IN THE SPOTLIGHT: K-ARRAY KH8 BAD UNCLES EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL CREAMFIELDS

LEROY BENNETT V FESTIVAL ROCK EN SEINE ROBE TURNS 20 RIGGING AND TRUSSING MARKET FOCUS
HYPNOTIC EYE, TRANSFIXING SOUND
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
REVEAL A NEW LIVE SOUNDSCAPE
WWW.TPiMAGAZINE.COM
TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL
ISSUE 182 OCTOBER 2014
www.tpiawards.com
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12
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Hypnotic
Eye arena tour - which features special
guest, Steve Winwood - began in San Diego
in early August. Along the way it maDe
stops at the scenic Gorge and Red Rocks
amphitheatres, as well as a special night
at Bostons historic Fenway Park. EAWs
Resolution software is set to become an
invaluable tool, which will be used to adapt
the coverage of the 54 module Anya system
to perfectly match the diverse requirements
of each venue on the tour.
This is a very big day for EAW, stated
Jeff Rocha, President of EAW when it was
announced that EAW had been chosen to
represent Pettys live sound. The collaboration
between this specic artist, engineer and
sound company is as good as it gets. Roberts
[Scovill] selection of Anya further reinforces
the industry shift away from conventional line
arrays in favour of the pioneering technologies
of adaptive performance. And the level of
excellence that Sound Image consistently
delivers will make those technologies available
to a very wide range of artists.
Dave Shadoan, President of Sound Image
added: We analyse, watch and develop
evolving technology closely and we strive to
remain at the technological forefront in the
touring industry. When we see a product that
has the potential to cut a new path, we will
certainly get involved. When Robert came to us
with the concept of using Anya for Tom Petty,
we knew that it was time to pay attention as we
had been monitoring the Anya system as well.
Robert is a very talented engineer and we
have had a strong relationship for many years.
As we roll this system out for its rst major
tour, were condent that its in very capable
hands. It will be a great opportunity for Sound
Image to show the system to other engineers
that are curious about Adaptive Performance
technology, allowing them to see how it can
be used with their clients moving forward. Jeff
Rocha and the EAW team have worked very
hard to provide something new and different. It
is an exciting project to say the least.
Production Manager on the tour is Chris
Adamson, a veteran in the industry by all
accounts, having been on the road for the last
50 years. One of his rst gigs was working as an
engineer with The Rats - a British Rock band
- during the years of 66 and 67. Adamson is
warm and most enthusiastic about his day, his
passion for tour life - and Pettys music - clearly
seeping out of his husky Northern English voice.
Post 67, he went on to work with Fleetwood
Mac, touring with them for 40 years, and Pink
Floyd during tours for The Wall and Dark Side
of the Moon. Adamson said: My claim is fame
is that Im the voice on the Dark Side of the
Moon track you know the line, Ive been mad
for fucking years.
Adamson has been working with Petty for
the last 15 years and made the move Stateside
to Virginia eight years ago, as his work is mainly
with US acts these days. He said of Petty and
the touring crew: Great band, great people.
Im actually still the new boy; most of the
NORTH AMERICAN RENTAL COMPANY, SOUND IMAGE, JOINED EAWS EXPANDING GLOBAL NETWORK OF
ADAPTIVE PERFORMANCE PARTNERS THROUGH THE PURCHASE OF AN ANYA SYSTEM. AFTER PUTTING
THE SYSTEM THROUGH AN EXTENSIVE EVALUATION PROCESS, AWARD WINNING FOH ENGINEER, ROBERT
SCOVILL, SPECIFIED ANYA FOR TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS LATEST ARENA TOUR, HYPNOTIC EYE.
TPi SPOKE TO THE AUDIO CREW FOR A TOUR EXCLUSIVE.
HYPNOTIC EYE
EVENT FOCUS: Tom Petty
others have been on tour with Tom for 30
years. Working alongside Sound Image for this
latest tour has been a highlight for Adamson.
Ive known Dave Shadoan for many years and
Sound Image is a great company, it has great
crew and personnel, and great service with
plenty of back-up and support. Its an entirely
professionally run company.
Prior to the tour, FOH Engineer Scovill was
testing out a few systems and in the end he
chose EAWs Anya. Its a true line array, Im
very impressed with it. The coverage and the
headroom on the system is so efcient, said
Adamson. The kit is also efcient size wise,
the entire system ts into just one 45ft truck
- instead of the two sound trucks Adamson
is used to for Petty tours - and requires less
PA crew. Its exible too. Weve been using
the same system for 8,000 - 36,000 people.
It shows just how technology is moving on,
its great and Im embracing it; its going to
transform the sound industry.
The main PA for the tour is congured in a
L-C-R formation. The left and right clusters are
a singular arrays, which replaces the traditional
line array methods of ying a main and side
hang. If more than one column is used the
array works in 60-degree columns. The left
and right hangs each comprise 24 EAW Anya
boxes but the amount of boxes per column can
change each day depending on the location.
The most common array set-up so far has been
12 on the main, six on the middle and six on
the side column. The C array cluster is optional
and comprises a single column of six EAW Anya
boxes.
I havent been this excited about a new
approach to PA technology in a couple of
decades now, said Scovill. The approach that
EAW has taken with Anya is a leap forward in
the quality and the way in which audio can be
presented to a large audience. Im thrilled to
have the opportunity to be an early adopter of
Anya.
Scovill rst got into the audio industry more
than 30 years ago and in that time has built up
a sizeable reputation, but where did it all begin?
I was a budding musician, but that all changed
when I got a good glimpse at what was going
on at the other end of the snake, so to speak,
he said. After leaving high school in 1978, he
moved to Kansas City and was lucky enough to
get a job at Superior Sound. It was a company
that employed some very knowledgeable
people, and so he was able to glean a lot of
information from them at a very young age.
At that time there was a very active club scene
in the area with a great deal of activity in live
sound systems and mixing. In retrospect it was a
very rich environment for learning and growth.
There was an entire community of live sound
engineers that grew out of that era in Kansas
City.
Scovill went on to work with Kansas City
band, Shooting Star, which headlined many
gigs in its own right, as well as opened gigs for
major touring acts such as Jefferson Starship
and ZZ Top. Through touring with Shooting
Star, he built his connections, contacts and
reputation and as a result has been working
with Petty for 20 years now.
As a recognisable industry gure, it came
as no surprise that EAW gave Scovill the
opportunity to do some evaluation of the Anya
system earlier this year at a big sound stage
in Hollywood. I brought in some multi-track
material, my console and my FFT analyser and
spent a very long day with it. It was apparent
from the get-go that Anya is something very
special in that it rst and foremost sounded
incredible, but was also going to be a game-
13
EVENT FOCUS: Tom Petty
Opposite: Sound Image has created just that for this tour, thanks to the purchase of the Anya system. Below: Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers have been performing for over four decades; The front man
himself, Tom Petty.
14
EVENT FOCUS: Tom Petty
Below: The monitor rack; The Crown amp rack; The visual design came via LD and Set Designer, Michael Brown.
changer for our industry with
regard to audio coverage for a
given seating geometry, he said.
Taking a new system on the
road was always going to be risky,
and Scovill knew that there would
be challenges along the way. I
knew I was going to be hanging
my tail out over the cliff with it a
bit because it hadnt been tested in
the real world as far as day-to-day
touring goes.
And we all know the old
saying, when you choose to
push the envelope, sometimes
the envelope pushes back. We
just have to be dedicated and
skilled enough to be able to
address challenges as they arise,
he continued. Scovill is working
through the obstacles with the full
support of a hands-on team from
Sound Image, which looks after
the system on a day-to-day basis
and Systems Engineer, Andrew
Dowling, who he says is doing a
magnicent job.
Dowling is one of the newest
members of the crew, having only
started on the tour in July this
year. It is also the rst time he
has worked with Scovill. The PA
has a redundant Dante scheme
as the primary audio input and
distribution. Currently Dante
allows us to put multiple audio
feeds up to the PA and choose
which sources to use. Redundant
Dante allows us to have a digital
fail safe, said Dowling, who is
supported by SL PA Tech, Chris
Houston.
The Anya system has 22
drivers all equipped with ampliers
and DSP. It solves the problem
of what to do if an amplier
fails while the array is own.
The Anya will adaptively heal
by reconguring its coverage so
the surrounding drivers cover
for it. The Anya doesnt use its
DSP to point boxes at areas but
rather individual drivers. The EAW
Resolution software and the 22
drivers allow us to avoid seams
from gain shading. The gain
gradient is smooth because it has
22 drivers spread over the seated
area. Gone are the days where
gain shading between two and
three box circuits are audible.
Dowling is impressed with a
number of features of the system
including the software, which
does a consistent job of tuning
and aligning the system without
multiple measurements. He also
likes the fact that the PA will
automatically roll off top end that
it cant reproduce. For example
the PA cant throw 16KHz 350ft
so it will low-pass all the high
drivers that are being thrown that
far. He also praises EAW for being
extremely responsive when it
comes to adding new features to
the software.
The US manufacturer has
also provided thorough back-
up support for the tour. EAW
has been very keen to send
engineers out to evaluate the daily
workows and performance of the
technology as we run it through
its paces and conversely we have
been very dedicated in sending
them, not only reports on how its
doing, but actual data in the form
of measured FFT magnitude plots
mapped against a seating chart
mic and positions so that they can
evaluate the performance. Theyve
reported that were actually
surpassing the lab predictions in
many cases, continued Scovill.
On the tour so far, the system
has been providing consistent,
high quality audio to the farthest
seats in the house, there are
no cheap seats any longer with
this PA system. On a personal
note, I think its fantastic to have
a company with the legacy of
EAW back in the concert sound
game again. This approach to
a PA system design is going to
make some serious waves - pun
absolutely intended, said Scovill.
For FOH mixing Scovill turned to
a platform that he is very familiar
and very comfortable with, the
Avid MediaCentral Platform. Ive
been involved with the Venue live
sound environment project since
the very rst days of conception,
so that is where my heart lies and
it is the technology with which I
want to work. Ive been deeply
involved in the development of
it and I think it sounds fantastic
along with offering one of
the easiest and more intuitive
workows for digital consoles that
is available today. The Venue line
of consoles have the ability to use
plug-in processing and are able to
incorporate digital recording.
Another huge advantage of the
Avid system, according to Scovill
is the virtual sound check tool.
Since its inception - in the Avid
D-Show system - in 2005, it has
16
EVENT FOCUS: Tom Petty
Below: Systems Engineer Andrew Dowling, SL PA Tech, Chris Houston and Crew Chief Marcus Douglas; Greg Looper on monitors.
revolutionised the way the band set up. Since
that rst week of touring with the D-Show in
2005, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers havent
had to perform a traditional sound check as the
tool takes away the need for it, which in turn
provides longevity and energy for a band of this
stature on the road.
Above and beyond that, virtual sound check
is the tool for preparing your PA system for
the venue you are about to attack along with
evaluating what you are doing at the mix level
of the console. Because we are always using
the previous nights material, its dynamically
accurate and the most relevant source we could
possibly use short of the real band to set up
the tonality of the PA system or monitors and
evaluate their performance, said Scovill.
And if that was not enough, add to that the
fact that, for the Petty camp the virtual sound
check workow actually morphed into the
method with which they record their records
now and you can see why it is so powerful and
why we think so highly of it in the context of
the Avid MediaCentral Platform.
Scovill and the team also deployed an
extensive Madi distribution system on this
tour. He took a pair of Venue stage racks - that
capture all mic level signals from the stage - and
connected them to a standalone Venue FOH
rack outtted with Madi cards, where the mic
level signals are pre-amped, converted to Madi
and then sent to an RME Madi router. Once
there they create multiple output streams to the
different console locations.
A total of 128 channels of bre go to
the FOH position where it meets up with
another RME Madi router, and signals are then
distributed to the local Venue FOH rack and
two 128-track Pro Tools systems. A further
set of 128 Madi channels are distributed to
another RME Madi router located at the monitor
position, these are distributed to the Venue FOH
rack and Pro Tools system used for monitors.
A third set of both bre and BNC outputs are
generated from the stage RME Madi router to
accommodate television and broadcast truck
interfaces.
The streams that are delivered to the truck
offer all inputs, FOH group stems, two track
wet and dry mixes and all ambience allowing
them to use any combination to quickly
assemble mixes for the task at hand. Anyone
on the network can take remote control of the
main entry point pre-amp in order to make
adjustments that will affect all streams, but the
Venue consoles offer another +/- 20dB of fully
independent gain adjustment for mix levels,
explained Scovill. All main pre-amp settings
use a Venue feature called gain guess to
facilitate making gain setting repeatable in the
event that input source levels would change.
This also provides identical recording levels for
all attached Pro Tools machines including any in
production trucks and ensures that all tracks are
completely interchangeable, securing complete
redundancy in post.
In monitor world, Engineer Greg Looper
(who works closely with Monitor Tech Chuck
Smith) is in charge and has been working
alongside Petty and Scovill since 2005, although
he came across the band under different
circumstances many years before. Aged nine,
Looper bought his rst record, Damn the
Torpedoes, but little did he know hed be
working for that very artist all those years later.
Monitors are taken care of by an Avid Venue
D-Show, Looper described his admiration for
the console: The interface into Pro Tools is
so seamless. We track everything. Every time
they pick up a guitar we are recording. Robert
and I did Toms rst tour on Venue together.
During my time supporting Robert I had a great
opportunity to learn the console in depth.
Theres no better way to learn something new
than from one of the main guys who helped
design it. I still learn new tricks and tips from
Robert and other users, even now.
Looper gets more than enough time to
practice with the desk, as the same system
has been installed in the rehearsal studio. Two
studio albums and countless live
releases that have been recorded
through the Venue system in the
studio. When you come and see
Tom and The Heartbreakers live
you are seeing them in the studio.
We record in the studio in exactly
the same way as the band plays
live. Same set up, same gear. There
just isnt 10,000 plus people in the
room, maybe 10, including the
band, continued Looper.
Electrotec PD-12 wedges are
the stage monitors of choice.
Looper controls a wedge mix
for every band member, as well
as three IEMs for Petty, Scott
Thurston and Benmont Tench.
Scott and Benmonts IEM mixes
are just for vocals and a few other
instruments. Not a full mix, as
most of the mix is built in the
wedge. Benmont and Scott only
use the IEMs when needed, most
of the time they rely on the wedge
mix, explained Looper.
For Tom, the wedge has just
vocals and his acoustic guitars, but
his IEMs have the rest band in the
mix too, its vocal heavy with a full
band mix behind. Toms wedge
mix balances out his IEMs so he is
centred when he sings. And he still
has a full mix in his ear when he
steps away from centre stage.
The tour inventory features an
eight mix Shure 900 IEM system
and in total Looper is in charge of
coordinating 10 wedge mixes and
seven IEM mixes, which cover the
band, his cue and a possible guest.
Looking after all the touring
crew is Crew Chief, Marcus
Douglas, he has a number of
connections to this tour. Not only
has he been an employee for
Sound Image for many years, he
also has family history with many
crew members.
My day-to-day routine involves
making sure all our audio crew
have what they need at load in
and throughout the day. I also
y the SR side of the PA and help
make sure that we have the system
100% working for when Robert
is ready to start doing his time
aligning and tuning. Throughout
18
EVENT FOCUS: Tom Petty
Below: James Towler, Steve Winwoods FOH Engineer; Bernie Broderick from EAW checking in on the system; Avid desks were chosen for FOH.
the day I help the guys on stage
and FOH if they need anything, he
said.
So far the run has been great.
The biggest challenge was in the
beginning, when none of the
crew had even seen the system
before. The team soon realised
it was different and it needed
to be treated as such. Douglas
continued: It was a fun challenge,
but now we feel very condent.
We have been blown away at how
good it sounds and the consistency
of the coverage night after night in
each of the different venues. Its an
honour to work with a legend like
Tom and the great crew who have
represented him for many years.
He concluded: The reaction
to the Anya PA has been nothing
but positive news. Robert gets it
sounding amazing every night and
that helps. The comment I have
heard the most from people is how
great the consistency is throughout
the venue. People also cant
believe we dont have any subs
with the system. We dont require
them for our show as the systems
low-end response is great for what
we need. I think as word gets out
and engineers start coming out to
listen to this rig we will be seeing
more and more Anya on many
engineer spec sheets.
By the time TPi went to print,
the tour was deemed a success,
and Pettys audio crew certainly
thought EAWs new product
had done this respected artist
justice on the road. Scovills
seamless audio design was in turn
complemented by Hypnotic Eyes
stunning visual entity, created by
Lighting and Set Designer, Michael
Brown.
TPi
Photos: Mirza Noormohamed
(Wandering Eye) & Jesse Adamson
www.tompetty.com
www.sound-image.com
www.eaw.com
www.avid.com
www.shure.com
www.rme-audio.de
19
EVENT FOCUS: Tom Petty
Below: EAWs Anya in all its own glory.