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PRODUCTION PROFILE<br />
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS<br />
The Family That Works Together...<br />
Production manager Ed Wannebo helps keep Kenny Chesney<br />
productions all in the family<br />
By GrahamForrester<br />
In January of 2002, Ed Wannebo resigned<br />
from his production manager<br />
position for Tim McGraw to be the<br />
manager of a new production, the first<br />
headlining tour of McGraw’s opening act,<br />
Kenny Chesney. Since that tour eight<br />
years ago, Chesney has evolved into one<br />
of the biggest names in country western<br />
music and the touring industry at large.<br />
Ranked at the 15 th highest grossing tour<br />
in the world in 2009, Chesney’s claim is<br />
particularly remarkable since the entertainer<br />
has never played a show outside<br />
his home continent.<br />
The All-American touring sensation<br />
has watched his career evolve and blossom<br />
under Wannebo’s unorthodox yet hyper-efficient<br />
production style. This very<br />
same efficiency won Wannebo a Parnelli<br />
Award for Production Manager of the Year<br />
in 2008. How does such a humble entertainer<br />
consistently remain so popular and<br />
successful? Ed Wannebo spilled the beans<br />
at his Chesney show at AT&T Park in San<br />
Francisco. Apparently, the production is<br />
not just merely a well-oiled machine, but<br />
a dependable and fully functional family.<br />
“The crew will go to the wall for him. I mean,<br />
he [Kenny Chesney] certainly wants to<br />
make sure everybody has a good time and<br />
is appreciated for what they have done, and<br />
he wants their input into the show.”<br />
—Ed Wannebo<br />
Under the Parrot Light<br />
plsn<br />
The Chesney tour is unique due to its<br />
relaxed organization and atmosphere.<br />
Techs rode around the stadium stage<br />
on roller blades, the “bar & grill” was up<br />
and running and Johnsonville Bratwursts<br />
were handed out to the crew. In the back<br />
of the room sat “Daddy’s desk” (as Ed’s<br />
card table is lovingly labeled on site), and<br />
underneath the light of his 40-pound parrot<br />
desk lamp was where<br />
all of the organization of<br />
production took place.<br />
From such a relaxed atmosphere,<br />
how can such<br />
a professional and successful<br />
tour spawn?<br />
The answer is the dependability<br />
of the family.<br />
Ed keeps production<br />
costs low by consistently<br />
using the same team of<br />
personnel year after year.<br />
Dale Morris, Chesney’s<br />
senior manager, is also<br />
the owner and operator<br />
of Morris Leasing, a well<br />
known sound and light <strong>com</strong>pany. When<br />
Chesney began touring nearly a decade<br />
ago, his sound and lights were conveniently<br />
provided by Morris, and have been<br />
ever since. The Morris group provided<br />
this same service for another one of their<br />
clients, Alabama, some 20-plus years ago.<br />
Danny O’Bryan at Screenworks has been<br />
providing the video since 2004, and both<br />
O’Bryan and Morris offer affordable deals<br />
to production due to their loyalty and<br />
consistency. The Chesney production has<br />
also kept set costs low by reworking and<br />
reusing the existing mobilating set pro-<br />
Ed Wannebo, a.k.a. “Daddy.”<br />
vided by All Access Staging and Productions.<br />
“We’re kind of a unique machine in<br />
that we kind of put the tour together ourselves,”<br />
says Wannebo. “We book it and<br />
sell it in house; we produce a lot of the<br />
stadium stuff ourselves with the Messina<br />
group.”<br />
Holding Down Costs<br />
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This self-reliant business model keeps<br />
the Chesney costs very low, allowing the<br />
production team to project future costs<br />
and make adjustments, and it makes the<br />
CREW<br />
Management: Morris Management Group<br />
Tour Producer/Marketing: Messina Group<br />
Travel: Preferred Travel<br />
Tour Manager: Dave Farmer<br />
Production Manager: Ed Wannebo,<br />
Production Solutions International<br />
Merchandising: Richards and Southern, Inc<br />
Video: Screenworks<br />
Lighting/Audio: Morris Leasing, Syncrolite<br />
Lighting & Set Design: Mike Swinford,<br />
UpLate Design<br />
Lighting Programmer: Mike Butts<br />
Stage Manager: Tom Nisun<br />
Lighting Crew Chief: JD White<br />
Lighting Director: Michael “Sparky” Anderson<br />
Master Electrician: Jackson Becky Kaufman<br />
Lighting Techs: Allen Gibson, Marshall Blair<br />
Dimmer Tech: Chuck Myers<br />
Deck/Spot Operators: Jonathan Earp, Travis<br />
Edwards, Daniel Wright<br />
Video Director: Jay Cooper<br />
Crew Chief/Video Wall Tech: Brian Littleton<br />
Video Engineers: Keith “Houston” Lockett,<br />
Rick Popham<br />
Lead LED Engineer: Craig “Bundy” Boyd<br />
Camera Operators/Video Wall Techs: Tim<br />
“TC” Cerola, Josh Clark, Brian Keyes<br />
Vibe/Production Assistant: Mark Tamburino<br />
Outdoor Staging and Roof: Stageco<br />
Indoor Staging & Set: All Access Staging &<br />
Productions, Inc.<br />
Head Rigger: Jake Schoultz<br />
Riggers: Tim Cole, Jesse Sugimoto, Jimmy<br />
Vaughan<br />
Automation: Mike Mitani, Steve “Gooch”<br />
Robinson<br />
Load Master: Dwayne “Buzz” Gibson<br />
Stage Carpenters: Kevin Fiore, David Ogle,<br />
Hugh Horn<br />
Coach Co: Hemphill Brothers<br />
Truck Company: Upstaging, Inc.<br />
Catering: TourCats Catering<br />
Itineraries: Smart Art<br />
Softgoods: Sew What, Inc<br />
Production Office Manager: Jill Trunnell<br />
Tour Management Asst: Robin Majors<br />
TMG Promoter Rep: Helena Pygrum<br />
Production Assistant: Jeff Snider<br />
Stadium Site Coordinator: John Morrison<br />
Stadium Production Assistant: Hunter<br />
Burks<br />
22 <strong>PLSN</strong> OCTOBER 2009