Meeting Topic: Ozzy Ozbourne Black Rain Tour - Backstage Technical Master Class
Moderator Name: Robert Breen
Speaker Name: Greg Price, Front of House Engineer, Ozzy Ozbourne
Other business or activities at the meeting: Student Executive was introduced.
Meeting Location: John Labatt Centre, London Ontario
On Friday, January 19th 2008, members and guests of the London Student Section of the Audio Engineering Society were treated to a rare opportunity to go backstage on Ozzy Ozbourne's Black Rain Tour at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario. Front of House Engineer Gregory Price, a 30 year veteran of recording studios and live concert tours, hosted and treated us to a master class in large format arena sound reinforcement.
The event was attended by over 90 members and guests of the London Student AES Section, including 75 students and faculty from the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology (OIART), 10 students of the Fanshawe Music Industry Arts Program, and 6 students and faculty from the University of Western Ontario.
The day started at 8:00am when 10 semi trucks rolled in to the John Labatt Centre parking lot, bringing with them a staff of 75 touring crew in luxury tour buses, and aided by a local crew consisting of an additional 75 members. Attendees watched the entire set up from load in all the way through to sound check, with every step explained in detail by Price.
Greg Price began his career in the 1970s at Los Angeles' fabled Record Plant, eventually becoming a top notch live sound mixer for acts ranging from Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and Van Halen, to acts at the other end of the spectrum such as Hannah Montana and the Cheetah Girls. He has been the Front of House Engineer and Technical Director for the last twelve Ozzfest tours. His passion for sharing his knowledge and experience was evident as he answered all our questions about the technology, the business, and the job prospects. "There is a shortage of talented young people in the live sound business," he said. "Companies are desperate to find good people to work on tours like this, and eventually take over the top jobs."
The gigantic megawatt sound system and pyrotechnic show was provided by Clair-Showco, North America's oldest and largest provider of concert tour sound support. Early clients included Elton John, Elvis Presley and Yes. Since then, most major tours over the past 20 years have featured sound systems provided by Clair. Greg Smith, who manages the company's tour operations from their home base in Pennsylvania, calls the Ozzy Ozbourne tour a "well-oiled machine."
Students were able to watch — up close -- tons of PA gear being assembled and flown fifty feet in the air, while riggers hung from the rafters above. Greg Price gathered us around his front of house mix position and demonstrated how he puts together his console and recording setup, which includes the state of the art Digidesign Venue console, integrated with the 64 tracks of Pro Tools HD used to record every show, every night. He demonstrated calibrating the system for the building, and some of the mixing techniques he has developed over decades of experience, including how he gets Ozzy's vocal sound and Zakk Wylde's guitar tones.
On this leg of the tour Ozzy is joined by opening act Rob Zombie, whose stage show features numerous pyrotechnics and props - including a six-foot tall devil head which breathes fire out of its nostrils! As the crew assembled the stage, Rob Zombie's Front of House Engineer provided a demonstration of live drum miking using Zombie drummer Tommy Clufetos' kit before it was lifted to its position on the stage on a 7 foot tall riser by forklift.
Organized by OIART's Career Development and Industry Relations Director Robert Breen at the suggestion of AES Student Section Vice President Ryan Enockson, the event received television coverage, was reported on numerous Metal fan sites, and will be featured in an upcoming issue of MacWorld magazine.
