Matt Herr and Alan Richardson (‘Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium’ sound mixers): ‘He’s truly wonderful to work for’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
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“Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium” streamed via Disney+ on November 20, 2022. It was the musical icon’s last concert at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and the final American stop of his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.” The special has earned three Emmy nominations: Best Variety Special (Live), Best Sound Mixing for a Variety Series/Special and Best Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Special. Elton John‘s longtime FOH mixer, Matt Herr, and monitor mixer, Alan Richardson, joined Gold Derby to discuss their history with the legend and their first Emmy nomination. Watch the exclusive video interview above.
“I joined the tour in 2004,” says Herr. “I was just very fortunate. I started in 2004 and never left.” Richardson adds, “The first time you meet him, he likes to put you at ease and he just says hello. And he knows people’s names, which is surprising. That surprises a lot of people. But he finds out who you are and what you’re doing. I started with him in 1994.”
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Herr explains his position as FOH mixer (also known as front of house), “You go into the empty arenas or venues, wherever they are, and you deploy the sound system and try to cover every seat as best you can. My system engineer was probably the best in the business. He configured the PA the way it needed to be every day. And then I just would go in and kind of tune the PA to make it sound as best as I could. And some would say it’s challenging that the band doesn’t soundcheck, but I think Alan would agree. It’s a little easier that they don’t. So we would kind of just get dialed in within the first two songs and then, off we’d go. I’m constantly adjusting levels of all the instrumentation, song by song, nightly.”
Richardson describes the monitor mixer as the “hot seat,” stating, “You’re dealing with the artist and the band one-on-one. Everything is direct eye contact. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, which lets me fit right in with Elton because he’s a perfectionist. He knows what he wants, he knows what he wants to hear. He wants to hear it very loud. It’s one of those things where after so many years, I know what he’s expecting. Each afternoon I go up and listen to his wedges, tweak any frequencies that need to be done. It’s a routine that you get into. Matt and I work really well. I have to say, when it comes to our afternoons of getting the systems ready, I know what he needs. He knows what I need. We work together.”
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After spending so many nights with John on tour, both found a new appreciation for the concert once they watched it back on Disney+. “For me, it was the camera shots,” says Herr. “We’re both sitting in the same place, and have for so long, that seeing it from a different vantage point I thought was really great. Some of the aerial shots, some of the stage shots were really cool.”
Richardson agrees, adding, “Seeing the show from those different angles was fantastic. When you’re doing the shows, you’re in the heat of the moment, you know, and you don’t think about any of that. So going back and seeing it later was really a pleasure. I enjoyed it.”
Now that John has officially retired, both men reflect on what they’ll miss most about working with the legend. “Him really, he’s truly fantastic,” says Herr. “Like Alan said earlier, he knows people’s names. He’s met my family. He’s just been truly wonderful to work for. That’s what I’ll miss. He has such a great sense of humor.” Richardson agrees, stating, “I have to give credit where credit is due. Keith Bradley, our tour manager, he has put together a group of people on the technical end that is just fantastic. In my opinion, there’s none better. And Elton, he’s fantastic. Like Matt says, he knows my family. He knows my kids. I will miss the one-on-ones with him.”
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