UK - The conversion of an underground arcade in Carlisle's old town has resulted in one of the first installations of the new Cerwin-Vega! Vision systems. Owners of Club Concrete, the Van Lierop family, were alerted to the new system by local Cerwin Vega dealer Peter Tyson's - who had earlier fitted out the family's other bar/restaurant operation, Fat Fingers. The 300-capacity subterranean nightclub majors on natural materials - concrete, slate, tiles, sandstone and reclaimed timber. John Van Lierop, and his sons Mark and Tony, thus wanted a natural-sounding PA, which also blended with the aesthetics - but also delivered a punchy bottom end.

Mick McCall, who runs the retailer's DJ department, recommended the system after being approached by Denis Phoenix of Cerwin Vega distributor Lamba, soon after the Vision series landed in the UK. Occupying the ultra-high performance segment

UK - Manchester-based ACE PA Ltd. has purchased an Allen & Heath ML3000 VCA console to provide sound reinforcement for its medium to large events. The 40-channel console made its debut at BBC Music Live 2004 in Manchester's Exchange Square on 1 May, where ACE PA provided the PA system for a nine-hour live event.

"We selected the ML3000 because it fulfilled all the requirements without breaking the bank," commented ACE PA's Gary Jones. "This is the first VCA desk that ACE PA has ever owned and we are very impressed with the grouping capability. The 36 mono and six stereo format has the capacity to cover the medium to large events for which we predominantly cater. Furthermore, the ML3000's eight auxes provide the perfect solution when we have to control both monitor and FOH sound from the FOH position."

Manchester's BBC Music Live event commenced with classic

UK - White Light and The Moving Light Company held an open day to introduce electricians, programmers and lighting designers to the grandma range of consoles. On Wednesday 28 April White Light and The Moving Light Company plus a selection of guests took part in something of an English tradition - afternoon tea with grandma. In fact, not just tea, but tea, sandwiches, cakes and other snacks. And not just one grandMA, but most of MA Lighting's grandMA range of lighting consoles.

"The grandMA range has been on our 'radar' for some time now," comments White Light's technical director, Dave Isherwood, "having proved itself on a range of rock-and-roll and corporate projects for others over the last few years. Having now supplied two systems to theatrical productions - Thoroughly Modern Millie in London and Mamma Mia in Holland, we found that many of our re

UK - Linea Research was formed in 2003 to design, develop and market cutting-edge professional audio technology. Since its inception, the London-based company has been busy developing OEM technology and researching the way forward. Now, Linea is ready for its official launch into the world of pro audio.

Sales director Davey Smalley is joined on the board by Ben Ver (engineering) Paul Williams (R&D) and Pip Wilson (production). For over a decade, Ver and Williams have been responsible for a number of innovations in the power amplifier, DSP and audio networking fields, with Wilson bringing over 20 years' experience in manufacturing and quality control. Smalley, formerly sales manager at BSS Audio, explains the philosophy: "Our potency lies with integrating the key technologies of the future, initially focused towards high power amplifier modules for integration within OEM lou

UK - The weekend of 25-28 March saw Tidy Weekender 5 descend upon the unusual venue of Pontins in Prestatyn. Four thousand hard-house clubbers were present on-site throughout the three-day event, with sound and lighting packages provided by South West Audio. SWA's production manager Mike Taylor took this opportunity to try out EM Acoustics' flagship product - the Quake subwoofer.

The main arena for the event held 2,000 people, and was powered by a 30kW system comprising 16 EAW KF850 mid/highs and 16 Quake subs. The horn-loaded Quakes were arranged in two blocks of six either side of the stage, with a four-unit block in the centre. EM Acoustics' director of R&D, Ed Kinsella, explains: "Due to the heavy weighting towards lower frequencies in music like hard-house, SWA used more Quake subs than would be necessary with other styles of music to achieve the desired effect. Using

UK - Sennheiser recently announced the launch of this year's Unsigned Artists Contest. This is the forth year that Sennheiser has run the competition, which aims to track down the best young bands in the UK and give them as much exposure as possible.

This year's six finalists will perform on the big concert stage at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta and the winners will not only get to perform live at Glastonbury 2005 but they will receive £2,500 cash, £2,500 worth of Sennheiser evolution G2 microphones and £500 worth of Sennheiser headphones. The five runners-up will each receive £1,000 worth of Sennheiser evolution G2 microphones and £250 worth of Sennheiser headphones.

Application forms for the contest will appear in the June issues of Play Music, Music Mart and Fly magazines and are available from any Sound Control store or the Sennheiser website. John Steven S

UK - The BBC brought live music to Northern Ireland this spring with their BBC Music Live week, which kicked off with 'One Big Weekend' and closed with the 'Beautiful Night' concert. Star Events Group was bought in to provide the staging and rigging services for both events. 'One Big Weekend' took place on 24-25 April, incorporating both a dance day and a band day. Faithless took to the stage on Saturday whilst Sunday's headliners Ash got the crowds bouncing, and were warmed up by performances from Avril Lavigne, Kelis and Franz Ferdinand.

The event took place in a huge Kayam tent, in which Star Events Group created the show's focal point. A 20m x 15m Vertech stage was erected inside the structure with an impressive video and lighting set-up. The stage was branded with BBC Radio 1 and Music Live logos. A crew of 10 built the impressive structure over three days with Pete Englis

The Netherlands - Lagotronics supported the Dutch version of the Pop Idols TV show with a wide selection of its state-of-the-art LED lighting devices. This was the first time that a brand new product, the DMX-i strip has been used in a large quantity for a live event of this scale.

The DMX-i strips are linear lighting devices, 30cm in length, equipped with 60 COB LEDs and direct DMX processing. Due to the small dimensions of COB LEDs, it is possible to create compact colour changing light lines or neon effects, directly controlled by DMX and per individual strip. The total setup of Idols 2004 included the following LagoLED products: 960 DMX-i strips used in 160 lines of 180cm; 40 USB-i controllers; 152 RGB LumiDOT 3W and 24 Beam.111 SC red fixtures.

This setup also featured a video-to-DMX software package, which enabled the crew to create stunning effects by using video signa

UK - Immedia Systems has designed and installed an audio-visual infrastructure for the new Iris Murdoch Centre at Stirling University. After extensive fund-raising to raise the necessary £2.3 million, followed by building work lasting more than a year, the ground-breaking Centre was opened early last year by Dame Judi Dench. Having been nominated for an Oscar and won a BAFTA in 2002 for her role as Dame Iris Murdoch in the film, Iris, Dame Judi is well-acquainted with the issues facing those suffering from dementia - and the new Centre sets out to provide information, training, consultancy, conferences and publications for those working in this area.

Immedia's Dave Pritchard specified a dnp 130" New Wide Angle High Contrast Screen, with a focal length of 3200mm, provided by UK distributors Paradigm Audio Visual. This was cut to 2495 x 1880mm and recessed into the back wall

UK - Leading audio specialist Autograph Sales has supplied and installed a complete Meyer Sound loudspeaker system at the Queen's University, Belfast, in its brand new and unique Sonic Arts Research Centre.

(see previous news).

The Sonic Laboratory Concert Hall, where the installation took place, has a steel mesh floor to allow diffusion from speakers above and below the audience, all of which are driven independently by ProTools. The system was set-up by Autograph Sales' technical department using Meyer Sound's SIM IIanalyzer to align the system.

A total of 32 Meyer Sound loudspeakers were supplied - comprising 16 UPJ-1Ps and 16 UPM-1Ps. Four 'rings' of eight speakers are either suspended or mounted on stands at different heights, while an additional four Meyer Sound UMS-1P subs were strategically placed around the venue. Fu

USA - Lumileds Lighting is opening a new plant in Malaysia to meet growing demand for its Luxeon LEDs, possibly the world's brightest solid-state illumination sources. The new facility will replace the current factory in Penang this summer, tripling floor space to permit a corresponding increase in manufacturing capacity.

The plant will be located in a 200,000 sq.ft building that Lumileds purchased a short distance from its current rented space. The company expects to more than double its manufacturing workforce when all production lines are fully deployed. The new facility will also allow Lumileds to expand laboratory services such as calibration, reliability testing and failure analysis, and will include a state-of-the-art Luxeon Experience Centre to assist in hosting customer visits.

"Market demand for our Luxeon product line is accelerating as manufacturers and lighti

UK - Dimension Audio, the audio division of the Avesco Group, has relocated from Wandsworth to Avesco's new corporate headquarters in Crawley, Sussex. Under new general manager, Mark Boden, the 12-year-old company has wasted no time in bringing an upgraded inventory to its new warehouse.

Boden took over from his long-time colleague - Colin Duncan - at the helm, when the latter departed recently to pursue his interest in flat-panel technology. "We had worked together for seven years, joining Dimension at the same time," Boden reflected. Of the new development, he rationalizes: "We are a highly-specialized audio company but being back in the bosom of the Avesco, alongside Creative Technology, will enable us to raise our profile. The CT office environment is great, with good back-office support and transport - in fact all the facilities we didn't have we now have ac

UK - This year's A.C. Lighting North Tradeshow was well received by both visitors and exhibitors alike, with exhibitor stand numbers reaching the hall's maximum capacity and over 50% more visitors attending the show this year compared to 2003.

Feedback for the show has also been very positive from attendees, with visitors commenting on the high number and quality of manufacturers exhibiting, the range of new products showcased for the first time in the UK at the event, the choice and relevance of free guest speaker seminars and the overall professional organization of the show.

This year's show provided a platform for the UK launch or preview of over 30 new product innovations from major entertainment technology manufacturers, providing an indication of how important the show is becoming as a key launch event for companies wishing to reach buyers in the North of England, and r

UK - Carlton-Lee Business Development was set up to provide experienced business development consultancy services to companies in the consumer and pro audio markets, particularly those looking at expansion and diversification. The company has now started a division to specifically look after public relations and marketing services - Carlton-Lee Communications.

Derek West of Carlton-Lee explained: "Business development is a very confidential service, as detailed strategy, financial and product development issues are discussed - we won't even disclose client's names. PR, on the other hand, is very open and up-front and the whole industry can be aware of who you work for. Because of the demand for PR from clients it became very obvious that I had to split the two services by operating separate divisions, one for business development and one for communications."

West con

The Netherlands - LGH Rigging Services, specialists in the hire, sales and service of rigging and associated equipment, has recently expanded into Holland in order to meet the increasing demand for its services in Europe.

LGH Rigging Services was established as a dedicated, back-up, equipment resource for the entertainment industry in 1997 by LGH Group plc, leaders in lifting and winching equipment for over 30 years. The business has until now been solely UK based at Three Mills Island Studios, London and is managed by Bob Dean.

Following its success in the UK, it has been decided to further support and develop European customer relationships by establishing a new mainland European base at Utrecht in Holland. Paul Fulcher, operations director, LGH Group, explained: "Our personnel's lifting and rigging expertise in the entertainment industry has been combined with a vast h

USA - The host city of this year's 'International Pow Wow' of the Travel Industry Association of America - Los Angeles, decided to 'wow' delegates with LA's newest landmark, the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall and Los Angeles based Visions Lighting. The event, the world's premier international travel trade show, attracts over 5,500 attendees from 65 countries and features 1,375 booths.

The 'LA Now . . . Wow' event, produced by EventWorks, called for the intersection of 1st Street and Grand Avenue to be turned into a street party with a live band on stage, food and the lighting of the surrounding buildings. Production manager and lighting designer for the event was Visions Lighting's Todd Roberts. "We had two days, with the streets closed, to pull this off," said Roberts. "We started at 6am on the first day, and we were programming till 2 a.m. that ni

USA - On Thursday 6 May 2004, just before David Bowie was due to start his A Reality Tour at the James L. Knight Centre in Miami, a local lighting technician, later identified as Wally Thomas, fell 50ft to his death from a metal wire and rod ladder. Investigators are now trying to determine the circumstances which led up to the death of Thomas who had worked in the industry for 25 years and was an extremely experienced stage technician.

The Miami Herald reported that Homicide detective, Ed Avila told them: "Wally Thomas and two other workers - who were looking after stage spotlights - were all wearing full body harnesses. However, the speculation is that Thomas was not clipped into the safety line when he fell to his death.

According to colleague and stage hand Chris Ryan - who has worked with Thomas since 1978 - he was stunned to hear he was on a truss spot

Italy - Just 16 + 16 elements of the Outline Butterfly vertical line array system provided sufficient sound reinforcement for the largest square in Europe, recently - Padua's Prato della Valle. The event was a major celebration held annually by broadcaster Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana and Video Italia, one of the world's most important and widely distributed satellite TV stations. The show - which included performances by 20 of Italy's top artists, including Marco Masini (winner of the 54th Festival of San Remo), Biagio Antonacci, Piero Pelù, Omar Pedrini and many more - was transmitted live by Radio Italia, Video Italia and Video Italia channel 712 (Sky), covering the whole of Italy and a good part of the rest of the world.

Outline's Butterfly Vertical Line Array covered this enormous area (approximately 90,000sq.m) evenly with high SPLs and high acoustic quality, without

World - Sennheiser endorsees, Lostprophets, continue their world tour with the company's evolution microphones. Following sell-out dates in Australia and Europe, Lostprophets front-of-house sound engineer 'Doof' had tried a number of microphones from various manufacturers and comments from their US tour: "We found the E935 wired vocal microphone to be excellent live, so we used another E935 capsule in our new Sennheiser evolution wireless G2 system to keep exactly the same sound."

In addition, the band's complement of microphones includes four more evolution wireless guitar systems, and evolution e604s and e609s used on drums and back line. The band will be returning for more gigs in the UK this summer and have already confirmed that Reading and Leeds festivals will be part of their busy outdoor schedule.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

Argentina - On 16 April one of Argentina's leading electronic music festivals, Southfest, kicked off under a stable of Martin Professional equipment. Lighting design, programming and operation for the event was by Walter G. Buchholz, one of Argentina's key lighting designers and the chief lighting designer at nearly all major electronic music events in Argentina, among them Southfest, Creamfields, Moonpark and Pacha Buenos Aires (Clubland).

Freelance lighting designer and operator Ignacio ('Iñaki') Rosenberg, who often has the opportunity to experience Walter's designs, commented: "Walter is a great designer and a fantastic operator who does most of these gigs 'live'. As always, all the Martin gear worked flawlessly and provided a very important layer in the big mix of visual and sound images created." On the Southfest rig were 12 MAC 2000 Profiles and 10 MAC 500 prof

UK - PLASA Media has learned that First Leisure Corporation, operator of 28 nightclubs throughout the UK, has gone into administrative receivership. RSM Robson Rhodes LLP partners Simon Bower and John Whitfield were appointed joint administrative receivers of Leicester based First Leisure Holdings Ltd and its two principal trading subsidiaries, First Leisure Corporation Plc (First Leisure) and First Leisure Trading Ltd on the 11 May 2004.

First Leisure, the second largest nightclub operator in the UK, currently operates 28 nightclubs across England, Scotland and Wales. Created as a management buy-out from First Leisure Corporation Plc in 2000, the Group successfully disposed of its 'Brannigans' pub chain in the same year, leaving it to focus on its nightclub operations. The difficult trading environment was exacerbated by substantial property lease liabilities reverting back to

UK - Hawthorn Theatrical hosted over 100 event professionals at its Leicester head office for an indoor pyrotechnics workshop this April. The workshops, presented in conjunction with Hawthorns' supplier Le Maitre Pyrotechnics and Special Effects, were a continuation of Hawthorns' policy of helping its clients get the most out of their services and ensuring health and safety issues are covered properly.

Le Maitre's Steven Ramos showcased the creative possibilities of a range of indoor pyrotechnics, explaining the applications and correct usage of each effect. Ramos dispelled several preconceptions about letting pyrotechnics off indoors. His interactive talk included getting the delegates holding a lit flair - which goes against the advice we have been given since our childhoods - but which highlighted the importance of selecting the correct specialist pyrotechnic material.

One

UK - A.C. Lighting's Audio division has supplied the Hackney Empire with a Soundcraft MH4 live mixing console as part of the venue's £17m restoration. The venue began life as a theatre in 1901 and has undergone a number of transformations - including TV studio and bingo hall - before returning to its original theatre roots in 1986. The venue closed in 2001 to begin its multi-million pound renovation and refurbishment programme designed to re-establish the Empire as a showcase theatre for the 21st century.

Among the many improvements made to the theatre is an enlarged orchestra pit, enabling large-scale opera, ballet and musicals to visit the Empire for the first time in its history. When the Empire's owners wanted to bring the theatre's technical aspects up to date they called on A.C.'s Audio division to supply a state of the art live sound-mixing console. The brief was to prov

UK - Divine Comedy brought in Canegreen to manage the sound when the band took a 17-piece orchestra on its recent tour. Divine Comedy frontman Neil Hanlon has never been staid when pushing artistic boundaries and his latest album and tour continued his penchant for trying something different. The addition of the 17-piece orchestra to Hanlon's arrangements inspired the choice of theatres for the current tour.

To fulfil the varied acoustic challenges of the different venues and get efficient sound coverage to the whole audience, Canegreen selected its Meyer Milo line array speaker system for the tour, for two main reasons. Firstly, the orchestral/acoustic nature of the band would benefit the system's frequency range and ability to recreate the sound with minimal colouration and distortion, and secondly, the dispersion characteristics of the cabinets meant it was a very adaptable s

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