HEADING BACK OUT ON TOUR

Getting ready to go out on the road for 24 straight days. 'THE YEAR OF THE GENTLEMEN TOUR' PART 2. Ne-Yo is headlining in Europe with Ryan Leslie and Jay shon opening up. We'll bless the fans with a 100min set going back to 2006 when "So Sick" was a hit on the radio and back to present time with covers like "Have a baby by me be a millionaire!!!" Countries/cities include MIA, FL; France, Belguim, UK, Norway, Ireland, Slovakia, Netherlands.

ENGINEERS CORNER:

We're carrying our own mics, and consoles with distribution snake etc etc. Racks and stacks we're picking up locally. My console of choice is the Venue or Profile. Monitor world is the same. Ne-Yo's vocal mic is the Shure KSM9 with Senn G2 series In-Ear system. On drums I can't live without Sennheiser microphones on the kick (e602-II) and toms (e904s or e604s). The attack and body these mics give you just can't compare to anything else out there. Overheads, hi-hat and ride I'm not too particular about. I normally use Shure 81s I but don't mind Nuemann U87 or Rode KSM44s as overheads.

GENERAL EDUCATION CORNER:

Wintertime on the road have to be warm and comfortable. It's not about looking cool or stylish, especially for an engineer.

Quick pointers when touring/traveling overseas.

1. Have a wall adaptor. Hate to be somewhere low on juice and can't plug your american plug in.

2. Have a game plan for an inexpensive form of communicating back home. (ie. Skype, Instant messenger, or even an international plan on your cell phone)

3. Pack enough hygiene supplies. Its very hard to find your american toiletries in another country.

4. Be prepared to do your job. Last thing an artist wants to hear or deal with is problems 6000 miles away from home. So always be on top of your game even when the variables change for the bad, make it happen!

I'll be back throughout the tour with updates and pointers.