R.E.M. are touring in support of the Accelerate album, released earlier this year, which debuted at number two on the Billboard charts. The band continues to be led by iconic lead singer Michael Stipe, with Peter Buck on guitar and Mike Mills on bass. They are supported by Scott McCaughey as a second guitarist, keyboardist and utility man, as well as Bill Rieflin on drums.
The tour kicks off in late May with a month of North American dates before moving on to an extensive set of European dates over the summer. Oxnard, California-based Rat Sound Systems Inc. is serving as the sound reinforcement company for the tour, and is supplying the 22 EAW MicroWedge MW12 wedges under the direction of Squiers.
"The new EAW MicroWedge is a very loud and a great-sounding design," states Squiers. "I love the smooth natural high-end and the amazing low-end it reproduces. The low-end is leaps and bounds over any single 12-inch design I've run across, competing with and exceeding most single 15-inch designs. Single source point philosophy also goes very far in my book."
(Jim Evans)
