POP MUSIC What's new? Not lip-synching

Canned tracks are rarely used for lead vocals.
By RAFER GUZMAN
NEWSDAY
What's the most shocking thing about the news that Ashlee Simpson lip-synched during a "Saturday Night Live" performance last month?
That anyone's shocked at all.
Lip-synching goes back to the early days of "American Bandstand," where performers simply mimed to their own records. But as pop stars create increasingly sophisticated shows with complicated dance numbers, they're relying more on taped vocals, backing tracks and sampled instruments. Super Bowl halftime shows, national anthems at sports games, award shows and everyday arena concerts frequently make use of recorded music. And with the advent of portable computer technology, even low-budget bands playing at small clubs are using canned sounds onstage.
Lead vocals
"A huge percentage of concerts use nonvocal backing tracks," says Paul Sandweiss, owner of Hollywood-based Sound Design Corp., which provides audio services for televised performances. "For lead vocals, it's used very minimally. And people that do it run the risk of being called lip-synchers."
Simpson's label, Geffen Records, referred to the singer's disembodied voice as a mistakenly cued "backing track." But Paul Liszewski, an independent producer who has managed audio operations for the past eight Super Bowl halftime shows, says that's unlikely. Backing tracks are typically harmonies or background vocals that come in during a chorus. "In all of my experience, I've never had a performer use a taped vocal and their own vocal," Liszewski says. "It never happens."
Blamed the drummer
Simpson's father and manager, Joe Simpson, blamed the drummer for starting the wrong song. Indeed, backing tracks are often stored on a hard drive mounted somewhere on the drum kit. The drummer triggers the track and then, through his headphones or ear-bud monitors, hears a "click track" that counts off a number of beats. That prompts him to count out loud to the band so everyone starts together.
"If the band's not at the right place at the right time, it'll sound painful," Sandweiss says.
Audio professionals say fans today expect a certain amount of canned material at concerts. "It makes sense when it enhances the performance," Liszewski says. "It's when it replaces the performance that fans feel cheated."