Seeing his group struggle with audio problems from poor sonic quality and limited input channels prompted the Disco Biscuits long-time Production Manager/FOH Engineer Patrick Hutchinson to seek a better solution. Investigating all the digital options—with help and guidance from Eric Satre of the Colorado-based Dowlen Sound—led him to his first DiGiCo experience, and specifically to a pair of SD8s to handle the Philadelphia-based electronica-jam band’s FOH and monitoring requirements. Time saving, space saving, sonic quality and the feature set available with the SD8s made Hutchinson’s choice a sound one, not only from a technical perspective, but also from a creative one, to boot. more

L to R: System Tech Jordan Zur and FOH Engineer Garry Brown. Photo by Dave Vann @ www.davevann.com.

After a five-year hiatus, the long-running quartet Phish reformed earlier this year, culminating in a new release (“Joy”) and subsequent 27-date national tour including headline spots at the Bonnaroo Music Festival and a four-night run at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver. They’ve also announced a 3-day Halloween weekend festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California. Billed as “Festival 8,” the band will revive two of its most storied traditions: blending a weekend-long campout with its once-regular Halloween gig. more

World-renowned for their accurate, full-range sound, Blue Sky is pleased to introduce its newest critical listening component to its full line of monitoring solutions: the SAT 265 High Output Near-Field Active Studio monitor. Blue Sky’s fresh approach to studio monitor design delivers the highest possible ratio of performance to cost, in turn providing the highest value to our customers. MSRP: $1500.00 (USD) more

Thirty-plus years after the release of Mel Brooks’ celluloid comedy “The Producers”, the zany musical has enjoyed a renaissance, thanks in part to a wildly successful Broadway adaptation in 2001 and subsequent film version in 2005. The original show—starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick—ran for over 2500 performances, won a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards, and also spawned a plethora of international tours and productions. In July, the New Bedford Festival Theatre staged a two-week run of the musical at the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, featuring original costumes and sets from the Broadway performance. Jason Choquette, on vacation from his main gig as touring sound engineer for the “Phantom of the Opera”, designed the production’s sound system with a DiGiCo SD8 at its core following a chance meeting with DiGiCo’s U.S. Sales Manager, Matt Larson. more

Some of the hottest dancers in show business came together at New York’s world-famous Roseland Ballroom in June for “Broadway Bares”, a one-night sold-out extravaganza, which married the naughtiness of burlesque with the dazzle of Broadway. Originally conceived by Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, the event has raised over 5.5 million dollars for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS—the nation’s leading non-profit AIDS fundraising organization—since its inception in 1992. This year’s benefit was no exception, raising over $800,000 dollars. The event’s long-time production ally, Acme Sound Partners, secured the DiGiCo SD7 from Lew Mead of Autograph A2D, who donated the console for the event.

“We were early-adopters of the D5T,” said Nevin Steinberg of Acme Sound Partners. “After having a few introductory demonstrations of the SD7 hardware over the past year, we had been looking for an opportunity to use the new console in a show more

Engineer Howard Jones established Nashville’s Digital Console Rental, Inc. in 2004—armed with 20+ years of touring expertise and the newly launched DiGiCo D5. In a few short years, DCR has gone on to become a thriving ‘dry hire’ digital console rental house, offering product for high level touring artists, sound reinforcement companies and corporate events. It recently added the new DiGiCo SD8 to its rental inventory.

“When we got started, being a new company, we wanted to come in with the hottest new piece of gear on the market,” recalled Jones, “and the DiGiCo D5 was the new badass console on the block. Although 2004 was not that long ago, the only viable large frame digital desk at the time was the Yamaha PM1D, but it had been out for 3-4 years. The D5 epitomized what the whole digital desk concept was about. We established the more

The Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center is located within the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis and houses the 1,625-seat Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall. Showcasing theatre, musicals, opera, classical music, dance, popular entertainers from Jazz to World music, as well as University arts, music and dance events, it is the only performance space of its size in St. Louis. more

Tool announced dates for a summer tour that will take the Grammy-award winning band through cities in the U.S. and Canada—including headlining appearances at All Points West and Lollapalooza festivals. 8th Day Sound staff engineer, has worked with the band since 2006’s “10,000 Days” tour, first as a systems tech and later as their monitor engineer. Although he’s worked with numerous DiGiCo desks previously, this is his first outing with a DiGiCo SD8. more

Group One Ltd., U.S. distributors of the XTA and MC2 product lines, is pleased to announce the appointment of Quest Marketing and AVA Audio Video Associates, Inc. to its distribution team.

Under the direction of President John Saviano, Quest will handle sales and growth objectives throughout the Florida and Southeastern U.S. region. Quest Marketing was formed in 1996 by Saviano and specializes in partnerships with professional pro audio, video and musical instrument and accessories companies. As a rep firm, they have received numerous ‘Rep of the Year’ awards from many of their manufacturers. more

The Juilliard School is an internationally renowned performing arts conservatory located at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. In 2008, the school identified a number of areas to be built or renovated as part of a redevelopment project. One of those newly created spaces included the Rosemary and Meredith Willson Theater, a multi-use performance and event space. A DiGiCo D5T will serve as the central hub of the control room, connecting the theater with the Music Technology Program’s new recording room. more