CTTE Late Night LIVE Prog Experience!

A Message From Your Stage Manager

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          Welcome and thank you for being part of this bold musical adventure. I will be serving as your Stage Manager, overseeing all aspects of performance onstage.  I will also serve as liaison with Rob Rutz and the OTB production team. I am your “Go To” for all questions regarding our Late Night Live Stage!!    We want to make sure this is an unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience; an opportunity to perform your favourite prog tunes with like minded musicians from all four corners of the world and even with some of your prog heroes! 

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          As you’re looking over the Grid, thinking about what to play and who to play with,  keep some things in mind:  By joining a song, you are agreeing to learning your part and being able to play it onstage with other people in the presence of an enthusiastic audience, cheering for YOU!!  Make sure you know your part well and don’t let your band-mates down by being unprepared!! 

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         CTTE Late Night Live follows a standard festival show format.  We are fortunate to have professional engineers, which underlines why we adhere to formal and polite professional stage management protocols at all times. Please read our instructions carefully and stay up to date on our production's notes (Facebook and the www.ctte-grid.com website) so we're able to run an efficient show in February.

We have a modest sized stage with 5 dedicated monitor mixes and a Front Of House Engineer for the entire week.  Onboard, I will be the stage liaison to our sound engineer.  

 

          Our goal is to make sure that all songs that have gone green will get played. Changeovers between songs is going to be quick. 3-5 minutes maximum!  As you’re getting your parts together, reach out to your respective Instrument Tech/Advisor:

* Keyboards: Bob Harris & William Day

* Guitars: Scott Summers

* Bass: Edward Mulhall

* Drums: George Hoffmann

* Vocals: Dennis Mahon    

Make sure you (and they) know what your patches will be and what pedals you’ll need to use. Make sure you communicate with your bandmates about who is covering which part so you can rehearse your parts efficiently.  

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          It is *VERY IMPORTANT* that any and all Featured Artist inquiries need to go through Rob Rutz. He is your artist liaison.  There are no exceptions on this.

     

          Bring only what you need.  We will be having our back-line provided by the OTB folks.  They’ve been really good to us over the years so be good to their gear!!  This is what we had last year and we expect more or less the same.  This is all subject to change/availabilty:

* 2 Blackstar Combo Amps 

* 1 Bass Rig (either GK or Ampeg) 

* 5-piece maple kit (either Yamaha or DW) with cymbal kit 

* Korg Kronos 88, Yamaha S90

 

         Please assume that you will be using the backline gear provided.  Do not assume that you are switching out house gear such as cymbals where OTB’s legal sponsorship contracts may be violated by changing out any instrument or provided pieces on the stage.   If you have questions, please direct them to either me or Rob Rutz in advance of the cruise.    

 

         Stage space is limited (there are a LOT of US!!) so there is NO STORAGE for equipment other than our back-line and our production staff’s equipment (don’t forget we will be there from start to finish every night).  Other people use this space during the day so absolutely nothing can be left behind at the end of the night.   Be prepared to take your stuff back to your cabin after you’ve finished performing.   

 

         If you play guitar or bass and use FX pedals, please only bring what you absolutely need for the songs you’re playing.  3-4 pedals maximum, pre-wired on a small pedal board.   There will be a place where you can tune and check your sounds before you play.  Make sure you have your own cables and that all connections work before you hit the stage.   

 

         If you play keyboards, please be sure your keyboard tech/advisor knows what patches you’ll need.  A deadline will be provided to you for patches and sounds.  If you do not adhere to this deadline, you are letting others down on both the song you’re playing and the volunteer tech advisors who are offering to help you.  Remember that are all passengers going on an amazing cruise, planning on having a really good time!!   Please be mindful of deadlines and aim to get your requests and sound-related questions and deliverables prior to any deadline.  

 

         If you’re a drummer, please check in and coordinate with your drum group. Think about sharing kick pedals, specialty sounds and such.  Please keep me apprised who is sharing what, so we can be aware of this during changeovers.

 

         All our Tech/Advisors have dedicated discussion groups. Please join them!!

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        To recap:  Being prepared, bringing only what you need, coordinating with your bandmates and your tech advisors will make everything go as smoothly as can be!   If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me any time.   If I don’t have the answer, I will point you to someone who does.   

 

        Just remember that we are all in this together on a rare journey  To our knowledge, this is the largest professional-amateur showcase of live Prog music in the world.  It’s a marathon, really, with 3.5 hours of performed music each night for five straight days, with less than five minutes in between every song.  We will succeed because we are all working together to make this the best showcase on the high seas!!  There will be more details and discussion as we get closer to our sail date!!  

 

       Watch this space as well as The Grid Facebook Page for up to date info as we get it!!

Looking forward to seeing and hearing all of you!!   

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Joel Simches

Your Late Night Stage Manager

#itsyourshow