Sonic Joyride Takes Celestion SR3's on the Road

Sep 03, 1997

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New Hampshire-based band Sonic Joyride is currently using four Celestion SR3 loudspeaker systems as stage monitors on its one-of-a-kind, six-week, 140-concert (yes, 140!) national "Bizarre Bazaar Tour".

Sonic Joyride's tour bus-a modified school bus nick-named the 'Cosmic Sled'- features a full 16x8-foot stage welded to its roof, speakers mounted into its side and two Honda generators underneath capable of supplying a hefty 10,000 watts of power. All of the musicians' amps, instruments, mics and Celestion SR3s are left under a two-foot-high stage cover atop the bus, which lifts to serve as a multimedia backdrop for the band's show. With sixteen tracks of digital recording gear in the bus, Sonic Joyride can both self-sufficiently perform and record anywhere the bus can go.

Chris Hobler, Sonic Joyride's singer/guitarist, and Rick Reese, bassist/synth player, are each using two Celestion SR3 loudspeakers for stage monitoring. David Luke, the band's engineer and tour manager, comments, "When looking for monitors, we had several stringent requirements. Because of our limited stage size, we needed something with a small footprint, but at no sacrifice to high power handling. It was also necessary to select a loudspeaker with excellent transient response, due to the band's extremes in program material. Obviously, since the shows on this tour are outdoors, it was additionally important to make sure that our monitors would feature superior shock and weather resistance. The Celestion SR3s met all of these requirements and have been performing flawlessly."

Sonic Joyride is performing at locations around the country as unusual as the World's Largest Ball of Twine (Cawker City, KS), Area 51 (Roswell, NM), Carhenge (Alliance, NB), the Jolly Green Giant statue (Blue Earth, MN) and anywhere else they can attract an eclectic audience. Playing up to five times a day, depending on the distance between stops, the band has already garnered the attention of MTV, CNN and numerous other media for its highly unconventional tour. The band is shooting video footage at almost every stop on the tour, the results of which can be downloaded and viewed on the band's web site at: www.sonicjoyride.com.

The Celestion SR3 loudspeaker utilizes an innovative eight-inch, concentric cone/dome driver to provide incredibly high-output, full-frequency sound with sweet, clear high-end performance. The SR3's rugged, injection-molded cabinet, metal speaker grille and diminutive size make it an ideal choice for stage monitoring out on the road.

Celestion Industries, KH America, Inc., a subsidiary of Celestion International, is a manufacturer of speaker components and loudspeaker systems for professional audio markets with corporate headquarters in Holliston, MA.

For more information, visit their web site at www.celestion.com.