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MESSAGE IN A LINE ARRAY The fact that TPi explores the constantly motivated environment of live touring has never felt quite as prominent as it has this month. To say that this issue in particular has been written on the road is no understatement; in a month I’ve travelled to Holland, Germany, France and Ireland in between some UK visits to keep our content up to speed. This issue is also special for me because March marks my one year anniversary at Total Production, and I’ve had a brilliant time celebrating... To kick off, the TPi Awards took place in mid-February and we have a full report


on page 07. Congrats to Mondiale Publishing’s Ben Chadwick for organising another sell-out event and encouraging genuine support within our industry. Also this month, Zoe reveals all from her time in York with Thin Lizzy, Paul Watson gets to grips with The Brits and I experienced my fi rst musical, Stage Entertainment’s incredibly elegant Rebecca. We also bring you Expo news from NAMM in California, alongside ISE and Dynamic Events in Amsterdam. The highlight this issue however, has to be our cover story. Zoe and I were lucky


“To say that this issue in particular has been written on the road is no understatement...”


enough to see Sting perform in Toulouse as part of his Back To Bass tour. As a kid, I grew up in a household that played both The Police and Sting records without hesitation, but this was the fi rst time I’d ever seen the songwriter play live. It wasn’t a look back at late ‘70s nu wave as my inner teen may have craved, and yet the outcome was far more fascinating. The set comprised a collection of solo


album tracks that had been recreated with a whole new dynamic, without losing authenticity. Back To Bass is a bare roots, folk-infused, stripped down rock affair, and the kind of gig that exposes musicians to a very real vulnerability. In this case,


Sting and his band displayed a master class of experience. The added bonus being that the experience wasn’t just fl owing from the stage.


We were met by some of the audio crew from Clair Global, [this is Clair’s Director of Engineering, Howard Page, at his self-designed Harman Studer 5 SR console] and leant the history of Sting’s effortlessly knowledgeable touring sound department. What a privilege. Back in Manchester, my father had just one question about the TPi visit to see


Sting: “Kel, was he wearing posh trousers or jeans?” “Jeans dad, why?”


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“Thought so, he’s meant to be very down-to-earth, that bloke.” The gents at Clair can certainly confi rm this. Turn to page 64 to fi nd out about the audio manufacturer’s solid 30-year relationship with one of rock’s most distinguishable voices. I guess that’s all for now, but the team at Total Production will soon be at


Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, no doubt with lots more to catch up on after many more live productions. 12 months later, I’m just about ready for round two...


pixelrange.com 04 • TPi MARCH 2012


Kelly Murray Assistant Editor


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