Linkin Park - Honda Civic Tour 2012 - Mobile Production Pro

“You guys saved the day…we couldn’t havedone it without you! I’m sure thousands offans are thanking you as I type”WWW.AIRCHARTERSERVICE.COMUse your smartphone to scanand watch our corporate videoAir Charter Service (ACS) are longstanding experts providing aircraft charter solutions for artistmanagement companies and tour managers worldwide - successfully flying equipment, crewand some of the world’s most renowned artists on large scale music tours. Our global networkof offices are able to provide flexible and bespoke solutions to meet your exact requirements,whatever your aircraft charter needs.Contact us today to see how we can look after your logistical requirements.HELICOPTERSTURBOPROPSPRIVATE JETSEXECUTIVE AIRLINERSCOMMERCIAL AIRLINERSCARGO AIRCRAFTA GLOBAL LEADER INMUSIC INDUSTRY CHARTERSN.AMERICA | S.AMERICA | EUROPE | AFRICA | CIS | MIDDLE EAST | ASIAII mobile production monthly

2 mobile production monthly

volume 5 issue 9 2012contentsIN THE NEWS6 Lighting“Georgeous Impression X4’s Stun Celebsat VMA AwardsSoundPeter Gabriel Celebrates 25th Anniversaryof So With K1-Reinforced Tour7 Sound Image Doubles Adamson E15InventoryRadio CommunicationsRoad Radios Announces New Location inNashville, Tennessee8 HotelsCommunity Brings Custom Sounds toNew York’s Trendy Z HotelCharityThe Hands That Rock Massages theFuture for Underprivileged Children10 New Hires12 Queen Extravaganza: Mixing aTribute to One of the Most Influentialand Loved Bands of All Time15 Obituary16 Chickenfoot: What Do You DoWhen You Can Do WhateverYou Want?18 Latitude 45- Not Just a Rock N’Roll Caterer20 LINKIN PARK: The TourThat Keeps Giving27 Linkin Park 2012 Honda CivicTour Crew28 Touring on a Budget with BethHart and Crewvolume 530 issue Plasa 7 2012 201232 Advertiser’s Indexmobile production monthly 3

FROM THE PublisherWow, the year is whizzing by. We are in the seasonal change acrossthe country and priorities are shifting. As we present our featureon Linkin Park, I am struck by the impression that the older weget, the faster time passes. Maybe this is just a normal function ofaging, but it seems that just yesterday this band was an interestingopener with a lot of promise. Yeah, a LOT of promise!It also seems only yesterday that Canadian companies like Solotechwere just getting started and were peeking over the border to see whatopportunities might exist in the big touring market of the USA. Lightinggiant Christie and several other northern companies were just takingtheir steps toward multi-nationalism. Is it just me or is this all moving waytoo fast?This time of the year is also the time that we start putting the piecestogether for the next Tour Link Conference. We have some interestingchanges this time, however. Since I have suddenly become very awareof my age (about time), I thought it was time to bring in some realfresh young blood. Because of this, I reached out to Henry Bordeaux,one of the bright new faces in our industry, to be our new ConferenceCoordinator. He, in turn, reached out to a couple of his associates,Joseph Farriella and Aubery Wright, to help him. Several of the oldBoard members are still there in the mix with us, like Nick Gold, ChuckRandall, Jon Nevins, Seth Sheck and Jim Digby will be helping in anumber of critical areas and the Grand Lady of Touring, Nicki Goldsteinwill be there as well. However, I felt that the time was right to startbringing up the Young Guns into the event as more than just attendees.Time becomes more and more relevant the older we get….believe me. Iam acutely aware of the ticking clock as I try to make sure that my life’swork will continue on well past the time I have to step aside. Transitionis not easy. There are a lot of issues to be considered, but it seems tome that new ideas and the natural progression of time and experiencemust be acknowledged and it is time that I do this myself instead of justwriting and speaking about it.So, consider this the next phase of our evolution. Please be assured thatthe big names in our business like Jake Berry, Springo, Steve Lemon,Scotty Ross and the rest of the “A Team” core will be with us, but beprepared for the emergence of the Young Guns. It is time.PublisherLarry SmithHOME OFFICE STAFFph: 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.netArt Director / Graphic Designer: Anna Cherryacherry@mobileproductionpro.comOffice Manager: Melanie Reiningerofficemanager@mobileproductionpro.comContributing Writers:Bill Abner / bigolbill@comcast.netHank Bordowitz / hank@bordowitz.comRichard Bennett / rbennett@mobileproductionpro.comBill Evans / revbill@revbill.comTodd Kramer / tklites@yahoo.comBill Robison / brobison@greatlakessound.comMike Wharton / mikew1955@bellsouth.netPUBLISHED BYAnvil Productions, LLCph: 615.256.7006 • f: 615.256.7004FOLLOW USTour-Guide-Publications / Tour-Link-Conference@mobileprodpro / @TourLinkConfGOT ITINERARIES?©2012 Anvil Productions, 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 Productions, 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:WWW.EKNOWHERE.COM4 mobile production monthly4 mobile production monthly

IN THE NEWSLighting“GORGEOUS”IMPRESSION X4’sSTUN CELEBS AT VMAAWARDSCelebrating his fifthyear of lighting the MTVVideo Music Awards,experienced LD TomKenny kept up hispledge of always tryingto use new lightingtechnology in orderto animate FlorianWieder’s other-worldlylandscape set.This year it was GLP’s newimpression X4 that wasbrought into focus at theStaples Center in Los Angeles, where actsincluding Green Day, Rihanna, Taylor Swift,Pink, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Frank Oceanand One Direction all graced the futuristicstage, which was lit by a massive lighting rigcontaining over 5,000 light sources.“The show itself has become a social networkevent and a focal point of fashion —and so it was a fabulous place to show offthis stylish new light,” remarked Kenny. “It’salways a policy of mine to try out new technologyand styles of lighting on the VMA’sand every year we have a stand alone productthat catches the eye. This year I neededa sleek white fixture to complement Florian’sconcept, and I knew the white finish of theX4s would fit the part perfectly.”The 50 or so fixtures were supplied by VideoEquipment Rentals (VER) of Glendale, CAand it was their lighting manager, SusanTesh who first introduced the LD to the newwashlights. VER have been Kenny’s regularvendors for West Coast shows and he says heis fortunate that the company has a policy ofinvestment in new products.The X4 itself features 19 of the new OsramQuad Optic 15W RGBW LED’s (singleLED’s each containing four colors), in aslimline body with no base unit. The impressionX4 houses a 7° to 50° zoom range, toprovide a good beam spread and matrixeffects, full color mixing including CTC andcustomizable pixel patterns across its frontface. On top of that it weighs just 17.5 lbs.At the VMA’s, the X4’s were hidden in theset and positioned behind the main ‘stringart’ onstage — “as well as anywhere that we6 mobile production monthlywanted some clever eye candy.”Says Kenny, “The X4s not only gave methe modern out of this world look butwhen [lighting programmer] Mike Appelzoomed them they gave an amazing beamthat stunned us all. They delivered a greatglow and beam to the area, and the reds andoranges, in particular, were stunning.”He said that having successfully test driventhe impression X4’s he will now specifythem on all future projects. “Every year Itry out new products and every year there isone stand alone fixture that gets the artiststalking. And this year two of the biggest popstars in the world remarked on how gorgeousthe X4’s looked!” SoundPeter Gabriel Celebrates25th Anniversary of Sowith K1-reinforced TourFirehouse Productions deployingfull L-ACOUSTICS systemfor brief North American BackTo Front trekOn the cusp of dropping off of the radarfor a year’s hiatus, Peter Gabriel is currentlytreating fans in select North Americancities to a brief tour celebrating the 25thanniversary of his multiplatinum album,So. Once again reunited with the bandfrom the original tour, Gabriel is also beingjoined by a newer performer, FirehouseProductions’ L-ACOUSTICS K1 system.According to Firehouse ProductionsSystem Tech Jamie Pollock, most ofthe stops on the 13-city tour utilize aFOH system featuring left and righthangs of 14 K1 plus six KARA belowfor down-fill as well as adjacent hangsof eight K1-SB subs. Out-fills aretypically comprised of an additional10 K1 and six KARA flown per side,paired with eight ARCS and six dV-DOSC below for front- and lip-fill.To further augment the LF reinforcement,the tour is carrying 20 SB28subs set up in an LCR configuration– six per side stacked under themains with two spaced blocks of fourin the center – all in cardioid mode.The entire loudspeaker system is poweredand processed by a total of 48LA8 amplified controllers housed ineight LA-RAK per side. All amps arereceiving AES/EBU feeds as well asanalog for redundancy.“I’ve been using K1 since 2008 and have notcome across a better system for large-scaleshows,” says Pollock, who has also taken asimilar rig out on tours with Radiohead,Nine Inch Nails, Jane’s Addiction and BobDylan, among others. “The system performsvery consistently on a day-to-day basis andalways provides an accurate translation ofthe mix throughout the venue.”“The most important part of my day isspent using SOUNDVISION to map outeach space and create a prediction of theideal system for the environment,” he continues.“The software is extremely accurateat modeling what the final result will be andthere’s never a question of coverage because,when deployed properly, the system doesexactly what SOUNDVISION says it will.“On the topic of software, I’ve also reallybeen enjoying the release of LA Network

IN THE NEWS>>Manager 2; the operation is a lot smootherand I like the new layout. It’s just anothertool I rely on that goes hand-in-hand withmaking the K1 system deliver the way itshould.”www.firehouseproductions.comwww.l-acoustics.comSound Image Doubles AdamsonE15 InventoryEscondido, California based SouthernCalifornia Sound Image, a leading providerof audio systems for touring and installationapplications globally, has recentlydoubled their inventory of Adamson’s E15Line Source System. Sound Image wasone of the first American companies toinvest in Project Energia, and in less than 1year they have doubled their rental inventory.Historically Sound Image also carriedAdamson Y18, Y10 and T21 systems in thehire stock.RadioCommunicationsRoad Radios Announces NewLocation in Nashville TennesseeRoad Radios, LLC is proud to announcethe opening of their new office in Nashville,Tennessee. In an effort to better serve theCountry Western market Road Radios isbringing their rock solid service and performanceto Nashville beginning November 1,2012.Road Radios, LLC was founded by touringindustry professionals in 2004 and has sincegrown into the premier National supplier oftwo-way radio equipment across entertainment,sports and corporate events. RoadRadios quality and service is consistentlyranked #1 by touring professionals year afteryear.Jeremy Schilling, President of Road Radiosstates, “We are excited about bringing ouroperations to the heart of the CountryWestern market and look forward to providingexcellent communication needs andunsurpassed custom service to our clients.”Visit www.roadradios.com or call 615-219-9525 for more information.Pictured Above: Jeremy SchillingBelow: Greg NoorigianJesse Adamson, Director of Marketing andSales comments on the acquisition: “SoundImage is a strong Beta partner and a leaderwith Adamson in the USA. We are extremelyhappy with their contribution to ProjectEnergia. Their positive feedback and consistentpush with our product is invaluable.”Dave Shadoan, President of Sound Imageexplains: “The E15 is gaining popularityquickly amongst touring engineers. Thiscomes as no surprise, as the product is wellthought out and is extremely high performance.We’re looking forward to a series ofnew releases in Project Energia over the next6 months. The system will be even morepowerful as it expands.”Sound Image is currently providingAdamson’s E15 system for Rob Zombie andMarilyn Manson’s North American tour.www.sound-image.comwww.adamsonsystems.com mobile production monthly 7

IN THE NEWSHotelsCommunity Brings CustomSounds to New York’s TrendyZ HotelNew York is the city that never sleeps, andthe tiny island of Manhattan has never beenable to contain the city’s buzz. Just acrossthe river, hip new neighborhoods spring uplike dandelions - once-gritty enclaves likeWilliamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant arenow home to the trendy elite. As locals arefond of pointing out, these areas have onething Manhattan lacks: breathtaking viewsof the Manhattan skyline.New York’s newest peripheral gem is LongIsland City. Just a subway stop away inQueens, this aging warehouse district is nowabuzz with nightlife, eateries, and fashionablehotels.And the Z Hotel is a prime example: withinmonths of its grand opening, the hotelboasts a 90 per cent occupancy. This formerfactory has been redesigned from theground up, with chic décor from its airyrooftop bar to the intimate basement loungeand restaurant. Both venues feature sleeksound systems designed and installed by ElMedia Group, a Manhattan-based companythat provides high-end boutique hotels andrestaurants with both custom music and thesound systems to accompany it.The rooftop lounge area is served by morethan a dozen Community WET SeriesW2-218 all-weather two-way systems. “Weopted for the WET Series mainly for theirweather resistance,” explains El Media’sAndrew Mitchel. “But we were pleased tofind that they have a nice tight coveragepattern as well. Even though the rooftopis 20 storiesup and thereare not a lotof immediateneighbors, wewanted to makesure that therewasn’t a lot ofsound spillingover into theneighborhood.”Lab GruppenC-Seriesamplifiers power the system.Community’s VERIS Series coversthe downstairs restaurant and lounge.The basement venue is outfitted with adistributed system featuring CommunityVERIS 26 two-way, dual 6-inch full-rangesystems, with VERIS 212S dual 12-inchsubwoofers for added low-end punch. Theloudspeakers are powered by Lab GruppenC- and FP-Series amplification, withSymetrix Jupiter DSP providing system driveand processing.“It’s a pretty nice sounding space,” saysMitchel. “It’s not very wide, but the room ispretty friendly - not a lot of parallel walls orreflective surfaces, plenty of soft seating andcushions, and the ceiling’s not too low likea lot of basement spaces. It’s a nice lookingplace too - they’ve opened up a large part ofthe space to the level above, so they’ve gota lot of natural light coming in. It’s a reallynice room, and the VERIS speakers soundgreat in there.” www.zhotelny.comwww.communitypro.comCharityTHE HANDS THAT ROCKMASSAGES THE FUTUREFOR UNDERPRIVILEGEDCHILDRENNewly formed Organization ReceivesStar Power SupportThe Hands That Rock is an organizationwith a mission to bring the magic of musicto underserved communities throughoutthe United States. Founded by DarcyLynch, a resident Rhode Islander, andfounder of Stage Hands Massage Therapy,the organization will provide “ChairMassages” for audiences at major concertsand events with net proceeds supportingmusic programs in cooperation withlocal music outreach organizations. Theprimary focus will be on developing andpartnering with programs concerned withmusic education, performance, relatedresources and outreach for individualand groups in need. It will additionallyaddress community initiatives associatedwith such outreach programs and groupsto include environmental, social andhealth-related concerns to help create asuitable environment for the creation andperformance of music.“When I first started talking to the moversand shakers in the performance industryabout The Hands That Rock, everyone toldme that they would pitch in and help byletting us set up the chair massage areas ateach venue,” says Darcy Lynch. “Since thattime we have formed the Not-for-Profit with501(c)(3) status pending and we can’t keepup with the amount of bookings for majorevents. Some of the concert producers havefavorite local charities concerned with musiceducation for the underserved communitiesand we are already co-sponsoring programswith those organizations. We are gratefulthat the industry has given us such strongsupport.”Part of the fundraising effort involves theprovision of health services, such as “chair”massages at music festivals and specialevents, where licensed and insured massagetherapists and practitioners work the kinksout of audience members and VIPs. All netproceeds will support the mission.Some local events and festivals include(d):CVS Charity Classic, Jeffery OsborneCelebrity Golf Tournament, Newport Jazz& Folk Festivals, Newport Reggae, Blues, andCeltic Festivals, and the Rhythm & RootsFestival. Nationally, our events include VansWarped tour, Rockstar Energy MayhemFestival, Uproar, Oregon Jamboree, CountryThrowdown, and many more. Contact: Darcy Lynchhandsthatrock@gmail.com401.369.22398 mobile production monthly

one ad.one insertion.one yearof delivering yourmessage to thepeople you wantmost to reach.That’s what you get with a single advertisement in the2013 Road Book – the world’s most comprehensivesearchable directory of concert touring industry contacts.The 2013 Road Book is the largest, print (400 pages) /online resource for production companies used yearroundby thousands of companies: Sound, Lighting,Staging, Video, Pyro, Special Effects, Transportation, AirCharter, Coach, Trucking, Limousine, Cases, FreightForwarding, Insurance, Catering and other industry leaders.To place your advertising in this valuable year-roundsource of information, contact:RANCHO MIRAGESteve Tolin, Sales Manager(760) 346-1822steve@luxurymediamarketing.comNASHVILLELarry Smith, Owner, Publisher(615) 452-9882larrysmith@tourguidemag.comhttp://www.mobileproductionpro.commobile production monthly 9

Sound: queen extravaganza>>own a few of the hardware units.”So has he done the A-B thing?Continues McCullagh, “I’ve done an A-Bbetween the API 2500 hardware and software.They are very closebut not identical. Thesoftware is a clone, as youknow. The analog unit isalways going to be betterbecause it’s the original.The thing that the Wavesplug-ins do really well isthat they have the samefeel, the same sound, thesame vibe. When you’re choosing an API2500 over an SSL Bus Comp over an 1176,you’re going for a certain style, a certainsomething that the compressor or EQ givesyou. That is what the plug-ins do very well.I’m in a different room every day, with adifferent PA every day and no one is goingto be able to tell the difference between thereal API and the plug-in, or the real SSl BusComp and the plug in because of the othervariables.”All those vocals are the biggest challengeof the gig. (The band boasts four lead singersand every one of the five players alsosing. A lot.) “I have nine open vocal mics onthat small stage,” he says. “We also haveloud guitars and loud drums.” Indeed bothTristan Avakian and Brian Gresh, the twoguitarists on the show, are playing through aVox AC30 opened up to about 80 percent.That’s loud before you ever put a mic on it.Also note that the 80 percent number is whatwe were told by the guitar players.“There’s a lot of things going through thosevocal mics and it’s my job to reign it all in.”Big understatement.insistent from the first day of rehearsals thatQueen never leaned on tracks and neitherwould this tribute to their music. “He toldus right from the start, ‘no tracks, no pitchcorrection and no harmonizers.” (Oldschools fans will find that familiar. For years,Queen included“It’s not a clone of Queen.It’s not trying to be a clone ofQueen. It’s its own thing.”-House Engineer JamesMcCullagh.the phrase “NoSynthesizersWere Used OnThis Record” inall of their linernotes. Hmmm.Liner notes.Rememberthose?)It’s a great show. The initial six-week outingis over but one would expect this to be back.There was too much work put into it to let itgo after 25 dates.Back to those vocals. It’s amazing. Four leadsingers including one who won the Canadianversion of a Tony for playing Galileo in WeWill Rock You and one who sang on the firsttwo Yngwie Malmsteem records, did twoyears fronting Journey and the past fouryears touring with TSO as well as being thevocalist the surviving band members calledon for various fan events. They are togetherAnother understatement: The band is amazing.Yes, he has all the tech he needs availableto recreate the signature vocal and guitarharmonies that even the real Queen wasnot able to do live, but he does not use allof those tools. Many in the live audio tribethese days are stuck with the job of “polishinga turd.” In other words, just becauseyour client is a star does not mean he or sheor they can play or sing. As a friend playingtrumpet on a major A-list tour some yearsago told this writer after noting that therewere four 8-channel record/playback unitsin the rack (this before the ubiquity of ProTools made it all easy), “I am playing theparts every night into a mic but I have noidea if what I am playing is even in the PA.”The hard (and sad) truth is that many showsmay have a band onstage but there are moretracks running through the PA than actualparts being played by actual people holdingactual instruments. But Roger Taylor waswith an unlikely pair who both came throughthe online audition process. They have afemale who, until this tour, was singing atSix Flags Over Texas and a singer who hasdone 10 albums with his own band but theyhave never broken into the mainstream. Butthe last one sounds like Freddie and lookslike he could be his son. It’s a little eerie. Hisaudition video has close to 7 million views onYouTube.However, those vocals that are the biggestchallenge are also the coolest part of thegig. “The coolest thing?” McCullagh sayswhen we ask him about it, “It’s when all ninepeople sing and you can hear everyone in theaudience gasp.”“Queen is all about massive walls of vocals,huge harmonized guitars and in-your-facerock. And when all of that comes togetherand people are blown away, that is thecoolest part of the gig.."mobile production monthly 13

Cellular 214.422.1844eMail alan@alanpoulinphoto.comWebsite www.alanpoulinphoto.com

Gary Lumpkin -An Incredibly Nice GuyHas Left Us Well Too EarlyBy Michael A. BeckOn September 17, 2012 the touringcommunity lost one of its long standingmembers. After a longstanding fightwith cancer Gary Lumpkin passed away inMurfreesboro, Tennessee. For many yearsGary played guitar, sang and wrote songsin the Nashville music circuit. “He wasworld class guitar player,” said tourmanager and very close friend DougHunter who went on to add, “Beyondthat he was one of the best guys I’veever known. One of the best guysyou could ever imagine.”Gary met Hunter in the mid 80s when theband for which he played did a show on whichHunter was the monitor engineer. Hunterdescribed the meeting, “He was the first guythat I met on break. He was very much apeople person. He was the person who wouldintroduce himself. I don’t think he ever met astranger.”thank your family for letting you keep us safefor two years. You will always remain in ourhearts and minds. We love you, Arnel Pinedaand family.”By all accounts Gary was very good at his job,“Good drivers are hard to find and Gary wasone of the best,” said Nitetrain Safety DirectorJack Winter. But there was a personal side ofGary that out-shown his professionalism.“Any time I needed someone to talk to even ifObituary: GARY LUMPKINwe weren’t on tour he [Gary] would alwaysmake time. Two, three, four in the morninghe’d meet me at the Waffle House and havecoffee,” Hunter recalls. During a difficultdivorce when money was a problem and timeswere hard Gary and his wife Judy never missedan opportunity to help out. “When my firstwife destroyed everything I had, and everythingI owned was what I had on the tour bus theytook me in. I lived with them.”On another occasion when money was tight,Hunter received a call from Gary instructinghim to look under the flower pot on the frontporch where Gary had left an envelope containinga sum of money.Gary was preceded in death by Overa Jones,Jewel Lumpkin, Kay Irwin, and Dennis Taylor.He is survived by his beloved children (Nelson,Chandler and Rachel Lumpkin), his cherishedwife of thirty years (Judy Lumpkin), his lovingbrothers and sisters (Maxine Willis, GerldineOrman, Ann Taylor, Joe Lumpkin and JohnLumpkin), his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law(Leroy Willis, Leslie Orman, Janie Lumpkinand Emily Lumpkin), his many cousins, nieces,nephews and so many of his friends that he hasmade along the way during his journey throughlife. >>Gary became a coach driver to fill in thedown time in his musical career. Eventually,the driving career took over and like in everyother season of his life he made friends everywherehe went. Most recently he worked forNitetrain Coach – since 2007. Two years agowhen Senators Coaches needed to sub-rentcoaches for the Journey tour, the call wentout to Nitetrain. Doug came in with one ofthe coaches and wound up driving the bus forlead singer Arnel Pineda."We are all stillin shock and misshim dearly.”-Rob Kern Competitively priced, 7KW to 100KW commercial-grade generatorspowered by a rugged Kubota or Cummins diesel engine. RVIA-approved models and multiple options available. Enclosed units feature convenient single side service and removabledoors for easy access to maintenance parts. Experienced engineering and support staff to help guide you.Generator service in the Atlanta and Charlotte areas. From simple repairs to complete replacements on most makes andmodels, with convenient interstate access. Mobile service available!© 2011, EPSThe following year Senator’s shortage wasresolved and the sub-rental expired. However,Pineda and the band were so happywith Gary that they requested he remain on.In response to Gary’s tragic passing Pinedaissued a statement on behalf of his family saying,“We’ve missed you a lot and we will missyou more now that you’re in the good handsof our Maker. My family and I would like toAtlanta Area: 3412 Florence Circle ❙ Powder Springs, GA 30127Charlotte Area: 348 Bryant Boulevard ❙ Rock Hill, SC 29732mobile production monthly 15

Sound: chickenfootChickenfoot:CHICKENFOOT:What Do You Do When You Can DoWhatever You Want?by rev. billno Pro Tools, no tracks,it’s a rock n’ roll band the“There’sway God meant it to be.”With that statement, Michael “Ace”Baker begins this chat about the recentlycompleted Chickenfoot tour. Sitting at hisright in the lounge on the tour bus was,fittingly, Jim Jorgensen, his right handman and Chickenfoot monitorengineer. The gig was at theJoint in Las Vegas toward theend of a several month run inEurope and the States.Ace does a lot of touring witha lot of acts. Tower of Power,Sheila E., Joan Osborne, ColinHay, and the thing the actshave in common is outstandingmusicianship and Jorgensen’sjob is to make it louder.“Or in the case of Chickenfoot,to make it softer,” he says notingthat the level onstage at JoeSatriani’s position is about 114 dB.There are no in-ear monitors, either.“Clair SRMs,” says Jorgensen. “I findthem very music-centered where the12AM is more vocal-centered. Andeverything Sammy [Hager] does is verymusical so the SRMs work out well.”Both Jorgensen and Ace know the drill.It’s not their first rodeo or their first outingwith Sammy. Basically the two do anythingthat Sammy Hagar is involved in rangingfrom solo tours to the recent Montrosetributes to Chickenfoot, the supergroupthat brought together Sammy with ex-VanHalen bandmate Michael Anthony, guitaralien Joe Satriani and Chili Peppersdrummer, Chad Smith. For this outing,Chad was committed to a Chili Pepperstour so the drum chair was ably occupiedby session monster Kenny Aronoff.Jorgensen has been part of the family forseven years, Ace for five.Maybe that plays into why they get suchcool toys. For most gigs on the tour,though not this one, the stacks and racksare the Martin MLA provided by OSA.(Board groups and monitors are providedby Clair and - full disclosure - Jorgensenworks for Martin.) Ace has kind of thebest of both worlds (Sammy song titlepun intended) at the house mix position.An old school Midas Heritage handlesthe audience and Ace’s own PresonusStudioLive 24.4.2 which takes a split andfeeds a MacBook Pro running Presonus’Studio One recording package. Ace isusing this super portable setup to recordevery show. He is also a big Presonus fanand uses the StudioLive regularly on tourwith acts that don’t need a lot of inputs.And before you get all sound snobbyon the StudioLive, check this; the bandrecorded every gig on both the currenttour and the one two years ago. Thetwo-year-old recordings were done ona Venue/Pro Tools rig. When the banddecided to re-do their first albumwith a bunch of live tracks, theylistened to recordings from bothtours, and they picked the onesrecorded with the PreSonus. Fivesongs recorded with a $3K boardand a laptop will appear on theupcoming record.This is not your typical rock tourcutting corners deal either. Theguys in Chickenfoot are willing tospend what they need to for thebest possible show.“That’s the the way Sammyalways is... Any tool you need todo the job, they will get you,” said Ace. “Ihave never had to fight for any production.The flip-side of that is there are no excuses.You have to be able to do the gig.”That is the philosophy that drove the MLAchoice as well. Though, as noted earlier, itstayed on the truck for this gig. The Jointat the Hard Rock in Las Vegas is a racksand stacks supplied room boasting a verygood d&b rig designed and installed byCanada’s Sceno Plus, the same outfit thatdesigned the Colosseum for Ceaser’s andseveral other high-end rooms. Jorgensen,16 mobile production monthly

Sound: chickenfoot>>though he would obviously like to see theMLA on the gig, concedes that the houserig is a good one. And Ace jumps in withthe important part.working with Sammy and this band andeveryone from the band to Ace and I tothe guitar tech, is fueled by that kind ofpassion.”“We have to be outof here a little earlierthan normal tonight,so using the housesystem gives us anextra 45 minutes inthe bar.”“That’s the waySammy alwaysis... Any tool youneed to do thejob, they will getyou.”Where Ace is prettyset on what he wantsin terms of console,Jorgensen is still searching. “I’m still on thehunt for the perfect monitor console. I wason a Pro6 for a while, I used a DiGiCoD5 for a while and I used a PM5D fora while. For this tour, the Profile was thebest choice because we did not know whatwas happening with support acts and theProfile is a safe bet. Most acts include it asone of their preferred choices.”So, you know how sound guys are. Theycould sit and talk about gear all night, butthe boys have a show to do. Just as it feelslike we are winding down, Jorgensen whipsout his cell phone and adds what is handsdown the coolest part of the interview.Now, both Jorgensen and Ace are obviouslyhappy to be part of this team, but itis about more than just great music, goodfriends and cool toys.The conversation turns, and suddenly it’sabout what Chickenfoot and the entirecrew is all about. “Most of us,” says Jim“have 20-30 years in this business. Wehave achieved a certain level of successand we can pick and choose what wewant to do. I have a full-time job withMartin Audio. But I still have a passion forBack to Jorgensen’s cellphone. “Let me show youone other part of that puzzle.You might recognize thegentleman in this photo.”Actually it’s hard seeing ashow it’s shot in profile andthe subject is holding a camerawith a huge lens up tohis face. “That is Cy Youngawardwinning, WorldSeries-winning pitcher Randy Johnson.He’s another guy who has reached a levelof success in his career and can start lookingat things he wants to do. What he lovesto do besides baseball, is to shoot pictures.He is now our tour photographer.”Evidently, the passion is contagious. mobile production monthly 17

Catering: latitude 45Latitude 45-Not Just aRock N' RollCatererBy Michael A. BeckWhen Chris Mitchell completed fiveyears of chef school in his homecountry of New Zealand he wasn’t quiteconvinced that he was fully trained. Soafter a year of “cruising” around Europehe persuaded influential people he knewto allow him to cook in their homes forfree while he was still getting his chopsup. Later on Mitchell took part in cookingcompetitions (long before the advent of IronChef).All of these experiences built the platformfor what was next, his career in the cateringworld. He went into business with an oldbusiness associate and the company thrived.After a while things started to sour andthe two split the assets of the company– including the client list, and went theirseparate ways.Because part of the agreement of the“divorce” was that Mitchell’s formerbusiness partner kept the company name,Culinary Underground, he [Mitchell] hadto come up with something new. Enter“Latitude 45”. The name comes from acreative understanding of global geography.Mitchell’s current home of Portland, Oregonand his home country of New Zealand bothexist in the 45th latitude north and southrespectively. But that’s not all that connectshis business to the name, “Someof the best food comes from the 45thlatitude.There are four seasons. It’s were Tuscanyand Bordeaux are. Some of the best grapescome from the latitude.” After a whileMitchell bought out his former partner andnow all operations are under one roof.Temperate climates aside there was anotherreason for the name. Mitchell’s companyemploys 36 full time staff who receive healthbenefits and 401k. Latitude 45 has a hugework load that serviced close to 1,000 showsthis year including 16 tours and servicingseveral venues in Southern California (NokiaTheatre, Staples Center, Honda Center,Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre [Irvine, CA],San Manuel Amphitheater [formerly GlenHelen Pavilion], Citizens Business BankArena [Ontario, CA], The Palladium) anda large portion of Live Nation’s stadiumwork.That being said, Mitchell doesn’t want toget poured into the mold of “rock n, rollcaterer”, thus the name “Latitude 45”. Thecompany has several projects that take placeoutside the milieu of the entertainmentworld, not the least of which being a bakerycafé in the Portland area.With that in mind, it looks like entertainmentwill take up the majority of Mitchell’s time.However, he lets his employees do thetouring work, and he keeps the home firesburning with the local work in the LA areaas well as starting each tour in order to makesure the tours aregetting what they need. One of the premiertours on Mitchell’s roster is Linkin Park withwhom he has fond regards, “Linkin Parkhave been one of our supporters throughboth incarnations of Latitude 45 andCulinary Underground before it. They’vediscovered the benefit of looking aftertheir crew as well as the band. The banditself takes the forethought to look after thepeople who look after them and they do sovery well. They appreciate that the happyarmy marches well on its stomach. Wereally enjoyed traveling with them from thebeginning.”When LP travels overseas the catering teamis wisely cut down to an executive chef whocoordinates with local catering companies.However, in the States they expand out tofull crew.During the 1988 Whitesnake tour theproduction manager complained to aguy behind the catering service table thatthe butter had gone bad. The soon to beunemployed catering person responded with,“So what. Deal with it. What do you wantme to do?”We’ve come a long way since those daysof mystery meat and sweaty cheese arelong gone in all but the most primitiveproductions. Today production teams arecompletely bought into the absolute needto have fully and well nourished crews andperformers.By all indications Latitude 45 is on thecutting edge of servicing that need.www.latitude45catering.com 18 mobile production monthly

lightingtruckingproduction supportsalesservicestoragewww.upstaging.com815.899.9888CHICAGO821 Park AvenueSycamore, Illinois 60178Ph. 815-899-9888Fax 815-899-1080LOS ANGELES415 North Canon Dr., Suite 1Beverly Hills, California 90210Ph. 310-859-9800Fax 310-859-2804

PaUnder the protective umbrella of Weather Design Technologies and a slightlyovercast sky, the Linkin Park Honda Civic tour, affectionately known to the crew as“summer camp”, settled into Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Georgia.Ten Upstaging trucks quietly sat double-stacked at the loading docks. A slight drizzle of rain had begun.LinkTHE TOUR THby mike wharton20 20 mobile production monthlymobile production monthlyPHOTOS BY TIM SOLAR

feature story : linkin park>>Weather conditions, safety measures andtheir effect on productions is a subjecton touring entities minds these days andLinkin Park is at the forefront of addressingthese concerns. They have hired theservices of a professional meteorologicalagency, WeatherOps, a division of WeatherDesign Technologies (WDT), a companydedicated to providing weather riskinformation to touring artists, venues, andproduction companies.Jim Digby, Production Manager of LinkininrkPark and Executive Board member ofEvent Safety Alliance (ESA) sites aninstance that illustrates the importanceof Linkin Park’s association withWeatherOps.“WeatherOps are at the source, located inNorman Oklahoma, where the NationalWeather Service is headquartered.We were doing a show in Nickelsdorf,Austria and a front came through. Ourinformation from WeatherOps wasreaching us before the Austrian promoterswere getting theirs locally.”The now forecasting apparatus, anemometers,(the traditional wind speedindicators setup on outdoor stages) wereindicating that weather conditions wereright at the threshold of having to takethe skins off the stage. The audience hadbeen previously evacuated due to theseindicators.Digby’s ongoing communications withWeatherOps informed him the worst hadpassed. With these facts in hand, Digbywas able to make an informed decision toproceed with the show. The audience wasbrought back in and the show took place.Digby feels that forecasting provided byWeatherOps affords positive forecasting aswell as cautionary predictions.“In essence”, he says, “that informationsaved the revenue for the show.” WDTalso provides two geoNet rings for everyvenue on the tour. These “rings” are set attwenty mile and six mile radius.WDT model rendering can give as muchas a two hour warning of severe weather.T KEEPS GIVINGNORTH AMERICA 2012mobile production monthly 21mobile production monthly 21

feature story : linkin parkMore often a thirty minute warning isgiven. A Severe Weather Action Planincorporating this information and postedeach day specific to the Linkin Park tourand type of venue at which it is performinghas been developed by Digby. Aside fromthe electronic dissemination Digby receives,WDT provides a smart phone app to allthe touring crew with potential threatadvisories.Marrying the technology WDT offers andhaving that all important “calm beforethe storm” discussion with the venue,promoters and all parties concerned isthe key however, to all these pre-emptiveactions in those time frames.Digby has found on thistour that though promotersmay look a little askanceat having these planningdiscussions with blue skiesoverhead, in the end therealization of better nowthan when it’s on topof them negates thosemisgivings.More by default than anyactual designation, in thepast, the tour rigger hasbeen the person everyonelooks to regarding anysafety issues.three handheld devices with readoutcapability. One is in the production office,Wilson has one and a third is providedfor Production Assistant Melissa “Missy”Allgood who is in charge of the tent setupson the concourse for the philanthropicventures touring with the band.Megumi Kusano, Digby’s assistant andProduction Coordinator with Linkin Park,has been with him for three years, aftermeeting in Portugal. She deals with justabout everything including logistics, dailyneeds and band needs everyday on tour.She is a virtual walking encyclopediaof the tour staff, vendors, and venueinformation. Her tenure in the musictwo other charities; Head Count, a grassroots organization to register voters andLove, Hope, Strength.LHS was founded by leukemia survivorsMike Peters of The Alarm, and JamesChippendale of CSI Entertainment. Theirorganization promotes awareness, andearly detection to ensure that all peoplehave access to the same treatments thatsaved their lives. Teaming up with DKMS,the world’s largest marrow registry, theyconduct bone marrow drives at concerts.Allgood organizes volunteers for thesebooths as well at each show.While this tour has essentially enhancedthe look of the band,a bigger-is-betterformat of excesshas not followed.“Everything theband presents tothe audience has tobe elegant,” Digbysays. He adds toothat, “productionrealizes the fans arethere to see the band,not a bunch of gagssurrounding them.Towards that end,this legs stage setup isgeared to accomplishexactly that.”Chris Wilson, Tour Riggeron Linkin Park talks about an item the crewrefers to as “Toto” and points out that,“For me as rigger, weather is one of mybiggest threats I encounter on a shed tour.It’s something that you can’t control, butyou can be prepared for it. I believe thatbeing prepared is what separates this tourfrom others I have been a part of. One ofthe ways that we stay prepared is with Toto.Toto takes me a total of one minute to setup in the morning and for that one minuteof my time I get a peace of mind for theentire day. Toto is just one tool that weuse to give us a live reading of wind speedand wind direction on the stage itself. Totogoes hand in hand with our severe weatheraction plan. This lets us take action rightaway before it gets critical and it’s too lateto take any action at all.”Toto is a wireless transmitting weatherstation placed in the truss every day. Itfeeds to a base station monitoring windconditions which is then transferred toK-Camera effects by video director Skip Twitchelindustry began in Japan as a translatorand liaison to foreign artists. Indispensabledoes not begin to describe her asset to thisproduction.Allgood, as with any good PA, wears a fewdifferent hats. Her primary job is CharityAmbassador for three of the charitiesLinkin Park supports on the tour. Sheis also the tour rep for Music for Relief.This charity was originally established in2005 to provide aid for those affected bythe Indian Ocean Tsunami. Through itssuccessful operation over the last sevenyears, every dollar Linkin Park has raisedwithin the music community has gone tothe victims of the natural disaster. Allgoodlocates and organizes the logistics of localvolunteers in each city the band has a show.Volunteers set-up, distribute informationand then dismantle the booths under thesupervision of Allgood. In exchange theband provides free access to the show forthem. Allgood also acts as liaison for theSkip Twitchel, theVideo Director, has been with Linkin Parksince the 2008 Minutes to Midnite tour. Hehas been with PRG Nocturne twenty-sevenyears. “The boys in Journey quit and thecrew kept on!” he says.As regards to safety he points out, “BecauseNocturne has always flown screens as a partof what we do, we have a lot of experiencedealing with these large wind sails thatscreens can become in the case of badweather. We’ve always taken and addressedweather safety issues very seriously for theband, the audience and for the gear aswell. Linkin Park’s overall attitude towardssafety is a welcome change from years goneby when the big picture wasn’t necessarilybeing looked at by all parties and we werethe ones trying to inject some sanity intothe proceedings.”He defines his job as, “the front row eyes ofthe back row seats.”22 22 mobile production monthlymobile production monthly

The trick is always to show people newand different things, “and Linkin Parkinvests heavily towards that end,” notesTwitchell. Custom content is providedby Ghost Town media in LA and createdby Art Director Bill Boyd. The customcontent is served up through a CatalystMedia Server which is locked to timecode.That content, and the seventeen camerasin the show are then switched live througha Panasonic AW-HS50N by Twitchel. Thefour Ikagami cameras are switched througha BroadcastPix Slate 1000 IntegratedProduction System and fed into thePanasonic switcher.There are two long lens cameras front ofhouse, two broadcast cameras in the wingsand nine Go Pros. The Go Pro is a littlesports camera capable of recording highdefinition video. It’s wide lens has a fieldof view about 170 degrees. Quite popularthese days, its original intended purposewas to strap to surf boards, skis, or skydiving helmets. The recording can be savedto a card, and then loaded onto a computerfor editing purposes.Joe Hahn, Linkin Park’s DJ, is the visualmastermind of the band and has thesecameras scattered throughout the stageon such places as his DJ platform and thedrum and keyboard risers.“What we have done with these,” saysTwitchell, “is take the feed out of thecamera and mix it directly into the liveperformance. We also have four K-camsthat are a 3D mapping camera. What I’vedone there is taken these cameras as a livefeed for mixing purposes as well. It’s areally different effects camera.”A combination of all these elements is thensent to a PRG Nocturne custom 18 mmLED screen 45’ wide by 22’ high up stagecenter. Twitchel credits PRG Nocturne’sproprietary processing for making these 18mm LED’s as bright as anybody else’s 12mm on the road.A K-cam effect image dominates theLED screen as the band opens the showwith “A Place for My Head.” The screenis perfectly framed by the lighting rig’supstage truss spanning the top of the screenwith down leg towers stage right and left offeither end. This flown goal post consists ofMartin Mac 3K Performance and Atomicstrobes, and four Lycian Mark 2 truss spots.The down legs are loaded with MartinMac Vipers, Atomic strobes and MartinMac 101’s on bars of four. Two mid stagetruss with Jarags, Mac 2K XB washes andMartin Aura’s add overhead layers to thefeature story : linkin parkset and band. Stage left and right each havea twenty foot side truss loaded with MAC3’s as well.Tim Solar is the Lighting Crew Chieffor Linkin Park, and has been since theirMeteora tour in 2004. His photographsaccompany this article. He feels the Martin101’s are a fantastic light due to theirbrightness and quick movement. The fortyfixtures on the dance towers add a lot ofeye candy as well as do duty occasionally asACL like patterns.The 101’s are the only fixtures that come inand out of a road case. The show uses allChristie Lites pre-rig F-type trusses, whichdeploys extremely fast. “Almost too fast,”jokes Solar. The truss rolls into place ridingon cradles. A simple button release allowsthe side of the cradles to scissor downlaterally. The pre-rig is then picked up byits points and the cradles roll away to beconveniently stacked. The entire Christietruss in the rig is spigotted and bulletpinned together. A slight modificationsuggested by Solar to Christie of extendingthe length of the pin eliminates the needfor drift pins to align truss. No tools arerequired; the bullet pins live safely attachedto the truss cords. It takes two hours to getthe rig powered up and trimmed.>>Linkin Park Tour Vendors:Management - The CollectiveBusiness Management - Gudvi, Sussman, &OppenheimBooking - Artist Group InternationalProduction Management - CollaborativeEndeavor GroupBand Travel Agent - Premier TravelTour Management - The Browning GroupBand Travel (Charter) - Chapman FreebornLegal - Ziffren Brittenham LLPCrew Travel Agent - Protravel EntertainmentCredentials & Tour Books - Access Pass &DesignInsurance - Momentous Insurance BrokerageInc.Content Design - Ghost Town MediaImmigration & Visas - Global AccessImmigration Services Inc.Security - NPB Companies Inc.Merch - Bravado International GrooupVideo - NocturneFreight - EFM ManagementCatering - Latitude 45Audio - SolotechPower + HVAC - CAT SystemsRadios - AAA Communications (West Coast)Software - Eventric / Master TourTrucking - Upstaging TruckingPyro - PyrotekBus Company - Celebrity CoachesPromotion - Ground (CTRL)Set Design - TAIT TowersTour Equipment - Tour Supply IncLighting - Christie LitesCharities:Music For ReleaseHeadcountMake Yourself FoundationLove, Hope, Strengthmobile production monthly 23mobile production monthly 23

feature story : linkin parkA downstage truss with Martin Vipers,washes, and a dozen four light audienceblinders complete the rig. Between the36 Jarags and the dozen four liter’s, theband is able to see audience reaction andparticipation throughout the show.The importance of this can be seen by thelarge amount of interplay between vocalistsMike Shinoda, Chester Bennington, andthe audience. Unlike many concerts,preshow on this tour revolves aroundinternet streaming video between the bandand fan questions displayed on the LEDscreen and pumped through the PA ratherthan the traditional “walk-in music.”Overall the stage has a very clean look.Lighting Director Matt Mills does anexcellent job of layering the three levels ofset, never overpowering the LED screen.In fact, the lighting rig is so well designedand utilized that while it tends to bring theaudience focal point towards the incrediblegraphics on the screen, ones eye still easilytracks the bands actions on stage. Marryingthese two elements, video and lighting,is a delicate balance for a designer. Forthis production that marriage is achievedharmoniously. One or the other elementsmay dominate at times but never distracts.This is all the more noteworthy becausecontrol of lights and video are separate.Powerful and evocative as the LED screenand its images are, it still does not distractfrom the live action of the band on stage.Mills, based out of Orlando, recently joinedthe tour for the North American leg. Hisknowledge and skill with timecode werebeing sought after, having spent 18 monthsdeveloping and running a Disturbed tourthrough timecode. Lighting Designer TravisShirley with a design already in place, firstreached out to him.“I was asked to take the show they had builtoff another rig and clone it into this currentconfiguration using timecode,” relates Mills.Christie Lites Account Rep Martin Kellythen threw his name in the hat, which wasfurther backed with a recommendationfrom Tim Solar who had been Mills’ CrewChief on a Daughtry tour. So, despite Millsdesire and efforts to stay off the road andconcentrate on corporate work in Orlando,“By the time Jim Digby called, I waspretty much sold on the idea.” Referringto himself as a “grey glove LD”, Millsduties during the day include setup offront of house, programming and tweakingtimecode for the existing show as well assongs added, and helping where needed toput out any fires that pop up.“But those instances are rare,” he says. “Itis amazing how dialed in everything is;there’s absolutely no chaos.”One unique difference is the separation ofcontrol between video and lighting. Millsuses a GrandMa 1 for this show, and hasin the past controlled both lights and videofrom the lighting console.Says Mills, “At first I was kind of worriedabout being called back to fix somethingI hadn’t had my hands on but that’s neverhappened on this show.”The bands commitment to an “elegantpresentation” is evident in Mills executionof the show. The primary palette he usesto light the band, accents for the audience,and restrained reveal of the color blocks inthe shutter panels show finesse in a rig thatcould, in less capable hands, be a repetitive24 24 mobile production monthlymobile production monthly

series of chase, flash and trash.Used mainly for accents and chaseeffects within the set, about half waythrough the show Mills will open thepanels completely and turn all 360blocks on full to silhouette the band.This is a really powerful effect and ahuge crowd pleaser.feature story : linkin park>>Not that the show is one static look.Dynamic chases appear when themusic calls for them. And it can beLOUD, but not painfully so. Front ofHouse Engineer, Ken “Pooch” VanDruten has been both a recordingengineer and a live sound engineer.A background that works well for LPas the band offers “bootleg” showrecordings on its website.“When I came on with Linkin Parkin 2005,” says Van Druten, “I wastasked with making these recordquality bootlegs. So when I’m notmixing the live show, I’m editing previousshows for these bootlegs.” A typical dayon tour will find him listening, editing, andmixing from 8 am to 5 pm, a dinner/earbreak and then another 90 minutes of livemixing the show that night.It reinforced his ongoing philosophy ofmixing with impact rather than volume.This is a concept he brought to the bandsaying, “You guys are really responsibleabout a lot of other things, let’s beresponsible about peoples hearing too. Andof course they embraced that.”“Regardless of the limits allowed byvarious venues we mix at 102 db. That isa responsible rock show level which stillhas a lot of impact, but not 105, which issomewhat the norm for rock shows,” hesays. While Van Druten finds it both achallenge and a joy to, “turn it down andstill make it loud,” he does acknowledgethe hardware on tour that aids him in thisprocess.“We use the brand new Adamson E-15cabinet, T-21 subs, and Y-10 for side fills.The coverage and responsiveness is prettyamazing,” he says.Van Druten realizes too that the fans wantto hear the band “just like on the record.”He explains how he achieves this.“Ethan Mates, the bands recordingengineer, and I have a great workingrelationship. I get the multi-tracks beforethe records are even being released, so Iam able to pull the pre-sets off the pluginsthey are using and put them into myplug-ins allowing me a good starting point.Because the band works in Pro Tools andI work on an Avid desk out here, we canshare files like that.”Ethan Merfy, Stage Manager on the tour,has been with Linkin Park since FamilyValues in 2001, originally as a carpenter.Digby asked Merfy to become StageManager when he came on board as PMshortly after that. Merfy refers to his jobof deploying the local 42 stagehands,8 loaders, and 12 riggers as an act of“controlled chaos.” He is an activeadherent to the safety measures put intomotion and endorsed by Linkin Park,having attended the Severe WeatherPreparedness Class with Digby at theNational Weather Service facility inOklahoma.David “Sammy” Herrington is the HeadSet Carpenter. A long time crew memberhe originally began his association withLinkin Park on the Family Values tour in2001 as well. He is the answer man on therare occasion Merfy is not available.The set, constructed by Tait Towers,consists of four individual miniature egoplatforms on the down stage edge, a centerstage “x” ramp that leads to an upstageforty feet long by four feet wide platformapproximately seven feet off the deck. Thefour shutter boxes containing the 360 colorblocks are strapped to the front of theplatform.“We had a few weight concerns at first,”he says, “but these were addressed by Taitimmediately. Justin McDaniel, my contactwith Tait, in particular has just beentremendous.”Tait has everything it builds approvedby McLaren Engineering. McLarenprovides engineering studies includingload reactions under certain weatherconditions. Studies for this particular tour,and its set components, have been figuredinto the Severe Weather Action PlanDigby has developed. In essence this hasadded another layer of safety to the showas well mitigating the bands exposure torisk. Transporting this set and the showscomponents around the world has been theduty of EFM Freight. Originally establishedin 2000 in the UK, its office depots haveexpanded to encompass Europe, theMiddle East, Australia, and the USA withnetworks in Asia, and South America.Steve Botting has run the North Americanoperations since 2005. Whenever aircargo, sea container and intercontinentalcrossings have been required for LinkinPark’s production equipment, Botting andEFM have been at the helm. Navigating thelegal bylaws in each country, an awarenessof how freight is prioritized, coupled withestablishing good working relationshipswith carriers around the world is just partmobile production monthly 25mobile production monthly 25

feature story : linkin parkof the complex process that brings thisshow to the stage each night.Being sanctioned by the TSA allows thecompany to pre-package equipment andseal containers at their individual depots.This ability immensely enhances the safehandling of the gear. Botting or one of hisEFM agents is always available for a loadoutwhen a difficult or time constrainedmove requires.Botting’s association with Digby and LinkinPark goes back over ten years.“Been with them since their infancy really,”says Botting. “They’re one of my favoriteacts, because they’re very smart in how theygo about touring, particularly with theirmultiple systems.”They have three systems on tour at anygiven time. Botting comes on board atthe very beginning of the tour planning,to help configure what makes the mostsense routing, both logistically as well asfinancially. With his 20 years of previousbackground as a production and tourmanager, Digby deems Botting’s experienceand EFM’s logistical support “crucial.”Kevin Hughes, the pyrotechnics shooter,talks a bit about his elements in the show.There are eight Dragon Heads built intothe set, propane fired. These are dailyinspected by Hughes and a local firemarshal for height and temperature ofblast, which is standard procedure for anytour carrying pyro effects. Due to the toursoverall attitude towards safety, there is asense of heightened awareness. A trusswith shotgun arms flown just down stageof the LED screen is dedicated to thepyro rain curtain shower. This truss andits placement was added after the originaldesign to insure maximum safety andclearance. These effects are held back untilwell into the show. The Dragon Headsperfectly accent the song “Burn It Down”from the new album, “Living Things,”while the stunning video for it plays as abackdrop on the LED screen. Two songslater, the pyro curtain is added in while theDragon Heads deliver their plumes of fireblast. With Van Druten driving the PA todeliver a virtual body pounding of sonicimpact and Mills cueing a crowd roaringvisual, the show ends.All of the safety efforts of this “summercamp” traveling the world are now officiallyrecognized by the National WeatherService Storm Ready advisory board.Much in the same way the NWS designatesofficial tornado shelters, Linkin Park andits production team has been deemed aStorm Ready Supporter. The Storm Readyprogram recognizes organizations withsuperior communication and safety skillsbefore, during, and after severe weather.This tour is the first ever to receive thisdistinction. The award letter sent to thetour states in part:“The entire Linkin Park organization, andtheir millions of devoted fans, should beextremely proud of this accomplishment.Your proactive approach to preparingfor and dealing with hazardous weatherthreats sets a high bar for others in theentertainment industry, and we hope tosee many others follow your lead. Therelationship between Linkin Park, WeatherDecision Technologies and the NationalWeather Service illustrates the importanceof partnerships between the public andprivate sector. As we’ve seen in the recentpast, large venues with thousands of peoplein attendance are especially vulnerableto severe weather. Linkin Park recognizesthis, and has taken extra steps to developdetailed plans to monitor the weather, andto take protective actions based on specificweather guidance. That’s what being aStorm Ready Supporter is about. TheNational Weather Service is proud to haveyou as part of the Storm Ready family!”Rigger Chris Wilson echo’s this statementalong with the rest of the tour staff, “Ithas been very refreshing working witha production manager that’s so safetyconscience.” 26 26 mobile production monthlymobile production monthly

LINKIN PARK 2012Carpenters:David “Sammy”HerringtonMaurice Montalvo,Jason BerryFOH Engineer-Ken “Pooch” Van Druten,Audio System Engineer-Chris “Cookie” Hofflinkin park : production crewHonda Civic tour crew>>Production Coordinator,-Megumi Kusano, ProductionAssistant-Melissa Allgood, Backstage Coordinator-ErinMasuda-, Press and Promotions-Cory O’DonnellLighting Director-Matt MillsAudio-Monitors:Paul White - Wireless SystemEngineer, Monitor Engineer-Kevin “Tater” McCarthyPyro-Kevin HughesProduction Manager -JimDigby, Stage Manager-Ethan MerfyCAT Power-Larry AdamsAudio: Daniel Ostroff-Audio/PA Tech, Mike Freitag- Audio/PA Tech, Todd Hartman-Audio/Stage TechBackline: Jeremy Nielson-Mike Tech, Sean Pade-BradTech, Warren Johnson-Joe Tech, Dylan Ely, Pro ToolsTech, Ted Regier-Phoenix Tech, Brad Stonner-Rob TechVideo: Jordan Goodfellow, LEDTech-Mike Wawro, Dane Mustola,Tracy Calderon, Skip Twitchell-Video DirectorRigging-Chris WilsonTech Director- Tim Solar,Lighting- Allyson Solar,Lighting Tech- Mark AbraAccounting-Laura NordiaSecurity: Tywan McGilbray, Carl Swartz,Lonnie Southall, James BoothCatering: Nathan Serkland, Carrie Todesko, Glynn Bramhall,Danny Dumas, Jason Brown, Band Chef-Gray Roland,Jeremy Criscitiellomobile production monthly 27mobile production monthly 27

TOuring on a budgetOn the Road Again -Touring On A Budget withBeth Hart and Crewby Richard BennettThe touring industry is a hungry beast,endlessly looking for new blood and movinginto new territories. In recent years, the numberof tours and artists performing in the Easternblock countries has seen a steady growth.However, it’s not always the big names thatare leading this charge into the unknown. Theemerging bands and artists, along with theircrews, are proving to be the pioneers of thisnew frontier by laying down a foundation whichothers will undoubtedly follow.Like all pioneers, these individuals are doingit their way, and in most cases, on a very tighttouring budget. With record sales dying, it’sthe live arena where the money and fan loyaltynow lay. Building up a performer’s reputation innew countries is not only an investment for theartist, but also a challenge for the crews and thetouring industry itself.Any new adventure will be beset by numerousups and downs on the rocky road ahead.Thanks to experienced, road-weary tourpersonnel, these issues are being met andresolved, opening up more and more countriesto the rock’n’roll circus that is live performing.But getting it right can be a difficult andemotional experience, long before the tour evenstarts.“I was sitting in Yankee Stadium watching agame, two days before the start of our Europeantour in Poland,” says tour manger for Beth Hartand her band, Scott Guetzkow. “I got an emailfrom our normal driver that was to pick up ourequipment from Germany and drive it over toPoland. He had come down with an illness lastmoment, and couldn’t make the tour. I got intouch with our production manager in Holland,and told her to find someone, anyone, to get usout of this mess. It is close to impossible to findsomeone good in the middle of summer touringseason, as everyone is(photo by Curt Ammerman)Scott Guetzkowbooked doing festivals. Fortunately, she did.Then one of our guitarists missed the first show,because of a typo on his itinerary, causing himto miss his flight. All this happened before wehave even played our first gig on the tour,” saysGuetzkow.Economical touring is the key to this type ofproject, particularly for the US bands. Runningwith mostly just their own backline and minimalcrew, they are dependent on in-house set-upsat the various venues or local vendors, who inmost cases don’t even speak English.Guetzkow further explains, “When we gotto Poland, everything was great; we wereusing a hired van for the gear, band, virtuallyeverything. Everything else we sorted out oncewe got to the country or venue. It’s the secondtime we have played in Poland and the soundand crews were great, particularly in Warsaw.The Czech Republic was a bit more chaotic,although they did have the most amazingin-house sound systems, clear and clean, theyhad modern boards, they ran in ears for us, weweren’t wanting for anything, except someonewho spoke English. Luckily we found an MCat the festival who could speak English and hestepped in to help us out. Communication andrespect is the key to making smaller tours work.You can’t shout and scream at these guys,you have to have a lot of patience and be realpolite and if you do that, they will really help youout. As the old saying goes, you get more flieswith honey. The nicer you are the nicer theyare which makes everyone’s life run that muchsmoother,” he says.“When I walk into one of the European venues,the first thing I will do is check out the lights,” hesays. “If there are at least two spotlights, I canmake sure that one is on Beth when she’s at thepiano and the other is on her when she’s at themicrophone, then I tell everyone else inthe band to move to the vacant light when it’stheir turn to solo. We use in-house lightingguys and that’s where sometimes it can geta bit ‘Spinal Tap.’ It gets to the point wherethey put so much smoke on the stage, I endup shouting “no more smoke” and they aregoing, “you want more smoke?” and they justkeep pouring it on. It’s whatever works. If wego in and if they have half the wedges we arehappy.”Pre-planning is vital to a successful jauntacross Europe, and for Guetzkow, his manyyears of on the road experience come invery handy, as he inevitably has to, at times,wear many different hats, from tour manager,accountant, production manager, sound andlighting. He is also Hart’s husband.“With pre-production we use BiancaPoldermans, who is Dutch. She is very thoroughand detailed, which is very good. Sometimeswe will use in-house boards that may have themake and model numbers rubbed off. We haveto see if they are suitable or what adjustmentsthe band would have to make to use it, andthat’s where she will come in a find out all theinformation we need.”After pre-production preparation and in-housevendors in place, another key element is makingsure that the tour can work on the road from afinancial standpoint, as Guetzkow explains:“Routing the tour to keep things balanced froma financial point of view is also a big challengeon these types of trips. You have to get a finebalance between getting exposure for your artistin countries where they are starting to build areputation, and gigs that you are fairly sure aregoing to sell out and give you some cash flow.”“On this tour we are playing a number offestivals, mainly in the UK, which is aninvestment on our part, because this is a newterritory for us. Festivals don’t pay as well as theother gigs, so its always important that whenwe go into these new territories we also tour ourestablished territories, enabling us to make thistype of investment. However, you cannot planfor the unpredicted things like parking tickets,broken equipment, vehicle repairs, etc. Whenyou get a few of those on the road you can soonfind your budget is blown,” he adds.Being dependent on other unknown peopleto help you with the show and effectively yourliving, can be both rewarding and at timesfrustrating. You’re not always sure what you are28 mobile production monthly

touring on a budget>>going to get in the way of crew until you arriveat the venue a few hours before showtime,something that Guetzkow is all too familiar with.“We did this show in London, England forexample, and we were on a shoestring budget,so at the time we didn’t have loaders or abackline guy so we were using locals. Well, Ithink the promoter found us the oldest, skinniestand smallest backline guy in history. He couldn’teven lift a guitar to tune it let alone hump gearon and off a truck. It ended up with me doing thewhole thing,” he says.““You have to get a finebalance between gettingexposure for your artistin countries where theyare starting to build areputation, and gigs thatyou are fairly sure aregoing to sell out and giveyou some cash flow.”“When you tour like we do it pays to have abackline guy in most of the countries you play.By having that, you don’t have to pay any flightsand hotel bills for them because they live wereyour playing. Most of these guys come to usfrom friends and word of mouth which helpsme out from having to find them myself. It alsoallows you to get to know them and dependon them over the years. This helps to build arelationship and when you have that, you cansometimes negotiate the price with them, whichmakes the tour affordable. It’s all about trust andrespect. As you know, I may need these guysfurther down the road to pull me out of a hole,”Guetzkow continues.“In some cases you can broker a deal withthe promoters. For example, on this tour weare doing a festival, but our backline will beon its way to another show in another city, soI negotiated with the promoter that they wouldsupply the backline and a backline tech. Theythought about it for a week, but finally cameback and said OK. Now that saves us moneyand allows us to transport and set up ourown gear in the other city where we play thefollowing night,” says Guetzkow.Scott Guetzkow, along with Beth Hart and herband, are the best type of pioneers. They arelaying down the path for others to follow, as theymost certainly will during the next few years,but they are doing it with a professionalism andpassion that will ensure the growth of the liveperformance industry for many years to come inthose far-flung countries across Europe. mobile production monthly 29

plasa 2012Clay Paky A. LEDA movinghead wash LED (l to r) K20 600wlinear zoom, K10 350w linearzoom, K5 150w beam angleBelow:Allen & Heath Zed 14Robin DLF WashIt’s Showtime!The annualPLASA showdelivers aninterestingthree days inan otherwisequiteSeptember inLondon.It’s fair to say that most people within theproduction industry will have their ownviews when it comes to trade shows. Forsome it’s a reason to catch up with theirfavorite vendors and drink their beer, forothers it’s an opportunity to share touringstories with rarely seen fellow travelersof the road. One or two may even see itas a chance to enter the Guinness Bookof World records under the ‘most tradepamphlets stuffed into a free promoshoulder bag’ category. Others walkaround the venue, muttering “we’ve seenit all before” while some adopt an IndianaJones philosophy, seeking out that elusiveitem that will change their world, amongstthe throng of vendor’s stands.At September’s PLASA exhibition, heldthis year for the last time in its spiritualhome in South London Earls Court,before moving to the state of the art venuein high class docklands next year, therewas a large continuant of all of the above.Not only does PLASA offer the chance tomeet up with old and new friendsalike, who have chosen to call the productionindustry their own, but you also getto play with some really cool gear. Withrecord attendance from both vendors andvisitors, PLASA certainly gave Earls Courta fitting swan song.With the layout set up in easy to identifythemed areas, even the worst navigatorin the world was able to find what theywere looking for. That being said, whoevercame up with the bright idea to put allthe smoke machine vendors in one ofthe furthest corners of the venue wouldhave to admit it wasn’t the best call ofthe three day show. This was illustratedby the fact that all of the vendors in thatarea decided to let the machines off at aregularly synchronized intervals, turningthat particular section, at times, into ascene reminiscent of every Jack the Ripperfilm ever produced.This year’s show offered a wide rangeof new products, for those prepared toexplore a little bit. With a wide range ofproducts on show, every aspect of theindustry was represented offering items forthe small venue operator right through tothe seasoned stadium professional, and allpoints in between.The lighting area was a hive of activity,with the Robe stand being one area ofinterest, as it launched a number of newproducts at the show, including the RobinDLS profile, which utilizes a high powerRGBW LED module, offering four fastand smooth framing shutters. Otherfeatures include a minimum LED lifeexpectancy of 20,000 hours and a linermotorized zoom and 3 DMX modes.The interesting combination of the PhilipsPlatinum 35 light source with a MMXoptical system makes the new Robe MMXwashBeam a more than capable additionto the traditional 1200W market. TheMMX features include a seven dichroicfilter wheel, remote beam flatness and hotspot control plus a unique internal automated‘Barn Door’ assembly.Clay Paky made its presence felt, withthree A.LEDA Wash moving head models,the K20, K10 and the K5. Each modelhas a RGBW LED light source, whilethe K20 and K10 boast a beam angleand linear zoom and vectorial movementcontrol.A walk on to the Martin Professional standwas a chance to see the new MAC Viperprofile and AirFX unit, which is a uniquebeam, effects and wash combination allhoused in one unit. An interesting additionto its MAC III range was the 1,5000Wmoving head AirFix model.More than a few lighting vendors tookthe opportunity of PLASA to launch newproducts, amongst them LDR with its newrange of 200W LED profiles and Avolitesshowing its Titan one and Titan version 6consoles.30 30 mobile production monthlymobile production monthly

plasa 2012>>For the audio fan there was plentyto see at the show, the smaller venueoperator was more than catered for bythe ZED60 range courtesy of Allen &Heath. With three models to choosefrom, the 10FX, 14FX and the ZED-10FX, featuring 60mm professionalquality faders, 2 stereo inputs and 4mic/line inputs. For those who havea bigger budget and are more likelyto be found in an arena or stadiumenvironment, the MIDAS PRO 1 andthe VENICEU boards fits the bill nicely.The PRO 1 series, according to MIDASis a ground breaking digital, lightweightconsole making it easy for portabilityand performance. A further play with it,with its daylight viewable display screen,assignable controls (no more handwrittentape stuck all over the desk) and 24analogue MMic/line inputs, does makeit an interesting addition to the MIDASrange. As for the VENICEU board, thelist of features boarders on the excessive,including mono channels, multi-functionchannels, master outputs solo system andUSB Digital Audio, to name just a few.The XD 12 and 15 dispersion systemsfrom Martin Audio, which were designedto deliver higher output levels and anextended frequency range, were also ondisplay. Mixers got a look in via Soundcraft and the launch of its Si Performerproduct range with its integrated DMXfunction and a lighting control option.Robe Robin MMX wash beamIn an industrythat is changingat an exceptionalrate within inthe context oftechnology, thetrade showscan give a goodindication ofwhere certainaspects of theprofession arespending most of their budget and energy.PLASA was no exception with a strongshowing from LED suppliers. ShowLEDhad most of its products on display,including a large version of its starclothsystems, which dominated an entire wall,adding a vibrant splash of color andassorted images to the proceedings.Video vendor ArKaos showcased thelatest version of the power behind itscomplete range, in the shape of theMediaMaster Pro3.0 software package.Coolux’s Pandora’s Box 5.1 software, thenew upgrade from the 5.0 version got thechance to shine, with more than 50 distinctadditions and improvements on the 5.0system, including media encryption and3D warping.With the festival season ending at the endof August and the indoor arena shows nothitting the UK until the start of October,PLASA offers a chance to take time outand catch up with the new developmentsin the ever changing world of liveproduction. Whatever your view of tradeshows, they are at times the bright light atthe end of the tunnel. With its promise ofbeing even bigger next year PLASA 2013,will not only be in a new home but willhopefully continue to allow others to offernew products. Robe lighting standClassic ShowLED Star Dropmobile production monthly 31mobile production monthly 31

ADVERTISER’S IndexAir Charter Service.............................IFCAlan Poulin Photography......................14American Stage Company...................14Celebrity Coaches................................19Christie Lights........................................2Cube Passes........................................18D&S Classic Coach................................4Engine Power Source (EPS)..................15Five Points Production Services............29Gallagher Staging & Productions........IBCGuitar Hands........................................11Horizon Entertainment Cargo..............14Impact Marketing.................................29Jet Division...........................................29Knowhere...........................................4MD Live................................................8...NIC Freight...........................................29Precise Corporate Staging....................1Prevost................................................BCPyrotek................................................19Roadhouse..........................................7SOS Transportation...............................7Upstaging............................................1932 32 mobile mobile production production monthly monthly

mobile production monthly 33

PROVEN PERFORMER.With so many people counting on you for their comfort and safety on the road, the choice in motorcoaches isclear. Prevost is the leader in the entertainment industry for good reason. We offer unmatched design, handling,performance, and reliability that make everyone’s job easier. Nobody goes the extra mile like we do.Prevost Service Locator Mobile AppAvailable for iPhone and AndroidFor more informationSteve Zeigler, Director of Business Development800.837.0895 or visit www.prevostcar.comThe ultimate class.34 mobile production monthly