Dave Rat - Roadies in the Midst

**** Begin Ebay Roadie Auction Update ****

With our backs currently valued at a whopping $ over $300.00 Scott and I are near speechless in excitement.

I have good news! As the auction rounds the bend into the second to last day, Lampi Scott and I began to concern ourselves with the the wonder of what the band's reaction will be. Could they, would they, should they shut us down? Are we bad roadies over stepping our bounds and crosseing the line of acceptable roadie behavior? Then with a few moments of thought I realize that the only relevant question is "Do ya think they will be pissed off if it ends before they know about it?" With our new biggest concern now being trying to figure out a way to leak it to the band, we go undercover and devise an intricate plan. Shhhh, here it is: First under the cover of stealth, Scotty will sneak into the production office and with shifty eyes, print the ad and then scurry off before anyone realizes what he is up to. Next, Scotty will belly crawl into the dressing room and inconspicuously lay the printed eBay ad out in full view as if it mysteriously appeared from nowhere. Finally, Scott and I will impatiently await the outcome, and see what happens. Shhhhh.....

Everything went according plan except we had to abandon the belly crawl when Lyssa became suspicious and told Scott to get off the floor.

**** End Ebay Auction Update ****

The show, well I am running out of things to write! Ha ha, just kidding. Here we can see a cool shot of a Synchro light in action. Those that have been to the show will most likely remember this part as you can see it here dissolving the audience

**** Begin Meet a Roadie Campaign Episode 4****

From Day 89:

Sound Techs - A bit later call times than the lighting, the sound techs get to do a lot of waiting and then have a bit of a crunch to get set. The sequence of events during load in is usually rigging, lights, video, sound and then backline, with overlaps of course. The state of the art sound systems that we use today are a far cry from the old "hang a pile o boxes here" mentality of 5 or 10 years ago. Currently, every room is measured with laser range finders to determine the dimensions. The data is input into 3D sonic prediction software that calculates optimum coverage, potential volume levels and determines the precise angle of every speaker box. To learn this, the techs go through a training course and are certified as such.

Ladies and gentleman, it is my honor and pleasure today to introduce to you the cream of the audio roadie crop, the flying Blue Angels of sound, like cashews hand picked from a can of mixed nuts this crack team of stellar audio technicians may not be the best of the best but at least they are good enough. This is the group o roadies that make my job possible on a daily basis and without them or with a lesser caliber of crew, there would be no way we could make the sound happen as it does. Not to mention the fact that we are carrying non-standard audio configurations. Just looking at them I feel like I know them. From left to right, the usual suspects are:

The story begins when five men are rounded up for a line-up, and grilled about their involvement in setting up sound systems (the usual suspects)consisting of three sound techs and two engineer assists which also are techs.

First in the line up we have Manny as monitor assist and his job is to take care of Daniel's monitor world. Typically on larger tours, each engineer, FOH and monitors have a somewhat dedicated tech. During the rock show, with the engineers virtually trapped behind their console, the 'assist' can deal with any issues that may arise. Manny actually started the tour as a system tech and graduated sideways to monitor assist, because Daniel thinks he is cute.

Next we have our sound hombre Neal. In the pecking order he is currently tech number two and I think he does stage right PA flying and teardown. Also he is a skilled tequila drinker and has many stories that help entertain the roadies.

Viewing just the head part of the next roadie named Jamie, and from the angle of the shot you may not initially notice that Jamie is indeed a super roadie. This is an enhanced breed with super roadie strength. One major downfall of working with a super roadie is that it really hurts if they step on your foot. Jamie just joined us from Pearl Jam tour and is currently sound tech level 3.

And since Manny got left out of the fixing sound owie photo the other day and to give a true perspective of Jamie the super roadie:

Next in line needs no introduction as you all I am sure familiar with him by now. As the FOH assist, Nick the Fly, tunes my world, decorates the console with leaves and is the one who came up the idea to tour with sod in 2003.

Daniel has already been introduced but we could not persuade him out of the photo.

And that brings us to the last of the sound techs and the one ring to rule them all, meet Lee 'Keyser Soze' Vaught. Lee is our fierce and friendly sound crew chief. Wedged in the tough spot between our delicate sound roadies and the omnipotent powers of PRODUCTION, Lee is the adaptor. The interface that buffers the sound crew from spikes while pushing them to excel and get the gear in and out fast and safe on a daily basis.

Finally, me. I too could not persuade myself out of the photo. In case you were wondering, I do sound.

**** End Meet a Roadie Campaign Episode 4 ****

The wondering how I always get myself into these messes,

Dave Rat