Guitarist/singer Paul Barrere joined in 1974, and became a major influence on Little Feat's direction until the group was disbanded by founder Lowell George in 1979. Little Feat reunited in 1988 for a major comeback (minus George, who died in 1979) with Let It Roll, which went gold on the strength of southern rock-and-blues-tinged singles like "Texas Twister." The band found itself with a new career, and Little Feat has since earned a reputation as a crowd-pleasing live act, regardless of the interest of radio programmers or MTV. Paul Barrere has much to share about performing live. He's been around the block so many times that he can't help but offer words of wisdom (especially to his son, who is active with his own musical projects).

Being both a singer and guitar player, Barrere is well aware of the need to monitor his two performances at once. He prefers what some now consider to be the old-fashioned way of hearing a guitar signal and vocals, the on-stage monitor. He isn't as keen on the in-ear monitoring preferred by many newer groups. "Even though I don't care for them," Barrere says, "they seem to work for others."

Barrere says singers who wear in-ear monitors may need to compensate when struggling to hear themselves, the rest of the band, and how it's all mixing together. "One simple trick is to have just one earplug in, that way you do get more of your own voice in your head and hopefully you won't strain to hit notes, straining is the easiest way to sing sharp that I know of."

One reason in-ear monitors are so popular? Fewer feedback issues. If, like Barrere, a band doesn't choose the in-ear system, (or simply can't afford one) they will have plenty of trial and error time with speaker-based monitoring before they figure out what configuration works best for them. Barrere advises, "Make sure that some monitors are not too loud to create feedback and sound-loops, low end hums."

Playing to the room

Modifying the band's presentation according to the size of the venue is also important. "Play to the size of the room," he says. Feedback is only part of the picture; audience comfort is also a factor. "Some will play too loud for the room, so take all that into consideration." The amount of volume needed for a mid-size club would be a punishing amount of decibels in a high school gym or a small, all-ages venue.

Some bands struggle with sound issues their more experienced counterparts have already ironed out. The reason is often a matter of economics. "Their biggest problem is lack of gear," Barrere says, "so they will run mics through guitar amps and wonder why the sound is so bad." Barrere says the poor sound quality of this technique is due in part to changes in technology. "Guitar amps are made to run things with pickups in them, mics don't have pickups." Barrere adds, "Back in the old days there were amps that had both kinds of inputs."

Barrere says his son was guilty of using this technique in his garage-band performances, so he offered a bit of fatherly help. "I cured that problem for them by loaning a small Mackie mixer, and a power amp with monitor speakers. Now they have to play softer to hear the vocals, but if you have the right guitar amps you should be able to replicate overdrive with lower volumes." And for those who can't afford the extra gear? "The best thing and cheapest thing to do when running the mic through a guitar amp," Barrere advises, "is to add extension speakers, that helps spread out the load, and while its not the greatest situation, at least it helps a bit."

New singers may find it challenging to assemble the right combination of mics and monitors to suit them. Barrere recommends some experimentation at the music shop. “First and foremost, if you can try to demo the different mics and monitors available to you . . . find one you are comfortable with. Singing is all about comfort, if you can't hear you won't be comfortable and thus won't sing as well." Getting some expert soundcheck advice with an existing collection of gear is also a good idea. "Try to get together with an experienced sound engineer either at a rehearsal hall, or wherever you can, and get some input from them. They can hopefully tell you where your problem frequencies are and what to do to alleviate those problems."

DIY EQ

Barrere suggests that bands learn to be self-sufficient as their knowledge allows until they can afford to bring on a good sound engineer. "Learn to do it yourself, different rooms need different EQ settings, learn what makes you comfortable. Have whoever is running the monitors dial it in the way you like. For instance, if you are not hearing yourself well on stage it might be a question of adding or subtracting a frequency and not just adding volume." Knowing which frequencies to adjust, and when, is half the battle.

Barrere's concerns with his own live sound start out at a very basic level. "That my gear is working of course is the top concern, and that my monitor engineer knows exactly what it is I like in my monitor, usually just my voice is all i need, except for the few times I play acoustic guitar, then it has to be in the mix as well."

Little Feat's live setup has the usual challenges faced by a group of its size. "With seven people on stage and seven different mixes going on, I usually get a well rounded sound of the band on stage through others monitors, there are a few times when that doesn't work and I will add things to my own mix."

As a career unfolds, every singer eventually finds one or two microphones they prefer. "For years I used the Shure 58, and have just recently changed to a Audio-Technica ATM 410." Why the switch? Sometimes it's a matter of finding the right gear for the right application. Barrere says of the more recent use of the ATM 410, it's "mainly because we are doing more live recording of shows and this one has a better frequency response, and also lets in less of the stage ambient noise."

Little Feat continues to be a viable live act in part because of techniques learned from decades of experience perfecting live sound, presentation, and showmanship. For Barrere, it's not just the content of the music, there's also a great deal of care given to tailoring the presentation. The size of the room, the audience's comfort level and expectation of sound quality are all major factors. A less experienced group may simply plug in and blast away at top volume; over time the group that learns to finesse its sound for maximum effectiveness is the one that continues to draw audiences. Just ask Paul Barrere.