Austin City LimitsUPDATE: Ticket giveaway is over and winners have been notified by email.
Austin City Limits will be taping a performance by Alabama Shakes on Tuesday, March 13, at 6 pm at ACL Live at The Moody Theater (310 W. 2nd Street, Willie Nelson Blvd). We will be giving away a limited number of space available passes to this taping. Enter your name and email address on the below form by 9 am Friday, March 9. Passes are not transferable and cannot be sold.
You may not recognize the name Stanley Donwood, but if you’re a Radiohead fan, you’ve undoubtedly seen his work – he provided the cover art for the band’s latest LP The King of Limbs. He also, at the band’s request, designed the poster for Tuesday night’s ACL taping with Oxford’s favorite sons.
Here’s the extra cool part. In lieu of a fee, Mr. Donwood asked us to make a donation to Amnesty International in his name. We’d like to acknowledge his generosity and progressive spirit – it’s great to know that even in the music business there are still folks who use their talents for good. We encourage you to click on his link above to support his work, and if you’d like to join him in supporting Amnesty International, you can do so here.
The Gear Blog is a behind-the-scenes look at the instruments and equipment that graces the Austin City Limits’ stage. Our Audio Engineer Kevin Cochran goes in-depth to give our audiophiles their fix.
I hate deadlines. So much so that it’s been 2+ years since I’ve done my last gear blog, so let’s just jump in. We filmed Cheap Trick during the 2010 South By Southwest when we were both celebrating the beginning of our 36th year in business.
Rick Nielsen’s guitar tech is a busy, busy man. Rick changed guitars on every song. There was no point in the set that he played the same guitar twice. Rick is well known for his association with Hamer guitars, but his touring rig also has vintage Les Pauls.
Above, we have two Bo Diddley inspired guitars. One is a Hamer having the box like shape Bo was known and a red Gretsch Billy-Bo. On the far left is 50’s Fender Telecaster once owned by Jeff Beck himself.
Rick’s onstage amp setup is just as ostentatious as his guitars. Seen here are three Fuchs Train 45 heads. At the time, I noted that there is only one set of speakers in the center of the cabinets. Every other speaker cabinet actually contained head lights.
Off stage is a pair Mr. Nielsen’s original 70’s Deluxe Reverbs. As memory serves they were modded by Paul Rivera, by taking the heads out of the combo chassis and putting them into a roll-around rack. Above is Nielsen’s wireless system and only effect: a Dunlop Crybaby.
Hamer custom double neck. One has a Kahler vibrato system and one has a hard tail. Note the custom inlay.
If any guitar is associated with Rick, other than the Explorer style guitar, it’s this Hamer 5 neck. In addition to 12-string and fretless necks, there is also a Telecaster-style pickup configuration and two double humbucker configurations, one with a locking tremolo. Mr. Nielsen was kind enough to let anyone on the ACL crew pick it up, play it, or get their picture taken with it. It’s not as heavy as it looks, and except for one neck, it’s not in tune. Since Rick plays only one song with it, why bother?
Note the banjo style tuning pegs.
As you might have noticed, Rick favors a checkerboard motif on much of his guitars and equipment. Even his iPhone case had a checkerboard design.
We kept finding picks for months after the Cheap Trick taping. Mr. Nielsen is fond of flinging them into the audience and his stand will almost be completely bare by the end of the set. Surprisingly, for a man with so many picks, he likes to play with his fingers a lot.
Daxx Nielsen played drums for CT’s taping. This Ludwig drum kit has the same finish as one of Rick’s Explorers and a couple of Tom Petersson’s basses.
Tom Petersson’s road rig is just as exotic as Nielsen’s. Here is his signature Waterstone 12-string bass. It’s tuned like a regular bass, but with additional strings one and two octaves higher above the traditional bass note.
In addition to a couple of 12-string backups, Tom has a traditional 4-string Fender Precision bass in beautiful pink and a Gibson Explorer bass, to compliment Nielsen’s own Explorer fetish. And yes, that strange finish pops up once again on not one but two of Tom’s own basses.
Petersson splits his bass signal into a Reeves cabinet for the low end and a Vox amp for the higher register strings.
Robin Zander brought a smattering of Tele’s, a Rickenbacker, and a couple of Gibson electrics with him. My favorite was a 12-string telecaster.
The only acoustic of the entire bunch was this Bedell. To the right, clipped out of frame is a Mark Sandman-inspired Waterstone electric. I’m a sucker for gold.
Cheap Trick brought along two guest keyboardists to help along, Magic Cristian and the great Roger Manning Jr.
Finally, the set list for that night. Please note we have not used actual tape for years – it’s just that we did for 30 of our 38 seasons and calling it that is old habit. It does get quite embarrassing when we have to stop for a “tape change” and the band members or tour managers and asks, “You guys still use tape?”
It’s one thing to be a band that is cited to be a heavy influence for both rock and alt rock bands alike during the late 80s and early 90s such as Guns N’ Roses, Pearl Jam, Weezer, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, and countless others. It’s an entirely different argument to continue to be a relevant band that still tours (39 years and counting) while simultaneously being one of the most covered bands all time. Hits such as “I Want You to Want Me” and “Surrender” have been featured on many commercials and soundtracks and played countless times, yet every time we hear Robin Zander sing out some of the most recognized song lyrics of our time, we can’t help but stop and give it our full attention.
Cheap Trick could have easily slid into the land where bands go to retire and after a stagnant period of time (and with the right monetary offer) return for a reunion tour, but that has never been an option for this group. They simply don’t see the need to quit. Rick Nielsen once likened their music to a coffee table book in the way that it seems to have an immediate impact for each person who comes in contact with it. Every album they have adds to the diversity of this “book” in a way that can connect with many different types of people on several levels. This couldn’t have developed had they quit years ago and it’s a process that gets better with time.
Speaking of time, it seems to have barely touched their live performance. You won’t see four aging men playing stale hits when you tune in to this Saturday’s encore episode. Whether it’s Tom Petersson rocking out on a 12-string bass with a bedazzled peacock adorning the body or Nielsen throwing out at least 100 picks into the audience all while dancing in front of black and white checkered amps, the group made sure to put a dent on their Austin City Limits debut in 2010.
Be sure to check your local listings for show times and you can find more clips and information about their taping here. This is an encore episode you won’t want to miss.
Season 37 was such a memorable season for us – from moving into our new home at ACL Live at the Moody Theater to celebrating New Year’s Eve with Coldplay. Even though we’ve started tapings for Season 38, we’re not ready to let go of Season 37 quite yet – and you don’t have to either! As part of a fundraising effort for KLRU-TV, the producing station for Austin City Limits, we have organized an eBay auction of signed, limited edition band posters from last season!
Each band poster had a very limited print run and only a few were signed – each is extremely collectible for any fan of the band or the artist! The posters up for grabs include: Arcade Fire, Coldplay, Florence & The Machine, Gillian Welch & The Decemberists, Jeff Bridges, Miranda Lambert, Randy Newman, Raphael Saadiq, Steve Miller Band, and Wilco.
The auction will be up until March 10, so bid now and bid often to get your favorite performer’s poster into your personal collection.
All proceeds will go directly to KLRU-TV to inspire creativity, exploration and understanding in Austin – and beyond.
This month Austin City Limits celebrates one year of production at ACL Live at The Moody Theater. Last year on February 26, we taped the Steve Miller Band, the first taping of Season 37 and the first in our new home.
It wasn’t an easy decision to move from the comfy confines of KLRU’s Studio 6A, but it was a necessary one: the growth of the show over the years meant the outgrowth of that 320-seat space. But we worked closely with Stratus Properties on the design of our new digs, and The Moody Theater is all we ever dreamed of as a venue – the space, the sound, the lights, the multiple bathrooms on the same floors as the seats.
Of course, The Moody isn’t just a television studio. It’s also a concert hall, with a huge variety of artists coming through and a growing reputation as a first-class room. It says a lot that folks like Santana and Diana Ross who could’ve played in much bigger halls, but instead chose to come to The Moody Theater instead. Indeed, Pollstar awarded The Moody Theater Best New Major Concert Venue at the 23rd annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards. Plus the entire Block 21 complex has received LEED Silver Certification from Austin Energy’s Green Building program for commitment to sustainability.
Thanks for sticking with us through some major changes — we hope you love the new digs as much as we do. We look forward to bringing you more excellent music for many years to come!