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Jake Berry
continued from page 40
Dinosaurs Big and Small
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When he’s not touring with U2 he keeps
busy with other projects, including familyoriented
tours with Disney, Barney, Bob the
Builder and the Wiggles. His biggest familyshow
act has been the touring mega-hit Walking
with Dinosaurs, where he was a key player
in figuring out how to transport more than a
dozen life-size dinosaurs around the world. Of
that show, he quipped: “There were less egos
but more luggage.”
Berry’s skill set doesn’t include the technical
aspects (“I’m the least technically minded
tour manager you’ll ever meet!”), but he
attributes his success to a hardy work ethic,
an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and
PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS
the ability to communicate.
And none of it has gone to his head. “People
say you don’t have to push cases, but you know
why I do it? I enjoy it.” It’s that attitude that has led
him into a number of hobbies, including managing
race-car drivers.
Berry says he’s honored to receive the Parnelli
Lifetime Achievement Award. “When something
like this goes to you, it’s humbling,” he says.
“At the end of the day, when you work in a field
for 35 years and you get something like this, it’s
like winning the Super Bowl. I’m thankful to have
received it.”
Berry has lived in Phoenix for the past 16
years, and today he shares his home with his girlfriend,
Megan. He also keeps as close as he can to
his two daughters, Jessica and Britain.
“It has been said that Jake considers the performance
an inconvenience between load-in
and load-out,” Tait says. “Nothing could be further
from the truth. He has a passion for the show. His
input often involves advising the artist on structure,
pace and content. He does everything possible
to enhance the audience experience. However,
be warned, if you are ever involved with
one of his load-outs you have to be very fast or
you will have to get out of the way.”
Lighting designer Willie Williams, who has
worked with Berry on U2 tours, says: “He’s unafraid
of a challenge, responsibility, Very Big
Things, or very large numbers of trucks. He’s
unafraid of a tight schedule, management,
promoters, agents, or Live Nation. He’s unafraid
of rock stars, lighting designers, set designers,
video directors, or sound engineers. He’s unafraid
of dinosaurs, be they large and life-like or
purple and fluffy. Can he build it? Yes he can!”
And when asked to reflect on it all, Berry
FEATURE
says: “You look back at your youth, you remember
when your mother asked when you’re going
to get a real job, your teacher yelling that you’re
not going to make anything of your life...and
here I am. I’ve been paid to travel the world.”
Berry will receive his Parnelli Lifetime
Achievement Award at a gala ceremony on November
20 in Orlando. For more information on
the Parnellis, go to www.parnelliawards.com.
Big Wheels
Keep on
Turning
continued from page 34
highlight is that things are ‘status quo,’ business
hasn’t fallen off.”
Stage Call clients Britney Spears, Keith
Urban and Rascal Flatts continue to keep
the company’s engines humming. Taylor
Swift jumped from supporting act to headliner
this year, which also contributed to a
busy summer. “She’s got this great attitude
about her,” he says. Swift represents a shift
in the business for him: “Country is the new
pop. There is no pop music any more — it’s
almost all country.”
Everyone is watching the nickels and
dimes, from the top artists down. One bit
of “luck” happened right before the downturn.
A few employees decided to leave on
their own, and, “wisely, as if we had a magic
eight ball, we didn’t fill those positions.” In
addition to that, he acknowledges there’s
been a layoff or two. But they are in good
shape.
“The companies who win are those who
watch their costs and keep things under
control year after year. We have a history
of that. Trucking is not a high-margin business.”
Fuel surcharges are a reality of the market
place. For Stage Call, if gas suddenly
drops during a tour, it’s likely that tour will
get a rebate; if it suddenly spikes, additional
cost is added on.
While Stage Call reports that their main
clients have stuck with them, a few come
and go. Sometimes it’s as simple as an artist
switching production managers and the
production manager having a preference.
There’s an ebb and flow. “But we do have a
full plate right now.”
When asked about the recession, Haas
pauses, then says: “Was it not during the
Depression when all the great theaters
were built? People tend to want to have a
good time when the economy is in a tough
spot.
“What’s helping us is that artists get
no support from recording companies any
more, and CD sales are down. This means
they have to go out on tour more often.
When I worked for Vari-Lite I could get all
my leads from Billboard magazine. When an
album came out, there was a system: record,
tour; record, tour. It’s not like that today.”
In addition to those already mentioned,
Stage Call also supports Chicago, Jay-Z, Rise
Against the Machine and the WWE.
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