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Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda is touring with his new group, Fort Minor, which also includes MC Takbir “Tak” Bashir, MC Ryan “Ryu” Maginn, DJ/MC Colton “Cheapshot” Fisher and drummer Jermain “Beatdown” McQueen. Before The Rising Tied came out, Fort Minor and front-of-house engineer Brad Madix did a promo tour through Europe; when the album dropped, Shinoda added three backup vocalists and strings. Mix caught up with Madix at San Francisco's Fillmore in late February.
“We have a mic package and in-ear monitor system,” Madix says. “Everything else today is from the house. We have carried a pair of [Yamaha] PM5Ds and a snake on some of our U.S. dates, along with all the stage cables, mics — everything but racks and stacks — in a trailer behind the bus. We're heading to Australia and New Zealand, and as if [Shinoda's] not busy enough, Mike had a studio thrown in his bus, writing new Linkin Park material.
“As often as we can, we get a PM5D; I can pop a card in the 5D and go. When I have that board, I have nothing outboard. It's pretty flexible, which is an advantage working with an act like this. Mixing these guys, and strings, high volume is tricky. The other thing is learning the parts because these guys take turns taking the lead and they have to pop out when the time comes.
“This is the first true rap tour I've done. I didn't really know what to expect, but I've been really happy about getting involved in it. Mike [Shinoda] is great to work with, as is Beau Alexander, our monitor engineer, and the rest of the band and crew.”
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