Iggs.Roadieshow.com

Today Rand and I are working with “Rilo Kiley” singer Jenny Lewis and her band. I don’t know much about her or her career (I’m totally uninterested), but what I can tell you is this: They showed up 3 hours late for load-in. They were dirty and disheveled. No one I know has heard of her and there are only a few hundred people here. (Lewis took the stage at 9:45 after 2 opening acts). And the guitar player blatantly butted in front of me in line at dinner. When I told him he had jumped in the line ahead of people who had been here working since this morning, he simply ignored me (out of fear, I imagine). Lastly, Jenny decided to eat her dinner sitting on the floor in the dark backstage among our trash cans. I am not making this up. She’s an ok singer and she has a pretty hot body, but other than that, there’s not much to tell.
At least tomorrow we will be working with true professionals; Taj Mahal and Shemekia Copeland. Plus, we have the big Saturday night show with none other than Engelbert Humperdinck. ROCK!

Today we are gigging with music veterans Little Feat. It is a good day when you can show up at noon, greet the band’s road crew by name, have a few laughs and a cup of coffee, then unload a full semi and set up the stage in an hour or so. At one point you get an earful of Emo’s twisted philosophy, which is nice. Then we rock the ever enthusiastic crowd. When it’s all over we’ll get them packed up and outta here and it will be like it never happened.

Check out this video of a special guest at the show…

Short people beware!!! I am doing a gig with comic songwriter Randy Newman. It should be a pretty easy day. We had a 9ft. Steinway delivered yesterday and we’ll just have to set up a few mic’s for the piano and vocal. My call time is 4pm! Awesome. It’s such an easy day, in fact, that Rand isn’t needed at the gig…

Rand and I are working with comic geniuses the Smothers Brothers. We’ve worked with these guys before and they are top-notch professionals. It is a pretty easy day because there is not a lot of stuff to set up and tear down. We put out some microphones and wedges. The performers use an acoustic guitar and upright bass. We also put together a 9×12 video screen for rear projection. It is a 7:30pm show that is supposed to end at 9pm. Cake!

Recently, Rand got hired by a local sound/production company and started doing gigs. Being the magnanimous fellow that he is, he put my name in as an available freelance sound guy. Last Saturday night we each got a gig for the next day. Check out the difference in the gigs; for my gig, I had to be at the shop at 9am to load a truck, and at the gig by 10. We were setting up in a synagogue for a group of canters, a pianist, and a guitarist. I am not a religious person, so being around very religious people makes me a bit uncomfortable. But everyone was cool. The show started at 7pm and went until 9. We loaded out, and I guess we were out of there by 10:30. I was home by 11:30.

On the flip side, Rand’s call time was 11:30am at the gig. His event? Commencement ceremonies at an all girls High school. He called me at 7 (just as my gig was starting) to say he was done and heading home.

Some guys have all the luck…

Rand and I worked with rock legends “Kansas” on 5/9. This is probably the 3rd or 4th show we’ve done with them. It was a pretty cool day because of the way the work ended up getting staggered throughout the day. We had trucks coming from a lighting company, a sound company, the Kansas tour, and the opening band. Instead of clogging up the whole process by trying to unload 4 trucks at a time, we did it the easy and smart way with some forethought by the promoter…and a little intervention from Mother Nature.

The lighting company showed up right on time at noon. When the sound company truck pulled up at 12:30, the lighting shit was already inside and we had hung and wired up 4 movers on our curtain truss and flown it out. Now we were ready for the sound gear to roll right onstage. Most of Kansas and their road crew were delayed at various airports due to weather in Philly. So when their truck finally arrived, we were able to devote our full attention and energy to getting them loaded in and set up quickly. Even though we were getting a late start with the band gear, we wanted to make sure sound check started on time. None of us wanted to deal with a pissy band member later.

We helped Kansas’ crew and got all their stuff set up before the band arrived. While they did sound check, we loaded in the opening act. They had more shit than Kansas! We had to try to fit them on stage with Kansas’ set. Their drummer had a bigger drum set than Kansas’ and he had his own drum riser! One of the most fun parts of this job is facing these situations and coming up with ideas, compromises, and solutions. I suppose the same is true for any job, but we’re doing it with rock stars.

Well, we had a rockin’ night. I handled spot-light duties while Kansas played their hits to a thrilled, sold-out crowd. I tried to watch the Flyers game at the same time, so my spot light work may have been poor…
Load-out could have been a bit smoother. Kansas’ crew didn’t seem to know how to load their truck. There’s a certain way everything fits and the crew is supposed to memorize it or draw up a pack; a list or actual drawing of how and where all the cases fit in the truck. That way, load-out is quick and orderly. Well, karma bit them in the ass on that one. The driver locked the keys in the truck with the ignition running, lights on, wipers going, and the evenings’ pay…in cash…on the front seat. Awesome!

We got them loaded up and said goodnight. We had cold beers to drink!

Here’s an awesome pic of Rand with a sweet Marshall stack and Hartke 4×10 bass cab we were using as part of “ROSfest.”

We worked with 10 different bands for this “prog-rock” festival. It was 49 hours at work in a 72 hour period, but hey…we were at a music festival, not an office!  In between each act, Rand and I and the rest of the crew would head to the stage and get it ready for the next band. We had between 1 1/2 and 2 hours to get them set up and sound-checked so that their set could start on time. Once one band runs late, all the following bands start late. That means our 16 hour day turns into an 18 or 20 hour day. I’ve done those before and it is not fun! Needless to say, our crew rose to the occasion and all 10 acts got started on time. Of course, that doesn’t stop the evenings’ closer from running late. F*#kin’ rock stars!

Well friends, I’m taking a little break from work. I’m in Las Vegas for the AVN awards/expo. It’s day 2 of our trip and we’re ready to top day one. We saw/met/photographed lots of hotties and porn stars. We got really hammered. And we got a little for ourselves…if you know what I mean. Here are some pics.

Here I am with Charmane Star. She is, by far, my favorite.

Here’s me with Gina Lynn at a Vegas night club.

Charlie Laine, Karlie Montana, and Iggs. What a night…

If you wanna check out the rest of the photos from my trip, hit my flickr page. Enjoy!

Hey folks! It’s that holiday season again and Rand and I had a pretty hectic late November/early December. Late December was a bit slower, but I have a new gig which I hope to tell you about soon.

So, our holiday season was a bit different this year. We finished November with our Thanksgiving tradition, “The Machine.” This Pink Floyd tribute is one of the best out there and the band members and crew are the coolest. They travel light, with a sound guy, Randy, and a lighting guy, Jim. They show up, we all catch up for a few minutes, then we get to work. Within an hour, the stage is ready for the band and the rest of us are just hanging in catering. What a gig!

On 11/29 we rocked with the Brian Setzer Orchestra. It was an early day with alot of work (check the pics). But it was fun and, being a Setzer fan, I had a fun day.

THE STAGE before the Brian Setzer show

BRIAN SETZER and his Orchestra

BRIAN SETZER’S guitars for the Christmas ‘07 tour

SETZER rockin’ out. His guitar amp is inside the jukebox!

We started December with a doo-wop show featuring Bobby Rydell, Shirley Alston Reeves (original lead singer of the Shirelles), and others. What happens on those days is we set up one band, then the singers take the stage, do a few hits, and leave. It’s fun and easy.

Then we had our traditional Peter White Christmas featuring Rick Braun and that hot Mindi Abair. I hit on her all night and you know what? She is quite friendly! Again, this is a show we do every year. The road crew and band know us and the whole day goes smoothly.
Hoping for a new Christmas tradition, we welcomed Kenny “Babyface” Edmunds to our stage on 12/7. He wrote alot of hits in his career and he is quite a showman. He plays guitar very well and is a pretty good singer, too.

Continuing with the holiday traditions, we welcomed back “Hot Tuna.” It’s just one of those gigs we look forward to because we know it’s gonna be a painless, easy day with a good show and an energetic, happy crowd.

HOT TUNA

The following night we saw the return of Wynonna. Or as the crew refer to her “Wy” (pronounced “Y”). They brought alot of stuff with them, but it made the stage look pretty cool during the show.

WYNONNA in the red Moomoo

WYNONNA with the LED backdrop lit up

Next we had 2 nights with Genesis tribute “The Musical Box.” They brought alot of set dressing with them to re-create a Genesis tour during which the scenery was changed. Apparently during the original Genesis tour this show re-creates, the original set became too much of a pain in the ass, so it was scaled down. These guys did both shows. Cool, right? They are from Montreal and the road crew was made up of some very smart and friendly guys. We talked gear, beer, hockey, travel, you name it. Pasqual, Jean-Marc and the rest are a great road crew to work with and if you’re a Peter Gabriel-era Genesis fan, check out “The Musical Box.”

Genesis tribute “The Musical Box”

All we have left this year is our 12/29 show with Jo Dee Messina and our rockin’ New Year’s Eve with Grateful Dead tribute “Dark Star Orchestra.” See ya in ‘08!

Iggs……………………

Sinead O’Connor One of the best sounding shows all year