We have all been there. It's the end of a long stretch of work, and though you should probably be out celebrating the end of a good run, in truth, there is just no gas left to fuel the fire.
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The last couple of months have been a total roller-coaster culminating in a week that saw the Parnellis (both the awards show and the pre-show golf tourney), LDI (actually not an issue, as there was exactly zero audio there), a planned surgical procedure for my wife (who is also the FOH production manager/photographer) and now trying to shoehorn shipping the Nov. issue in before leaving for AES on Friday.
Yeah, I know. Poor, poor pitiful me, right?
This is not a complaint, just a little note to explain what follows. Oh, and I've spent way too much time in that damn hospital of late. Not for me but, prior to my wife, a real close friend (for those of you who are into such things, he is the guy I call my "sponsor"…) who almost died from an infection, and I was running back and forth to the hospital on that one, too.
I know, world's smallest violin.
Anyway. At the golf tournament, touring brotherhood stalwart Mikey Caterina was on hand to help me deploy a small system that was used for walk-in music and some announcements. Oh, before I forget, I mentioned on PAS that I had to do this gig and the same thing at the pre-Parnelli cocktail hour the next day and – since I sold off a bunch of gear earlier this year in order to put together a SAC rig for myself – I no longer had a small mixer. In less than an hour, I had a half dozen offers to lend me one. Thanks to the entire tribe for once again proving that you are all rock stars. And especial thanks to Martyn "Ferrit" Rowe for the little Mackie that is still in the back of my car. I'll get it back to you this week, promise.
Actually, I already had something but was worried about it. Found an old EV Tapco from probably the early 1980s on Craigslist for $50, but I had not had time to actually check it out and did not want to suffer the wrath of my boss and a bunch of lampies if it didn't work at the golf event. When Mikey got into town and came by the house, we finally plugged it in and – with the exception of some dead channels and some really dirty pots – it worked and sounded really good. So we took the Mackie and the little antique and used the Mackie at the golf thing where it looked like maybe it would rain and the Tapco did not look up to the challenge. Used the old beaut at the cocktail party though. But we did have Ferrit's Mackie on hand just in case. There is a great pic of me and a couple of other audio guys, including previous Audio Innovator Award winner Bill Hanley, trying to find three channels that worked. We finally did, and it all worked out.
While at the show, David Scheirman from JBL hit me up to go and catch the Jimmy Buffett show at the MGM the following night. I have never seen a Buffett show (just a soundcheck at Jones Beach in New York, when I was interviewing Rich Davis and Billy Szocska), and if I go without my almost 20-year-old daughter who is a huge Jimmy and Bruce fan, I might never get back into the house. Plus I was already committed to go hang with Hugh Johnson at the Hilton where he was camped out with Vince Gill. Linda and I started trying to make a plan that would allow us to do both.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the Saturday after the Parnellis (was that really only a week ago? It feels like a month at least). We ran out of gas. Ended up not going to either show and sitting at home in a daze watching some movie I can't remember on DVD.
So, the reason I am telling you all of this is because I am about to do something I never do and that I despise. I am about to write an Editor's Note that is just an extended rundown of what is in this issue. You know, the same stuff you could get in the table of contents. Sorry. Just out of gas.
Wait. I've been writing for a while. How many words? Really? Never mind. Looks like I'm finished. Sometimes stuff just works out…
