By George Petersen
IT AIN’T EVERYDAY, BUT ONCE IN A WHILE I have the pleasure of talking to Fletcher, the founder/audio cult leader of Mercenary Audio, MercenaryAudio.com. And while we don’t always agree, I definitely respect this guy for his audio saavy–which is most impressive. He’s occasionally been the center of controversy, such as the time that the centerpiece of his AES booth was an Alesis ADAT and a Mackie 1604 mixer, held high for all to see–impaled on a huge metal spike. I think he referred to that as an art project, but later acquiesced to pressure from the AES to take it down as it offended certain showgoers.
Another time, some bozo was trying to sell replacement speaker cable kits with a pair of standard household AC plugs wired to 1/4-inch connectors. The idea was that if you needed a 100-foot speaker line for a live gig, you’d just attach these adapters to an orange AC extension cable and you’d be set. Well, set for electrocution–in case someone accidentally plugged one end into a 110-volt outlet while the other was in your amp/mixer etc. Great concept, perhaps, but a VERY BAD IDEA. Anyway, Fletcher offered his own protest by outlining a body silhouette (it might have been Eveanna Manley’s) on his booth floor in yellow tape, looking much like a crime scene right after CSI-AES arrives.
Anyway, we chatted for a while and somehow got on the subject of the weirdest calls we’d ever received. I recounted one I got from some guy who couldn’t find original Shure SM57 mics. He called a half dozen retailers, who only sold SM57-LC mics. What happened to the real thing–the classic that everyone uses on everything from snares to Fender Twins? I’m not sure if he was saddened or relieved when I simply told him that the “LC” designation simply meant “less cable,” meaning it didn’t come with a cord. The guy’s response was simply: “Oops. sorry…” [click].
Fletcher laughed, and then recounted a tale of some guy who called him a few years ago, looking for an original “blackfaced” ADAT. Given the Mercenary boy’s history with ADATs, he figured someone was putting him on, because even if someone did want an ADAT tape machine, they’d most certainly opt for one of the later versions with the improved electronics and transport. This guy went on to explain that he’d read about people printing rhythm tracks to tape as an effect, had tried it with an ADAT and really dug the way it “warmed” up the sound… This guy was certainly off his rocker, but had done the near-impossible, something that few have ever accomplished, leaving the quick witted–and highly opinionated–Fletcher himself speechless. The story is almost unbelieveable, yet Fletcher swears that it’s true. Ask him sometime.
When not working on MIX stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Click here www.jenpet.com/ariel.html and check ‘em out.
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