The feverish pressure-cooker atmosphere of a City Dealing Room
… the lightning response time of a tiger … a wicked
sense of humour (bordering on psychotic), combined with the soul
of discretion in which the Word is often … Mum! These attributes
should be on the job description of any JHL employee. And they need
to be able to recite the words of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
(Ain’t No Mountain High Enough) and Queen (The Show Must Go
On) like a mantra.
Rehearsal
Studios
The studios continue to enjoy full occupancy, with just about all
genres of music pumping out during May. Since the last news letter
the following bands have been through the front door, taking full
advantage of all our services……
One Night Only (for TV promo)
Howling Bells (prior to recording new album)
Feeder (UK tour);
Courtney Pine’s Jazz Warriors (for album
launch at Ronnie Scotts)
Mark Ronson (UK tour)
Santogold (for Later … TV appearance)
Von Bizmark (showcase)
Natty (Promo tour)
Richard Thompson (UK tour)
RD Crusaders (Richard Desmond’s All Stars
Teenage Cancer Trust concert, with Roger Daltrey, Lulu, Peter Andre
etc)
Gang of Four (Australia tour)
One Republic (UK tour and TV promos)
Sharleen Spiteri (for Later … TV appearance)
The Zutons (Radio One Big Weekend);
Sparks (21-night residency at Carling Academy,
Islington)
Prodigy (Festivals)
Level 42 featuring legendary drummer Billy Cobham
(Hague Jazz Festival)
Zebrahead (Tour)
McFly (back in the UK after several months in Australia
to write new album)
Andy Burrows (Razorlight) (charity show for Naomi
House Children’s Hospice) not forgetting….Beverley
Knight; The Divine Comedy; Tony Hadley; Calvin Harris; Russell Watson
and My Bloody Valentine’s marathon stint
continues.
For one night only Rock Legend “SLASH”
paid us a visit to try out some new licks and reminded us
that he mentioned JHL in his autobiography…(see page
184) which brought back great memories for us all….it
reads…..
”WE REHEARSED AT JOHN HENRY’S a famous studio
where everybody who is anybody has done the same. It’s
the equivalent of S.I.R. in LA., but with a English sensibility-it’s
just a bit more “proper”. It was very cool, because
lining the hallways were road cases that said MOTORHEAD, IRON
MAIDEN and THIN LIZZY. The place had a amazing vibe………”
….and still has. |
And as we enter June, we welcome back Russell Watson, Level 42
and Mark Ronson, along with Billy Ocean, Robyn, Madness, Feeder,
Nik Kershaw, Michael Ball … and (you guessed it) My Bloody
Valentine are still in residence.
Backline
 Few
are nearer the nerve centre of the touring industry than Backline
Rental Manager Tark Bates, who revels in the laws of uncertainty
and improbability on which our touring industry is founded.
Take the call he took from Zebrahead, who are
signed to the same management as Motorhead, on a recent Friday morning
late in the month. Tark listened in astonishment as he was told
that the drummer had fractured his leg (or some other body part
… Tark can’t quite remember) and was told a replacement
needed to be found fast. He assumed the caller was referring to
a complete stand-in drummer (rather than just a prosthetic limb)
and zipped into action. “We arranged full backline and a day’s
rehearsal space in our studios the following day to bring the stand-in
drummer up to speed,” he says. The tour was due to start 24
hours later. Result…. one happy customer and a tour that had
looked in jeopardy went ahead.
The Backline dept also sent a truck load of backline to Birmingham
(Carling Academy) for Dio on the 27th and London
Astoria (28th), while we had to muster up a last minute backline
for Lionel Richie and The Overtures
to be delivered to Lake Windermere in Cumbria on the 24th for a
corporate gig on the 25th (since the specified equipment could not
be sourced locally or north of the border).
To get an idea of the heavy traffic experienced in Brewery Road
(fortunately we operate a Congestion Charge Free Zone at JHL) here
is a snapshot of the activity over 12 days in May where backline,
techs, transport, rehearsals and staging were supplied.
12th May –
GMTV - Minnie Driver - backline; Paul O'Grady
Show - Lenny Kravitz - backline; Later with Jools
– Nick Cave, Chatham County Line, The Raconteurs, Glasvegas
– monitor systems & backline; The Wall
– Black Lips – monitor system;
13th May –
This Morning – Lenny Kravitz – backline
and full monitoring system, One Republic – backline; Graham
Norton Show - One Republic – backline; Later
with Jools – as above
May 14th -
Paul O'Grady Show - Sheryl Crow – backline,
Josh Groban –backline
4 Music Nick Cave at LSO St Lukes – complete
sound and staging
May 15th –
Jonathan Ross – Neil Diamond – floor
sound & piano; An Audience with Neil Diamond
– perspex screens, music stands and transformers,
May 16th –
This Morning - Sheryl Crow - backline and monitor
system; GMTV- A.J.McLean – backline; Paul
O’Grady Show - Duffy - backline
May 17th –
Nokia Green Room – backlines for Jamie Lidell,
The Subways, Feeder and Gabriella Cilmi; I’d do Anything
– backline & C2LS piano for house band
May 19th
This Morning - Sandi Thom – backline; Sound
– Duffy, Alphabeat, Zutons,Taio Cruz, Late of the Pier, Fratellis,
Mystery Jets - monitor system and backlines; Later
– Tricky, Paul Weller, Martha Wainwright, Jimmy Cliff, White
Lines – monitor systems and some backlines; The Wall
– Black Kids – monitor system
May 20th
Paul O'Grady Show – I’d do Anything
cast – backline; Later – as above;
May 21st
Paul O'Grady Show – 500th Show – backline;
Q-Music – Elbow – full PA and staging
May 23rd
This Morning - Beth Rowley – backline; GMTV
- The Zutons - backline
During the month we also kept the Jazz
Cafe in Camden Town London supplied with backline for
a host of artists including legends such as…..
Stanley Clarke, Roy Ayers and Milton Nascimento, The Skatalites,
Blind Boys of Alabama, Fertile Ground, Vieux Farka Touré,
The Blackbyrds, Jose James, Stevie Wonder Tribute, Gregory Isaacs
and Luisito Quintero.
We also supplied backline (equipment and crew) for Africa
Day at Trafalgar Square and Whitney Houston's charity
performance at the Cauldwell
Children Legends Ball, Battersea Evolution arena (May 8).
New
Rental Stock … and who used what………..
New equipment to meet Rental demand and requirements…..
Backline Department:
Korg
Radias Bundle keyboard (Usher)
Clavia
Nord C1 keyboard (Figurines)
Clavia
Nord Lead Stage 88 note piano (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
Fender
Pro Junior 15w 1 x 10 combo (Rooney)
Fender
Blues Junior 15w 1 x 12 combo (Duffy)
Fender
Super-Sonic 112 Combo (Matchbox 20)
Gallien-Krueger
410 & 115 RBH bass cabinets (Mary J Blige)
Hofner
500/1 v65 bass (Gnarls Barkley)
Kurzweil
PC2X keyboard (Various)
Vic Firth
Stereo Isolation Drummer Headphones (Estelle)
Vox AC15CC1X custom
combo (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
Vox AC30CC2X 2 x 12
Custom Classic combo (One Republic)
Yamaha
HS80M studio monitors (Whitney Houston)
Yamaha
CGP-1000 Digital Grand Piano (Osmonds)
Audio
Department
EAW SB730 sub
bass cabinets (The Hospital)
Rane Serato Scratch
Live USB Interface (Santogold)
Sennheiser
EW 300 IEM systems (Various)
Shure
KSM9/SL mic and UR4D-R9, UR1-R9, UR2-B5 dual channel radios (Various)
Audio Activities:
We continued to supply monitor systems for BBC TV’s
Later……. , Sound,
The Wall and the Jonathan Ross Show.
In addition we supplied monitor systems for both T4 Special
shows with Usher and the Fratellis,
as well as Live from Abbey Road with Matchbox
Twenty and the Fratellis. Showcases included
Jason Mraz at the Royal Opera House, Elbow
for Q Magazine at the Hospital, Sam Sparro plus
support at the Proud Galleries. The Zavvi Megastore
was supplied with a full PA system based around a small KF730 line-array
system for a number of different artists performing in the store
and Usher’s people liked our monitor system
so much at T4 that we were asked to provide it
(and a complete backline ) for his rehearsal and show at Indig02.
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