Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1491451
Spring 2023 – LOCAL695.COM 13 given no credit. The film also won Best Picture and played at dad's Strand Theatre in Hastings. Working a live show like the Oscars can be terrifyingly fun. The first time I was part of a crew when something big really went wrong (for the record, not the Oscars), I learned that reaction time, troubleshooting, and remaining calm, are the key to recovery and moving on. That first goof was about forty-five seconds into a three-hour program with lots of moving parts. Deal with the problem efficiently, you still have a lot of show to manage. Don't get bogged down with whatever happened, once it hits the outbound satellite dish, it is out of your control. As I've mentioned before, this kind of show is not for everyone. I had great mentors. Alphabetically by height: Mark Weber, Jeffrey Fecteau, Murray Siegel, and Joe Kendall. Sure, television had been done before they came on the scene, but many of the methods still used to put on a large-scale live show are drawn from their experience and guidance. As one of the small group of A2's. (Sidebar: I think we need to adopt a collective noun for A2's, akin to A Murder of Crows, A Huddle of Walruses, A Parliament of Owls, and A Confusion of Stage Managers. I suggest, A Patch of A2's.) So, as one of the patch of A2's that do these shows today, I can tell you that we still take from the knowledge and influence of those before us and continue the tradition of creating and reinventing to fit the new challenges. One of the great joys of working on specials and award shows has been my introduction to fine audio people from all over the country. If you want to do an entertainment TV show in LA, Las Vegas, Chicago, Nashville, Orlando, Miami, Baltimore, Washington, DC, or New York City, there are wonderful people with broad skill sets available. Some of my favorite shows, The Academy of Country Music Awards, The Kennedy Center Honors, and The Latin Grammys, each bring together a talented crew from multiple locations. What a treat! I feel very fortunate to have become friends with many of them. These friendships are high on the list of items I like best about my job and one of the things I'll miss most when I hang up my Q-box. With Gene Cipriano at the Academy Awards A Patch of A2's from New York, Baltimore, and LA at The Kennedy Center Honors: Skip Kent, Ric Teller, Tricia Reilly, John Bates, Kate Foretek, and Garth "Gaff" Michael Surprisingly, as much as I talk about retirement, I haven't done it yet. I still use my Q-box quite a bit and have adopted the new Sound Bullet as a go-to. The question is when to stop. Some would say it is past time. Others, you kind people, encourage me to stay around. I thought maybe 2022 would be a slow-down year but ended up a mere twenty workdays fewer than in 2021. To extend my tenure, I have made some sartorial compromises comfort-wise. Most of my sox come from Smartwool and the Oboz Low Sawtooth hiking shoe has become my regular for busy shows. Both are available at REI. I carry my own dress shirt and tie for dress-up jobs like the Oscars, and the rest of the time much of my wardrobe comes from Cabela's and Forever 58. When I'm hiding behind the Yamaha CL5 at Wheel and Jeopardy!, I often kick off the Merrell Jungle Mocs a la Ed Greene. Friends keep telling me that I'll know when it's time. I'm not sure I believe them, but if that is true, I'm not ready to go quite yet. Of course, the big question is how to replace the considerable amount of time one spends commuting and working in ways that aren't sedentary. Some friends take to the outdoors for hiking, fishing, and camping. Others spend time volunteering in their community. Playing, mixing, and recording music occupies many. I look forward to exploring options such as bike riding, gardening, maybe music, and possibly an outlet for writing. History tells us that Tennyson, though his heart belonged to audio, wrote one of his best known poems about the Light Brigade, which includes this slightly altered quote, "Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and complain about it on the Audio Iso PL." His long, admired career began at the young age of twenty with a poem called "Timbuktu." Me and Tim a-huntin' went. Met three girls in a pop-up tent. Aww, that's enough.