Always looking for the cheapest way out

[anne]

I have to warn this may sound like a little rant.

My heart and prayers are going out right now to those hurt and killed in the stage collapse in Indiana yesterday.

As you know, I spent a good amount of my years doing staging, lighting and sound in regional, national, and international shows, with well over 1000 shows under my belt as a tech, in addition to the 6 years prior to that learning the trade.

I want to point something out that has bothered me for a while: in this industry, people keep thinking that stage techs should be free (volunteers), or college kids. While many of them can be (pushing road cases from "a" to "b" etc) there has been an increase in staging incidents in the last few years involving faulty staging and non-professional labor.

All I'm trying to point out is the increase in staging accidents involving this scenario, and I'm putting it out there to anyone who plays regularly to realize that hiring someone who knows what they are doing is well worth the price , especially when there is heavy stuff hanging over your head or electricity all around you.

There is a rule of thumb that Bob (my husband who tours constantly) mentions: if it looks scary, it ain't put together right. And this is true when talking about staging. Using the wrong scaffolding, the wrong clamps on lighting, the wrong gauge electrical runs etc can all cost lives.

I'll be posting more about how cost cutting has changed the way outdoor staging has cheeped out and caused situations like what happened this weekend. Hopefully Bob will chime in too.

Excuse this if it seems like a rant, but this is an issue close to my heart. We talk about the business of music, the legality of copyrights, taxes, sound quality etc, but we don't talk about the people who assist us when we play out. I think its good to discuss these issues, and how we can keep each other safe and sound and playing loud.

[Kelil]

The first I heard of this news Anne. My prayers go out to them also, Lord have mercy.

I dont see it as a rant, but someone who is very concerned about the welfare of musicians, so much so that you went out of your way to ensure that we keep this in mind. Most of us dont even bother to think twice about lighting and looking at the stage because we are so focused on creativity.

Thanks for sharing your post. It will keep me on my guard.

Kelil

[Len911]

According to the governor it was a fluke, and they had 70 mph winds. That's about a category 1 hurricane.

[mojobone]

It was a union stage crew (IATSE) and all hands were experienced professionals, especially the late Nate Byrd who was safety-strapped to the rig when it collapsed. I welcome any opportunity to talk about improving safety standards, but Indiana weather is notoriously fickle, (we like to say if you don't like our weather, wait about a minute) and I think while the investigation is underway, it may be a little early for finger-pointing.

http://www.jimonlight.com/2011/08/15/in ... -now-what/

Not that that ever stopped anybody.

[Casey H]

It's very sad. My heart goes out to all the families affected.

[anne]

Mojobone - I wasn't pointing fingers at that crew or the suppliers by any means. Bob is I.A., as was I.

All I'm saying is that there seems to have been a big increase in the number of stage accidents on big name shows within the last few years, not to mention the huge number of smaller shows with issues.

Even under the best of circumstances, accidents happen. But lately there have been a lot of stage incidents and its frustrating to see the "this will work unless something unexpected happens" attitude of many venues. That's all I'm saying.

[coachdebra]

According to the governor it was a fluke, and they had 70 mph winds. That's about a category 1 hurricane.

For which they had a full 2 hour warning...

I don't think it's the fault of the stage setup (though there may be some scapegoating there). I think the promoters didn't want to lose the vendor sales if they closed early. Just up the road, there was an outdoor classical concert that was cancelled and evacuated - they felt, better safe than sorry. I'm guessing the County Fair folks were working with a different set of values.

It's heart-breaking.

[anne]

Again, in Belgium this time. I understand this is storm related, but when I get the pictures from Bob of the (2 day construction) roofing systems compared to the new truss based systems, you'll see why I find this distressing.
http://www.spinner.com/2011/08/19/pukke ... -collapse/