There are many ways to determine success in the pro audio world – a big your-name-here audio company, a pair of Lamborghinis, health insurance – but what happened to Al Siniscal, the Parnelli Audio Innovator honoree, at the 10th Annual Parnelli Awards, has to rank up there as one of the highest honors ever.
Capping the most important section of the program (the pro audio section), out comes Paul Anka who gave a short, funny, self-deprecating speech honoring the founder of A-1 Audio. He then brought up a visibly moved Siniscal, put him on a stool, and with his pianist backing him up, sang a specially rewritten version of his song "My Way" to him. It was a magical highlight for a magical night.
"The event was terrific," Siniscal said after. "I want to thank the Parnelli staff and all the work that went into this. The Paul Anka presentation and special version of ‘My Way' was especially wonderful to me, especially as I worked for Paul for several decades. The [documentary] video on my life was also fantastic!"
But that was not the only highlight, nor the only surprise. Later on, in honor of their long time production manager, Randy "Baja" Fletcher, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn took the stage. Before launching into a warm and funny anecdote-laden speech about Fletcher, Brooks did a shout out to all live event professionals in the room. "I just want to say that sitting here with all of you, I'm amazed at what you do," he said. "Every time I see you hook up your cables and hang your lights, even though I've been around it all for years, I still feel like I'm just looking at the back of a television."
Held in a ballroom at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas on October 22, the Parnellis shattered all records – over 600 attended the sold-out event. It began with a cocktail hour that featured fun items from the past of the ceremony's big three honorees: Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award's Randy "Baja" Fletcher had his old concert T-shirts from days of yore on display; Parnelli Visionary honoree Jim Bornhorst had the first VL-0 moving light on display; and Sinsical's posters from his career were there to admire. After that, dinner; and after that, the show.
And the Parnelli Goes To …
FOH editor Bill Evans and long-respected audio engineer Buford Jones kicked off the audio portion of the evening with some jokes acknowledging the result of LDI's scaling back on luring audio people to the show. "Buford, what if I told you that of all the audio guys in the room, I'm absolutely thrilled to be standing next to you?"
"I'd say you're in the room with next to no audio guys," Jones quipped. They then pitched a few ideas on how to bring more audio guys to the show, including a drawing where the winner would get "a case of Jack Daniels, three hookers, and nine rolls of gaff tape."
Then they started handing out awards: the first went to best FOH mixer of the year, which went to Robert Scovill for his great work with Tom Petty, which many in the know considered the best-sounding tour out there this year. Scovill took the award, and gave thanks, especially for getting to work with such a great band with such great guys. Next came the Hometown Hero Sound Company of the Year Award, and the honors went to Beachsound of Miami Gardens, Fla.
Sound Company of the Year went to Sound Image. President Dave Shadoan, normally a man of few words, was noticeably touched as he accepted the award in honor of his longtime partner, the late Ross Ritto.
Shadoan returned to the stage, as he was a presenter for the next awards, with audio engineer/production manager Kevin Freeman. "This seems weird," said Freeman. "Usually if the audience is looking at me and people are staring, I've dome something very wrong."
"Tell me about it," Shadoan, in his usual casual attire, said. "I have to dress up for this [stuff]." Then proclaiming "friends don't let friends mix monitors," Freeman announced the nominees for monitor mixer of the year and Shadoan added "the Parnelli goes to Mike Adams" for his work with Brooks & Dunn.
Next, the duo handed out the Audio System Tech award, which went to Matt Fox for his work with Star Wars: In Concert.
"Indispensable Technology to me is a Shure SM 58 and gaff tape," said Freeman, before giving the "IT" Award for Audio to the L-Acoustics K1 System.
The Big Three
When Anka took the stage to honor Siniscal, he was funny, poignant, and sincere. He had fun with the fact that Siniscal had taken his motto and made it his own. "He gives me credit for giving him his personal motto, ‘the stakes are too high for amateurs,'" Anka mused. "What I really said that day was, ‘your rates are too high, said my managers!'"
Later he said: "I first met Al all those years ago at Caesars Palace when he came to mix the sound for my live performance. He had this unique speaker and pre-amp console setup that just knocked me out, and I wanted to buy the whole thing on the spot. Al said, ‘I can see why you want a great sound system. Since you're so short, if they can't see you, at least they'll be able to hear you!'"
Siniscal took the stage, and finished his speech with: "I stand in front of you now, as a proud father figure to all the engineers who have passed through A-1 Audio over the years, and have gone on to greater successes making the world sound better. Assisting others, in obtaining their goals, has always been and will always be, the most enjoyable part of my life. After all, this is what allows us to grow from amateurs to professionals. We respected and helped one another and that's why it worked. We all did it ‘Our Way.' My heart felt thanks again, to all of you."
In his opening remarks, Parnelli Executive Producer and FOH publisher Terry Lowe said of Visionary honoree Jim Bornhorst: "Sure, everyone in this room thought of lights changing color. Most of us thought of lights moving and changing colors. But only one of us put the bong down long enough to make it happen." Bornhorst was introduced by Showco co-founder and current PRG VP Rusty Brutsché, and then took the stage and gave thanks.
Brooks and Dunn sat with Fletcher and his family for the show, and on taking the stage, told funny stories, particularly of Fletcher's obsession with baseball. But after declaring they couldn't do it without him, Fletcher took the stage and told how while he never got to meet him personally, he first heard of Rick "Parnelli" O'Brien when he was with ZZ Top. Fletcher was notably moved, thanking the Parnelli Board for the honor.
Video tributes to all three of these honorees are found on parnelliawards.com .
Alas, the show ran a bit long due largely to the extent with which many of the winners graciously shared their accolades with employees and partners. In possibly the funniest moment of the evening, in a not-so-subtle reference that most of the live event tribe was a bit chatty once they got in front of the mic, Sound Image's Shadoan yelled out from the stage: "I just want to point out that the audio section of this show is always the f*%#ing shortest!"
Title/Headline: The 10th Annual Parnelli Awards – Complete List
Lifetime Achievement Award: Randy "Baja" Fletcher
Audio Innovator Award: Al Siniscal
Parnelli Visionary Award: Jim Bornhorst
FOH Mixer: Robert Scovill, Tom Petty
Monitor Mixer: Mike Adams, Brooks & Dunn
Audio System Tech: Matt Fox, Star Wars: In Concert
Lighting Designer: Steve Cohen, Star Wars: In Concert
Set/Scenic Designer: Bruce Rodgers, Super Bowl Halftime Show
Video Director: Mark Haney, Star Wars: In Concert
Production Manager: Kevin Freeman, Brad Paisley
Tour Manager: Ron Doroba, Star Wars: In Concert
Sound Company: Sound Image
Hometown Hero Sound Company: Beachsound
Lighting Company: Upstaging Inc.
Hometown Hero Lighting Company: East Coast Lighting & Production Services (ECLPS)
Staging Company: Stageco
Rigging Company: Atlanta Rigging Systems
Set Construction Company: All Access Staging & Productions
Video Company: Chaos Visual Productions
Pyro Company: Strictly FX
Coach Company: Hemphill Brothers
Trucking Company: Stage Call
Freight Forwarding Company: Rock-It Cargo
Indispensable Technology "IT" Awards:
Audio: L-Acoustics K1 Systems
Lighting: Vari*Lite VLX Wash
Video: Martin Professional EC-20 LED display panels
Staging: Atlanta Rigging Systems ARS Flying V trolley system
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