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Toby Keith - American Ride Tour - Mobile Production Pro

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volume 3 issue 10 2010


*Sentient Charter is a program of Sentient Jet, LLC (“Sentient”). Sentient arranges flights on behalf of clients with FAR Part 135 air carriers that exercise full operational control of charter flights at all times. Flights will be operated byFAR Part 135 air carriers that have been certified to provide service for Sentient and that meet all FAA safety standards and additional safety standards established by Sentient. (Refer to www.sentient.com/standards for details.)Your Access toPerformance with Passion.At Sentient * , we understand that success isn’t something that comes easily. Ittakes focus, years of preparation and relentless dedication. With an innovative9-point safety program and a staff of service professionals available 24/7, it’s nowonder that Sentient is the #1 arranger of charter flights in the country. SentientCharter can take you anywhere on the world’s stage - on the jet you want - at thecompetitive price you deserve.Sentient Jet is the <strong>Pro</strong>ud Platinum Sponsor ofthe <strong>Tour</strong>Link 2010 Conference Jet BarbequeTO LEARN MORE, PLEASE CONTACT:David Young, Vice President - Entertainment, at dyoung@sentient.com or 805.899.4747


Lift, Track, and Move Any Lighting,Video or Scenic ElementFull Motion Automation –<strong>Pro</strong>grammable EngineeredMotion ControlKinesys K2 Automated Control,Trolleys, Winches, Fixed & VariableSpeed Hoists, MaskingAtlanta Rigging Systems1270 Tacoma DriveAtlanta, GA 30318www.atlantarigging.comOffice (404) 355-43701-866-355-4370Fax (404) 355-4360


Mv i d e oWishes You Aerry Christmas!Twas the Night before your event,and all through the warehouse,All the I-MAG employees were workinghard, to bring the best show about.The LED Screens werebuilt with great care,In hopes that your event will beremembered year after year.When, what to my wondering eyesshould appear, Santa is even usingLED Screens this year!So in 2011, when you needsomething bright,Call on I-MAG Video...And to all a good night!615.244.5551www.i-magvideo.com


contentsvolume 3 issue 10 2010<strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong>1012photo by Michael A. Beckmobileproductionmonthly206 SoundChai Wallahs Push Soundcraft Vi4 To The Max At Green Man Festival8 Corporate EventsGearhouse SA Supplies Bidvest Chairman Awards 201010 Roadie Palooza 612 <strong>Tour</strong> BreakoutAlice In ChainsFun on the Road As Black Gives Way To Blue15 <strong>Tour</strong> Personnel20 <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong> <strong>American</strong> <strong>Ride</strong> <strong>Tour</strong>Shows Something Old and Something New23 <strong>Tour</strong> Vendors26 <strong>Tour</strong> Personnel28 Moo TVGets on Board <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong>'s <strong>American</strong> <strong>Ride</strong>30 Bandit LitesA History of Concert Lighting: Part Two32 SyncroliteWhen It Just Has to Work, From Times Square to Dubai40 Advertiser's Indexmobile production monthly 3


FROM THE PublisherThis month we present coverage of the <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong> andAlice in Chains tours. Both tours feature veteran crewsand vendors, so we think you will enjoy our coverage. Forme, there is a special reason to cover Alice in Chains becausethe tour manager, Chuck Randall, has become one of myfavorite human beings in this industry. The photo of Chuck as“Satan” in the feature is even more amusing to those of us whoreally know him. There is not a more gentile, intelligent, gracioustour manager in this business and certainly few with hisknowledge, experience and tact. Chuck is a man to have withyou if you are ever in a jam…I speak from experience, believeme.As you are reading this issue, we are gearing up for ourannual Top Dog Awards and <strong>Tour</strong> Link Conference. Thisevent becomes more and more significant and attracts a widercross-section of our industry each year. We try to produce agood blend of entertainment, business and camaraderie in athree-day event. It seems as though another segment of theindustry discovers this event and becomes absorbed into it, likethe Science-Fiction “Borgs”. More information is available attourlinkconference.com.Finally as the year winds down, we are all looking forward tothe holiday season when we can find some time with our families.I hope the coming holidays are better for all of you thanthe previous couple of years.Larry SmithHOME OFFICE STAFFa 7 s 3 p 2ph: 615.256.7006 • f: 615.256.70042961 Armory Dr • Nashville, TN • USA 37204mobileproductionpro.comFor advertising inquiries:ads@mobileproductionpro.comPublisher: Larry Smithlarrysmith@tourguidemag.comManaging Director: Chris Cogswellccogswell@mobileproductionpro.comChief Writer / Photographer: Michael A. Beckgrockit@comcast.net<strong>Tour</strong> Link Coord.: Jen McMahanjmcmahan@mobileproductionpro.comArt Director / Graphic Designer: Kristin Salawaykristin.tourguide@gmail.comksalaway@mobileproductionpro.comOffice Manager: Jennifer Russellofficemanager@mobileproductionpro.comWebmaster: Michael Stalcupmstalcup@mobileproductionpro.comContributing Writer: Mike Whartonmikew1955@bellsouth.netTOUR LINK BOARD OF ADVISORSBenny Collins, Jim Digby, Jon Nevins, Stuart Ross,Bobby Schneider, Jay Sendyk, Seth Sheck, Nick GoldNicki Goldstein, Chuck Randall, Michelle Freedmantourlinkconference.comPUBLISHED BYAnvil <strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong>s, LLCph: 615.256.7006 • f: 615.256.7004FOLLOW USfacebook.com/tourlinkconference | facebook.com/tourguidepublicationstwitter.com/mobileprodpro | twitter.com/tourlinkconf©2010 Anvil <strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong>s, LLC. Nothing may be reproduced without writtenpermission of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit any andall editorial content included in this publication. The publisher has made everyattempt to insure accuracy and consistency of this publication. However,some listings & information may be incomplete due to a lack of informationprovided by various companies listed. Please send any inquiries to theattention of the publisher. All advertising appears at the paid solicitation ofthe advertiser. Anvil <strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong>s, LLC, can not be held liable for any errors,omissions or inaccuracies appearing in this journal in the form of editorials,listings or advertising.Member of:4 mobile production monthly


Los Angeles Convention Center, LA, USAApriL 12, 13, 14, 2011The major live events productionindustry under one roof.Showcasing the latest technology and expertise in the production ofmusic events, sporting events, major corporate product launches,public celebrations and much more...Exhibition space is strictly limited!Contact us now to secure your position at the showwww.eventlive-expo.cominfo@eventlive-expo.com


SoundChai Wallahs PushSoundcraft Vi4To The Max At Green Man FestivalSound company Hark provided a Soundcraft Vi6 console at Green Man’s second stage (the Far Out Tent). Photo Credit: Ian HunterOne of the fast emerging collectives on theUK festival scene are the Chai Wallahs,whose increasingly familiar marquees arededicated to providing an eclectic blend of musicappealing to different lifestyles.one touch away.“One factor that grabs you immediately is theintuitive interface and the user programmablefader pages, while the sound of the desk isalso excellent — the parametric EQ’s arevery accurate and analogue sounding. This isalways my ‘go-to’ desk — there’s no need tolook anywhere else.”Founded three years ago by Si Chai, today,Chai Wallahs attend a number of summercalendar events — including Green Manin the Brecon Beacons — and are quicklybecoming seek-out destinations.Inside the organic-looking structure aselection of the UK’s finest undergroundtalent and established Afro-beat, Funk andReggae artists perform alongside DJs in afree-form mix, with the emphasis on acousticmusic earlier in the day. It also provides itsown chill area in the form of a unique cafébar.Green Man has become one of ChaiWallahs’ more recent destinations, andafter their debut last year, this summer theywere again out in force, with London-basedsound engineer Harry Bishop piloting aSoundcraft Vi4 in the 800-capacity tent.“The Soundcraft Vi is my weapon of choice,”said Bishop, who last year took Soundcraft’soriginal Vi6 digital desk around the festivalcircuit.This time around the Soundcraft Vi4 hadbeen sub-hired in from Mark Hornsby’sPA company Hark, with whom the soundengineer has a close relationship. Hark alsoprovided a Vi6 and Vi1 at Green Man’ssecond stage (the Far Out Tent).Harry Bishop has been an aficionado ofSoundcraft mixing desks since the early daysof analogue, and remembers mixing on aSeries I board at Plan B in Brixton manyyears ago. “I am very familiar with theanalogue desks but the Vi is a step above, andmy favourite digital desk,” he says.The reason for this is the easy transition itoffers the engineer from analogue to thedigital world. “The most obvious factor isits analogue feel because the channel strip islinear, it’s not multi-layered, and everything isChai Wallahs choose their own roster ofartists who rarely bring their own productionand so Harry ends up mixing most of theperformances — a situation with which he isentirely comfortable.With at least ten bands a day operating forfour days without sound checks, providinglive audio is no easy task. But from a genericfestival patch the speed of access the Vi4affords, provides the opportunity to changedesk templates with ease.For many of the repeat performances Bishopcan simply dial up the stored show mix.“Inside the desk structure I use the snapshotsto recall the different band mixes and whena new band comes through I recall a ‘linecheck’ snapshot which provides me with aclean slate to work from,” he says.The desk provides him with a highlyflexible mixing environment he says —notably because of its zoning and monitorcapabilities.6 mobile production monthly


harman.comIn fact with 27 output busses, eachcontaining parametric and graphic EQ, hehas a near endless ability to zone differentareas, set delay times, assign record groupsand monitor sends.“Because we have a number of zones [toaddress] I set quite a detailed programmewhich I design on the offline editor. I havea sub array, which I can control on thematrix, I have delays and a café seated areaon a different matrix. It’s quite an in-depthdesign.”His tasks also involve creating five monitormixes via talk-to-stage whilst using the shoutbox to communicate with the stage manager.This summer Harry Bishop has trucked histrusty Soundcraft desk around other UKfestivals such as Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party,Bestival, Shambala, Beach Break Live, Manifeston the Isle of Man, Sunrise and Electric Picnic.And thanks to his Soundcraft Vi4 he canreflect on a job well done.Bishop followed this by undertaking PA techduties on a short Groove Armada club tour,where another Soundcraft Vi4 was deployedfor stage monitors and a Vi1, Soundcraft’snew compact derivative, was at FOH. )773.862.4246 | sales@eventric.comMaster <strong>Tour</strong> is the industry’s leading tourand event management software.Thousands of professional touringorganizations are using Master <strong>Tour</strong> toplan, manage, and track the art andbusiness of touring - why aren’t you?Head to eventric.com/demo fora free month trial!mobile production monthly 7


Corp. EventsGearhouse SA Supplies BidvestChairman Awards 2010Gearhouse South Africa supplied design and technicalproduction - including rigging, lighting, visuals, AV setand audio - to the 2010 Annual Bidvest Chairman’sAwards, one of South Africa’s highest profile corporate events,staged at Sandton Convention Centre (SCC) Johannesburg.Tim Dunn designed the spectacular set, visualsand lighting for the 3 day event, which encompassedthe strongly feminine 2010 “BidvestEve” theme and comprised a curvaceous, completelywhite 73 metre wide set with multiplesynchronised revolves and dramatically sweepingspiral staircases as its centrepiece.Dunn lit the environment almost entirely withenergy saving LED lightsources. At the essenceof his design was the ability to colour, textureand transform the space with lighting andvisual effects - utilizing the very specific qualitiesof light that is output from LED fixtures,fused with beautifully fluid ambient videoprojections, making it dynamic, interesting anddifferent.He collaborated closely with show directorsand co-producers David Bloch and DebbieRakusin, plus all Gearhouse’s different disciplinesand departments, creating detaileddrawings and technical plans in advance toensure that everything ran smoothly and efficientlyon site.According to Rakusin, who also choreographsall the show’s dance and movement elementsand has been onboard for many years, “Itis always a great pleasure to work with theGearhouse team. They have become friends,which makes for a very comfortable and productivespace, allowing us to overcome thedeadline stresses and deliver a beautiful show.”This is Dunn’s fourth year of working onBidvest. Each year, it is a major pressure tocreate a new, completely different, visuallyprovocative space in which the clients canstage their own slick presentation, which thisyear featured numerous live performers and afashion show in addition to the gala dinner for1000 international guests each night.SetGearhouse’s set building specialists SDS constructedall the set elements in an operationco-ordinated by Pieter Joubert and CraigPretorius. This year, all technical departmentshad 2 days less build time than previously, acompressed timescale that added to the manychallenges whilst producing some class teamwork.The main performance stage was an 18 metrerevolve supplied by Gearhouse In2structures,on top of which were two 7.8 metre revolves,each with a huge spiral staircase measuring 3metres wide by 3.1 metres high.These spiral staircases were linked to a staticcentral staircase, so the movement of the smallerrevolves had to be 100% precise so all pieceslined up correctly at the required moments.The revolves were used for artist and presenterentrances and exits and for the numerous scenechanges running throughout the event.The main stage was flanked with two 18 metreby 4 metre secondary stages; each featuringa set of majestic Romanesque columns at theback. Tensioned between the headers of thesespillars and the centre stage area was a 6metre by 24 metre white sharkstooth gauze.This was front lit to give additional depthand dimensionality, and backed with a 24metre by 6 metre LED starcloth.A massive “U” shaped fashion ramp/runwaycurved out from the stage into the front sectionof the audience, which was seated on an1800 square metre seating platform, so theperformers could get close up and interactwith the guests. The ramp was finished in animported high gloss Marley, creating an additionallighting surface within the audience.Sightlines around the room were integral toDunn’s design. When drawing up the finalversions, he meticulously checked the viewingangles from all the tables in the room toensure that every guest would have an excellentview of the action for their maximumenjoyment.Three printed oval screens were suspendedabove the centre revolve, each angled backwardsand edged by an integral printed “3D”picture frame. Dunn commissioned theGearhouse Media team to create special AVcontent and masks that made these “windows”constantly shifting 3D visual illusions. Left andright of the main stage were two 10 metre by 7metre 16:9 format projection screens, used forcamera I-MAG footage, with the same printedeffect as the oval centre screens.Suspended over the audience were 7 opulentchandeliers, graciously swagged in silks andinternally lit. These were also custom designedand built by SDS, and functioned as eye-catchinghouse lights.LightingA matt white painted set finish can be a difficultsurface to light, but it gave Dunn a8 mobile production monthly


completely blank canvas to show just what canbe achieved with imagination and intelligentapplication of some very specific tools, to produceall the requisite glamour and glitz for theoccasion.All the lighting fixtures were hung on a seriesof trusses flown in the roof - by the GearhouseRigging team led by Kendall Dixon - arrangedin curves matching the shape of the stage andradiating out from it above the seating areas.These were connected - outer to inner sections- with a series of white silk panels threadedthrough the top rails, making a real ceiling featureand adding another architectural elementto the space. There were 186 rigging points inthe roof and 96 motors.Dunn has been using LED lightsources increasinglyin his recent designs, and has devotedconsiderable time to experimenting with theeffects and colours on different surfaces and indifferent situations, exploring a myriad of possibilities.For the size of the room and set, the lightingrig was not exceptionally large and everyfixture was multi-functional and maximized.He used 42 Robe REDWash 3-`193 LEDwash lights, 24 Vari*Lite VLXs, 14 i-Pix BB4sand 108 i-Pix Satellites, 48 LED PARs and 24Robe CitySkape48s. The only discharge lightsources were 38 x Martin <strong>Pro</strong>fessional MAC2K <strong>Pro</strong>file moving lights.Balance was a key word - all levels had to bematched and appropriate and complement thevideo scenery!The VLXs were positioned upstage and usedfor back lighting and also for most of theshow’s key lighting. The REDWashes showedtheir real power and versatility in toning the setwith a wide spectrum of colours from subtlepastels to bold saturates. The MAC 2Ks - alsothe only fixture with a gobo - were used forbeautiful beamy looks and specials, their arclightsources introducing a completely contrastingtexture of lighting into the mix, addingdrama and perspective.The i-Pix satellites were used to up-light thecolumns and the ceiling cloths, while the BB4sand CitySkapes lifted the gauzes in front ofthe starcloth and behind the pillars. Sixty ETCSource Four PARs were used to light the stairramps, and Griven Colorados were positionedto up-light the chandeliers from the floor,highlighting their lavish silk draping. The chandelierswere also internally lit with LED PARs,their reflected light bouncing around the room.The complex amalgamation of lighting stylesunited traditional theatre and classic TV elementswith new ideas, contemporary presentationand the excitement of new technology.Dunn programmed and ran the show on anMA Lighting grandMA full size console, completewith another for backup, running on afibre network. As is often the case, he workedclosely with lighting director Hugh Turner andwith Marcel Wijnberger and Chris Grandinfrom Gearhouse media, all of whom comprisedhis FOH team.Video & AVIt was a video intensive show, with pre-recordedplayback, ambient content and IMAG runningthroughout the 3 hour performances.Grandin operated a Wings system, whichconsisted of 3 slave servers triggered by onemaster, which stored all the timecoded basedshow playback tracks. Video content for theoval screens was stored on 2 grandMA VPUstriggered from Dunn’s grandMA console. Allthese, together with additional playback footageon a Grass Valley Turbo hard drive - werefed into the Christie Vista Spyder X20 switcheroperated by Grandin and output to screen.The oval screens primarily featured atmosphericcontent - including natural elements likeclouds, stars, the moon, waterfalls, etc., - thingsyou might see out of a window, all speciallyedited for the show from Gearhouse Media’sstock extensive library. It was compiled byDunn and Wijnberger over about 5 days oncethey knew the format and running order of theshow, which was in 3 acts - Fashion, Jewels andthen the Bidvest Eve show complete with liveperformers.The screens were all run in full HD, fed byprojectors mounted on the roof trusses - theside screens each via double stack of Christie18Ks and the oval screens with 3 double stacksof Christie 10Ks. Christie’s “Twist” softwarewas used to warp the oval screen content intothe correct perspective. They were also alllined up wirelessly using Christie Road Tools,which was physically very practical and savedcontinued on 38mobile production monthly 9


FROM Roadie Palooza10 mobile production monthly


FROM Karl KuenningIt was a rainy day in Las Vegas on October 20 for the sixth annual Roadie Palooza at the DoubleDown Saloon. Despite the weather and the middle of the week date, many roadies came out to seeold friends and the award presentations.The evening started with the traditional group photo and then turned serious as Roadie.net<strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> Manager Kat Hennen read the “Roadie Roll Call” listing the brothers and sisters that welost in 2010. (see sidebar) Hennen then took time to remember two fallen artists that were known fortheir love of road crews, Richie Hayward (Little Feat) and Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow, Elf, Heaven &Hell, Black Sabbath, Dio).<strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> Manager John Watkins of Roadie.net shared a story of a Dio tour. It was John’sdaughter’s birthday and Mr. Dio found out. He announced the birthday on stage and presentedJohn with the show tape. Dio proclaimed, “I know it’s not much, and I can’t replace being with yourdaughter on her birthday but I hope this helps.” RIP Mr. Dio.Next items on the program was the award presentation. The first award was to Jef Hickey RFL, currentlythe stage manager for the Key Club in LA, who was unable to attend at the last minute. Jefcame in the next day and was given his Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to ‘TheShow’. Jef started in the business at age 15 with bands like Motorhead, Twisted Sister, Megadethand many others. He is currently writing a book about his life and is exploring a roadie based TVshow (aren’t we all?). It was good to see Jef, and we were all sorry that he missed Roadie Palooza.The second award was to John “Boom Boom” Watkins, a legendary pyro roadie, Roadie.netmember and friend. John pretty much invented the use of pyrotechnics at rock shows back in the70s and has worked with artists which include KISS, Bon Jovi, Journey, Van Halen (Hagar version),Michael Jackson, Rick James, Ronnie James Dio and Europe. John was honored for his contributionsto ‘The Show’ and specifically for being the ‘father’ of pyro innovation.The final award of the night was to friend and another long time Roadie.net member “PyroPete” Cappadocia. Pete was officially inducted into the Roadie For Life Hall of Fame. The list of actsthat Pete has worked with includes The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Motley Crue, Guns & Roses, CrissAngel, Nickelback, Black Sabbath, Godsmack, Marilyn Manson and Pantera. In addition to being themost recognizable pyro roadie in the world, Pete is also a standup comic. In fact, he performed hiscomedy routine at the very first Roadie Palooza back in 2005. Pete is only the second person to jointhis exclusive RFL HOF club. The first inductee, Ben “Lovie” Dorcy III (Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash,Waylon Jennings, Elvis, John Wayne) was also at the event to help us honor Pete. It was great tosee two roadie legends standing next to each other on the Double Down’s stage.2010RoadieRoll CallCharlie BurnsRobert McCrillisLenny SullivanWalt EnglishAree GrayUncle Bill DouglasSherry “Sparky”HamiltonCraig WallRobert “Allem”O’BlenessRichard “Buff“ NotoHoot BordenScotty CarlsonJohn McCulloughThe final event of the night was a special announcement from Larry Smith (<strong>Tour</strong> Guide, <strong>Tour</strong>Link Conference, <strong>Mobile</strong><strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong>pro.com). Larry announced that Roadie Palooza will be heldin January in conjunction with the 2011 <strong>Tour</strong> Link Conference - Thursday January 27, 2011 inScottsdale, Arizona. Special Roadie.net member prices will apply for both the event and thehotel. Check out tourlinkconference.com for more info.Many thanks to The Double Down Saloon, Kat Hennen, John Watkins, Brenda Long and ChrisKuenning for their help in making Roadie Palooza 6 such a success.See you in Scottsdale,Karl Kuenning RFLroadie.net• MULTI-COLOR PLUS METALLIC & FLUORESCENT• CUSTOM DESIGNS• SECURE SELF-LOCKING CLASPS• BETTER PRICING• QUICKER TURNAROUND775.823.9933mobile production monthly 11


12 mobile production monthlyBANDJerry Cantrell Guitar/VocalsSean Kinney DrumsMike Inez BassWilliam Duvall Vocals/Guitar


Alicein ChainsFun on the Road.As Black Gives Way To Blue.By Michael A. BeckOne of the most commonsentiments encountered on the road is“this work is too hard to endure if youcan’t enjoy it along way.” Indeed, truerwords were never spoken as, to quotevideo director extraordinaire MarkHaney, “We’re not saving babies outhere.” All of that having been said(over and over and over again), thereare far too many tours that that simplydon’t live up to the rhetoric.Alice in Chains not only preaches the gospel of “don’t worry, behappy,” but they apply it to the tour in liberal measure. Taking pointon that message is <strong>Tour</strong> Manager Chuck Randall who explained theaffect of the tour, “What defines this tour differently than the othertours that I’ve been on over the 28 years that I’ve been doing, this isthe unique chemistry of the people involved and the positive energyof the tour. That starts with Paul Chavarria and his crew.”Under the banner of “Cynicism Is The New Optimism” one couldhave taken Randall’s words with a grain of salt were it not for thefact that he shared his thoughts on the matter in a phone interviewafter we’d been out to see the show and saw firsthand the flow ofthe production team that was gently jovial and highly professional.However, there was the ubiquitous and discomforting understatedsmell of sulfur and brimstone that nagged the entire experience.When ask for his philosophy on touring, <strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> Director PaulChavarria was very direct in his response, “If it ain’t fun then don’tdo it.”Chuck Randall<strong>Tour</strong> Manager/<strong>Tour</strong> AccountantThe Great SatanAt five trucks, not including the opening acts, the show was verysmall compared to the scale of the productions we are used to seeinga guy like Chavarria on. That point was even clearer when welooked at the crew list and saw names like Robert “Hydro” Mullin,Bill Rengstl and Dave Lapham. These are guys who are typicallyseen on giant productions with up to 35 trucks.photos by Michael A. Beck“It’s nice to be on something a little smaller. It’s a nice change ofpace,” said Hydro on the matter of the downsized workload of thistour. “It makes for a easy day. You come in a little later and have itup in four or five hours. It’s a lot easier on you, that’s for sure. AndAlice in Chains are really a nice bunch of guys to work for.”mobile production monthly 13


(modeling new style of tour laminate)Peter LewisDrum TechRobert “Hydro” MullinStage ManagerScott DachroedenBass & Guitar TechBrian KastenLighting TechDavid “gunk” SeligSound TechVictoria WolfBackstage Coord.Justin McleanLED TechDave PanscikVideo TechBrent SandrockLighting TechBill RengstlRiggerPaul Chavarria<strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> DirectorJosh LevinLightingCrew ChiefTom AbrahamFOH EngineerAnna Frangos<strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> Coord.Tim EhrlichMerchMarty PostmaLightingDirectorTimothy ShanerSound Tech<strong>Tour</strong> Mgr/<strong>Tour</strong> AccountantChuck Randall<strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> DirectorPaul ChavarriaStage ManagerRobert “Hydro” Mullin<strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> CoordinatorAnna FrangosPress & Assist. <strong>Tour</strong> MgrTodd ShussBackstage Coord.Victoria WolfPersonal SecurityJuan RibaldDrum TechPeter LewisJerry’s Guitar TechDave LaphamBass & Guitar TechScott DachroedenFoh EngineerTom AbrahamMonitor EngineerAdam StuartSystem EngineerDoug MckinleyMonitor TechDavid SeligAudio TechTimothy ShanerLighting DirectorMarty PostmaLighting Crew ChiefJosh LevinLighting Technicians:Brent Sandrock, BrianKastenRiggerBill RengstlSet CarpenterTavis LemayLed TechJustin McleanVideo TechDave PanscikContent ResourceMat HaleMerchandiserTim EhrlichLead DriverJohn “Stranger” AdamsTruck Drivers:Brian Cochran, Rich Baker,Mo Hasson, Brian OkvathBand DriverKelley Beck<strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> Drivers:Dwayne Harper, Jay Jarvis<strong>Tour</strong> personnelJerry CantrellGuitar/VocalsJuan RibaldPersonalSecurityDoug McKinleySystem EngineerChuck Randall<strong>Tour</strong> Mgr/<strong>Tour</strong>Accountant (keepingup with globalpandemonium)Adam StuartMonitor Engineermobile production monthly 15


center video wall. With the center wall nowin play, Postma also lit the drapes as a borderto the center wall. With all of this going onbehind the pods they were now visible withthe effect of being a dark arched band shell.Finally, the drapes opened up all the way toexpose the entire video array and the podsflew up into the flat configuration. As theshow worked toward its close, the pods cameback down to their opening position.Throughout the show the DL.3s were used tothe lay projected images onto the band andstage. This effect is said to have been muchmore vivid in arena settings than in the shedwhere we saw the show in. However, it wasquite intriguing how the dynamic beams ofthe projectors interacted with the more staticoutput of the lighting gear in the hazed-overstage, which hung extraordinarily well on theoutdoor environment (must have had somethingto do with the sulfurous odor that hungin the air all day around the production site).Despite the large amount of video surface inthe show there was no I-MAG. Postma wasvery specific about the role video was to playin the production. “One of my biggest petpeeves with the way video is often used is thatit overpowers the band to the point where youcan’t even see where they are and you’re justwatching TV in an arena,” he explained. “Ilove the V-Lite product, but this lighting systemwas designed to compete with it so that wecould set the band out from the video contentand make them more visible despite the intensityif the video.”The sound of this act was incredibly crispdespite the heavy tones of the music. FOHEngineer Tom Abraham had one factor workingin his favor. “One thing that makes thisjob easy is this band can really sing and play,”Abraham told us. “You’re actually mixingpretty much right out of the gate as opposedto doing damage control. There’s a qualitysound coming off of the stage.”In the ongoing discussion of analog audio consolesverses digital the Digidesign <strong>Pro</strong>file winson this tour because of the sometimes dramaticenergetic shifts of the music. Abrahamlaid that out for us. “These guys are a heavyband but when they use an acoustic guitar itchanges the whole dynamic. I can’t have aheavy metal drum sound during those songs.Thankfully, they have given me time in manydifferent rehearsal situations to program all ofthis stuff and I’m not done. I have been mixingthem for three years and it is very much awork in progress.”Obviously the ominous feeling caused by thesmell of sulfur and the cold sensation of someonewandering around the tour who may beup to no good had no affect on Abraham andhis work.In a world that relies as much on efficiency asthe touring industry does, the importance ofevery position on a given tour is incumbent inits very existence. However, it can be said thatsome jobs have more critical parameters thanothers. One such position on this tour is thatof Dave Lapham who techs for guitar player/vocalist Jerry Cantrell. As is the case of U2’sDallas Schoo, Lapham manages Cantrell’ssound and effects during the show. However,where Lapham’s responsibilities differ fromthose of Schoo’s is that during U2’s show theEdge does indeed make his effects change atleast part of the time and Schoo is there forbackup.In Lapham’s case, with the exception of acouple of wawa pedals, Cantrell relies uponhim for every one of his effects transitionsduring the show. While it’s not necessarily aherculean feat for a guitar tech to learn andexecute that responsibility, it is a bit incrediblethat Lapham learned it all in two days. “It wasa lot of home work,” he told us. “I run thewhole thing through a midi system in a guitarrack that Dave Freidman put together for meat Rack Systems. It all runs through an effectsgizmo that uses all the pedals in a loop andgoes through a MIDI switcher so I can pull inpedals as I want or pre-program certain thingsfor certain songs. But there are a lot of thingsthat I do on the fly like cueing octaves andthings that only get used for certain solos.”Back during the 80s a guy showed up to rig ashow in at an outdoor venue called WeedsportSpeedway near Auburn, New York. The riggerhad a real problem with spiders that didn’tkeep him from doing his work but made foran uncomfortable day. Before he went up torig the show he commented to a guy standingnext to him that he hated spiders. The guy hevented to happened to be the tour manager(don’t ask why he was there that early) whoresponded with, “Well then maybe we should16 mobile production monthly


ManagementVelvet Hammer Music andManagement GroupSusan Silver ManagementBusiness ManagementDavid Weise & AssociatesBooking Agency-NorthAmericaCaaRecord LabelVirgin Records/Emivendorscancel the show and have it somewhere whereyou’ll be more comfortable.”As the rigger was climbing the ladder locateddirectly next to where the two were standinghe asked over his shoulder if the wise-ass tourmanager could make that happen. He was firedupon reaching the ground but not before seeingthe ill-mannered tour manager treat everyone inhis path with the same disrespect including thepeople on his own crew. As he left the gig ourrigger friend vowed that if he ever hated his jobso much as to treat people like he would leavewhatever he did for a living even if it meantworking in telemarketing.The people who work on the Alice in Chainstour (including the band members) seemed tohave taken that oath and have not gotten to thepoint hating their work. Granted they have theirshare of long days when spiders and demonsshow up, but they move on though the difficultiesthat any tour is going to have and alwaysfind a way to keep it as light and professional aspossible. As a result, everyone from the managementstaff to the people on who get the showup and running to the two people who reallykeep the trains moving on time, <strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong>Coordinator Anna Frangos and BackstageCoordinator Victoria Wolf seem to have founda home in the house created by Alice in Chains.7<strong>Tour</strong> <strong>Pro</strong>moterLive Nation <strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> InTravel AgentHouse TravelImmigrationKushner And Kushner PcMerchandiseBand MerchAudioClair GlobalLightingUpstagingRigging SupplyUpstagingVideoNocturne <strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong>sStaging CompanyAll Access Staging& <strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong>sFabricsSewwhatBussesHemphill Brothers CoachCo.TruckingRoadshowBrokerB. Zee Brokerage LtdRadiosRoad Radios, Llc<strong>Tour</strong> Itineraries<strong>Tour</strong>ing Logistics<strong>Tour</strong> CredentialsAccess Pass & DesignSuppliesUpstagingShippingShockwave CargoEntertainmentTransportationSpecialistsLas Vegas702.552.1810Toronto416.690.4190info@potenzaenterprizes.comwww.potenzaenterprizesinc.commobile production monthly 17


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<strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong>Shows Something Old and Something NewBy Michael A. Beck20 mobile production monthly


At first blush <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong>’s 2010 <strong>American</strong> <strong>Ride</strong> tour looked like a cross between the massive“big hair” shows of the 80s and the video and LED technology of today. In fact that isexactly what it was. Co-designer Seth Jackson explained how it all came about.“After seven years of doing shows that were really just rearrangements of the same rig, Iasked myself, “How do you through the ball into the air and do something completely differentthat doesn’t look like it used to; what’s something that no one else is doing out there?’”mobile production monthly 21


Given that the constricted economy has notpassed over the concert industry the newest,craziest, most high tech super expensiveproduction elements available aren’t necessarilyan option in large quantity to most ofthe shows on the road and <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong> is noexception. In and effort to get the most bangfor his production budget Jackson’s answerwas to go the other way. Figuring that noone has seen an 80s par can rig in the last 20years and certainly never on a country stage,that was the direction he would take.In the end the result may nothave looked all that different thanthe 80s look they were goingfor from the perspective of theaudience, but it made a hugedifference in terms of versatilityfor the guys running the show.Versatility aside, the system ranon 400 amps and saved enormousamounts of weight incable.Jacksonrecalled, “I sent <strong>Toby</strong> a video of aTriumph show back in 1986 with a massivewall of pars and some pictures of Queenand I said, ‘What if I said we can do thisnow but that it will be so high tech that it’llbe outrageous and it will fit much tighter anddraw much less power?’ And he went for it.”Jackson knew what he wanted to do. Now hejust had to figure out how to do it. Havingcome up with the idea and gotten it acceptedby the boss, he now had a bit of a dilemma.“Now I had to figure it all out,” said Jackson.“My thinking was, ‘I don’t really know howwe’re going to do this but it makes sense thatwe could do it so let’s just say that we can.’”Enter Bandit Lite’s GRNLITE (pronounced:Green Lite) system. Just newly released at thetime, GRNLITE is a system comprised ofLED fixtures that play together to create awidely versatile lighting system that eats likea bird and supplies the big look Jackson waslooking for.One of the big elements of the massive parlooks of the 80s was the ubiquitous chase.That had to play a part in this trip downmemory lane, but this show had a bit of atwist on the idea. The chases on this showwere not programmed as traditional chasesbut rather as video content through theGrand MA’s video server that was able toreact to whatever video content Moo TV wasputting on the upstage video wall.Now that we’vediscussed the innards of thesystem, let’s discuss what itlooked like. The upstage lineof the rig was made up ofthree truss pods on either sideof an upstage video wall thatwas comprised of 54 tilesof Barco S-lite (which is avirtual 10 mil product) withthe far offstage pods beingmade up of two pods stackedvertically. A large part of thelighting canopy was made ofpods as well with truss linesrunning up and down stageon slight angles that gave abit of an infinity look.In addition to the LED fixtures,the system also includedVari-Lite 3K’s and 12 VL 2K washes all ofwhich added a contrasting edge to the rig.The big punch in the system was providedby 12 Syncrolite MX-3’s that had no troubleat all in plowing through the massive look ofthe over all system.The system was programmed in the ESPsuite at Webster University where Jackson isdoing work on developing a concert designsoftware package. Lighting director and codesignerEddie “Bones” Connell loved thecomfort of programming in the virtual environment,but admitted that working in thetactile world has its advantages. “It was thefirst time I’d ever done it like that so it wasall new to me,” Bones told us. “Of course itdoesn’tcome out exactly as you see it on the monitorin the studio. It did however save us a lotof time and we didn’t have to worry aboutbeing in a hot shop sweating our butts off. Asit turned out, we could have used a coupledays at the Bandit shop, which is what we’lldo next year.”Once the system was put together, programmedand rehearsed it looked sensationalin the hands of long time <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong> lightingdesigner/director Eddie “Bones” Connellwho breathed incredible life into it. He alsohad a great perspective on the overall design.“It was like remaking an old movie,” he said.With a big look comes a big sound that22 mobile production monthly


was put forth by long time FOH engineerDirk Durham. “We have one of the biggestsound rigs of any country show out there,”Durham explained. “I’m pretty spoiled withthe amount of gear we get to work with. I tryto make it as big and wide as I can with asmany pans and stuff as I’ve got going on. Iget as wide as possible and run <strong>Toby</strong> straightup the middle and it seems to work for me.”With 60 inputs covering a ten piece bandplus <strong>Toby</strong>, Durham makes efficient use ofeverything he’s got with his most effectivetool being the philosophy of not complicatingthings. “I’ve got <strong>Toby</strong> and the band soldon the idea of keeping things simple.”However, where it does get a little morecomplicated is in monitorworld where two engineers Russell Fischer,Bill Collyer mix the show on two consoles.Fischer detailed the arrangement. “I wasa system engineer and we’d lost a monitorguy because he wasn’t watching the bandenough. Then we were on a USO trip andthe new guy was having issues and I was sentback to help him out. After the trip they lethim go and asked me if I wanted the gig. Iwasn’t going to be the next guy to be let gofor not watching the band enough, so I askedfor a second console for the band. Now wehave two eyes on the show and when a problemarises we have two eyes on that as well.”Because <strong>Toby</strong> has a preference for thewarmth ofan analog console, Russell mixes his soundalong with a couple of security mixes ona Midas H 3000. However, because of thesize of the band and the amount of activityon stage including several pyro shots, theband requires the snapshot versatility of adigital console. The board of choice was theDigidesign Venue. Audio on the tour wassupplied by long time tour audio vender,Sound Image.Although the tour wasn’t gag heavy, it didhave its moments. At the opening of theshow, a Ford Truck (Ford is the tour sponsor)rose up out of the upstage riser on a toastermobile production monthly 23


with a <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong> lookalike behind the wheel. Put against the backdropof the video wall it was hard to noticethat it was only the cab of the truck. As thatwas happening, a panel on the face of theriser baring the Ford logo opened revealingthe back of the truck where <strong>Toby</strong> was “sleeping”in the bed. Two contest winners fromthe audience came on stage, set a mic standin place and slapped <strong>Toby</strong>’s boots to wakehim up. <strong>Keith</strong> then did the first song sittingon the bed of the truck.Part of the notion of giving the audiencemore bang for the buck was the puttingTrace Adkins on the front end of the showand not only letting him have 50 minutes onstage, (compared to the more standard 30)but also allowing Adkins to bring on his ownlighting and video. That being said, they alsodidn’t want to cut <strong>Toby</strong>’s set. That meantall of Adkins’ gear was clearing the stagein nine minutes or less according to Milam.That only left 11 minutes for the rest of theset change in keeping with a strict 20 minuteset change edict.This is a bit of a tall order but obviouslydoable. However, it gets a bit more stickyfor a stage manager who has to take it overmid-tour as was the case for seasoned veteranAshley Swann. “Wrangling in mid-touris a bit of a different animal when the touralready has a life of its own,” Swann toldus. “But that’s not the real news. The thingwe’re out here to focus on is that the crowdwalks away happy. All the rest is just forconversation. When people spend 40 or 50hours a week taking crap from someone onthe job and they spend their money with us,we owe them everything we can give them.”Well spiced with a broad array of pyrolooks put up by Strictly FX, this show hadall the ear marks of a big fat rock show set24 mobile production monthly


to a country beat. In the current economicclimate where penny counts as much asa dollar does to production and audiencealike, this show stands as an object lessonthat with the proper approach to designefficiency and tour philosophy more canactually be less. “In time like these when aperson can’t afford to go to a lot of shows ina given year you have to really bring it,” said<strong>Tour</strong> Manager David Milam. “The wholeidea was to come out with something thatresembled the big huge glam rock shows ofthe 80s. I think we achieved that.”Absolutely! 7photo by Michael A. Beckmobile production monthly 25


<strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong>Ashley Swann – Stage MgrJames McCutcheon - Audio Tech,Bill, “Shoeless” Russel Fischer -Monitor Engineer, Steven Wharton -Audio Tech, Ted Bible – Audio TechpersonnelPyro: Duane Nowak, Vince LopezBilly “Ripper” Mayes – Guitar TechLance Stoner - <strong>Tour</strong>Rigger/Drum Tech<strong>Tour</strong> Manager - David Milam<strong>Toby</strong>’s Personal Asst. - Mitch Deneui<strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> Manager - Mickey MulcahyStage Manager - Ashley Swann<strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> Asst - Kirby Middleton<strong>Tour</strong> Security Director - Jason HarrisonLeader/Bass - Chuck GoffLead Guitar - Rich EckhardtUtility player (Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Fiddle) -Joey FloydKeyboards - Rex MauneyDrums - Dave McAfeeSteel Guitar - Josh BertrandSax - Roman DudokTrumpet - Willie RoyTrombone - Carl MurrVocals - Mica RobertsMerchandise -Billy Ray Eden, Yancy JohnsonLighting Designers -Seth Jackson, Eddie “Bones” ConnellLighting Director - Eddie “Bones” ConnellFOH Engineer - Dirk DurhamSet Carpenters:Doug “Knuckles” Page, Arturo Martinez,Jamison “Aka Porkchop” HyattPyro: Vince Lopez, Duane Nowak<strong>Tour</strong> Rigger/Drum Tech - Lance StonerGuitar Tech – Billy “Ripper” MayesMonitor Engineer Russell FischerSound Techs: Ted Bible, JamesMcCutcheon, Stephen WhartonLighting Techs:Chuck Hastings (Crew Chief ), RobbySheene, Victor Zeiser, Sam HardenSyncrolite - Tommy BentonVideo Crew Chief/Hand Held Camera -Ken ThomasLED Tech/Hand Held Camera -Zack ClevengerVideo Director - John BreslinWall Tech/Playback (For Trace Adkins) -Randall Garriott<strong>Pro</strong>jector Tech/FOH CameraSystem Engineer - Eric HeidelSet Carpenters: Doug “Knuckles” Page, ArturoMartinez, Jamison “Pork Chop” HyattLighting Techs: Tommy Benton,Robbie Sheene, Sammy HardenBack: Ken Thomas - CrewChief/Hand Held Camera, ZackClevenger - LED Tech/HandHeld Camera, John Breslin –Director, Randall Garriott (ForTrace Adkins) - Wall Tech& Playback, Edwin Lewis- <strong>Pro</strong>jector Tech, FOH Camera,Eric Heidel - System Engineer26 mobile production monthly


Lance Stoner - <strong>Tour</strong> Rigger/Drum TechEddie “Bones” Connell - Lighting Director, DirkDurham - FOH Engineer, David Milam - <strong>Tour</strong> ManagerMore than 560 attorneys and advisorsin offices across the southeastern U.S.and Washington, D.C., practicing abroad spectrum of business law includingtransactions, contracts, litigation,transportation and entertainment.For more information, contact:Steven J. Eisen615.726.5718sjeisen@bakerdonelson.comJames A. DeLanis615.726.5613jdelanis@bakerdonelson.comThe Rules of <strong>Pro</strong>fessional Conduct of the various states where our offices are located require the following language: THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. Ben Adams is Chairman and CEO of Baker Donelsonand is located in our Memphis office, 165 Madison Avenue, Suite 2000, Memphis, TN 38103. Phone 901.526.2000. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed isgreater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. FREE BACKGROUND INFORMATION AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. © 2010 Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PCmobile production monthly 27


mpmmoo tv mpm featuremoo tvGets on Board <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong>'s <strong>American</strong> <strong>Ride</strong>By Lesley CuttlerFull-service boutique video production companyprovides creative content and video equipment forcountry superstar’s tour for second year runningMoo TV proprietor Scott Scovill is heading to the Chicago date of <strong>Toby</strong><strong>Keith</strong>’s <strong>American</strong> <strong>Ride</strong> tour, for which his company is providing video productionservices for the second year in a row.For the music tours the company services,Moo TV does more than create interesting andexciting content with cutting edge graphics,dynamic animation, cool effects, engaging B-rollfootage, and image magnification via state ofthe art equipment. From input at tour rehearsalrun-through, to deft execution of video elementson tour by Moo TV’s crack technical crew, tochecking out a tour date for evaluation andpossible tweaking, Scovill and company offerparticipation in an artist’s process and image,and the type of quality customer service andimpressive attention to detail that fosters relationshipsand keeps their clients coming back.One of country’s biggest and most popularstars, <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong> is ranked among the topselling(30 million albums) artists in all genresat #3 on Billboard’s Top 200 Artists of theDecade, and is one of the most successful touringartists of the last decade. Thus, his largerthan-lifeimage and recognizable attitude hadto be branded in the material created by MooTV, and Scovill notes that artist branding isessential for the content his company createsfor all music tour services. Good, solid videodisplays are a given, but it’s what Moo TVdoes inside the box that makes the difference.Scovill says the challenge is to maintainand continue to raise the bar Moo TV setsby keeping the work fresh and new.Audiences expect the video elements to be ashow in and of itself, and Moo TV did notdisappoint <strong>Keith</strong>’s fans. The superb productionincluded broad, tongue-in-cheek funny, inyour-face(much like <strong>Keith</strong>, himself) innovativecontent such as: <strong>Keith</strong>’s iconic cut-out pictureand Monty Python-esque animations, alongwith descriptive graphic art for “I Wanna TalkAbout Me;” a cartoon animated backdrop ofmarijuana leaves and dancing joints during“I’ll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again;”silhouetted girls dancing inside images of lifesize whiskey bottles highlighted “WhiskeyGirl;” and ““High Maintenance Woman”featured a giant <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong> head being successivelypasted over with post-it notes of “honeydo”requests.Moo TV is built on the experience and passionof owner Scott Scovill, with a bit of the oldIrish via a touch of luck from the band U2. Ina happenstance meeting with their crew, Scovillgot his start and was mentored in the musictour business as a stowaway crewmember onthe band’s Joshua Tree tour. Back in the day,video was primarilyused at live shows for image magnification.As his video production career progressed,Scovill became more interested in creativecontent for screens when high-energy choreographedshows like Paula Abdul’s utilizedmaterial in a creative way. As a nod toNashville’s literal country roots, as well as aplay-on-words homage to U2’s “Zoo TV” tour(a video production gig that Scovill painfullyturned down in favor of setting up his ownshop), Moo TV was christened in 1993.The buzzword at this company is creativityand Scott Scovill is passionate about it.He believes that an artist’s unique creativity,coupled with quality and integrity of work, arethe ingredients that take Moo TV’s shows tothe next level. What distinguishes Moo TV asa video production company is its creative staff.Much more than just a technical group, thecreative division operates akin to an ad agency,with brainstorming sessions and presentationof ideas resulting in exceptional original artand content, which is then evaluated in relationto other essential tour components such aslighting.continued on 3828 mobile production monthly


mpmBandi Lites mpm featureBandit LitesA History of Concert Lighting Part 2As the final decade of the 20th century began Banditsaw that the word roadie was being replaced withterms like technician, programmer and even scientist.With that in mind, Bandit established an educational department whose goal itis to train and inform people both inside and outside the firm. This measure wastaken to insure the quality of both Bandit service and of the industry as a whole.The activity of the educational departmentconsists of conducting seminars on a varietyof industry topics every year all around theworld. Bandit Lites’ sales team grew to by leapsand bounds in the 90s as churches, schools,theaters and other such entities were hungryfor the lighting technology of the entertainmentstage in their world as well. A combinationof a qualified, caring sales team backed by asuccessful educational system made the salesgrowth a natural.As time went on and the company’s footingcontinued to grow stronger, Bandit saw a needin Asia and quickly set up offices in Hong Kongand Taiwan. That was followed by recognizingthe need for greater control in Europe, andbuying out its partner in the UK. Thus, theBandit London office was now wholly ownedand operated and the quality of the productwas much easier to control. Dizzy Gosnelljoined the Nashville office in the early 90s whenthe assets of the firm he worked with wereacquired by Bandit. Today Dizzy is the GMof Bandit San Francisco, which he set up inthe late 90s. Mike Golden continued as VP inNashville and the Bandit Global Managementteam was shaping up.As the world of moving lights continued tochange, Martin from Denmark emerged as anew player and Bandit quickly became a believer.In a short space of time Bandit became theworld’s largest Martin rental house and helpedMartin gain a large market share globally. TheMAC 500, 600 and 2000 quickly became theindustry favorites. Martin rolled out many successfulproducts through the 90s and Banditwas a partner in them all.The awards began to roll in at Bandit Litesin 1993 when the CMA named Bandit the<strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> Company of the Year, an awardBandit would win 3 times before the awardceased to exist. Both Knoxville and Nashvillewould name Bandit as a winner of their Firstand Future 50, five times in each city, leadingBandit to go into the Business Hall of Fame inboth locations. In 1996 Performance Magazinenamed Bandit Lighting Company of the Year,the first of what is now 16 such awards, morethan any other firm.Mass Mutual named Bandit Lites as one of thetop 50 firms in the US with its Mass MutualBlue Chip Award in 1996. That same yearBandit was named Entrepreneurial Companyof the Year in Knoxville by the city. Thepinnacle of the awards in the 90s occurredwhen CNN / USA TODAY named MichaelStrickland Entrepreneur of The Year for 1999,a distinction held by Bill Gates, Michael Delland other such notables. This is a very proudmoment in Bandit history. The awards continueto find Bandit Lites to the present day, a testamentto the hard work of the dedicated familyat Bandit Lites.Many new and old clients joined with Banditin the 90s. The Judds, Alan Jackson, Brooks &Dunn, Jethro Tull, Damn Yankees, Ted Nugent,The Moody Blues, Blondie, The Go-Go’s,Donnie Osmond, YES, Alice Cooper, BarryManilow, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Hall &Oates, Aerosmith, REM, Offspring, Jewel, andhundreds of others were all Bandit clients.The Knoxville home base purchased a new90,000 square foot facility, Nashville custombuilt a 30,000 square foot facility with theindustry’s first hanging room, and London purchaseda new 25,000 square foot facility. Realestate was fast becoming a part of the Banditbusiness plan. The hanging room, known asVenue One now, is 100 x 40 x 40 and holds80,000 pounds. This was the first and onlyhanging facility in the industry that artists coulduse free of charge to hang and program theirshow. Bandit had once again set the standard inthe industry!As the 90s came to an end and the worldlooked toward what Y2K would really be,Bandit lit the infamous Woodstock 99. While itwas a huge event and a technical achievement,it signaled the true end of what we had allknown as the Woodstock Generation. It is anevent Bandit was proud to have been involvedin, but the tragic, violent ending will long beremembered.The new millennium began for Bandit at mach10 with their hair on fire! Bandit was involvedglobally in a huge number of events to markthe change of the century and it took all handson deck for a three-month period to assure thequality Bandit was hired to deliver. The globalcontinued on 3630 mobile production monthly


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Syncrolite mpm featureSyncroliteWhen It Just Has to Work, From Times Square to Dubaiby Bill RobisonWhat do The Pyramids, The Eiffel Tower, The Olympics, The Super Bowl, <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong> &Roger Waters’ The Wall tour all have in common? They have all been lit by Syncrolite!Imagine lighting the buildings in downtownHouston on all 4 sides. How would you placelarge high output moving head fixtures on SugarLoaf in Rio? What if the clouds blocked the viewof the top from the ground where most of youraudience was located? Will your moving lightswork in -20º F weather? We recently spoke withSyncrolite Sales & Marketing Director JimmyPage to ask some questions and learn a bitabout what makes these fixtures so special.For the uninitiated, Syncrolite manufacturesmoving head color mixing fixtures with xenonlamps that produce extremely bright outputlevels. These fixtures utilize up to 10k lampsmaking them ideal to light very large objects.Three scrolls offer much of the flexibility ofthese lights. The two color scrolls utilize truesubtractive and additive dichroic color mixingproviding a pallet of rich colors as well as colorcorrection.A third effect scroll offers an assortment oflenses and beam shaping options allowing thedesigner to create beam spreads from very narrowto ultra wide. To that end, designers areable to specify their needs and Syncrolite willtailor the scrolls accordingly. The high qualityoptics in these fixtures provides a smooth, evenflat field of illumination instead of the hot spotsoften seen with moving lights. And of coursethey can project custom gobos which are integratedinto the scrolls.Page has worked for Syncrolite since 1991 in asales/marketing position. Previously he workedin many facets of our industry including concertproducer, tour production manager, andback in the 1970s at Showco with Syncrolitefounder Jack Calmes. Suffice it to say Page hasextensive industry experience and connections.It’s those connections that keep him in touchwith a veritable Who’s Who of the great lightingdesigners including Seth Jackson (<strong>Toby</strong><strong>Keith</strong>), Patrick Woodroffe (The Stones), TroyEckerman and many more.Many obstacles had to be overcome to designand develop these fixtures into the finely tunedinstruments in use today. One of the obstacleswas to find a market. Syncrolite had to producea reliable product that would fill its customer’sneeds. Engineering, software, and marketingare a few of the issues that needed to be dealtwith. One of the benefits to being both themanufacturer and the end designer is the abilityto design features into your product for exactlywhat a production team needs. For example,the manufacturer of the xenon lamps insistedthey were too fragile to survive installed in thefixtures during trucking from one venue to thenext.Given the time constraints of one off jobs, theadditional time needed to install and removethe lamps on each jobsite was not an option.Much to the surprise of the lamp manufacturer,Syncrolite designed a road case that protectedthe fixtures (with lamps installed) so well thatthe rated lamps life meets or exceeds the originalspec.The fixtures in use today are the result of refiningthe original designs into very precisely predictablefixtures. The weight has been trimmeddown by hundreds of pounds. In fact the MX44k version weighs little more that the 2k fixturesso common on today’s tours. The unique internalscrolls have been refined to offer designers avirtually unlimited menu of options.Light-shaping diffuser lenses offer beam-spreadsranging from a laser like pencil point to a wide80º flood. The integrated lens system can alsooffer anamorphic ratios of a wide variety.Variable speed pan (540º) and tilt (250º) with areliable accuracy to less than .01º is standardon all the fixtures.Syncrolite fixtures are equally at home on tour,permanently installed, indoors or out evendown to -20º F weather. Yes the fixtures workfine in arctic temperatures. However, you mayneed a hairdryer to thaw out the LCD informationaldisplay. Just ask Jimmy Page and he willtell you all about the challenges Syncrolite hasfaced in implementing some incredibly ambitiousdesigns.Page recalls the three years they lit downtownHouston for the event “Power of Houston”.The challenge was to light a large number oftall buildings on all four sides for a one dayevent. A very limited time window was availableto both install and remove the equipment.So how did they place 100 plus fixtures andinfrastructure on the roofs of so many structures?1500 helicopter lifts for the load-in andanother 1500 for the strike!Page likes challenges. In fact he always prefersthe hard jobs. Another logistics nightmare wasbeing in 3 places at the same time doing simultaneousset-ups for the new Millennium eventsin Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, and TimesSquare. Speaking of Rio, what did they doafter installing fixtures for an event on the topof Sugarloaf Mountain when the clouds movedin obscuring the view from the ground? Theylit the clouds in what had to be a spectacle evenSpeilberg would have loved. Helicopters werealso used to deliver and retrieve the gear atopthe mountain. Carnival in Rio is another eventSyncrolite has worked that Page believes is veryspecial.The Pyramids (yes the big ones in Egypt) musthave been an awe inspiring spectacle. Pagealso mentioned the grand opening of TheAtlantis Resort in Dubai when no expensewas spared and a “no holds barred” attitudeallowed for maximum creative talent to reallylet loose. In Dubai, the newly opened FerrariWorld theme park showcases permanentlyinstalled Syncrolites as do both Disneyland andWalt Disney World. Syncrolite’s sales are splitbetween rentals (60%) and sales (40%).To really appreciate the scale and spectacle tothe kind of work Syncrolite has performed, visittheir website syncrolite.com and select gallery tosee what Jimmy Page and his designer buddieshave been up to. m32 mobile production monthly


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Bandit Lites continued from 30Bandit team went above and beyond the callof duty and the Bandit standard was in forceon New Year’s Eve from LA to New Yorkto London to Beijing, Honk Kong and backagain.As the new era came rushing in Bandit continuedto add new inventory, employee andtrain more staff, and purchase more real estate.There was certainly a market for the highquality product that had become known as the“Bandit Standard.” Michael Strickland and histeam continued to listen to the clients desireson a one on one basis as they had alwaysdone. As the needs of each client are different,Bandit carefully crafted a custom solution forevery need always working within the frameworkof the Bandit Standards.Many high profile events came to Bandit,starting with the Presidential Inaugural Balls.Bandit was chosen in 2001 and 2005 to lightthe four largest celebrations in Washington DCfor the incoming President. In the UK, Banditwas tapped as the lighting supplier for the prestigiousBlenheim Palace Festivals. Bandit beganwhat is an ongoing relationship with NASCARin the U.S. by lighting the culmination of theNASCAR racing season, the NASCAR CupAwards, held every year in New York at theworld famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel andbroadcast live on worldwide television.In the European market as the Lord of theDance brand continued to grow, MichaelFlatley turned to Bandit and rolled out twonew and very successful products, Feet ofFlames and Celtic Tiger. The Feet of Flamestour gave its swan song at a sold out HydePark performance to over 100,000 exuberantfans. For 10 continuous years the Banditstaff has helped Flatley deliver the message ofIrish Dance globally with troupes in the U.K.,Europe, Asia, South America and the U.S. Thepeople at Bandit are very proud of the work onthese shows.Bandit would have many opportunities to workon the grandest stages in Europe with the bestpeople in the entertainment industry. Manynotable events were supported by Bandit inHyde Park including sold out mega events byR.E.M., the fore mentioned Feet of Flamesand the reunion of the legendary rock icons,Queen.In 2004 designer Steve Cohen engaged Banditfor the long awaited reunion of the monstersof rock, Van Halen. The dazzling Cohendesign for Eddie, Sammy and the gang tookthe world by storm as the Van Halens fiercebrand of music was heard again for the firsttime in over a decade. The rig was massive asalways and featured 300+ moving lights andaudience abuse beyond belief.As Bandit continued to grow in the UK andEurope, the opportunity presented itself tosponsor a Porsche Super Cup car, which racedbefore the Formula 1 races on the same courses.As racing is the sport of interest to mostentertainment people, Bandit took advantageof this situation and for two years, Bandit andtheir clients had unfettered access to the pitand paddock area of every F1 race. Everyoneinvolved was very excited during this timefame. This also led to Bandit illuminating anumber of F1 cars, booths and events.In the early part of the decade, Bandit lit moreand more television specials and events. TheClinton Economic Summit led into a numberof political events for years to come with someof the most notable names in TV lighting.Bandit lit several conferences in the East Roomof The White House as time progressed. MTV,CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, VH 1, BBC,SKY TV and many other entities becameregular clients of Bandit. Rob Baxter andRandy Nordstrom engaged Bandit to light theNBA Finals entertainment for worldwide TVin the mid 2000’s. The move into sports wouldcontinue globally as the U.K. office began tolight soccer Premier League events and othersuch items. Radio One’s One Big Weekendbecame a Bandit client in 2003 and a host ofcurrent pop and rock stars made the event avery special day. The crew form Bandit madethe difference as they lived up to their nameas quality people. The Cork Festival in Irelandalso engaged Bandit and the people made theevent a success here as well!For many years the Country Music Associationused Bandit Lites as the illumination companyfor a huge event known as Fan Fair held everyyear in Nashville. Virtually every artist of notein the country music industry participatesin this event. In 2003 the name of the eventwas changed to “CMA Music Festival” as itbecame one of the biggest music festivals inthe world. In addition to the name change thevenue was changed as well when it moved intothe Tennessee Titans Football Stadium, playingto 80,000 people a night for 4 nights. Banditwas charged with lighting two side-by-side stageswith a large number of of moving and staticlights and the new (at the time) LED lightinggear. This event is broadcast worldwide on livetelevision every year and features the biggestnames in country music.Always a week after the CMA Music Festivaland 100 miles below Nashville in sleepy littleManchester, Tennessee occurs the worldrenowned Bonnaroo Festival. Bandit is proudto have been the lighting supplier from thestart and pleased to have the opportunity towork with Hadden Hippsley and the team atBonnaroo. Hadden works yearly with DizzyGosnell and Steve Powell from Bandit to comeup with the design, schedule and equipmentthat works over a four-day period to satisfythe different headline acts as well as the manyother acts on the stages each day. Since thebeginning of the fesival The Police, Metallica,Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Kayne West, JackJohnson, Ben Harper, The Dead, The AllmanBrothers Band, Radiohead, Dave MatthewsBand, Tom Petty, Widespread Panic, Phish,James Brown, String Cheese Incident andother acts graced the stage at Bonnaroo.Bandit had the pleasure of working with allof these acts to insure a successful evening foreach of them.The demand on Bandit in the U.S. pushed allof the facilities and staff beyond the limit andin 2002 Bandit purchased a 150,000 squarefoot building in Nashville. This new buildingin conjunction with the previous 30,000 squarefoot facility gave the company the muchneededspace to deliver even more quality jobs,employee and train more staff, and make lifebetter for both staff and clients. As the newfacility serves as storage and preparation area,the previous facility was dedicated to being afull time rehearsal facility for use by Banditclients, and at no charge to the client! OnlyBandit offers this service! The old facility wasnamed Venue One and is booked 40 weeksevery year. Every system is completed in prepand then goes to Venue One to hang and allowthe LD 3 or more days to do his base programming.This became an invaluable tool for Banditclients as the light systems now show up fullyprepped, labeled, tested and programmed!This saves the artists thousands of dollars whenthey begin their tours. Bandit now servicesthe U.S. from its three bases in Knoxville,Nashville and San Francisco. Mike Golden,Pete Heffernan, Dizzy Gosnell, Lee AnneCooke, Richard Willis, Brent Barrett, StevePowell, JR Sander, Richard Owens, RothEdwards, Leonard Cox, Kimberly Ainge, CoriLink and a great staff steer things in the U.S.and are the best in the world at what they do!Going from strength to strength, the Banditinstallation sales team has grown and becomebetter and better. Today, led by Senior SalesDirector John Rolison, with Richard Owens,Roth Edwards, Chris Barbee, John Jenkinsonand an invaluable support staff, Bandit alwayshas multiple installations ongoing. FromCNN Studios to Home Shopping Network toRipley’s Aquarium to The Superdome in NewOrleans, Bandit delivers constant service andquality to the worlds top facilities. The churches,schools and theaters that have used Banditfor their installations over the years numbersin the thousands. Bandit is hired because ofthe attention to detail and the delivery of theBandit Standard to a job site. Turnkey installationwith exemplary service after the sale is thehallmark of Bandit Lites sales team!Corporate firms globally have come to trustBandit with their image presentation resultingin a large number of high profile events Bandithas presented. When industry leader HarleyDavidson celebrated their 100 th Anniversary inMilwaukee Wisconsin Bandit Lites was there toilluminate Elton John, Tim McGraw and manyother world-class artists as well as a crowd ofover 100,000 Harley fanatics. The entire eventwas a television special. Playboy magazinetuned 50 in 2005 and selected Bandit to lighttheir traveling exhibit of memorabilia as ittoured the world for a year. This was a jobmost of the Bandit staff fought to take part in.Hef himself was out on a number of events,and there were always a large number of thesignature Bunnies.The one of a kind Chevrolet Corvette turned50 in 2006 and once again, Bandit was thecompany of choice to make this revolutionarycar shine at the event. People from around theworld turned out to pop the Champaign corksand herald the 50 th of the original muscle carwith Bandit lighting the entire gala. Finally, thelegendary Fender Stratocaster turned 50 andcelebrated in London with a star-studded event36 mobile production monthly


for the ages. Brian May, Joe Walsh, DavidGilmour, Paul Rodgers, Ronnie Wood, GaryMoore, Paul Carrick, Mike Rutherford, AmyWinehouse and many other celebrities playedat the event with Bandit providing a 50 footStrat guitar out of truss and lights along withthe rest of a massive Baz Halpin lighting rig.Bandit continues to diversify into new areasand has for years worked with designerSimon Tutchener on London Fashion Week,a very large, posh, high profile endeavor. Thewildly popular TV show X Factor hit theroad with Bandit as the hire company andworldwide sensation UFC, Ultimate FightingChampionship has contracted with Banditfor their European lighting needs. The finepeople at <strong><strong>Pro</strong>duction</strong> North, Steve Levitt, IanWhitehead and Sarah Hollis as well as theirstaff have worked may different jobs withBandit through the new decade and both partiesare very happy each time the opportunitypresents itself.A 15-year Bandit client, WWE, has continuedto grow and trust in Bandit as each bigextravaganza is larger than the one before. Theteam of Kevin Dunn, Jason Robinson, DuncanLeslie and Michael Grossman work tirelesslyevery day to deliver the best world-class sportsentertainment television. Over 1,000 hours oflive TV are shot every year with 16 major PayPer Views and the grand daddy of them all,Wrestlemania. Bandit delivers lighting qualityin bulk at an unmatched level. The biggestevent yet was the just complete WrestlemaniaXXIV at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.As the company grows, so Bandit continues todevelop and manufacture products to meet themarket. Bandit proudly uses its own Power<strong>Pro</strong>power distribution system in the U.S. andSystem 125 in Europe. System 125 powerdistribution equipment was purpose designedto meet all VDE, UK and EU standards andall components are CE marked. The patentedBandit Moto Data and motor controlsystems are synonymous with a Bandit systemon a global basis. The manual motor controlconsoles with a virtual light rig on the facewith switches occurring where the motors arelocated is both an artistic masterpieces, a musthave safety device and a great piece of wall artafter a tour!The industry as a whole continues to morphinto new versions of itself. Somewhere alongthe way, the Vari Lite brand was purchasedby Genlyte, and latter by Phillips. As the VariLite products were made available to purchase,Bandit took one look and bought in big. TodayBandit is one of the world’s largest Vari Literental houses with a complete offering of thefine products. Owning the VL products hasallowed Bandit to work with a pool of qualitydesigners that previously used other vendors.Vari Lite are proud partners as both headtoward the next decade. Lead by TSD leadersRoth Edwards and Jake Tickle, Bandit had oneof the best VL service capabilities on the globeas well. The sales team also is successful inmoving VL products into new installations.Bandit has fully embraced the brave new worldof digital lighting with numerous media servers,sophisticated consoles, LED products andother innovative technology. There is a lotof time and money being spent at Bandit totrain the staff in the application and operationof the many new technologies. This educationbenefits each individual, each clientand Bandit. The entire industry gains fromconstant education. Mr. Rick Berry, Directorof Global Education Services teaches classesconstantly in all offices and maintains anunbelievable digital database of all technicalthings Bandit related. Any Bandit tech canaccess the entire knowledge base from anycomputer in the world. This accomplishment isno small feet. The Bandit Global IT DirectorJim Guinn along with Jeff Vogt and the entireteam keep a worldwide VPN up and running24 hours a day, 7 days a week.Thus far Bandit has had the great fortune towork with many of the worlds leading talents,including Willie Williams, Seth Jackson, BazHalpin, Dave Davidian, Simon Tutchener,Randy Nordstrom, Sean Motley, Sid Strong,Tellison James, Patrick Woodroffe, Mark Fisher,Abbey Rosen Holmes, Mark Cunniffe, AndiWatson, Bob Peterson, Dave Butzler, <strong>Keith</strong>Wissmar, Peter Morse, Mike Swinford, AllenBranton, Steve Cohen, Joel Young and a hostof others. Each day the staff at Bandit looksforward to making new friends and gaining thetrust and respect of new designers.Bandit has had the pleasure thus far thisdecade to work with, among others, VanHalen, Queen, Seal, Alice Cooper, BarryManilow, Christina Aguilera, Def Leppard,Donny Osmond, CSNY, Elvis Costello,Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, <strong>Keith</strong> Urban,Linkin Park, Mark Knopfler, Melissa Ethridge,Offspring, Radiohead, REM, Savage Garden,Star Wars, Status Quo, <strong>Toby</strong> <strong>Keith</strong>, TimMcGraw, Faith Hill, Roxy Music, BrianWilson, Westlife, ZZ Top, Ben Harper, JackJohnson, Shinedown, Santana, Dierks Bentley,Garth Brooks, Disturbed, John Fogerty, LynyrdSkynyrd, Martina McBride, Pink, PussycatDolls, Joe Cocker, String Cheese Incident,System of a Down, Cbeebies, Girls Aloud,Shayne Ward, Travis, White Stripes, SmashingPumpkins, Carrie Underwood, Brooks andDunn, Alan Jackson and many, many otherfine artists. The roster is impressive and growingand all at Bandit Lites are committed toexcellence today, tomorrow and forever!Bandit continues to be committed to a betterfuture not only with the aggressive educationprograms, full time employment, great retirementplans and great benefit packages for staff,but also through active partnerships with manymajor schools and universities. Every year hundredsof students work at Bandit on internshipsand gain insight and education into the realworld operation of the entertainment industry.In the UK Bandit works with LiverpoolInstitute of Performing Arts, or LIPA, which isSir Paul McCartney’s personal mission. Everyyear Sir Paul and Bandit present the awardto the Lighting Designer of the Year at LIPAgraduation. There is a very active partnershipin Nashville with Belmont University and inKnoxville with the University of Tennesseeto help young students advance in the worldof entertainment lighting. Bandit also offersinternships to a wide number of universitiesacross the globe.As Bandit moves into the second decade ofthe new millennium, the opportunities andrewards have been unbelievable and all at thefirm are grateful. The future looks very promisingand the staff is very eager to move aheadand provide the industry with the best possibleillumination services on the planet. It would beremiss to not also mention the wonderful wives,husbands and families of all the Bandit staffglobally, as without their unbelievable supportnone of the last forty years would have beenpossible. Bandit management salutes all of thefamily members for the part that they haveplayed in the success of this great team!In February 2008 Bandit Lites celebrated it40 th birthday Pollstar CIC awarded the covetedLighting Company of the Year Awardas the best of the best! This was the 16 th timeBandit has won such an award, more than anyother lighting company in the world! This wasall made possible by the dedication and desireof the fine people that are indeed the heartand soul of Bandit Lites.Since 2008 there have been a number of substantialchanges to the company. One suchchange is the elevation of Pete Heffernan asBandit’s President and COO. “I’ve been realfortunate to have been involved with Banditfor 30 years and watch the transition of theentire lighting industry evolve into what it is.”Says Heffernan, “It’s been interesting to it gofrom little two truss systems to the big megashows where you ask ‘how big can it be’ to nowwhere the question is ‘how economical can itbe.’”Then there was the addition of the GRNLiteprogram. Heffernan explained GRNLite,“Basically it’s a comprehensive system that canprovide pars, eight lights, strips, wash and movingwashes in an LED format. It’s not a hodgepodgeof t this manufacturer and that. It’s allone system with interchangeable LED parts.It’s meant as a package more than an add onto a more traditional system. ”One such example of that was this year’s <strong>Toby</strong><strong>Keith</strong> “<strong>American</strong> <strong>Ride</strong>” tour wherein designerSeth Jackson had very little of anything elsebut GRNLite product. In addition to theobvious benefite of lo power usage, a rig thatwould use a fully integrated LED system isinvariably going to weigh less because of thelack of cabling and ballasts and other suchcomponents needed for an arch or incandescentlighting instrument. There is also thediminished heat on the stage to be consideredas well.By all accounts this new development has beenwell accepted with systems out on Crosby, Stillsand Nash, Jackson Brown, Alice Cooper andRob Zombie.If one were to sum up the last forty yearsof Bandit Lites success it would be simplyput: Humility, Humanomics and The BanditStandard. As long as Bandit delivers thesethree things with grace and passion, the skywill be the limit! >mobile production monthly 37


Moo TV continued from 28Even within the technical division and equipmentrentals, Moo TV prides itself on creativityin implementation. Today video elementsare critical to the overall experience, so regardlessof which service Moo TV provides, thecornerstone of this company is to fuse thetechnical world with creative content. Scovillalso counts on his approximately 50-memberteam to maintain a good attitude and establishcompany trust and rapport with an artist.The lion’s share of Moo TV work is music tourservices, for both new artists and establishedmajor acts, and services are tailored to what fitsboth the artist and the budget. The company isalso responsible for the direction and productionof broadcast music videos for some of theartists the company has built a relationshipwith by providing tour services.In addition, Moo TV provides marketing andpromotional content and/or video equipmentfor a range of events and industries, such astelevised award shows, high-end corporatemeetings, special events, university ceremonies,trade shows and festivals. Clients includeVerizon, Ford, GM, Commerce Bank, FTD,Tractor Supply Company, Aramark, Monavie,Phillips, Xango, and even the Daily Show.Arguably, Moo TV has the latest video productiontechnology available, largely due tothe company’s massive loss of equipment inNashville’s devastating floods of last spring, sothe company’s newly purchased inventory isthe most modern around.Scovill says he is fortunate to have clientswho are encouraging and empowering, whichbrings out the best in his work for them. AlanJackson, Zac Brown Band and Brad Paisley allhave a career history with Moo TV, and thecompany generally works with at least a fewrock acts (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kid Rock, OAR)each year.Moo TV’s star clientele has an inordinateamount of loyalty to Scovill, as evidenced bya 20-year relationship with country legendAlan Jackson. Who’s next? The company iscurrently cultivating a similar relationship withAcademy of Country Music’s Top New MaleVocalist Jason Aldean. Jason’s managementhas significantly involved Scovill in the artist’scareer of late. Moo TV continues to leave itscowhide print on concert tours through theend of the year, directing and producing contentand providing music tour services for overa dozen acts currently on the road. jGearhouse continued from 9large amounts of time. The projection systemwas run over a fibre cable to the Spyder.Cameras and an OB truck were supplied - asa completely different entity - by Obeco - whosent a TX camera to the Wings system for outputtingprimarily to the side screens. Playbackcontent appeared throughout the show on theoval screens and sometimes on the sides.AudioGearhouse Audio was led by Andreas Furtner,who had also done last year’s show in thesame venue. This year they had a mix ofplayback and live tracks, so Furtner chosean L-Acoustics Kudo system for its clear andrefined sound and directivity, as the clientwanted the sound to actually emanate from thespecific areas of the set where the action washappening.Three hangs each of 6 Kudos graced the left,centre and right areas of the set, positionedbetween the secondary stages and the set.Eight L-Acoustics SB28 subs were used toenhance the atmospheric sounds, placed leftand right of the set and centre stage, andunder the side screens. Eight Nexo PS10-R2swere used for front fill where necessary acrossthe front of the set.Monitors were L-Acoustics HiQ wedges. Fourwere flown off the trusses to give a generalstage monitor ‘wash’ for dancers and playbackartists, with another 4 in traditional positionsaround the front of the stage for the live acts.The side stages had a wedge each, with 2 morewedges onstage for the live piano act, making12 in total. Many of the individual artists usedthe Sennheiser G2 IEMs that were supplied.Monitors were mixed by Ezekiel MaharoraMashimbye using a Yamaha M7 and all thedesks onboards.Stage/patch tech Sanele Freedom Gumedereceived a technical IEM mix back to monitorcity, ensconced behind the set, which he sharedwith Nathan Thiart who co-ordinated all thewireless components, 22 Shure UHF R-Seriesmics & beltpacks, 8 units of Sennheiser G2and 8 channels of Clearcomm RX/TXcomms.The main system amplifiers were networkedLA8s, with the onboard processing fully utilizedfor crossovers, delay, EQ and fine tuning.LA 24s drove the monitors.Furtner chose a Yamaha PM5D console toengineer the FOH mix. He utilised all of theconsole’s onboard processing and effects, andwrote audio scenes for each section of theshow.Another challenge was making the variousaudio track sources - all recorded at differenttimes and under different circumstances - havea uniform sound quality. All the playbacktracks were stored on the Wings servers andsynched to various video footage and animations,and Furtner received a left and rightsend to balance.Bidvest 2010 was another resounding success.Debbie Rakusin admits that this job is probablythe highlight of her year as she and DavidBloch get the freedom to create and produce.“I am eternally grateful for the opportunitygiven us by Brian Joffe and Dave Koff ofBidvest to produce such magnificent shows -and with Gearhouse as our support on theirside of things, we can’t go wrong. What a brilliantteam!”This year’s schedule was extremely tough,especially for Gearhouse Lighting and Media,resulting in a technical and production masterpiecethat highlighted the company’s ability topool the talents, expertise and resources fromits various components, and create an epic productionthat looked fantastic and was practicalto deliver.‘Under the incredible management of PieterJoubert, SDS, Gearhouse and the entire teamhave once again exceeded our expectations indelivering an incredible product. Nothing is toomuch trouble for them!” enthuses Bloch, whoconcludes “This was one of the most ambitiousBidvest events ever produced, and Gearhousewas a major contributor in its success. BidvestCEO Brian Joffe and many of our guests consideredthis to be the best Bidvest event to date.Gearhouse is a valued member of our teamand we fully appreciate the hard work, creativeinput, exceptionally long hours, disastrousdeadlines and extreme pressures under whicheveryone has to work. Believe me, it does notgo unnoticed!” )38 mobile production monthly


mobile production monthly 39


ADVERTISER’S IndexAccess Pass & Design.........................27Accurate Staging.................................25Apollo Jets...........................................39Atlanta Rigging......................................1Baker Donelson...................................27Bandit Lites..........................................31Cube Passes.......................................11D&S Classic Coach..............................18Dega Catering......................................25Engine Power Source (EPS).................18Entertainment Cargo............................40Event Live Expo.....................................5Eventric.............................................7I-MAG Video..........................................2IAAM.................................................34Mega-Stage.........................................35Mid-America Sound...............................7Midway Car Rental................................3Moo TV................................................29Motor Coach Industries (MCI)............IBCPotenza Enterprizes............................17Precise Corporate Staging..................38Prevost..........................................BC<strong>Pro</strong>fessional Wireless Systems...........40Pyro Engineering.................................35RIC Corporation..................................40Road Radios........................................40Roadhouse Coach.................................4SOS Transportation...............................7Sentient Jet........................................IFCSound Image.......................................18Strictly FX............................................19Syncrolite.....................................33Taylor <strong>Tour</strong>s............................................7The Nexus Group.................................25X-Streamers.com..............................1740 mobile production monthly


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