Week One Recap...sort of
It's been exactly seven days since I stepped out of the door of my house. Arrived in Providence late at night and took a cab along with a couple of the other guys to Mansfield, MA.
After 4 hours of sleep we went to the venue and began to load in the production. Well it turns out the lighting was not properly prepped. Which in turn caused us to spend several hours just getting things to work. This held up the rest of the stage being set up and effected some of the sound checks.
Mind you the first show was not until the next day. However, the extra day was for production rehearsals and such.
The show went fine for the most part. We did have some issues with Wu Tang and the opening of their show which hopefully have been solved.
The shows in NYC were a bit different since Rage Against the Machine are closing the show. We are using their sound and lights which makes my day easier, plus the rig is larger. The place was hot, rainy and the crowds were huge. If you do a search on You Tube there are clips all over.
We are now in Atlanta for a couple of days off. We are also looking at where we are from a production standpoint. Part of the crew out here are very green and it shows.
So many hours so far and so little sleep, I am spending my time recharging a bit.
Labels: Lighting, Rock The Bells, Touring, Tours
On the road again
It's off on another tour tomorrow. Fortunately my flight isn't until the evening. Everyone is flying into Providence even though we are starting the tour in Mansfield, Mass. I have a short trip but I connect in Newark, New Jersey.
It could be interesting, especially with the luck I have had flying this year.
Labels: Airlines, Airports, Travel
The days approaching
Just a few days until we begin the tour. This one is similar to the Smokin Grooves tours that I have done in the past. A multi-artist tour with a bunch of hip-hop acts. The difference this time is that we are using a smaller production.
I will be using a lighting system, which we will be carrying on the tour. There was talk of using local lighting at one point. I'm glad this was not the case. The audio guys will be using the same consoles and montiors but the PA will be from local sound companies. So there will only be two semi-trucks on this one instead of 4 or 5 which we had on the Grooves. The trucks are loading today and will be leaving from California later today.
There are also going to be two production buses.
If you know anything about this upcoming tour, you know that Rage Against the Machine will be headlining four of the shows. We will being using the production they are using which means my lighting rig will stay in the truck. Our day will be a bit easier on those shows.
We are going to need it since we are loading in at 6am the regular days of the tour with doors at 2pm. It is going to make for a very long day. The other good thing is we only have a couple of shows back to back. There will actually be quite a few days off. There goes a bunch of the per diem again.
The production crew will all be flying in on Tuesday evening. Some of us have worked together in the past and some have not. So it will be the first time meeting and getting to know each other. It's interesting how people who don't know each other learn to work and live together in a very short period of time. I can't think of any other industry that this occurs, except for maybe pro athletes.
Labels: Concert, Rock The Bells, Touring, Tours
Do you need wings??
We are a society that loves their caffeinated beverages. Drinks like coffee and soda are probably the most popular. I'm not an expert or have I done any scientific research to back this claim.
In the last decade we are drinking more and more energy drinks. You know the ones. Red bull which is probably the most familiar.
There are people in my business that can't function without them. They drink them daily and several times during that day. I'm not a fan of most of them. I just don't like the way they taste. I prefer an old fashion coffee, preferably iced.
If you are one of those people that like energy drinks take a look
here to see what they are made of.
Good eats
I haven't been posting much the last week or so. Not much to say I guess. I've had a few weeks off since I finished the Five For Fighting tour and now I'm just waiting for the Rock the Bells tour to start. I actually leave for that, two weeks from today. I am going to try an write about the tour as much as I can once we start.
Summer is in full swing and the heat is on especially here in the USA. Friends in Arizona have been cooking for several weeks and no end in sight.
Now we are getting some of it here in upstate New York. Unlike the southwest it is a "wet" heat here. Air conditioning is a wonderful thing this time of year. So in a nice ice cream sundae, which is the reason for the picture.
Labels: Hot, Ice Cream, Sundae
