even better until people began overdoing it. Then the never ending struggle began. Turn the volume up so we can hear over the monitors. Now turn the monitors up so we can hear over the band. I would rather have just enough monitor to help me hear the mains. Kind of like salt. A little bit improves the flavor but too much can sure ruin it. Just my opinion.

By the way Jerry, have you ever run across Ron Hoeben. Great guitar player who moved to your area a while back. If you do, tell him I said hello. Wait till you hear this guy.

To answer the original question, yes, they have monitor problems on the opry. I worked the opry many times and that always seemed to be an issue. I guess when everythig changes every few minutes, it is difficult to get things just right, but you would think a basic monitor wouldn't be too tough.

Jim

[This message was edited by Jim Hartley on 25 August 2004 at 05:21 AM.]

Ron Page · From: Penn Yan, NY USA

How did the previous and following acts sound? They most likely had the same monitors.

I can see where overdriven monitors could be misleading to the vocalist but I think perhaps an even bigger problem is the tendency these days to have a bass line wash over EVERYTHING!

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HagFan

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

Jerry bands are a lot louder now.

And a monitor part way in the mix is often worse than none.
It confuses your head tone with your ear tone.
The singers want the monitors so loud,
to over power their head tone, and then they can sing on key.

And it is not neccesarily the same mix from act to act there.

Not being disputive here, I have just mixed a few thousand gigs in different rooms over the decades.

If she was a more expirencesd on stage singer, then maybe she could have bulled past it.

Pat Jenkins · From: Abingdon, VA, USA

One thing I have tried, is to step out past the monitors, when the mix is really bad. I don't know if you can get around them on the opry stage or not, but, it does solve the problem of incredible noise between what the band is actually putting out and what the mix in the monitors seems to be, sometimes. Anyway, just something I do to try to overcome a problem, once the show is going.

Pat

Waltzing Through A Rock And Roll Life!!

Jesse Harris · From: Ventura, California, USA

I dont know about all that, but I do have to say I have opened for her a couple of times, and she has great pipes, she sang really well the times I have seen her, I dont care much for the material, but she is a good singer.

Jim Hankins · From: Yuba City, California, USA

I have to agree that Ms. Johnson was unimpressive, to say the least, but that guy playin the GFI was cool! Jim

Don Walters · From: Saskatchewan Canada

She's from the GWN and is very popular up here. Personally, I think there are several young female singers with better voices than hers.

I guess I'm too old to be able to judge what makes a star these days!

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

I recall a couple of times, one in particular where someone coming up for a guest shot had their key and none other.

A girl with a super and powerfull voice came up and we hadn't got her key ahead of time. You know the routine, sing a few notes to us and we'll catch the key. well, we got it wrong, and off we went. She sang 2 lines in her key perfectly with no concern where we were before we stopped to regroup. I had the feeling no matter WHERE we were she would sing the song in, and end in her own key.

We started again correctly and finished the song fine. It was like she had perfect pitch and could not change where she sang the song, no matter what. A rare talent I think.

Tim Harr · From: Dunlap, Illinois

Glad I missed that!

[This message was edited by Tim Harr on 26 August 2004 at 07:38 PM.]

Tim Harr · From: Dunlap, Illinois

Devil's Advocate: "If I was singing on the Grand Ol Opry instead of a bar AND had a major recording contract and tour...I would not care what anyone said about my singing ability.."

Just funning ya Kevin.

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Tim Harr - Carter D-10 8p & 9k w/ BL-705s; Webb 6-14E Amplfier

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

I hear ya Tim.

Rick McDuffie · From: Benson, North Carolina, USA

We had monitors in 1968, in the form of two Bogen 12" speakers that clamped together and held the 25-watt PA head inside. Those speaker cabinets had no back on them, and you had to set them way up front because everything was high impedance and feedback was a major problem... but the sound coming off the back of those speakers was the first "monitor" I ever used!

Seriously, you had to learn to sing in tune WITHOUT them back then... and we were pretty loud, David.

I think people are spoiled with the number of monitors and mixes that are used these days. I played with a band recently that just couldn't function without a 30-minute sound check. Gimme a break. If you're out of tune, don't blame it on the sound man!

All things being equal, though, I'd much rather have good monitors!

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Rick McDuffie
Rick's Music Photo Gallery
www.tarheelmusic.com

[This message was edited by Rick McDuffie on 28 August 2004 at 11:25 AM.]

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

Well I was playing many flavors of rock and blues back when,
so I KNOW we were loud.

But I think my point has been missed.
Without monitors you can get your head tone, or hear the mains but bassy, but under your head tone..

BUT, with a half a$$'d monitor mix there is this volume area where it is
a fight between head tone and ear/ monitor tone.
So it becomes much more difficult to pick which tone you want to hear.

When you see a singer cupping his ear, this is to increase the EAR tone,
since the monitors aren't giving enough.

Good monitors are a bit louder than head tone, so you sing to your monitor tone.
OR no monitors to your head tone.

I plan to get by the Opry in a week or so, and see/hear for myself. And check out the system they are running.
Not to mention hear Tommy White, Hoot and some good country music of some flavor.

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 28 August 2004 at 12:36 PM.]