ProgPower USA Organizer Talks Past, Present And Future
Posted on Friday, October 01, 2010 at 09:18:43 EST
by Mark Gromen
"Bands cancelling, schedule busting delays (some as long as an hour between bands), Nocturnal Rites being “denied” an encore due to lack of communication, ProgPower USA 2010 was a blip on the previously spotless resume of organizer Glenn Harveston. Now that the dust, agida and hair pulling has passed, the usually mild-mannered Southern talked with BraveWords.com about the history, as well as the future of North America’s premier concert series, including some insights into how the line-ups come together in his mind.
Asked if this was his most trying year, the smooth drawl on the other side of the phone line begins, “From a technical standpoint, yes. We’re going to have to institute more strict policies with regards to the preparation of the bands themselves. As technology advances, more and more things are being added to the backline without us being notified. We almost have to put up a Pro-Tool studio, at times, for some of these bands. Give me the good old days of plug (in) and play! With Nocturnal Rites, they didn’t bring anyone with them. They had to use my front of house (soundman), monitors and crew. Unfortunately, the band didn’t communicate with the front of house that they’d be doing an encore. So when they finished, since we’d lost so much time from an earlier changeover, he just assumed, ‘We’re moving, let’s try to make up some time’ and flicked the lights on! If Nocturnal Rites had walked back on stage and said, ‘We’re not done yet, fuckers’. I would have let them rip. It was a total (mis)communication accident. I talked to those guys afterwards. I was bummed about it. I bought them a bottle of Jagermeister and told them to enjoy the rest of the weekend.”
Read more at: http://www.bravewords.com/news/147563
Posted on Friday, October 01, 2010 at 09:18:43 EST
by Mark Gromen
"Bands cancelling, schedule busting delays (some as long as an hour between bands), Nocturnal Rites being “denied” an encore due to lack of communication, ProgPower USA 2010 was a blip on the previously spotless resume of organizer Glenn Harveston. Now that the dust, agida and hair pulling has passed, the usually mild-mannered Southern talked with BraveWords.com about the history, as well as the future of North America’s premier concert series, including some insights into how the line-ups come together in his mind.
Asked if this was his most trying year, the smooth drawl on the other side of the phone line begins, “From a technical standpoint, yes. We’re going to have to institute more strict policies with regards to the preparation of the bands themselves. As technology advances, more and more things are being added to the backline without us being notified. We almost have to put up a Pro-Tool studio, at times, for some of these bands. Give me the good old days of plug (in) and play! With Nocturnal Rites, they didn’t bring anyone with them. They had to use my front of house (soundman), monitors and crew. Unfortunately, the band didn’t communicate with the front of house that they’d be doing an encore. So when they finished, since we’d lost so much time from an earlier changeover, he just assumed, ‘We’re moving, let’s try to make up some time’ and flicked the lights on! If Nocturnal Rites had walked back on stage and said, ‘We’re not done yet, fuckers’. I would have let them rip. It was a total (mis)communication accident. I talked to those guys afterwards. I was bummed about it. I bought them a bottle of Jagermeister and told them to enjoy the rest of the weekend.”
Read more at: http://www.bravewords.com/news/147563
