1st installment of “Interesting Band Facts” features Barry on stage, and takes a look at why his guitar amp faces backwards every night.

wes

This job definitely has its perks!

Ryan and Wes haning with Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals last season.

A lot of people have expressed interest in what type of instruments the guys use on stage each night. This is the first installment of Mercyme’s “gear.” Feel free to comment with more questions. Blessings,

wes

In this photo you cn see the second of two power crash cymbals that Robby uses.
In the upper part of this photo you can see his 18” Paiste cymbal, and on the left
side is his 14” Paiste high hat setup.

Robby’s snare is a custom made Yamaha Anton Fig model and uses a DW snare
as a backup. The first day of every four day run, each of the toms and snare get a fresh Remo
drum head. The snare gets a Coated Ambasador Contolled Sound head and the
toms both get Coated Emperors.

Robby uses all Paiste cymbals. He uses a 20” heavy ride cymbal which is seen
on the left side of this photo. The cymbal on the right is a 19” power crash Paiste.
Robby only uses two DW toms on his kit which can be seen on left (12”) and the
right (15”) of this photo.

Robby’s kick drum is a 20” DW with Remo Poker Stroke 3 drum head.

The throne is a Roc-N-Soc. He uses 5A and 9A Regal Tip sticks.

These are just some photos of the finish on the kit.

Ryan and the crew saying “goodbye” to Nashville AND The Winter Jam Tour!

Finally we are done and headin’ home for a while!

This is a wall mural that is in the Nashville aiport that people have the chance
to pose and take a picture with when you first get off the plane!

- wes

Hey guys,

Sorry we missed blogging yesterday but it was a pretty crazy day with the cancelled concert in Atlanta, and then riding on a bus all day and not having internet. So, we decided to post a little video of our setup in North Carolina on Friday.
We hope you a enjoy some insight into our world behind the scenes.

wes

Hey Guys, These are some pictures from last nights show in West Virginia showing you the LED video wall we currently have out on Winter Jam. Ryan, our Visual Director, is seen in one of the pictures watching the wall from side stage and making sure everything looks right.

He is responsible for all of the cool video you see at all of the Mercyme concerts. It is his job to edit the content and decide what type of video he will use on each tour to enhance the set.

See you guys tonight in North Carolina…….Go Tar Heels!

wes

Joel is giving out weekly per diem and they got me good with a “shocker” pen Jim got at a gag gift store…….Jim by far is the biggest prankster in MercyMe.

I hope I didnt hurt Joel when I hit him…..that stinkin’ hurt though.

wes

After dealing with a lot of boredom on the road to this point, and observing our band having so much fun with their blog, we (the MM crew) have decided to take matters into our own hands. Thats right, we have decided to introduce ourselves to the world and let you all in on who were are, and more importantly….what we do.

We have heard chatter and have seen other video documentaries on bands, concerts and the road from the perspective of those who set it up, make it work, and take it down every day….the crew.

Some of you might already be saying…”who cares!?” Well, we asked ourselves if people would actually be interested in those of us that are “behind the scenes” and not actully on the stage. We decided that there has to be people interested in the inner workings of this organization….surley……right? right!

We serve MM on a daily basis and have the pleasure of traveling with them every time they get on a bus. We all basically live together and see each other as much as our own families…….so, pretty much we are a family.

So….without furthur ado ….start checking in on us and see what we see….. the band from our perspective…. which could include, but is not limited to:

-Their gear: guitars, drums, keys, etc.
-what we have to do with them.
-Audio/Video: MM always has some form of video at their shows.
-Secrets about the band!
-Bus life for us and them.
-Life in general….we all have families at home too that always need and appreciate prayer.
-Dancing videos???? maybe…..we all danced in the “TA-DA’s” video on the band blog…..we like to have fun too!

We are:Ryan Slaughter: Lighting / Video director
Marlon Woods: Merchandise Manager
Bobby George: Monitor Engineer
Wes Amick: Production/Stage Manager
Danny Smith: Bus Driver
Joel Bench: Tour/Road Manager, Road Pastor

Talk to you all soon!

-Wes