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Stuart Delk and Jon Jon Garber

Stuart Delk and Jon Jon Garber

Rascal Flatts Continues to Grow, As Do Complications

The phenomenon that is Rascal Flatts is like the universe — it just keeps expanding. And for those out on the road with the trio, there’s a pretty simple reason: The band is listening.

“These are artists who are very fan-oriented,” says Stuart Delk. “They listen to the critics and the fans. They read what both are saying and respond accordingly.” Whether it’s what song they play and where in the set list it’s placed, or what gags and dramatics garner the biggest response, Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney continue to tweak their way into stratospheric stardom.

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Oh, What a Job!

When Does a Tour Turn into an Install?

The LaSalle Bank Theater in downtown Chicago is a grand old house in the Broadway tradition. It opened in 1906 as the Majestic Theater and, for many years, was a prime stop on the Orpheum circuit. The theater went dark during the Depression, but was taken over by the Shubert family fol-lowing World War II. For years, it housed Broadway shows, both on tour (Cats, A Chorus Line) and on their way to Broadway (Spamalot, Sweet Smell of Success). In 2005, the theatre closed for a multimillion-dollar restoration project and reopened in 2006 to great acclaim. This October, it became the home of the Chicago tour of Jersey Boys.

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Bits and Pieces

There’s a Bunch of Stuff to Keep Track of…
Inventory! Not necessarily the sexiest or most glamorous part of the live audio business, but definitely the lifeblood of what we do. As well as pro-viding income, our equipment defines us professionally. The equipment we stock as audio providers draws to us a certain clientele who, once happy with the product, will hopefully return to us time and again looking to repeat past successes. As our companies branch out and expand, we may sell or dispose of old equipment, while updating and replenishing our inventory with the hope of adding new clients to our roster. Certain companies cater to nonmusical corporate events, while others accommodate concert venues. Whether one has a warehouse filled with all the latest gear, or just a small DJ rig stored in the back of a van, it is still inventory that needs to be taken into account.

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Once Upon a Time When Things Were Simple

Well it’s that time of month again. The staff is screaming for an editors note, and I would rather have all of my fingernails pulled out with a pair of rusty needle-nose pliers that came from a lampy’s fog juice-soaked tool belt than write one.

I mean, I have been shooting my mouth off in print in this space for more than five years. Is there really anything left to say? Does any of it really matter? OK, way too philosophical. It just gets hard to keep up sometimes with an industry that is changing at the speed of sound.

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Air Traffic Control

With all the recent discussion about how difficult it may become for our industry to use wireless audio devices, it’s comforting to know that at least one manufacturer has been hard at work on something that makes using wireless audio easier. Professional Wireless Systems (a Masque Sound Company) has developed a product called Intermodulation Analysis Software (IAS). The purpose of IAS is to facilitate coordination of wireless audio frequencies in any locale, minimizing the chance for interference with local television and radio stations.

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What Blew Up the Harman Deal?

Harman International is a huge player in the live sound arena, with brands including JBL, Soundcraft, BSS and dbx, but in September it had more in common with the real estate market than it did with the music business. Harman’s high-flying stock soared to $124 per share last April when two private equity companies, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s private equity unit, stated that they wanted to take the company private, offering a premium over and above the stock’s stated value, for a total of $8 billion. However, the deal fell apart five months later, with KKR and Goldman Sachs backing out in the wake of the crash of the credit markets last summer, when bad mortgages rolled into repackaged securities began exploding like pipe bombs in portfolios all over the world.

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Hanging with Gear Snob Rob

Howdy Anklebiters readers,
My esteemed colleague Brian Cassell is getting married and all that it entails, so at the suggestion of the Editor, I am writing this column with my imaginary friend to keep the conversational quality of the piece. I have decided to name my imaginary friend Gear Snob Rob. He is a smarter and more experienced sound engineer — a little jaded, because he’s a major tour guy.

In honor of Brian’s wedding, I recount a wedding situation I recently worked. Hope you enjoy it and send Brian well-wishes on his honeymoon, while he employs a part of his anatomy besides his ears!

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Guys and Dolls Swings with Meyer Sound

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND — Revival theatre productions are usually a sure bet at the box office. The trick, of course, is to stay true to the original while incorporating fresh, new concepts. With this goal in mind, Sound Designers Chris Full and Terry Jardine of London’s Autograph Sound Recording, Ltd. set out to infuse new life into the UK tour of the classic musical Guys and Dolls. 

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Big Chill Festival Chills Out with DiGiCo

LEDBURY, ENGLAND — With over 200 acts playing on 12 stages over three days, Big Chill is rapidly becoming one of the must-visit events of the UK summer festival season. Held at Eastnor Castle Deer Park, near Worcester, from Aug. 3–5, this year was the first that Dobson Sound Productions had supplied the audio infrastructure for all the festival stages. So the company took the opportunity to also make Big Chill ‘all digital’ for the first time.

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