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Epic Sound for an Epic Production

Epic Sound for an Epic Production

T he Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim, Calif., is an icon in Southern California. Designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson, it's a towering 12-story structure of glass. Constructed of 12,000 glass panes enclosed within a white, web-like steel truss frame, its transparent walls and ceilings allow the sky–and weather–to become a part of the interior environment.

Also iconic are the cathedral's seasonal pageants. The Glory of Christmas and The Glory of Easter are famous as elaborate technical productions that bring the Bible to life with actors, special effects and flying angels. This year, the trilogy is complete with The Glory of Creation, a multisensory production extravaganza. Written, produced and directed by Carol Schuller Milner, it showcases some very Hollywood-like, cutting-edge technology. It also pushes the envelope of the cathedral's new hybrid sound system, which must equally accommodate the ministry's worldwide broadcasts, special events and the full slate of Glories.

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ASL Feasts on a Festival Frenzy

Getting any of the Affordable Sound & Light team on the phone from now until October might be a bit tough, considering the five-strong crew will be running from music festival to music festival across Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida setting up lights and P.A.s for dozens of acts that span a world of musical genres.

It kicks off in May with the Crawfish Boil in Birmingham and the Jubilee CityFest in Montgomery, goes into June with City Stages in Birmingham, through the summer and then spins down with the Big Spring Jam in Huntsville and BayFest in Mobile, Ala. "It keeps us busy," says ASL vice president Billy Klein. "Most medium-sized towns around here have a two- to three-day street festival with anywhere from two to four stages."

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Are Those Ribs Burning, or is it the Club?

Circa 1995, I had a booked a show at a local watering hole in Scottsdale, Ariz., called The Rockin' Horse, a cool, mostly wood place that was probably constructed in the early to mid-'70s. Smaller, more eclectic national acts played there all the time, as well as some good local talent. There were house stacks and racks, and we just brought in a four-mix monitor system and Front of House. This particular night, we brought in our Soundcraft SR200. (Sidenote: Did you ever have one of those pieces of equipment that was above itself in sound quality and just plain fun to use? Yes, we all have, and this console was mine.)

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Micromanagement on a Macro Scale

The sixth Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, held Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif., boasted nearly 100 acts and drew something in the neighborhood of 50,000 fans a day. Featured acts on the festival's five stages included chart-toppers like Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Wilco and New Order.

To say that it requires a hands-on management style to tighten all the nuts and bolts on a spectacle like this is kind of like saying Bill Gates has a little cash. While the term "micromanagement" is often used as a pejorative these days, it's practically a requirement of a production manager's job for an event like this.

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Race C4 Compressor/Limiter, Sennheiser e901 Boundary Layer Condenser, TC Electronic XO24 Speaker Man

Race C4 Compressor/Limiter

By Jamie Rio

If one compressor is good, then four should be much better… right? Well, I think that more is better, and so does the R&D department at Rane. In reality, four compressor/limiters are not that many and can certainly be used in about any mix situation. But the C4 is much more than just four compressor/limiters. As a matter of fact, this frequency-dependent unit is loaded with lots of very cool and functional features.

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Please Re-Lease Me

Something I have said often is that many churches are willing to pay for a new sound and lighting system, but few are willing to actually own it. At the time, I was discussing the lack of willingness to train staff and really get involved in overall technical learning. But there may be different reasons why not owning is a good thing.

Depending on the financial organization of a church, especially if it's reasonably healthy, there are options available other than paying cash for technical systems. Using the credit card may lessen the burden on cash flow–and garner enough travel points to help a sponsor a long-desired mission trip or church retreat–or you may consider leasing (and making the payments with the credit card).

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Hum Busting

I don't mean to brag, but the world of hum has been an absent partner for all my recent gigs. While I tackled hum back in the "good ol' days" at my local soundco, I now look back on how I was inflicting hum and noise problems onto myself. This diatribe is meant to bust the demons of hum out of your system, but also outlines how to take preventive measures and minimize its occurrence.

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Monty Python's Spamalot

A cute killer bunny rabbit with big, sharp, pointy teeth. A homicidal Sir Lancelot and a wimpy Sir Robin. A Camelot that resembles a medieval Las Vegas. And a guest appearance by the feet of God, all on stage in the same show.

Inspired by the classic cult film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Python's Spamalot is certainly one of the most irreverent shows to hit the Great White Way during the past few years, and solid word-of-mouth from its Chicago previews–and a stellar cast that has included Tim Curry, David Hyde Pierce, Sara Ramirez and Hank Azaria–helped transform the $11 million production into a massive hit that's sold out well into the fall. The show has also won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical (Mike Nichols) and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, for Ramirez vamping it up diva-style as the Lady of the Lake.

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Stop, Thief!

The word "counterfeit" is easily associated with "money." But dead presidents are not the only things that whet the appetites of commercial criminals around the world today. Common counterfeit products include auto parts, airplane parts, apparel, cosmetics, sunglasses, computer software, fragrances, children's toys, medicines, health and beauty aids and food products. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, losses to U.S. businesses from the counterfeiting of trademarked consumer products are estimated at $200 billion a year, and professional audio products are a slice of that cake.

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Letting Your Crew Stand on Their Own

Hi Guys,

First, I want to say that I read Anklebiters every month and have gotten tons of insight from your experiences. So thanks. Now here is my dilemma: I have more work than I can personally handle. I have enough gear to do multiple shows on a given day, and I have a crew, but I am afraid to send out my guys on their own. I know this is the next step in my businesses evolution. However, the fear of my techs blowing it at a show is stopping my forward movement. Got any suggestions?

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Thinking It Through

Some years back, when I was the editor of a magazine for musicians, we got a press release for a new product that I thought was a brilliant idea. Someone had come up with a couple of adapters that plugged into both ends of a standard AC extension cord and turned it into a speaker cable terminating in 1/4-inch connectors. Being a musician that dabbled in sound (who is slowly growing up to be a sound guy who still plays a few gigs), I thought this was completely cool.

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That Depends on What You Mean by Only

You've all heard these phrases: "I only need a small basic sound system." "The band is only playing three songs." "It's only an acoustic act." "It's only a small club." "It's a very important show, but it's only for 100 people." The word "only" when used by a client inquiring about a sound system is usually a code word to let you know that they "only" have limited funds to spend on audio. They mistakenly think that by downplaying the importance of the audio portion of their event, we, the vendor, will give them an inexpensive system. This is a trap that every vendor should learn to avoid. Treat the client the same way that a real estate agent treats his or her clients. Talk to the client and determine exactly what they might need and start by showing them your smaller systems while explaining the system's limitations in regard to the event they are planning. Then proceed to show the client how, for only a few dollars more, they can take the next step up into a true state-of-the-art system.

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