I really couldn't think of anything to write about this week, so I decided to give you, the reader, the chance to ask questions of me and give me something to ramble on about. This may be the first of an occasional "Q&A" version of the column - if you have a music & technology question for me, go ahead and email me at ev@12RODS.com.

Q: I like live shows. I go to them a lot. I like it when the band plays nice and loud. I don't like it when the singer stops and says something like "can I have more vocals". Why do they have to do that?

A: You're referring to the age-old live show monitoring problem. Because rock bands nowadays have powerful guitar amplifiers and very loud drums, a historically-named P.A. system (abbreviated from "public address") is necessary to amplify the sound of the vocals so that the audience can hear them over the band. Since these P.A. speakers face towards the audience, they don't help the performers on stage hear what they're doing - in fact, the band can be so loud on stage sometimes that you can't even hear yourself scream! That's why the other "secret" half of the P.A. system is the "monitoring" system - a set of speakers that point towards the performers that the audience doesn't hear. Sometimes these monitors aren't turned up loud enough for the singer to hear themselves over the band - usually the person attending the sound board is trying to be careful to avoid "feedback" - that awful high-pitched squealing that makes the whole audience groan in pain. There's a careful balance between too soft and too loud that makes the band perform well and be happy to be on stage. Sometimes the only way the singer can get the attention of the sound person is to say - through the P.A. - "can I have more vocals in my monitor?". It's unfortunately very distracting during a show - which is why sound checks were invented.