Features

Firehouse Productions supported the 26th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held at the Waldorf Astoria March 14, providing Crown I-Tech HD Amplifiers and JBL VerTec line array loudspeakers. Audio-Technica microphones were prominently featured for the 14th year. Inductees included Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Tom Waits and Darlene Love. Leon Russell, pictured here, received the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Award for Musical Excellence.

Anderson Audio and East Shore Sound Team Up For a Night of Motown In the East Room

It's not just another gig. It's the White House. There, sitting in the front row, just a few feet from the slightly-elevated stage in the East Room, is the President of the United States, the First Lady and the Vice-President and his wife. Other dignitaries are scattered throughout the crowd of about 220. Enormous paintings of George and Martha Washington hang on the walls behind the stage. Ornate chandeliers are further reminders of the room's rich history and opulence.  

AMSTERDAM – Soldier of Orange, a musical adaptation of the 1977 Dutch film, Soldaat van Oranje, is a moving experience for the audience – in more ways than one. For starters, the entire audience – more 1,100 people – revolve around the stage on a turntable that measures 33 meters across, making 30 stops during each performance.

Though the telecast did not happen until March, the White House celebrated Black History Month in style with a taping of the PBS show In… Read More »There’ll Be Dancing, Dancing In the White House

NEW YORK – The crowds at Rockefeller Plaza Nov. 30 were dazzled by the sight of some 30,000 LED lights on the 74-foot-high holiday tree, but the annual 2010 lighting ceremony didn't belong to lampies alone.

LONDON – The hand-built quadraphonic mixing consoles used on Pink Floyd's Momentary Lapse of Reason and Division Bell world tours are to be auctioned at Bonhams on Dec. 15, with a percentage of the proceeds going to concert industry charity Stage Hand, the new name for the PSA Welfare & Benevolent Fund.

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.

As PLASA is a big show, there is no way FOH can cover everything in this limited space. Please note that products not covered here will be covered over the coming months.

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn issued a joint statement upon hearing the news: "We can't imagine what we did to be blessed with the likes of Randy ["Baja"] Fletcher. We hate to think about what our career might have been like without him, as so many have been won and lost on the road. The importance of a trail boss like Baja is impossible to put into words. Not a show goes by that someone doesn't talk about the quality of our crew, and it all filters down from him."

His personal motto says it all: "The stakes are too high for amateurs."

Al Siniscal has a long history of having distinguished himself, not only for his considerable pro audio breakthroughs, but also for his business savvy. Jere Harris of PRG says this about him: "He's the toughest negotiator in the business! And he always had the big picture in sight."

The challenges are numerous and ever-changing for those who slog it out in the pro audio trenches, and really there needs to be an award going out to every company out there who makes it through another year. But you, FOH gentle reader, have selected six who aren't just surviving, but are thriving. Gear, smarts, and passion are the common link, with an emphasis on the passion.

What is dedication in the touring audio biz? Is it enduring long hours, crappy road food and psuedo-intellectual lighting guys? Or is it taking the time out of a crazy schedule touring one of the biggest bands on the road to write an XL-4 recall scene that spells out the name of the band in lights? We put that conundrum to Muse FOH engineer Marc Carolan and system engineer/crew chief Patrick "Paddy" Hocken.