Being a weekend warrior for the last 15 years has generated many crazy stories, but this one tops them all. The itinerary I received from the production company stated “six piece band, company party, 13th floor of the … hotel, sound check @ 6:00 p.m.” My wife of 27 years and I carry a one-ton rig in a utility trailer that I pull with my day-to-day AV install company truck. We pull up to the hotel at 2:30 p.m. and begin questioning the staff as to where to load in.
Read More »One of the more difficult facets of live sound is managing soundchecks. Most musicians will moan about how they don’t want to be bothered with a sound check, and in the next breath they’ll complain that their monitor mixes weren’t perfect at the start of the show.
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Mark Amundson had a gift for making technical details understandable to newbies without ever making the vets feel like they were being talked down to. His untimely death has left us with two holes to fill —one in our hearts, as we lost not only a writer but a dear friend, and another in the pages of FOH. Mark knew as well as anyone in this business that the show must go on, and we are just beginning the process of trying to find someone both willing and able to fill Mark’s very large shoes. For the next few issues, in a sort of tribute, we will re-run some of Mark’s own favorite columns. This one first appeared in FOH, Nov. 2007—ed.
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While cold jelly and custard may be every nineteenth century orphan’s dream of escape from gruel, this verse is precisely the reason hospitality riders were written into contracts. Being on the road itself is a grueling affair, and for the most part, there is not a large variety of highway food to choose from as the bus travels from town to town. Even airports, while offering a bit more variety in their dining experience, can only provide a limited fare.
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BRUSSELS — Square Brussels, a new event space, recently purchased Studer Vista 5 and Vista 5 SR consoles as part of the sound reinforcement system for its auditorium. Belgium-based company Play installed the consoles, which were purchased through Studer’s Belgian representative, HeynenNV.
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Stage Research’s RF Guru is a tool for finding the optimum combination of wireless microphone frequencies to be used at a venue and alleviate intermod (i.e., interference) problems. It calculates based on existing microphones, area TV stations, user-entered known bad frequencies and mic data from nearby neighboring venues.
Read More »SPOKANE, WA — Meyer Sound recently began shipping the self-powered JM-1P arrayable loudspeaker. One of the first shipments of these point source systems went to Eugene, Ore.-based Relles Sound, Inc., and the gear was quickly deployed for two recent music events.
Read More »SYRACUSE, NY — USITT will again be giving its Awards for Young Designers & Technicians in the Performing Arts, including the Robert E. Cohen Sound Achievement Award, based on a review of portfolios and letters of nomination from current USITT members.
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PESCARA, Italy — New Sound Service used Proel Sound Reinforcement systems for Tim Cup 2009, a major Italian soccer event. This year’s contest featured Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan in a three-way battle for the Cup at the at the Stadio Adriatico.
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KANAGAWA, Japan — MSI Japan has joined the L-Acoustics Rental Network and taken delivery of a K1/KUDO system and LA-RAK touring racks fitted with LA8 amplified controllers. MSI Japan’s director, Shuzo Fujii, also met recently with L-Acoustics founder Dr. Christian Heil.
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STURGIS, SD — The 2009 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally’s memorable quirks include a hailstorm that sent attendees scurrying for cover and Steven Tyler’s tour-interrupting fall from the stage. But at 70 years — nine years older than Tyler himself — the small regional gathering in 1938 has become an all-out, balls-to-the-wall biker extravaganza, and with a sound system to match.
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BURNLEY, U.K. — The Burnley Football Club was put to the test recently with a match against Manchester United, and the home team playing at Turf Moor stadium scored a David-vs.-Goliath upset victory. That meant the stadium’s recently-upgraded PA system would also need to overcome a worthy opponent — the roar of an excited home-team crowd.
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