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In the new (9/08) issue of Mix, there’s a (short) interview with Mastadon’s FOH engineer/tour manager, Lewis Lovely (sidenote: what a badass name).

Mix: How much gear are you carrying on this tour?
Lovely: We are carrying backline and a mic package. The boys are in the middle of recording their new record with Brendan O’Brien and are really concentrating on that right now.

Do you have a specific mixing style for the band?
I try not to make any one thing the predominant ingredient in a mix. You always run across engineers who think kick drum and vocals are all you need to hear. I want to comfortably hear any of the little nuances Mastadon has written in their songs.

What is the most difficult portion of your job for this tour?
As tour manager and FOH engineer, I have the wonderful job of taking care of their daily lives. They are a true trouble-rousing rock ‘n’ roll band, so press is always fun to schedule. 

More than anything, I’m stoked to hear Mastadon’s new album. It’ll be interesting to hear if the new album more resembles earlier efforts (Remission, Leviathan) or their latest effort (Blood Mountain).

I’ve had this on my PC for some time: it’s a technical rider from Sunn O)))’s June/July 06 (I think) European tour. It’s not a holy grail documents by any means, but still kind of cool to see what the sound guys at each show were getting.

Notice how, on the rider, they ask you to “please be flexible.” I’ve never seen the word “please” on any rider or stage plot, ever.

You also get to see that Sunn, live as well as in the studio, play at 120dB.