- Feb 17, 2009
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Rick Pierpont and John Willcoxon's main focus are the guitarists at the festival. Technical issues for a musician can easily make or break a performance, so tech support is something we certainly don't take lightly. Rick and John work extremely well under pressure and are excellent problem solvers when issues arise. We couldn't do it without them!
Some examples of their duties:
Assist crew with load-in and load-out of gear
Reposition/configure cabinets (after each set!)
Setup amp and cabling
Setup any outboard gear the artists bring with them
Dialing in sounds
Taping down cables and pedals
Tune, setup, clean, and occasionally repair guitars
Setup cords and outlets - both US & Euro power
Assist reconfiguring the stage
Add/remove risers
Prepare additional or spare instruments
Both guys ensure we have loaner guitars available, if needed. These must be tuned and setup so they're on hand in an emergency. We've had a couple of nice Les Pauls recently, but Rick states that he has brought a few of his personal favorites from home to use as loaners. Last year, Christian Vidal from Therion used it for one of their songs that required a different tuning and Ihsahn also had it as a backup. This year, Marcus Siepen of Sinbreed had it as a backup just in case he broke a string - which actually happened! He used it for one song and Rick had a new string on his guitar by the time that song was over and Marcus was able to finish with his.
What time does your day start/end?
"We are usually at the venue around 9am and our day ends between 2am - 3am. Saturday nights can be a bit later, as we have to inventory gear, pack, and load-out the backline."
Best memory?
John: "SO many great memories, onstage & off. Being part of the PPUSA family, and contributing however I can to the cause. Getting to work with such a great crew and kickass bands. Great seats. Great food. And hazing Harris The Epic
"
Rick: "I do have tons of great memories and fully agree with JayDub about the working with such a great organization that truly is like family. My favorite memory is Ed Platt's (Enchant - one of my favorite bands) foot controlled keyboard that was dead at sound check. I figured out what chip was dead so Mike Clark took me to Radio Shack to buy a new part and I was able to fix it in time for their show. Ed was VERY grateful and it felt great to help one of my favorite bands put on the show as they intended."
Worst memory?
John: "Long hours + aging body. Seriously, If we didn’t love what we do, we wouldn’t be doing it."
Rick: "I tend to push the bad memories out, but there was one particular changeover where we had a band that insisted that we use their mess of a setup when in reality it way over-complicated things."
THANK YOU BOTH for all of your hard work and dedication!
Rick's photos:
John's photos:
~Jen
Some examples of their duties:
Assist crew with load-in and load-out of gear
Reposition/configure cabinets (after each set!)
Setup amp and cabling
Setup any outboard gear the artists bring with them
Dialing in sounds
Taping down cables and pedals
Tune, setup, clean, and occasionally repair guitars
Setup cords and outlets - both US & Euro power
Assist reconfiguring the stage
Add/remove risers
Prepare additional or spare instruments
Both guys ensure we have loaner guitars available, if needed. These must be tuned and setup so they're on hand in an emergency. We've had a couple of nice Les Pauls recently, but Rick states that he has brought a few of his personal favorites from home to use as loaners. Last year, Christian Vidal from Therion used it for one of their songs that required a different tuning and Ihsahn also had it as a backup. This year, Marcus Siepen of Sinbreed had it as a backup just in case he broke a string - which actually happened! He used it for one song and Rick had a new string on his guitar by the time that song was over and Marcus was able to finish with his.
What time does your day start/end?
"We are usually at the venue around 9am and our day ends between 2am - 3am. Saturday nights can be a bit later, as we have to inventory gear, pack, and load-out the backline."
Best memory?
John: "SO many great memories, onstage & off. Being part of the PPUSA family, and contributing however I can to the cause. Getting to work with such a great crew and kickass bands. Great seats. Great food. And hazing Harris The Epic
"Rick: "I do have tons of great memories and fully agree with JayDub about the working with such a great organization that truly is like family. My favorite memory is Ed Platt's (Enchant - one of my favorite bands) foot controlled keyboard that was dead at sound check. I figured out what chip was dead so Mike Clark took me to Radio Shack to buy a new part and I was able to fix it in time for their show. Ed was VERY grateful and it felt great to help one of my favorite bands put on the show as they intended."
Worst memory?
John: "Long hours + aging body. Seriously, If we didn’t love what we do, we wouldn’t be doing it."
Rick: "I tend to push the bad memories out, but there was one particular changeover where we had a band that insisted that we use their mess of a setup when in reality it way over-complicated things."
THANK YOU BOTH for all of your hard work and dedication!
Rick's photos:
John's photos:
~Jen
