[ATTACH=CONFIG]196934.vB5-legacyid=6627[/ATTACH]Vancouver, BC – Toothbrush…check!, anti-gravity miscellaneous, super scientific supplies for International Space Station mission taking off December 21, 2012 and returning in May 2013…check! Oh wait! Not to be forgotten – must send NASA music ‘playlist’ to upload.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is the Commander for the current mission on the International Space Station. What does Commander Hadfield listen to while working away in space? Canadiana band Trent Severn found out last December that their self-titled debut album was on the astronaut’s upload request list for NASA. Dayna Manning (guitar and vox): “We were pretty thrilled. Since then he has mentioned that he has been listening to us in space in a few interviews.”
Does it get any better than that? Yes! Yes in fact it did get even better for the Stratford, Ontario based band known for music that often pays tribute to Canadian legends. “He emailed us to let us know he’d like to call into a show and of course we jumped on the opportunity.”
The eight minute phone call came in during the band’s recent performance in Goderich, Ontario. Manning continues: “Prior to the show we discussed this and thought that we had better tell them (the audience) so that they would believe it was real when he called! So after the second song of the set we told them and they honestly shrieked with excitement. When the call came through everyone clapped and cheered. It was a thrilling moment for everyone there!”
“We had planned to speak with him and then play him the song “Truscott” which is one of his favorites from our album. It was also a special song to play him as the song is about the life of Steven Truscott, whose story is a local legend in the town of Goderich Ontario where we were playing that night. As serendipity had it he called just exactly where we had scheduled that song in the set.”
[ATTACH=CONFIG]196935.vB5-legacyid=6628[/ATTACH]Naturally the conversation went from music to…sports. “Chris is an accomplished musician as well as an astronaut! We asked about what it was like to play his guitar in space. He said it was a bit challenging as the strap and the chord kept floating up, and that it was a bit noisy for recording, as the ISS is a bit loud – like being on a really fast tour bus. We asked about which member of Trent Severn would make the best astronaut, based on our heights… Emm Gryner (bass) is 5ft1″ Laura C. Bates (Violin) is 5ft0″ and Dayna Manning (Guitar) is 5ft6″. He said Dayna would make the best astronaut basketball player. We then serenaded Chris while he watched the sun set over the South Pacific. It was a complete honor.”
FOH for the band Darryl Lahteenmaa explains his thought process when planning to take and amplify a phone call from the International Space Station. “We had this opportunity to take a one-time call from the ISS, we weren’t taking any chances. The Radial JDI (passive direct box) has proven itself time after time in every situation we have put it through so we knew we could trust it. And when the call from the Commander came though, I didn’t even think of the gear, I just enjoyed the moment like everyone else. The JDI gave me complete peace of mind.”
“The technical setup was simple. The cell phone’s stereo output was routed to the pair of ¼” inputs of the JDI. The merge function of the JDI was utilized to properly sum the signal to mono. The JDI output went directly to a channel on the board, then out to the PA system. We had the phone at the soundboard so when the call from Commander Hadfield came in we answered it and flashed Trent Severn onstage with a flashlight to let them know Chris was on the line. We brought them the phone and plugged it into the JDI.”
Lahteenmaa’s show check list has long included the JDI. “Trent Severn travels with a healthy collection of acoustic instruments including ukulele basses, fiddles, and a range of custom and boutique acoustic guitars. The main challenge of working with any acoustic instrument through a DI is trying to achieve a natural, full and unconstricted sound. With the JDI, there is an inherent warm and rich quality due to the transient shaping of the Jensen transformer, which makes it pleasing to listen to and easy to work with. Simply put, the JDI is just the best sounding DI out there.”
Now that the band has come back down to earth their fans can look forward to several summer gigs in Ontario, British Columbia and even in the Northwest Territories. They are currently writing material for their next album they plan to have released with the next year.
[URL=”http://www.radialeng.com/r2011/jdi.php”]For more information on the JDI Passive Direct Box[/URL]
[URL=”http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001RlV6qAFb9XEtAhyBh2KGqI8hGgK34SM3Uylwz1tg0mxquUlS5hOQwX_YrJA_JlEV7wL0jm9lpMi9gsF1LzFyfLDqudW4p_8us7PRCQwUiRUIjbr90ShHLw==”]For more information on Trent Severn[/URL]
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