USA - For the 10th consecutive year, a broad range of Audio-Technica microphones was selected to outfit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. A-T supplied over 100 mics to capture the audio for this widely celebrated musical event, which took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The 22nd annual event was held on 12 March, with inductees including Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, R.E.M., The Ronettes, Patti Smith and Van Halen. The show was broadcast live on VH1 Classic, and for the first time, streamed live on the Internet.
Audio-Technica's Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless System was used with the AEW-T5400 handheld microphone/transmitter for frontline vocals on performances by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (Kid Creole, Cowboy, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Mr. Ness, Raheim), Aretha Franklin, Sammy Hagar, The Ronettes featuring
UK - Leisuretec Distribution has been appointed a UK distributor of the Digital Lounge, a range of products offering a complete high-end package to the AV, conference room and venue markets.
The latest creation from Harman Kardon, the Digital Lounge is billed as "the ultimate in digital entertainment, providing a 360 degree AV experience in legendary Harman Kardon surround sound, on the latest 32", 40" and 46" high-definition LCD flat-screen TV's".
The Digital Lounge speakers are designed to work optimally together to maintain a coherent sonic and visual signature across the entire entertainment system. The 10" powered subwoofer uses an efficient 200-watt amplifier to deliver more power with less distortion.
"Everyone can produce an LCD screen. This range combines an LCD screen, AV amplifier, high definition DVD player and 5.1 surround soun
Sweden - Studer has taken an order for one of its compact Vista 5 digital audio consoles from a new venue attached to the Stadsteater in Gothenborg, the first in Scandinavia to choose the Vista 5 as a front-of-house mixing desk. The sale of the first Swedish Vista 5 has been followed by the appointment of a new distributor in Sweden, LydRommet Sverige A/B.
The Vista 5 console is destined for the Backa Teater company, part of the Gothenborg City Theatre, or Stadsteater, and generally regarded as one of the most interesting and attractive theatre groups in Sweden. Music plays a large role in its live productions and there are five musicians working permanently in the group.
In 1989, the Backa company moved into a reconstructed factory on the Hisingen Island close to the central parts of Gothenburg, but, after eighteen years in that building, the City of Gothenburg has decided to
UK - Marquee Audio has supplied Surrey-based PA rental company Kinetic with a pair of super-compact Yamaha LS9 digital consoles, which have been deployed on a 30-date tour of the UK by Barbara Dickson. The larger of the two desks, an LS9-32, has been used by Kinetic's Gareth Fox-Williams to mix front-of-house sound, provide eight monitor mixes, and multitrack the shows for future possibilities as a live album.
Fox-Williams says preparing for this his third tour with Barbara Dickson was the moment he finally realised the inevitability of digital consoles. "Over the last year, I got my digital head doing a lot of successful work on a Yamaha MC7L digital desk, and when I saw the similarities between that and the LS9, I had to order one, even though I'd not seen one in the flesh. To me, it feels very familiar, very accessible and intuitive to navigate. And the quality outstrips
USA - February 2007 saw the Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears by 29 points to 17 ensuring the most prestigious National Football League (NFL) Superbowl trophy, making its way from east coast to the Midwest states. And Lighthouse screens were an integral part of the format showcasing the ultra-fine resolution all over the country through CBS Sports broadcasting. Shining brightest of all - on what proved to be a wet and miserable evening in the Dolphins Stadium, Miami - was a Lighthouse R4 4mm LED screen.
Bringing all the actions to a worldwide television audience of millions, CBS television's open-sided pitch-side television studio saw host Dan Marino joined by former American football players-turned-pundits Jim Brown, Shannon Sharpe and Boomer Esiason.
Used to display the game's score and NFL graphics, the Lighthouse 4mm screen was arranged three panels wide by one pan
UK - 5 Star Cases has supplied a specialist case to the Cambridge based Silent Aircraft Initiative to house one of its concept model aircraft. 5 Star was contacted by the University of Cambridge's senior acoustic technician John Hazelwood to supply a tough bespoke case for the transportation of this delicate and very expensive model aircraft around the country. Although extremely lightweight, being constructed of composites the plane is very fragile and needs suitably robust protection.
Silent Aircraft Initiative is a joint project between the University of Cambridge and Massachusetts Institute to Technology (MIT). This was set up with the aim of developing a conceptual design for a new low noise aircraft - with sound almost imperceptible outside the perimeter of a daytime urban airport. This requires radically different aircraft and engine designs.
UK The merger of MC2 Audio and XTA Electronics has been announced today following three months of fruitful negotiations. This new UK based group, which also includes Quested Monitoring Systems, brings together three of the most well known British professional audio manufacturing companies. The merged group will open up possibilities for each of the individual companies to benefit from a larger pool of resources extending from research and development through to sales and marketing.
Ian McCarthy, one of the founders of MC2 Audio, will head-up the group as managing director with Terry Clarke, co-founder of MC2 Audio and John Austin, co-founder of XTA acting as technical directors, each with responsibility for their own field of expertise, while Roger Quested will continue as technical director for Quested.
Andrew Grayland, co-founder of XTA, is to take a new direction in order t
Switzerland - Over 100 Robe Show Lighting ColorSpot 2500E AT fixtures were specified by lighting designer Fabrice Delmontel for the massive Peugeot stand at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show. These were purchased specially for the event by Impact Evenement from Longjumeau, France, which supplied all lighting, sound and AV for the impressive 4000 sq.m stand at Palexpo in Geneva.
Fabrice Delmontel worked closely with Peugeot's team of stand and car designers on the project, and also with Stephane Fleury, Impact Evenement's technical manager. He explains that the car and stand design teams both have very different agendas in terms of aesthetics, but all of them are working to the ultimate goal of having the best presented stand in the hall.
Peugeot's theme this year centred around the environment and keeping the process of manufacturing and running a car as green and environmentally-fri
Canada - The Heaven and Hell tour kicked off with High End Systems DL.2s in its design. Heaven and Hell is a highly-anticipated tour among heavy metal fans, as this new band features veterans Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice.
LD Paul Dexter of Masterworks Lighting has specified 3 DL.2s from CWP in Los Angeles to project images onto the set design's three arch screens. CWP is also supplying a Hog iPC for control of the DL.2s, with a D-Tek video switcher. Joseph Denham is the CWP tech/programmer/operator supporting the CWP gear. PRG is supplying a Wholehog 3 console for the main lighting rig. Dexter is using both custom content and stock libraries in the DL.2s.
"The DL.2s are so versatile that for a nearly two-hour show, new images and stock footage continues to alter the look of the three centrally dedicated arch projection windows and all encom
UK - At the Guild Hall in Preston, Adlib Audio has completed the design and installation of an ultra-flexible sound reinforcement system, despite the challenges of the infrastructure. The result cleverly addresses the changing needs of the venue, using available technology from Nexo and custom designs from Kelsey Acoustic, as it hosts a huge variety of productions and events both theatre style and in-the-round.
Built in 1972 to mark the Guild Celebrations of that year, the Guild Hall and Charter Theatre is one of Britain's most successful multi-purpose, entertainment, exhibition and conference centres, and is now renowned internationally for its presentation of entertainment and major indoor sporting events. The auditorium, which has an adaptable stage area, can accommodate more than 2000 people for a concert or theatre production. It is also used for high-profile sporting compe
USA - Bandit Lites has appointed John Lucksinger as production manager and Nicole Nota as production coordinator.
In his new role, Lucksinger will plan, direct and coordinate activities of designated projects. He was most recently lighting designer/director for country music superstar Martina McBride.Previously a production manager for the company, Nota will now serve as the liaison between lighting designer Jason Robinson and Bandit for all his projects and needs.
UK - When Sheriff Taylor set out to convert the Settle Down basement bar in London's affluent Kensington into a venue seeking A-list celebrities, he wanted to create an opulent environment split into three separate areas. Two distinct 'satellite' lounges - the 80-capacity Cocktail Bar and 120-capacity Champagne Bar - would operate off the main club area, which holds a maximum of 300 people.
The interior creation of this £1 million project was entrusted to Siberian designer, Valentina Druzhinina. Each of the rooms is delineated by different chandeliers and a different colour scheme - white for the Cocktail Bar, a warmer brown for the Champagne Bar and black granite and black marble in the main room, with textured black Ulf Moritz wallpaper and curtains.
For their audio requirements, the club contacted residential/home theatre specialists Audio Venue, who were already know
UK - Southampton-based lighting rental company GLS, promoters Live Nation and venue Southampton Guildhall all combined forces with rigging specialists Lift-Turn-Move (LTM) to stage one of LTM's renowned CM Lodestar Motor Schools at Southampton Guildhall.
The Guildhall is a popular venue on the live touring circuit and one with which the touring fraternity is well familiar. The use of the venue was negotiated between GLS's Ian Turner and the Guildhall's head technician, Simon Williams.
Turner explains, "Live Nation and GLS both had technicians, engineers and freelancers, who were interested in doing the Motor School, and it also provided a chance for some of the new people we know who are just getting into the business to get close-up to one of the basic industry standard pieces of kit." The Guildhall was in a similar position, with lots of hoists in their house rig a
USA The FogScreen projection screen has been recognised for its innovative design at the 3rd annual Bottom Line Design Awards, sponsored by creative consultancy frog design and Business 2.0 magazine.
"For us, good design is about good business," says Doreen Lorenzo, president and CEO of frog design. "The Bottom Line Design Awards celebrate innovations that not only appeal to us visually, but grow businesses, stimulate markets and change the societies in which we operate."
Mika Kolvula, CEO FogScreen Inc, states, "If you are looking to draw attention to your brand at trade shows, in retail stores, night clubs, or entrances to any event, you should contact us. FogScreen projection screens create a dry thin fog wall onto which video-quality images can be projected, creating the world's only walkthrough screen."
UK - Justin Hawkins has purchased a Pro Tools / ICON Console system from HHB. Comprising a 32-fader ICOND-Control console, Pro Tools HD3, extensive storage and a full suite of plug-ins,the system forms the heart of the former Darkness frontman's new recording facility in North West London.
"The HHB team has been great to deal with right from the start," reports Hawkins. Commenting for HHB, Greg Wheeler says "Everyone at HHB particularly enjoyed working on this project. The new studio looks and sounds great, and we wish Justin every success."
Germany - The German contemporary restaurant franchise Café 7 has opened its latest franchise featuring fully integrated lighting control from Zero 88. Style and branding are core to Café 7's philosophy and part of their franchise agreements is to maintain their distinctive ambience and style. During the day they operate as cosy café's but as evening approaches Café 7's evolve into relaxed bars offering a range of international wines and cuisines.
For its fourth franchise, which opened in Münster during February 2007, Cafe 7 chose Zero 88 for the lighting control. The management of the café needed a simple way for staff to seamlessly integrate ambient house lighting, colour changing LED and disco lighting effects. The combination of Chilli dimmers, remote panels and Frog-Box replay unit were chosen for their ease of installation, ease of use a
UK - PRG has bought a 30-way Kinesys automation system which has gone straight out on the Lionel Richie tour, for which PRG is the lighting contractor.
The Kinesys system was specified for the lengthy UK and European leg of the tour by show designer and LD Chris Medvitz. PRG's account handler Carol Croft says, "We had been looking at buying a system for some time, and then this came up - so the time was absolutely right."
On the Richie tour, the Kinesys system's Elevation 1+ motor drives are working in conjunction with 28 tonne Lodestar JJ vari-speed motors, being controlled by Kinesys Vector software, operated by Blaine Dracup.
The Motors are suspending nine lighting pods, eight of them each contain six Vari*Lites, and the ninth has ten 5K Skypan fixtures. All are hung over the stage, with the Skypan pod right above the piano riser.
UK - Dolly Parton, one of the most honoured female country performers of all time, has unveiled a plaque of her handprints, which will be on permanent display in Wembley, London's Square of Fame. The ceremony took place as Parton prepared to go on stage for a sold-out performance at Wembley Arena, part of the singer's 17-city, 10-country European tour.
The legendary singer, songwriter and actress joins other iconic artists including Madonna, Cliff Richard, Status Quo, George Michael, Kylie Minogue and snooker champion Stephen Hendry in having a permanent cast of her hands in the Square of Fame. On unveiling her handprints, Parton commented: "It is wonderful to be performing here at Wembley and an honour to leave my handprints in the Square. I never realised just how small my hands are."
Denmark - In 2006, Martin Professional successfully maintained the positive developments in the company's operations that began in the second half of 2005. Substantial improvement produced a DKK 18 million profit before tax in 2006 (approx. $3.2 million), an increase of DKK 83 million over 2005 figures (approx. $14.7 million).
Revenue was up from DKK 955 million in 2005 (approx. $171 million) to a record level of DKK 1,027 million in 2006 (approx. $183 million), the highest ever as Martin generated new sales records in a number of geographical markets, among them France, Germany and Scandinavia. The year to year improvement in EBT was also the largest in company history and operating cash flow reached DKK 113 million (approx. $20.2 million), the highest level ever.
The improvement was attributable to a more focused sales effort, combined with the successful launch of new produ
UK - XL Video is supplying video projection and cameras to the Faithless To All New Arrivals tour, forming an integral element of LD and visual designer Ivan Morandi's provocative live show aesthetics. Morandi has worked with the band for seven years and has always seen lighting and moving images as a potentially symbiotic phenomenon, however this is the first time that Faithless have gone really large on the video.
XL Video's Des Fallon is project manager. He says, "Ivan is highly talented, knows exactly what he wants and his work always looks incredible. It's great to be part of the equation again following last year's Placebo tour."
Morandi wanted the Faithless show to look 'contemporary psychedelic' to match the pumping, dance energy of the band. Onstage are five 10 x 7 ft landscape format screens arranged in two staggered rows, three on the top, two on th
UK - Hawthorn were contracted by SML Events to supply a self-standing truss tower and screen for The Big Art Project for Comic Relief, sponsored by Muller and Visit London, held in Trafalgar Square last week. 54 small 1 sq.m canvasses were assembled to create one giant piece of art 6m wide and 9m tall.
Celebrities and VIP's painted the majority of the canvasses, however a few were painted by members of the public in Trafalgar Square on the morning of the event itself. Afterwards the canvasses were auctioned off to raise money for Red Nose Day 2007.
Hawthorn's specialist rigging team used a Prolyte ST self-climbing truss tower, complete with two one-ton double breaked Verlinde motors, and over 12 tons of ballast to secure the structure.
Hawthorn's senior rigger, Jono Toon commented, "it was a pleasure to be doing something to support such a worthwhile charity, and
UK - K-Klass, the award-winning DJ and Dance remix consortium, is celebrating its latest No.1 in the UK's Dance charts with its 2007 version of Rhythm Is A Mystery.The single, which originally entered the charts in 1990 when it went to No. 3, marks K-Klass' first hit since acquiring a pair of JBL Professional LSR4300 studio monitors, supplied by Harman Pro UK dealer, Liverpool-based Studiocare Professional Audio.
Andy Williams, who founded K-Klass in 1989 with Paul Roberts, Russell Morgan and Carl Thomas, says: "We recently started work in our new pre-production studio in Wrexham, but the small monitors we were using were not giving us the sound we wanted. After looking at a number of alternatives, we chose the LSR4300s because their low frequency correction tool gave us such a fantastic sound. This is particularly important with Dance music where you really need to
UK - Nitelites, the North East provider of sound, lighting and staging, has re-confirmed its commitment to JBL Professional's range of products by investing in eight Vertec VT4880A subwoofers. The units, which were supplied by Harman Pro UK, are being powered by four new Crown IT8000 amplifiers to provide 32kW of sub-bass for Nitelite's existing VT4889 rigs.
Founded in 1984 by current director Jim Moore, Nitelites was born out of a touring system from the halcyon days of 'Rock n Roll.' After years of on the road with Lindisfarne, the system and the company evolved to encompass Moore's experience in the sound reinforcement industry, which over the years has seen him work with artists including Frank Zappa, Journey, Def Leppard, Chris Rea, Dr Hook, Van Halen and Led Zeppelin.
Nitelites has been stocking JBL Professional's Vertec series for six years and was one of the first tour