USA - Bandit Lites spent 2011 with two bands "destined to be major stars in the near future".

Knoxville based 10 Years worked with Bandit business development officer Brent Barrett for all their illumination needs throughout the year. Tour manager Michael Mahar and stage manager Noah Beachy, along with lighting designer Shawn Hammer used a variety of GRN Battens and Washes along with Atomic Strobes and Martin Hazers to produce compact but highly effective shows along the way this year. The venues varied in size and the packages had to fit the many different needs. Plans are being made now for an even bigger 2012 assault.

Barrett also worked with Big Gigantic in 2011. Tour manger Kyle Nelson and lighting designer Colin McQuilkin worked with Bandit to provide VL 2500's, GRN Battens, DF 50's and Hog 2 console and cable packages. Big Gigantic has slowly climbed in the bu

Richard Martin Lighting (RML) is supporting lighting designer Chris Kempton on the new series, of That's Britainfilmed at the BBC TV Centre.

The warm-hearted show, presented by Nick Knowles and Julia Bradbury, aired on BBC1, discusses the good, the bad and the ugly in modern Britain.

The small yet effective lighting rig comprises of Alpha Wash 300's and Batten 50 kits.

(Jim Evans)

Austria - Rental company Light and Sound has deployed an L-Acoustics Kiva WST line source system at the annual ORF-Tirol Oktoberfest at the Herbstmesse in Innsbruck.

With more than 20 leading acts and attendant sound engineers over five days, as well as daily live broadcasts, high demands are placed on the event's PA system. Light and Sound made good use of L-Acoustics' Soundvision 3D acoustic simulation program to create a Kiva/Kilo system that guaranteed optimal sound and speech intelligibility at every listening position.

The main system consisted of five Kiva cabinets and two Kilo low frequency extensions for left and right hangs, with six Kivas and two Kilos for out-fill. 12XT and 8XT coaxial speakers were placed on stage and used for in-fill and out-fill, with eight SB18 under the stage providing sub bass. The system was powered by six LA8 amplified controllers in LA-RAK

UK - Rental company Colour Sound Experiment (CSE) supplied lighting, lasers and LED screens for the two day Bass Culture / Together Winter Music Festival at London's Alexandra Palace venue, which culminated with the EPIC Eric Prydz in Concert perfomance

Also on the weekend bill were some of the leading names in techno, trance, electro and drum 'n' bass including Pete Tong, John Digweed, Simian Mobile Disco, while Friday night's Bass Culture was equally headlined by Chase & Status. Three other Halls at Ali Pali were in action for the two completely sold out all-nighters produced by the Lock 'n Load Events team.

Colour Sound is a regular supplier to their events, and Haydn Cruickshank comments, "It was great to be involved in this fresh new event which united a lot of familiar faces on the production team. The main challenge was the complete turnaround in the Great Hall acr

Portugal - The Embassy Beach Club in Portugal's Algarve region is owned by Iron Maiden bass player Steve Harris, and recently underwent a full Peavey installation comprising a number of loudspeakers, amplifiers and a processing and control system.

The installation was completed by Ian Dunn, who also did the install for Embassy London in Mayfair, and the new Peavey system comprises 22 speakers laid out in five zones covering the club's bar, stage and DJ areas. There are three Impulse 1012 whites, two Versarray 118s, 13 SSE26 whites, and four SSE12Ms; and thirteen Versamount 35 whites and three Versamount 70 whites are used to suspend the loudspeakers.

The club also boasts a 16-channel Peavey 16FX mixing console and an Audiolink 20 pair 100' multi-core, a QF 215 15-band graphic equaliser, and a Digitool MX fully programmable audio processing and control system, along with a numb

Indonesia - The Midas PRO2 and PRO2C live audio systems were given their first Asian unveiling during the JAPEX Exhibition in Jakarta in November. Midas' Indonesian distributor, PT Gracia Auvindo, together with Midas' David Cooper, demonstrated the new consoles on their booth.

"We are very proud to be the first to show the amazing PRO2 in Asia," says Thomsen Phan, managing director, PT Gracia Auvindo. "With the unbeatable sound quality of an XL8, an extremely easy to use control surface, very stable architecture and the networking capability of larger Midas digital consoles - all at a remarkable price - the PRO2 is set to change the Indonesian pro audio market."

"It's an honour for me to help Thomsen and his team launch PRO2 to the Indonesian market," says Cooper. "The response has been phenomenal and all is set for PRO2 to become the best se

Russia - In early September, when Moscow celebrates its birthday, the traditional International Military Music Festival, Spasskaya Tower takes place on Red Square. This year the event was punctuated by an honorary salute of Martin dynamic colour.

The grand event is a parade featuring the Russian State Honuor Guard, as well as leading Russian and foreign military music bands, an important intercultural event that attracts a huge TV and Internet audience. Among the musical military units participating in 2011 were bands from Great Britain, China, Jordan, Norway, Pakistan and Mexico among other countries.

Two leading Russian rental companies were engaged to light the festival, Lightmaster and Pro Light Service, each of whom supplied a cadre of Martin fixtures. Two lighting designers were employed as well - one from each company. Representing Lightmaster was William Hamadac

The Government's just-published National Plan for Music Education sets out a number of guidelines for taking music education forward to 2015 and one of its key themes is 'hub-based' learning.

This may be a new concept to some, but it has already been in use, with great success, for over 18 months thanks to the pioneering work of Dan Jones of The Mix Music Education. Former UK Music Teacher of the Year Jones set up Mix Music in 2010, recently he teamed up with Ministry of Sound to makes sure that London's schools are getting the most out of music.

The Ministry of Sound brand is probably better known to most as the home of dance music rather than as an educator, but it has teamed up with Jones for a joint installation, just down the road from its London base, at St James' primary school in Bermondsey.

''Our intention has always been to help educators fully engage their students,'' sa

UK - After being an integral part of four highly successful outdoor shows by teen heart-throbs JLS in 2010, AP Security was asked back by promoter Dave Suter of Beat Up Music to lend the company's expertise to five more major shows in 2011.

Proving that contestants on TV's The X Factor don't need to win the show to have a successful career, the popular Jack the Lad Swing foursome followed last year's gigs by playing major shows at three football grounds - Hull KC Stadium, MK Dons Stadium and Carrow Road, the home of Norwich City - plus Lydiard Park in Swindon and the Matterley Bowl, near Winchester.

Manning the backstage and pit areas, AP's staff also passed on their knowledge and experience gained from the 2010 shows to the management at each venue.

"We worked closely with the clubs' stewards and stadium management, who are much more used to football crowds than

USA - Once again this holiday season, El Paso is lighting up with a colossal synchronised Christmas light show that features products from Elation Professional. But this year, thanks to a new and extra bright addition to the lighting extravaganza - Elation's Platinum Beam 5R - the city of El Paso actually required 'search light' permits.

The block-long display at the home of Fred Loya, has become a holiday tradition in the west Texas town, with over 4,000 people gathering each weekend during the month of December to enjoy the lights of the massive Christmas show as they flash, chase and change colours in synchronisation to popular songs of the season.

This year's display is bigger and better than ever, featuring 12 Platinum Beam 5Rs, an extreme ACL beam effect powered by the new Philips MSD Platinum 5R lamp that blasts out the tight, narrow focus and ultra-brightness of a clas

Canada - W-DMX by Wireless Solution was one of the players at the 99th Grey Cup, the prestigious Canadian football game between the East Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the West Division champion BC Lions to decide the champion of the Canadian Football League in the 2011 season. The game was held on Sunday, 27 November at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver in front of a live audience of 54,313.

The Pepsi Max Halftime Show was performed by the Vancouver-based rock band Nickleback, playing songs off their albums All The Right Reasons, Dark Horse, and Here and Now. The halftime show was produced by Patrick Roberge of Patrick Roberge Productions, alongside production designer Robert Sondergaard and TV lighting director Jason McKinnon of Electric Aura. System engineer was Jason Bolger and production electricians were Charles Arrata, Corey Proulx, an

UK - Long-running BBC TV sports quiz A Question of Sport set off on its second UK tour during November with a full quota of DPA's new d:fine single ear headset mics. The show's audio provider, RG Jones Sound Engineering, purchased the mics from UK distributor Sound Network especially for the tour.

"We bought the d:fine mics essentially because of the ease of fitting them," explains RG Jones' Owen Relfe, who was on radio mic duties for the tour. "We have eight people per show to fit within a 15 minute window, and they're all athletes and sports stars who don't like standing still. They've all noticed the new mics, and we've had some great comments from them.

"They especially like the rubberized ear fitting, which allows them to put them on and forget about them. If they can't feel the mics, they tend to fiddle with them less, and this reduces the self

UK - Adlib supplied a full technical production package of sound, lighting, AV, staging and crew for the recent John Barrowman tour.

It's the fourth JB tour that Adlib has supplied. Having the resources and flexibility to offer all the technical elements in a single source operation enabled a very cost-efficient package to be tailored to the client for the successful six weeks of sold out shows around the UK.

FOH engineer Walter Jaquiss once again specified a Coda Audio LA12 system, following its performance on the last tour. Systems tech Kenny Perrin explains that their standard configuration was 12 x LA12 cabinets per-side with a variable amount of LA8 down-fills.

For subs, they used two sensor controlled Coda SCPs per side for the standard set up, boosted to four columns of two SCPs along the front of the stage for the arenas. The in-fills were normally four LA8 speakers.

UK - After its successful debut last year, Brighton's Royal Pavilion Real Ice Rink and Restaurant is back. Once again Brighton-based lighting design and hire company, TSL lit the rink, café bar and skate hire tents.

Lighting designer and managing director of TSL, Sam Tamplin, chose to use the Philips Selecon range of conventional luminaires to deliver a festive atmosphere to this historic setting.

Viewed by many as the most romantic and beautiful backdrop for an ice rink in the country, Brighton Pavilion is evocatively lit with 'arctic' blues and deep 'ice' greens complemented by tinges of 'sunset' lilac and pink. In contrast, the 'après ice bar's comfortable leather Chesterfields and rustic seating arrangements are lit in 'candle- light' open white and 'fire ember' reds and ambers.

Tamplin is using a combination of Rama and Acclaim luminaires to create the intimate

UK - Manchester- based lighting rental company dbn is again supplying lighting and LED screen to The Warehouse Project (WHP) which is in its last season at the Store Street Car Park below Piccadilly Station in the city centre, before moving to a new location.

It's the fifth year that dbn has supplied lighting, visuals equipment and design services to WHP, which operates every Friday and Saturday night from the start of the new university terms in late September to New Years Day, and this year, it is being managed for dbn by Chris Phillips.

Three trusses are installed over the stage in the main room to facilitate lighting positions, together with four more trusses over the audience/dancefloor. The space is arched with a decent nearly 7m height in the centre, dropping to around 5m at the edges, so the trusses are placed to maximise and accentuate the shape of the room.

The eve

UK - 2012 marks a significant anniversary for DiGiCo, as it celebrates 10 years since the arrival of its ground breaking D5 Live. Over that time, the company has expanded its product line and launched the revolutionary Stealth Digital Processing FPGA audio engine, found in all SD series consoles.

As DiGiCo has grown, it has expanded its facilities and team to become a leading live sound console manufacturer. The move to partner with ISIS, combined with Matrix, secures an enviable position for the company and its future, it says.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for DiGiCo to build further on the achievements of the last five years," says James Gordon, DiGiCo CEO. "The company has expanded rapidly in a short space of time and the timing is perfect to add some new investment and experience to the team. ISIS's historical knowledge of our niche industry is going to

UK - Lighting and visuals rental company HSL supplied lighting equipment, LED video screens and crew to the recent UK leg of the Chase & Status No More Idols tour, where Neil Carson's high energy lighting was much appreciated.

Carson has worked for Chase & Status for the last two years. The band shares the same management team as Pendulum, another artist to whom HSL provides lighting.

However, this is the first time Carson has used HSL to supply both lighting and video - a process likely to happen increasing frequently following a recent major investment in Martin EC10 and EC20 LED screen product. "It makes things very straightforward dealing with one source for all these elements," says Carson.

The Chase & Status project was managed for HSL by Mike Oates, who says: "We always enjoy working with Neil. He has great imagination and flare and the Chase & S

UK - Apollo Cinemas and Dolby Laboratories have announced that they completed a project to upgrade the audio experience for cinema goers at all of its screens throughout the UK.

The 22-month programme concluded with the upgrade of the Apollo Cinema in Rhyl, where the installation of the latest 7.1 Dolby digital sound processors marked the conversion of all 83 of Apollo's cinemas screens at 14 locations in England and Wales.

"Quality surround sound is absolutely critical to the overall experience of enjoying a film," says Rob Arthur, managing director, Apollo Cinemas, "so we wanted to be able to offer our customers the very best with the quality and flexibility of the new Dolby digital cinema processors.

"We have been delighted with the results. The improvement in sound quality is really noticeable and we feel this, as part of our conversion to all-digital

UK Indie folk rockers Bombay Bicycle Club are currently touring their latest album, A Different Kind Of Fix throughout the UK. So far the tour has been a great success, playing to sold-out venues nationwide, including the Brixton Academy. The band's monitor engineer, Dan Hermouet, was delighted to be trying out some SMX15 stage monitors from APG for the tour.

"I was specifically looking for a wedge monitor that would work with our in-ear monitors," explained Hermouet. "The band enjoys using their in-ears but we all agreed that it would be great if we could find something to supplement the IEMs so that they could benefit from the physical sensations on stage that you only get with a wedge monitor."

Hermouet took three pairs of APG SMX15 on tour; one for each guitarist on stage and one as a listener. "I had several occasions to compare the SMX15s

China - Belgian manufacturer Apex Audio has moved its distribution in China to Rightway Audio Consultants. "When we established Rightway, our aim was to offer advanced audio products to boost the level of product sales, engineering and systems integration of technologies into the Chinese market," explains Monica Au, marketing and communications executive at Rightway. "Our first priority has always been the quality of the brands we work with. We distribute a variety of top brands under an exclusive basis, which fully satisfies the needs of the audio professionals.

"The demand for audio equipment, especially at a professional level, is expanding due to the cultural development of the audio industry in Mainland China. To meet the various demands of our customers, we need to provide equipment with advanced technology.

"Apex is a professional audio manufact

Belgium - Barco has appointed AED Display as official distributor of its projection and image processing products in the Benelux market. Through the partnership, which becomes effective on 1 January, resellers, system integrators and mid-sized rental companies will have easier access to Barco's products and support services. The agreement fits neatly into Barco's new strategy to increasingly rely on trusted channel partners for the distribution, installation and support of its products, in all markets, in order to raise customer service levels, says the company.

Over the past few months, Barco has significantly expanded its network of distribution partners. Instead of selling, installing and supporting its products itself, the company relies on its trusted channel partners to ensure the availability, delivery and pre- and post-sales support for its wide range of high-quality pr

UK - Nick Gray of Renegade has blended "cool, contemporary and classic" in a massive lighting and set design for Kasabian's Velociraptor! world tour, which is currently playing UK arenas, with a large, no-compromise, full-on rock aesthetic to the delight of fans.

Gray is known as one of the most innovative 'new generation' UK visual designers whose work is intelligent and original. On this he collaborated closely on the stage look with the band's creative director Aitor Throup, who also designs the stage clothes through to the merchandise on sale, ensuring a creative - but flexible - coherence.

The stage design is highly architectural. Upstage is a massive ellipsoidal shaped LED dome, which is made up of nearly 100sq.m of BT-12, a 12mm LED screen product which has been custom manufactured for suppliers Colour Sound Experiment.

In front of this is an impressi

UK - Ambersphere Solutions is hosting a festive office-warming celebration at its brand new premises in Park Royal - having enjoyed an impressive first three months of business since changing its name from MA Lighting UK, the company reports.

The 'Open-House' will be on Tuesday 20 December from 2-8pm and Glyn, Philip, Chris, David, Caz and Doug would like to welcome you for a glass or two, a mince pie and some festive banter with industry colleagues. Come and meet the new team and see their fabulous new facilities. The Ambersphere team also hints there may be a few exciting new products to tell visitors about . . .

Ambersphere Solutions is located in Park Royal, the heart of West London's lighting industry hub, a stone's throw from the LH2 Production and Rehearsal facility, just off the A40, and close by the public transport links of Acton and Ealing Broadway. There is parking

Country Classic - Julian Fellowes is to write a new musical adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's novel The Wind in the Willows. The Downton Abbey creator will reunite with composer and lyricist duo George Stiles and Anthony Drewe for the project. The trio previously collaborated on Cameron Mackintosh's West End and Broadway production of Mary Poppins. The new show will be created for the West End, although dates and a theatre venue have yet to be announced. Fellowes said. "The Wind in the Willows is one of our greatest classics and as true and entertaining now as it has ever been. I am delighted and tremendously flattered to have been asked to write the book for the new musical."

Parklife - Blur are set to be honoured at next year's Brit Awards for their outstanding contribution to music. It comes 21 years after their debut and 17 years si

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