Did Green Day just lip sync on SNL?

[suedesound]

Anybody want a peanut?

[PinnacleProdUK]

Did anybody see Green day live from abbey road? That was perfect and all live, and when they played in milton keys, the audio recording is almost identical to the studio recording.

Everybody moans when it isnt live and still moans when it is!

[Matchless1069]

Watched the Know Your Enemy youtube video, no lip sync thats all live. My question is to Chris or Butch, did Billy do all his guitar solos on the album or did the backup player perform the solos on the record? It is nice to see that they are using real musicians to fill the parts live instead prerecorded tape.

[Mike Caffrey]

Originally Posted by ButchVig

Originally Posted by Zooben

Chris, thanx for posting this! He is right when he gives you the situation....there were 5 of us (all gearheads) who were doing the best we could on the fly to make it sound amazing. We did a sound check in the afternoon, then the band plays the songs in a live run through (in front of an audience) around 8 pm. Jay, Joe and Kevin dialed the sound in, and it's cool to see how the process flows. They record the performance, so we could go back and work on the drums, guitars, Billie's vocal etc, until we were happy with it. Everyone did an amazing job! And I will backup Chris....no autotune, triggers, or bullshit! That's Green Day playing live!
The funny thing is, the earlier live run was good...but I got a sense they were holding back a bit...and when record lights when on at midnight, they kicked it up several notches....SOMEHOW, the WHOLE mix sounded better...and we hadn't changed anything in the control room!
FYI: right after the closing credits, the band yelled "let's keep playing" and jumped back onstage to the delight of the audience. They played one of my fave tracks off the new album "East Jesus Nowhere"...and Will Ferrell jumped onstage with a cowbell, and everybody lost it, it was SOOOO funny!!!!

That's a cool idea.

Did they just record it flat off the pres, then tweak and then patch in the mixed signal path for the broadcast?

[LostInSound]

Originally Posted by ButchP

I only heard bits of the 2nd tune but on the first one BJ wasn't even close to playing the rhythm parts.It looked so odd I just thought the video /audio was out of sync.I can understand some bands synchin but GD ...theys be rock n roll ...right????..... tutt

BP

FYI, there was an extra guitarist on stage BJ wasn't playing all the rhythm parts.

[Kevin Lemoine]

Hi everyone. Chris Dugan told me about this forum, and in particular, this thread. I'm Green Day's live and broadcast engineer. My name is Kevin Lemoine and I've been with Green Day since 2000. I've engineered every live show and every television broadcast for the last nine years for these guys. There seems to be some doubts about this performance being live or not. My hands were on the console and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt that it was in fact performed live buy the six musicians on stage in front of a studio audience, for all to hopefully enjoy. There are no lip sync actions, no auto tune, no click tracks and no pre-recorded material. The fellows up there know what they are doing and are good at it. Also, it makes my job easier to have the best tech guys around doing monitors, tuning drums, guitars and basses to make my job easier. I know that I am brand spanking new to this forum in particular, but I have twenty years worth of experience in the live and broadcast sound field. Any questions about technique or really, whatever you want to quiz me on is welcome. And in my roaming around on this forum, I have a lot to learn from and look at. Great place you have here.
Kevin Lemoine

[Everyman]

Welcome, Kevin...your expert testimony is most appreciated...:P

[CapnMarvel]

Ha! The studio engineer and then the live sound engineer BOTH come on this forum to lay down some truth.

It's called professionalism - Green Day has it. They have a crack road crew and can afford greatness in the studio. Assuming a band as long-running as this can't play live without trickery is either the height of cynicism or the depth of low expectations. And yes, Green Day is a tight, good sounding rock and roll band, but they're not exactly playing 'The Rite of Spring' up there, either.

I wonder what these guys would say if they were to see Pavarotti sing live? "Autotune! Click track! Teleprompter! That gut CAN'T be real!

[Demonslave]

Please tell me you guys aren't serious! That was live, come on! That's dry ass easy stuff here, not master of puppets! (cliff em all, not recent)tutt

[Marcadiablo]

They played on The Colbert Report last night and it sounded as good as always. Very tight, punchy and awesome. No wonder is one of my favorite bands of all time.

[Fuzzy Logic]

did anyone see the goodmorning america broadcast of green day?
i saw the letterman and snl performances and they sounded amaizing to me. the gma mix did not sound anything like the late night shows.
i wonder why the gma mix was so lame?

[Remoteness]

I heard the GMA Green Day set.
I didn't catch GD on SNL, but I checked them out on Letterman.
GD sounded pretty awesome on Letterman!

[talbe1019]

Originally Posted by Johnkenn

The second song was obviously live, but that first one sounded like the studio and didn't have a live feel. Put it this way - that's some mighty in tune vocals for a punk band...if it was live, I would be impressed - or frightened that singers are starting to sound naturally like they're autotuned...

He said "punk"....it kills me when band like Green Day is considered "punk".
They had a bit of attitude in the early days...but real punk is bands like the Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, GBH, Anti Nowhere League, The Exploited and The Germs just to name a few. All these bands like the Offspring, Good Charlotte, The Living End and MXPX (for example) really aren't what traditional punk once was...

[Gravity]

Originally Posted by audiovisceral

ya no shit huh?

haven't any of you been to a decent rock show before?

the only help is as pointed out you can see at least one other background singer off to tre's side and there's the added backup guitar player who's probably also awesome doing harmonies too. big deal.

as for the drums sounding 'sampled', look how hard he's wailing that snare. it's standard modern drumming style. the guy from paramore (and the drummers from countless other current bands) hits the same for the same sound. it's just a playing technique.

I saw them on the Colbert Report the other day, same song, and the same weird backup gutiar guy... (What happend to the green day I knew in HIghschool? 3 guys... this 4 guy crap is BS man.. just BS... Sellouts! )

Good performance, but It was very clearly live. BJ tweaked some of the notes and you coudl tell from his lips that he was matching what you were hearing too well to be lip sync.

[swafford]

Originally Posted by talbe1019

really aren't what traditional punk once was...

HAHAHA, you said traditional punk.

I know how you feel, when I listen to Buddy Guy or Robert Cray (w'as up Robert, couldn't get a better handle then that?) , I think, man those guys are nothing like Robert Johnson or Mississippi John Hurt. What a bunch of poseurs! I hate it when people take traditional music forms and bastardize them for their own, selfish ends.

Really, who cares if Green Day is not The Clash. They do their thing, they do it well and it beats the pants of Disney Rock and most of the dreck oozing out of Nashville and LA. The kids seem to dig it and maybe it leads them to down the road to Fear or Squirrel Bait or The Minutemen or Bad Brains, or even to that first wave, Traditional Punk rock band that was all about integrity and 'keeping it real' The Sex Pistols.

[Gravity]

Thanks for coming round. This is what I love about this forum

Originally Posted by Kevin Lemoine

Hi everyone. Chris Dugan told me about this forum, and in particular, this thread. I'm Green Day's live and broadcast engineer. My name is Kevin Lemoine and I've been with Green Day since 2000. I've engineered every live show and every television broadcast for the last nine years for these guys. There seems to be some doubts about this performance being live or not. My hands were on the console and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt that it was in fact performed live buy the six musicians on stage in front of a studio audience, for all to hopefully enjoy. There are no lip sync actions, no auto tune, no click tracks and no pre-recorded material. The fellows up there know what they are doing and are good at it. Also, it makes my job easier to have the best tech guys around doing monitors, tuning drums, guitars and basses to make my job easier. I know that I am brand spanking new to this forum in particular, but I have twenty years worth of experience in the live and broadcast sound field. Any questions about technique or really, whatever you want to quiz me on is welcome. And in my roaming around on this forum, I have a lot to learn from and look at. Great place you have here.
Kevin Lemoine

[talbe1019]

Originally Posted by swafford

HAHAHA, you said traditional punk.

I know how you feel, when I listen to Buddy Guy or Robert Cray (w'as up Robert, couldn't get a better handle then that?) , I think, man those guys are nothing like Robert Johnson or Mississippi John Hurt. What a bunch of poseurs! I hate it when people take traditional music forms and bastardize them for their own, selfish ends.

Really, who cares if Green Day is not The Clash. They do their thing, they do it well and it beats the pants of Disney Rock and most of the dreck oozing out of Nashville and LA. The kids seem to dig it and maybe it leads them to down the road to Fear or Squirrel Bait or The Minutemen or Bad Brains, or even to that first wave, Traditional Punk rock band that was all about integrity and 'keeping it real' The Sex Pistols.

I hear ya...Green Day and the like are good at what they do...but when they are called "punk" that is where is really kills me. I think you are right and the same can be said about most forms of music...and yeah if they take it and make it their own that is fine....just give it a new name. I think if people heard "California Uber Alles" or "TV Party" back to back with "Basket Case" they would understand...or maybe they wouldn't.

[heyman]

2 things..

Anyone notice their cabs were mic'd up with Royers... very cool..

Also..

I got a chance to hang out with them before they broke big with Dookie.

They are the Real Deal. Always have been.

I sat in on a rehersal before a show one time and they were amazing. Tighest 3 piece I have ever seen.

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by Kevin Lemoine

Hi everyone. Chris Dugan told me about this forum, and in particular, this thread. I'm Green Day's live and broadcast engineer. My name is Kevin Lemoine and I've been with Green Day since 2000. I've engineered every live show and every television broadcast for the last nine years for these guys. There seems to be some doubts about this performance being live or not. My hands were on the console and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt that it was in fact performed live buy the six musicians on stage in front of a studio audience, for all to hopefully enjoy. There are no lip sync actions, no auto tune, no click tracks and no pre-recorded material. The fellows up there know what they are doing and are good at it. Also, it makes my job easier to have the best tech guys around doing monitors, tuning drums, guitars and basses to make my job easier. I know that I am brand spanking new to this forum in particular, but I have twenty years worth of experience in the live and broadcast sound field. Any questions about technique or really, whatever you want to quiz me on is welcome. And in my roaming around on this forum, I have a lot to learn from and look at. Great place you have here.
Kevin Lemoine

Kevin,

Thanks so much for chiming in on this thread.

We never met, but we worked with each other during the WBCN-FM River Rave in 2001 at Foxborough Stadium in Foxborough, MA.

We always enjoyed working those River Raves even though they were seriously long days.

I caught the Letterman performance - I thought it was awesome; excellent work!
I look forward to catching the SNL performances on a rerun.

I also saw the Good Morning America performance.
The band had a lot of energy for 7:00AM!
I was wondering what you thought of that GMA broadcast?

Thanks again for dropping by.
Keep up the excellent work!
See you down the road...

[mixedupsteve]

I'm a Fugazi kinda guy!!

[Lemontree]

I'd bet my left nut that most of the negatives are coming from home studios or guys with only a year or two real experience behind a live desk.

I'll tell you what, I just watched THE KILLERS on Jonathan Ross live, 3 songs..bang on AS GOOD as you can get it for 3 songs. No shaddow of a DOUBT it's all live. It's no surprise that there are still a few good bands left who can actualy do what it says on the tin.

[equallyscrewed]

i think its funny that people are mystified over the second guitarist?! He was in Pinhead Gunpowder with BJ and has been playing with GD since at least the Warning World Tour.

I seen the Abby Road special. Noice!! Kevin, if your still about, were you at that one? Id be interested to know if you got to run riot with Abby Road's mic collection or if they just provided the room?

Thanks again to yourself and Butch for chiming in on all this stuff about the new album - live and studio! thumbsup

xcx

[Juice Malone]

How dare they bring more than 3 people on stage, I am shocked and appauled

*hugs copy of Dookie*

[Kevin Lemoine]

Remoteness - Yeah, I was not too happy with GMA. For television broadcast we usually have at least an hour to mix before the show starts up, but this time around we were kind of rushed. Didn't really get a chance to do what we normally do because of time restraints (super early show) and it seemed that muting the naughty words on the fly was of more importance to the higher-ups that anything else. That could have been a good one, but at least you can hear everything up front, and considering the time of day, the band guys did a great job with the show. Definitely not as tweaked as I would have liked, but not too bad, and management and the band were happy with it, so I guess that all is well.
Equallyscrewed - Abby Road.... YESS!!! We were there for two days going through every nook and cranny of that place. Must have gotten the tour of the mic room four times and still am in awe. Everything that's cool is there in spades. Total mecca for me. EMI consoles everywhere and two inch four tracks in the hallway. Unreal. And the goosebumps that come over you when you simply step into the big room...
If you guys get a chance to come out to a live show, please say hello and I'll give you the tour of our stuff. We are in rehearsals right now for the arenas and the gear this go 'round is the best ever. Can't wait to get back to the real live shows!
-Kevin-

[equallyscrewed]

Originally Posted by Kevin Lemoine

If you guys get a chance to come out to a live show, please say hello and I'll give you the tour of our stuff. We are in rehearsals right now for the arenas and the gear this go 'round is the best ever. Can't wait to get back to the real live shows!
-Kevin-

Have been doing for years thumbsup If and when you come back to scotland, let me know! I'll come over and say hi


Thanks for the Abbey Road info dude!

xcx

[rdrake2929]

I have seen the band live four different times, and there was never any lip syncing action going on. Billie can stay on pitch. I heard a few of the Mike's higher harmonies get a little off, but that's to be expected when you're concentrating on rocking everybody's socks off. Green Day is a ridiculously seasoned live band. There's no reason for them to be nervous. I'd be curious to see what Butch Vig thinks of this.

[Remoteness]

Kevin,

Thanks for chiming in again.

It’s quite fascinating how much of a difference there is in the sound quality of the morning shows apposed to the late night shows on television. News shows are a completely different animal. IMO, the late night shows have a better grasp on the music production dynamic and it shows in the quality of the production. In any event, I thought the band nailed their GMA performance; the energy was awesome.

They ran the SNL (Green Day) episode again and I got a chance to check it out for myself.
IMHO, that was not lip-synced! They sounded focused and on point just like and seasoned band should.

[gravitywinsagain]

Originally Posted by Zooben

Funny stuff you guys...

I was there at SNL in the control room and can assure you that there was no lip syncing, click tracks, autotune, or magic. There were 5 engineers in the room during the dress rehearsals and the live performances, myself, Butch Vig, Kevin Lemoine (FOH), Jay and Joe (SNL).

The BG vocs sounded great. The first song has 3 people singing background, two high one low. There are four people singing background on the second song. Two singing the high part and two singing the low.

Definitely no click, that should be obvious.

We did battle like crazy to keep the cymbals out of Billie's mic, it was d'essed and Kevin rode the fader anytime he was off it.

I thought it was a great show! They stayed after and played two more song for the crowd. It was a great night.. I got to meet Will Ferrell!

absolutely...sounds live to me! green day are just an amazing live band who have been doing it for so long, it should be no surprise that they can replicate their records live!

[gravitywinsagain]

Originally Posted by Kevin Lemoine

Remoteness - Yeah, I was not too happy with GMA. For television broadcast we usually have at least an hour to mix before the show starts up, but this time around we were kind of rushed. Didn't really get a chance to do what we normally do because of time restraints (super early show) and it seemed that muting the naughty words on the fly was of more importance to the higher-ups that anything else. That could have been a good one, but at least you can hear everything up front, and considering the time of day, the band guys did a great job with the show. Definitely not as tweaked as I would have liked, but not too bad, and management and the band were happy with it, so I guess that all is well.
Equallyscrewed - Abby Road.... YESS!!! We were there for two days going through every nook and cranny of that place. Must have gotten the tour of the mic room four times and still am in awe. Everything that's cool is there in spades. Total mecca for me. EMI consoles everywhere and two inch four tracks in the hallway. Unreal. And the goosebumps that come over you when you simply step into the big room...
If you guys get a chance to come out to a live show, please say hello and I'll give you the tour of our stuff. We are in rehearsals right now for the arenas and the gear this go 'round is the best ever. Can't wait to get back to the real live shows!
-Kevin-

if you guys ever make it down to south africa, i would love to meet you kevin and see exactly how you do it...the live mix from videos always sounds so good. peace!