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How did you start in the business?
I moved to London from Luton to be a musician, but found out quite quickly
that I wasn’t very good. I got a job at London Astoria 2 (LA2) collecting
cans. One day I turned up to find the show had been cancelled. The in-house
LD, Dan Sanders (now at Clapham Grand) was servicing his Golden Scan 2’s and
I helped him out. He then took me on as his assistant and I went from there.
What’s the best aspect about your kind of work?
I like the mix of technology and art and of course the people you meet.
What do you find the most challenging aspect to
being an LD?
Sometimes the hours can get a bit long, but I find if it’s
getting too difficult then you may be doing something wrong.
What’s been the strangest brief or tour so far?
I was flown to Mauritius for a month to do one show on a beach for Coca Cola
South Africa and as I stood there on the beach with my Pearl, watching the
truss heave its way up the ground support on manual chain blocks, I turned
to Shaggy’s LD (he was headlining) and said “I hate chain blocks, they put
so much strain on everything”.
Right on cue three chains snapped and the whole thing came crashing down. I
resisted the temptation to turn to him and say “it wasn’t me”. Thankfully
no-one was hurt and what followed was the hardest 36 hours work I’ve ever
done to get a show back on.
Which performer would you most like to work with
and why?
I would love to work with Elvis on his next comeback special the 1968 one
still looks amazing today.
How long have you been using Avo consoles?
They replaced the Jands event in LA2 with a Pearl in 1995. That was my first
Avo experience.
Which is your preferred console and why?
The Diamond 4 because of it’s flexibility.
What is your favourite feature of the console?
The fixture exchange has saved me hours of programming time.
Best tip that you ever received about being an LD?
If you can’t get out of it, get into it (Peter Hosier).
Just for fun:
What tunes are you currently listening to?
Richard Hawley, True Loves Gutter.
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?
Pizza and Wine.
Last Album bought?
T-Rex best of. I’m learning to play the guitar and thought it would be easy
to play T-Rex tunes. I was right.
Favourite festival or gig?
Has to be Shepherds Bush Empire. I work there as in house LD most of the
year and I love the way it can be a great rock gig and also perfect for an
intimate solo act too.
What three things couldn’t you live without while
on tour or at a gig?
Laptop, phone and pain killers.
Have you ever been star struck and by who?
I once had a five minute conversation with Pete Townshend about scooters. I
remember thinking halfway through, blimey, I’m having a conversation with
Pete Townshend about scooters! |
