Who: Jeffrey Cox, vice president, EAW Brand Group.
What: Design and manufacture high-performance professional audio equipment.
Where: Facilities in Whitinsville, Mass., and Woodinville, Wash.
When: Founded in 1978.
Full-time employees: Approximately 400.
Number of products in catalog: 200 plus.
Services provided: Professional audio equipment backed by customer support programs such as the Application Support Group (ASG) for the con-tracting community and ELAN (EAW Line Array Network) for the touring community, as well as educational programs such as the EAW B4 Roadshow and Smaart School.
(Ed. Note: As the person who first said, “Hmmm, that French dude may just be on to something,” Jeff Cox is probably the individual most respon-sible for the shift from point-and-shoot to line array in large-scale live audio situations.)
Recent projects of note: London Symphony Orchestra; DJ Tiesto at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco; World Scout Jamboree for 40,000-plus in the U.K.; Iron Maiden, Foreigner, and Simply Red tours; Festival Ollin Kan in Mexico City; and 2007 NHL All-Star Game in Dallas; among many others.
Recent company highlight: Introductions of Smaart v.6 and the UX8800 digital signal processor with Gunness Focusing technology.
The most interesting concert I ever worked was… constructing and participating in the Yanni at the Taj Mahal shows in 1997. The most interesting one I ever attended was the Beatles show at the Seattle Coliseum in 1965.”
People might be surprised to know… I have an abiding passion for skiing, and I don’t like tomatoes.”
The best part of my job is… exploring what the root of a problem is and fixing it.”
What’s in his car CD player: The Songs of John Lennon; Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur; Allman Brothers Live at Fillmore East; Jackson Browne Solo Acoustic Volume I; Van Morrison It’s Too Late to Stop Now…; Otis Redding Live in Europe; Lucinda Williams Car Wheels on a Gravel Road; (Little Feat’s Waiting for Columbus is standing by, on the seat).
I’m inspired by… laughter; my daughter’s eyes and sense of humor; Mark Sidman’s command of the English language; any red from L’Aventure/Stephan Ridge winery; people who live passionately.”
Answer to the question, “Can there be too many knobs?” “Probably…”
How many ties currently in your closet: Hawaiian shirts: 31; Ties: 0.
Good ears: genetically predisposed or learned? “Both — it’s a matter of recognizing your predisposition and then developing it.”
Words to live by: “The acceptance of error with grace is to refuse to be vain and so afraid of losing face.” — Stephen Stills.
