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Church and State

Church and State

Sometimes I do very stupid things, even when I know in advance that they're stupid. Call it a thick head or a stubborn streak, but I just don't learn.

I am about to do one of those stupid things right now. I may live to regret it, but I need to say something about this business and the role of the trade press. It will upset some people, but I hope that–if you are not one of the offended–you at least find it somewhat entertaining, albeit in the same way we are drawn to look at a particularly bad car accident when we drive past.

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20/20 Hindsight

I take pride in my engineering skills, and after many years of honing my craft, I think that I have become adequately competent at my trade. I feel very confident in my mastery of the basics of live audio engineering and that I have an artistic and musical approach to the job. I know my strengths and my weaknesses and try to use this knowledge to my advantage when mixing a concert or event. I feel that I put a lot of thought and effort into what I do as an engineer, and I approach each band or event in a way that is most suitable to the situation. While the mechanics of sound (i.e. speaker placement, gain structure, power requirements, etc.) are fairly consistent, it is the unknown variables that truly test our mettle when we find ourselves on the battlefield of live sound.

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20/20 Hindsight

I take pride in my engineering skills, and after many years of honing my craft, I think that I have become adequately competent at my trade. I feel very confident in my mastery of the basics of live audio engineering and that I have an artistic and musical approach to the job. I know my strengths and my weaknesses and try to use this knowledge to my advantage when mixing a concert or event. I feel that I put a lot of thought and effort into what I do as an engineer, and I approach each band or event in a way that is most suitable to the situation. While the mechanics of sound (i.e. speaker placement, gain structure, power requirements, etc.) are fairly consistent, it is the unknown variables that truly test our mettle when we find ourselves on the battlefield of live sound.

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One-Stop Shops

Back in February, at Pro Production 2005, a panel of industry experts held court on "Expanding Your Offerings: Becoming A One-Stop Shop." These high priests of sound and light spoke to what it means to offer sound, lighting, effects and staging under a single tent.

The names have not been changed to protect the innocent, but their quotes will not be identified to protect the guilty. (Actually, what Jerry means is that he was working from an audio tape, where it's hard to match a voice in the dark to a name. Next time, we do video. -Ed.) The panel included Gregg Brunclik of Clearwing Productions, Mark Dodd of Dodd Technologies, Doug Adams of Pyrotek and Tom Sorce and Barry Rackover of PRG. If you were there, you know who said what. If not, try to think of them as Masked Super Heroes of the Convergence. Truthtellers, all.

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Epic Sound for an Epic Production

T he Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim, Calif., is an icon in Southern California. Designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson, it's a towering 12-story structure of glass. Constructed of 12,000 glass panes enclosed within a white, web-like steel truss frame, its transparent walls and ceilings allow the sky–and weather–to become a part of the interior environment.

Also iconic are the cathedral's seasonal pageants. The Glory of Christmas and The Glory of Easter are famous as elaborate technical productions that bring the Bible to life with actors, special effects and flying angels. This year, the trilogy is complete with The Glory of Creation, a multisensory production extravaganza. Written, produced and directed by Carol Schuller Milner, it showcases some very Hollywood-like, cutting-edge technology. It also pushes the envelope of the cathedral's new hybrid sound system, which must equally accommodate the ministry's worldwide broadcasts, special events and the full slate of Glories.

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ASL Feasts on a Festival Frenzy

Getting any of the Affordable Sound & Light team on the phone from now until October might be a bit tough, considering the five-strong crew will be running from music festival to music festival across Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida setting up lights and P.A.s for dozens of acts that span a world of musical genres.

It kicks off in May with the Crawfish Boil in Birmingham and the Jubilee CityFest in Montgomery, goes into June with City Stages in Birmingham, through the summer and then spins down with the Big Spring Jam in Huntsville and BayFest in Mobile, Ala. "It keeps us busy," says ASL vice president Billy Klein. "Most medium-sized towns around here have a two- to three-day street festival with anywhere from two to four stages."

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Are Those Ribs Burning, or is it the Club?

Circa 1995, I had a booked a show at a local watering hole in Scottsdale, Ariz., called The Rockin' Horse, a cool, mostly wood place that was probably constructed in the early to mid-'70s. Smaller, more eclectic national acts played there all the time, as well as some good local talent. There were house stacks and racks, and we just brought in a four-mix monitor system and Front of House. This particular night, we brought in our Soundcraft SR200. (Sidenote: Did you ever have one of those pieces of equipment that was above itself in sound quality and just plain fun to use? Yes, we all have, and this console was mine.)

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Micromanagement on a Macro Scale

The sixth Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, held Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif., boasted nearly 100 acts and drew something in the neighborhood of 50,000 fans a day. Featured acts on the festival's five stages included chart-toppers like Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Wilco and New Order.

To say that it requires a hands-on management style to tighten all the nuts and bolts on a spectacle like this is kind of like saying Bill Gates has a little cash. While the term "micromanagement" is often used as a pejorative these days, it's practically a requirement of a production manager's job for an event like this.

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Race C4 Compressor/Limiter, Sennheiser e901 Boundary Layer Condenser, TC Electronic XO24 Speaker Man

Race C4 Compressor/Limiter

By Jamie Rio

If one compressor is good, then four should be much better… right? Well, I think that more is better, and so does the R&D department at Rane. In reality, four compressor/limiters are not that many and can certainly be used in about any mix situation. But the C4 is much more than just four compressor/limiters. As a matter of fact, this frequency-dependent unit is loaded with lots of very cool and functional features.

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Please Re-Lease Me

Something I have said often is that many churches are willing to pay for a new sound and lighting system, but few are willing to actually own it. At the time, I was discussing the lack of willingness to train staff and really get involved in overall technical learning. But there may be different reasons why not owning is a good thing.

Depending on the financial organization of a church, especially if it's reasonably healthy, there are options available other than paying cash for technical systems. Using the credit card may lessen the burden on cash flow–and garner enough travel points to help a sponsor a long-desired mission trip or church retreat–or you may consider leasing (and making the payments with the credit card).

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Hum Busting

I don't mean to brag, but the world of hum has been an absent partner for all my recent gigs. While I tackled hum back in the "good ol' days" at my local soundco, I now look back on how I was inflicting hum and noise problems onto myself. This diatribe is meant to bust the demons of hum out of your system, but also outlines how to take preventive measures and minimize its occurrence.

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Monty Python's Spamalot

A cute killer bunny rabbit with big, sharp, pointy teeth. A homicidal Sir Lancelot and a wimpy Sir Robin. A Camelot that resembles a medieval Las Vegas. And a guest appearance by the feet of God, all on stage in the same show.

Inspired by the classic cult film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Python's Spamalot is certainly one of the most irreverent shows to hit the Great White Way during the past few years, and solid word-of-mouth from its Chicago previews–and a stellar cast that has included Tim Curry, David Hyde Pierce, Sara Ramirez and Hank Azaria–helped transform the $11 million production into a massive hit that's sold out well into the fall. The show has also won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical (Mike Nichols) and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, for Ramirez vamping it up diva-style as the Lady of the Lake.

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