This past June, concert touring veteran LanceĀ āKCāĀ Jackson celebrated 44 consecutive years in the live entertainment industry. The many artists KC has worked with include Luther Vandross, Boyz II Men, New Kids On The Block, Justin Bieber, and he is currently on the road as Production Stage Manager for Earth, Wind and Fire with SantanaĀ on theĀ Miraculous Supernatural Tour. In this interview that he gave for PLSN (Projection Lights & Staging News) he tells us about his fascinating touring career.
Beginning of June this year, at the NAMM Show in California, Roadies of Color United (ROCU) hosted the Promoting Diversity Within the Industry panel. ROCU have been active in the music industry since 2009. Founded by Lance āK.C.ā Jackson and William āBillā Reeves, this organization continuously promotes diversity and equality for music industry professionals working backstage.
We are regularly publishing interviews and updates around the group Roadies of Color United (R.O.C.U.). An international, professional association which is based in the USA. Today, we are happy to share the news that R.O.C.U. are being recognized on the 2021 Pollstar Impact 50 List as āTranscending Confines.ā Read more here about what Pollstar has to say about R.O.C.U.
Bruce Reiter is a sound engineer who also works as a tour manager and production manager. For the last eleven years he has worked for the Heavy Metal band Five Finger Death Punch. Bruce shares his experiences in an industry he loves with us. He speaks about staying healthy on tour. About the importance of kindness in the music industry. About how we can learn from each other. And about how we have a responsibility to speak up if we see or hear things which are discriminating. Stand up for each other.
Daychia Sledge is a successful audio engineer. She has experience as a recording engineer in the studio, as a live sound engineer, and as a sound engineer for television.Ā As part of an interview series with members of Roadies Of Color United (R. O. C. U.), this story in three parts focuses on Daychia. She tells us about her life and how amazing circumstances, great timing, hard work, grit, focus, and determination aided her in making her dreams come true. This is Part 2 of 3.
David ā5-1ā Norman is an incredibly versatile music industry veteran. Whatever you need done for a tour, he can do it. ā5-1ā as heās affectionately called, is a tour manager, tour director, production manager, and tour accountant. And if necessary, he will do it all at the same time as heās been touring and doing events for over thirty-five years.
Kenneth Williams is a versatile artist and technician. He is a passionate guitarist and song writer. At the same time, Kenneth does live sound reinforcement, broadcasting and recording (Front of House and Monitors). He also takes care of concert tours and venues as a production manager. Kenneth loves what he does and literally blew me away with his inspirational ponderings and his contagious positivity. Not wanting to cut any of his words, this ended up being an interview in two parts. Here is Part 2.
Kenneth Williams is a versatile artist and technician. He is a passionate guitarist and song writer. At the same time, Kenneth does live sound reinforcement, broadcasting and recording (Front of House and Monitors). He also takes care of concert tours and venues as a production manager. Kenneth loves what he does and literally blew me away with his inspirational ponderings and his contagious positivity. Not wanting to cut any of his words, this ended up being an interview in two parts. Here is Part 1.
Bernarr Ferebee is an audio engineer with 27 years of experience working as a Staff Engineer and Systems Engineer as well as in installation. He works for Eighth Day Sound. Since 2008, he has also served as CEO of Behind the Access, LLC doing Artist Management for his son Durand Bernarr.
2020 has been a hard year for many in the entertainment industry. Roadies Of Color United decided to take action for their peers. Inspired after the death of Alan Thompson, a committee set up a fundraiser and managed to collect enough donations to make a meaningful difference in many peopleās lives. Co-Founder Lance Jackson of Roadies Of Color United tells us about the experience.
I donāt think anyone will look back and forget the year of 2020. For Roadies Of Color United or R. O. C. U. Pronounced āRock-Uā Twenty Twenty started out with so much energy and optimism. We began the year finalizing our plans for the 10th anniversary celebration of Our Social Network and Our first Annual Conference. This event will stand out to be one of the most positive memories for many who attended when looking back at 2020.
Around 2009, longtime friends and touring buddies Lance āKCā Jackson and Bill Reeves noticed in the live event trade magazines (including this one and PLSN) that the stories seemed to always be on the same group of people, pretty much all of the same sex and ethnicity. āIf an alien came down and only looked at these two magazines, theyād think no Black people participated in this industry,ā Reeves says bluntly.
The complete shutdown of our industry, coupled with the ever-increasing attention being paid to the state of race relations in this country, spearheaded by the Black Lives Matter movement, has caused many of us in the production side of the live concert business to consider the question of racial diversity within our corner of the industry. Why arenāt there more people of color involved in production? Certainly, there are plenty Artists, Managers and Promoters of color represented in the concert business but no so much in Production.
In light of this summerās progressive stance on unity through diversity, Nook Schoenfeld offered up his editorial column to Roadies of Color United co-founder Bill Reeves and his friends* for an important open letter.
