FOH at Large

While a 50-year time period is a mere speck on the timeline in the grand scheme of things, it is worth noting that on the day-in, day-out scale of measurement the achievement of 50 years is something to celebrate. Consider that a 50-year time period is more than half of most people’s lives, the 50th wedding anniversary is deemed the Golden Anniversary and, in Judeo-Christian tradition, the number 50 is thought to be the Jubilee year which is a time of joy and universal pardon. Leviticus 25:10 reads, “Thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year, and shalt proclaim remission to all the inhabitants of thy land: for it is the year of jubilee.” Of course, now that this article is of biblical proportions, it means that it cannot be refuted or denied.

The fiery rhetoric heating up tensions between the U.S. and North Korea is giving new life to old anxieties from the Cold War era, with worst-case scenarios that are more fearsome even than the germs and microbes lying in wait on a shared mic.

‡‡Now that atomic warfare and nuclear explosives have once again become prevalent in both my everyday conversation and my nighttime dreamscape I have felt compelled to go back and reeducate myself in regard to the history and devastation of nuclear testing and warfare.

Recently, I was approached by one of the better audio engineers with whom I work, and he was excitedly and earnestly trying to interest me in some Chinese knock-off audio gear. He informed me that he received the information from another reliable and well known engineer who has used the gear and wholeheartedly vouches for the same. He showed me photographs of amps and speakers that appeared to be from top name brand producers that looked just like the real thing. Lab.gruppen amps, L-Acoustics and d&b speaker knock-offs were all on display at a fraction of the cost of the real brand name gear. For a mere seven thousand dollars I could be the proud owner of four brand new L-Acoustics ARC knock-off speakers with Lab.gruppen knock-off power amps and, as everyone knows, this is a deal, considering what the real gear sells for new.

Have the Gods gone crazy? Is there something in the air we breathe or the water we drink — or is it just entropy? Recently we lost Chris Cornell to suicide; 22 people were killed when a bomb was set off at an Ariana Grande concert and, before that, in 2015, suicide bombers killed 89 people while they were attending a show at the Bataclan Concert Hall in Paris. In New York City, a crazed motorist jumps the curb in Times Square and drives along the sidewalk, attempting to kill and maim as many people as possible. Three more so-called terrorists attempted the same maneuver on the London Bridge and then jumped from their van and attempted to stab as many people as possible, killing eight.

At this point everyone is well aware of the Fyre Festival debacle that took place a short while ago that was spearheaded by self-proclaimed tech entrepreneur Billy McFarland and the entertainer Ja Rule. Whether the Fyre Festival failure was due to a lack of foresight and knowledge or an excess of hubris and greed is still to be determined as the two promoters will likely be wrapped up in multiple court cases for a good long while. Although it can be argued that McFarland and Ja Rule (a.k.a. Jeffrey Atkins) were overly ambitious in their attempt to create an exotic high-end concert experience, it should also be understood that — regardless of the various extenuating circumstances involved — there are certain basic requirements that need to be fulfilled to ensure for a successful venture of this sort.

Much like everybody else on the planet, I have recently been distracted by the daily news and non-news reports regarding the present administration. Since the inauguration, new shocking and head-scratching revelations have been brought to light on a daily basis, thereby making our collective reality seem like an episode of the television shows, House of Cards, Veep and Homeland all rolled into one. While it is amusing and entertaining to watch the heroes and heroines of these shows melt down and self-destruct due to their self-serving attitudes, the comedy and irony of these scripts is lost when translated into our real-life experience.

On Wednesday March 8, 2017, upon touching down in Seattle, the Italian band, Soviet Soviet, was questioned and held overnight in jail before being ushered to a plane that took them back to Italy. The three musicians were traveling under The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) program, an automated system that determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

Rules and regulations are stultifying and, though we are all aware that certain guidelines are required to maintain a safe and healthy work environment, nobody appreciates being bound by directives that add to our cost of doing business. Considering that we are professionals with many years of experience, it is almost insulting to be told by outside sources how to do our jobs. In many instances, we ignore various rules altogether, as they just don’t seem to apply to what it is we do.

Trying to have a conversation about “Obamacare” opens the door to a maelstrom of hyperbole, rumors, partisan fear mongering and polarizing finger pointing. Having a similar conversation regarding “The Affordable Care Act” elicits a kinder and gentler response to the conversation even though — to quote William Shakespeare — “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”