These former PLSN, FRONT of HOUSE and Stage Directions editors played a big part in the Parnelli Awards first decade and beyond. In addition to presenting themselves, they wrangled great presenters and helped write what were often the best bits of the show. They were also critical in Board meetings helping to choose Lifetime Achievement honorees.
Richard Cadena: I started working in the lighting industry as a tech at High End Systems when Jesus was a boy. They made me an account rep, and one of the other techs said it was because I couldn’t solder. And that’s pretty much how I became the editor for PLSN from 2003 to 2011, because I wasn’t much of an account rep either, and as an editor, it turns out I’m a pretty good seamstress. But I had a great time working with a great bunch of people at Timeless Communications during those years, and lending a hand presenting at the Parnelli Awards is one of the highlights of my career. If there’s one thing I have missed during the pandemic, it’s getting together with hundreds of my closest friends and recognizing the awesome talent in the room. Congratulations on 20 years of Parnelli Awards. —Richard Cadena, Former Editor, PLSN Magazine
Bill Evans: When I helped launch FOH, I had never heard of the Parnellis. It was an event that meant we all had to work way harder than normal was all. The switch flipped for me in the days before the 2004 show, when I arrived in the office and poked my head into the conference room where preparations were being made and scripts written. As I walked away, I realized that the three people in that room (Patrick, Chip and Keith) had been deeply involved with everyone from Streisand to Springsteen to the Stones to Woodstock. I did a little more research and found that they had been involved in something like seven of the top 20 tours of all time. It was a sobering moment.
At that point, I started looking at the event with different eyes, and in the next few years watched the event grow into something really special. (You know you’re onto something when people start openly lobbying like it’s the freaking Grammys.) In 2004, when plans were being made, someone in a board meeting mused about maybe getting a celebrity to host the show. Some names were bandied about and, on a total whim, I interjected that maybe I could get Todd Rundgren. Note that I had met Todd via his sound guy (Robert something?) exactly once at a sound check and had no reason to think it could be made to happen. But an introduction was made and an invitation proffered and someone else made it happen, setting up a whole new level off attention. It was pretty damn cool.
While I’ve not been involved in many years nor been to the event, being there when it was in its infancy is a part of my journey with FOH, of which I’m especially proud. —Bill Evans, Former Editor, FRONT of HOUSE Magazine
Jacob Coakley: There are far too many amazing Parnelli moments for me to choose just one to write about. There was the time Tom Petty showed up to surprise his tour manager Richard Fernandez, or when — at the height of Lady Gaga’s initial fame — Flo & Eddie showed up to host in “meat” dresses. But the moment that really brought home to me what the Parnelli Awards were all about was when Bob Heil received the Audio Innovator Award in 2007. Reading the history of everything he pioneered in the audio industry — L-C-R arrays for speakers in concerts, quadrophonic mixing consoles, the parametric EQ, the Talk Box — was astonishing. And the story of how he started in a small music shop in Illinois before becoming a preeminent sound provider was even more remarkable. His story — along with all the Parnelli Award winners through the years — is the story of how the live music industry was built, expanded, and transformed through the years.
More importantly, it’s a story told by those who know, and they know because they did it, because they were there, they were a part of making it happen. In his acceptance speech, Bob Heil said, “To me, this is a bigger deal than getting in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because this award is voted on by my peers.” To me, that’s what makes the Parnelli Awards truly remarkable. Critics don’t pick the winners, producers don’t pick the winners, fans (bless ‘em) don’t pick the winners. The winners are chosen by people who know great work because they do the work.
And make no mistake, they will do the work. There will be more concerts, more live events, more tours. When that happens, I will be there to scream my head off and dance with thousands of people and witness the amazing work all you engineers, technicians, programmers, truckers, lampies, hummers, and everybody else do. I can’t wait to hear more stories at the Parnellis about all of you creating live event history. —Jacob Coakley, Former Editor, Stage Directions Magazine
