According to a statement released on Wednesday, "For the All-American Rejects’ offbeat and energetic 'House Party Tour,' production manager and front-of-house engineer Brendan Goers knew the traditional big-rig approach wouldn’t cut it. With pop-up shows in backyards, skating rinks and compact event spaces, including a standout performance at a skating rink in Arkansas, the band needed gear that was compact, powerful and flexible enough to adapt to whatever space they landed in."
“We’ve had to fit where we fit,” said Goers. “Some of these shows have been in literal backyards. It’s been a lesson in rolling with the punches and putting the motto ‘the show must go on’ into practice.”
“I had never heard the SRX boxes before this run of house shows, but our entire team was very impressed with them right out of the box,” he said. “We used another brand for the first few shows, and plain and simple, they just didn’t cut it. We ended up blowing multiple speakers. But once we got the JBL SRX rig up and running, it was a night and day difference.”
"According to Goers, even The All-American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter took notice. 'He came down from the green room to mention the difference he noticed just while I was tuning the PA before soundcheck,' he added."
"In addition to delivering impressive sound quality, the system provided much-needed versatility. For example, the team pole-mounted the SRX906s during a pop-up show in Tulsa, aiming them to cover a second-floor VIP area. 'It was exactly what we needed,' Goers said. 'The pole-mount plates for the 906s allowed us to aim the top box up to the top level to ensure the people in VIP heard everything just as well.'”
"The JBL PRX912 wedges, while not used by the band itself (which runs on IEMs), proved ideal for the tour’s support acts. 'The 912s were perfect to give them a few mixes on stage, and then we flipped the front two around and used them as ‘front fill/Tyson Ritter barrier,’' Goers explained. 'It kept the audience from encroaching on his space and allowed them to hear a full mix while being so close to the band and out of the main PA pattern.'”
“All of these pop-up shows have been a power nightmare,” he said. “At our most recent show in Tulsa, we were told all outlets were dedicated circuits. We later found out they were all on one circuit. The entire PA and backline power was on a single 20A circuit.”
“Although that led to an incredibly moving moment with the crowd singing along on their own, I panicked,” Goers admitted. “We got the breaker reset and continued on…on one circuit. If that’s not a show of how efficient the power of these speakers is, I don’t know what is!”
“Almost any video you see online of these shows has comments that mention how good the band sounds,” said Goers. “Many factors there, but it certainly couldn’t have been done without the JBL PA we had.”
"Having previously used JBL A12 and A8 systems on past shows, Goers sees a consistent through line in the brand’s reliability and sound. 'What holds true across all of them is that they’re just easy. Sounds great out of the box. Didn’t take much to get them to sound the way I needed them to.'"
"With JBL Professional products supporting the stripped-down but high-energy House Party Tour, The All-American Rejects continue to bring professional audio to unexpected places - proving that with the right rig and the right attitude, the show can go on anywhere."
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