For those who read this stuff ( all five of you so far...) a few terms to make future post less impenetrable; like all specific jobs, there is a lot of jargon associated with rock and theatre.
Roadbox: A (usually) wheeled container, made of some combination of wood/steel/plastic/aluminum/fiberglass. Designed to hold cables, lights, speakers, guitars, tools, or anything else you might need.
Loader: People who stay inside a truck and do nothing but stack or arrange the roadboxes as they come back in, or unstack and shove them out when they come out.
Load in / Load out: Load in is bringing all the stuff in for the show and assembling it; load out is (duh) the reverse.
Back Line: The musical gear for bands such as keyboards, drum kits, guitars, hollow logs, trash can lids.... whatever. Can also include an odd assortment of stuff, such as stuffed animals, music stands, and portable bars...
Steel: All the wire rope cable used in rigging. Why not call it wire rope? Who knows...
Rigging: Hanging of pretty much anything above the ground. Next time at a show, look up. See the two or three tons of truss, lights, sound and video dangling above you? Thats rigging.
Gakk: Pretty much anything that is pointless/icky/unidentified or a pain in the ass. It covers things like the stuff you find stuck to your shoes (mostly tape bits and confetti) during and after a show, to the assorted stuff some bands have on the stage, like stuffed toys, underwear thrown from the audience, and Britney Spears talent. (oops).
You might have noticed these are not in alphabetical order. Tough. You want a dictionary, or a blog page? I'll probably add to this list periodically. Or not. Whichever I find funnier. What the hell does a cheeseburger have to do with building a stage or scaffold? Tune in tomorrow! (hint; it ain't food...)
3 comments:
Scott,
Well, I checked out your blog to offer my support for your creative endeavors. Of course, you do know that I don't know beans about concerts and generally view backstage stuff as the part of the sausage factory you probably don't want to ever see. Maybe I've helped set up too many trade show exhibits, a task that I eventually learned to avoid by artfully scheduling myself somewhere else while the work was being done. I assume that concert set-up is similar, but with fewer surly teamsters to insist on carrying your computer for you.
Keep up with this. It's surely only going to be another day or so before your talents are discovered, and you're offered a chance to join the Writers' Strike... :-)
Scott
An addition for your Back Line list - When Phish opened for Santana, they played an Electrolux vacumn cleaner. Sounded sort of like a diggery-doo. Way cool.
I remember first hearing Dark side of the Moon, and Wish you were here, over the PA system, while constructing a stage in pre-Carrington hall. This week, I met Richard Hamilton, who spent some time touring with Pink Floyd, and then found your blog, both harkening back to the 'old days'. It's an enormously small world. :-)
-Z-
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