The Carnivores Tour: Linkin Park, 30 Seconds To Mars and AFI
Following the recent release of Linkin Park’s The Hunting Party album and 30 Seconds To Mars’ Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams, the three-band “The Carnivores” tour was announced in March of this year and also featured opening act AFI. The 25-date arena and shed tour kicked off in early August at the Cruzan Amphitheatre (West Palm Beach, FL) and wrapped up Sept. 19 at the Concord Pavilion (outside San Francisco). The combination of three great alt rock bands on a single bill led to a string of packed dates, although this three-acts-at-each-stop format provided plenty of work and a need for precise logistical coordination for the mixers and tech staff and a bit more complexity than the usual rock tour.
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Celebrating the Music of Ray Charles in Las Vegas
The brainchild of noted producer (and jazz label GRP records founder) Larry Rosen, Georgia on My Mind: Celebrating The Music of Ray Charles is a tribute to the music of one of America’s greatest musical legends. The show —now running in a six week engagement at The Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas — features a lineup of award-winning stars including Emmy Award winner Clint Holmes, 10-time Grammy-winning vocal group Take 6, six-time Grammy nominee Nnenna Freelon and Grammy award winning sax phenom Kirk Whalum. And to bring the FOH input counter even higher, the show includes the Las Vegas Mass Choir and the Las Vegas All-Star Big Band under the direction of musical director David Loeb.
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Jensen Transformers’ 40th Anniversary
For 40 years, Jensen has been synonymous with high quality/high performance transformers. From the beginning, Jensen has always been “open source” — its comprehensive product information, application notes and white papers have long been accessible to manufacturers and DIY’ers alike. And whether in 1974 or 2014, Jensen products continue to make a significant mark on the industry.
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Installations Showcase: New Theater Projects
Theaters can exist in an extraordinary variety of forms, ranging from (ancient — yet still used) amphitheaters to storefront conversions to specifically designed modern performing arts centers and repurposed movie palaces, and everything in between. So when it comes to deciding what sound system is best in any particular venue, the answers are as varied as the architecture, seating and decor. More than a few of these were never intended for either high-SPL music programs or even for the needs of traditional theatre, where vocal articulation and intelligibility is paramount.
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Studio Smart, Live Smarter
Way, way back a long time ago, the world was a whole lot different, when bands wore suits to studio sessions and recording engineers walked around in white lab coats. During this era — and for a couple decades thereafter — studio engineers were seen as the real smart guys, and live engineers were regarded as a step or two above roadie status. Of course, there was probably a certain element of truth to that notion, especially when a live “console” often consisted of a bunch of cascaded 5-input Altec 1567A’s that fed power amps wired to a couple stacks of Altec A-7 Voice of the Theatre cabinets. And if you had a rig like that, some paisley pants and a fringed leather jacket, you were ready to rock!
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Bullets Over Broadway Sound Mixer Carin Ford
Even though she knows it won’t last past summer, sound mixer Carin Ford loves manning the board of the Tony Award-nominated musical Bullets Over Broadway. “I really enjoy the music because I grew up listening to and playing jazz,” says Ford, who, like her father, has played saxophone. “I love the music. I can really relate to it and can get into the mix of it. I love working with this cast. We have a great band and a great cast. I haven’t been with a good ensemble like this in awhile. I really enjoy the show, and I think Susan Stroman did great work with it. That one tap number with the gangsters (“‘Tain’t Nobody’s Biz-ness If I Do”) is off the chain.”
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2014 Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Benny Collins
If you don’t want to know the truth about something, don’t ask Benny Collins. Because he will tell you. That trait — at odds with the stereotype of those who get close to the stars — has taken him far in the live event business, a career that started with him hauling a Hammond B-3 in a truck as a teen to circling the world running Michael Jackson’s most audacious tours.
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2014 Hometown Hero Finalist Profiles
What makes a hometown hero? What does it take to be the best, without being the biggest? FRONT of HOUSE readers have spoken and here are this year’s six Parnelli Regional Audio honorees. They all answer the two questions, and while each has whittled their own path to this year’s winner’s circle, like a snowflake, no two are exactly alike. They do, however, share commonalities: Gear, sure, but it’s the people; savvy business sense to survive and thrive and a business that is getting harder to navigate every year; and an insatiable desire to please the client. FOH readers can now visit www.parnelliawards.com and vote on which of the six should be named the Hometown Hero Sound Company of the Year.
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Lawo mc² 36 Live Audio Console.
Products have a way of proceeding through development at their own pace. These sometimes take a bit longer to evolve as new concepts are prototyped, tested and matured, and additional functions and features are added and tweaked — well before reaching the beta or initial release phase. So it was with mc² 36 live audio console.
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Deployment Techniques for Vertical Arrays, Part 2
Vertically arrayed speaker deployments increasingly rule the day in pro audio. Such systems have advantages in deployment, sightlines, and dividing the audience into different coverage zones. This month’s tech feature is the second in a series that will detail real-world complexities involved in deploying vertical arrays and practical approaches that the system technician can apply to ensure even coverage throughout the audience area.
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