TPi speaks to Bose Professional’s new EMEA Sales Manager for Rental and Touring to discuss what the future holds for the company’s latest venture.
Can you detail your previous experience in the rental and touring market?
“Back in the early ‘80s, I started my career as a project engineer at UK loudspeaker manufacturer Court Acoustics. Like Britannia Row Productions, Court was part-owned by Pink Floyd and as a result, were both located in the same Islington building. That gave me the best education – from installing the Camden Palace sound system to being thrown in at the deep end with Pink Floyd’s inaugural The Wall shows at Earls Court. It was there I met Robbie Williams and of course Bryan Grant, as well as FOH Engineer Roger Lindsay, friendships that I treasure to this day.
“Prior to ‘real work’ I was an average soul DJ, but with an exceptional sound system. When the likes of a young Pete Tong, Paul Oakenfold, Masters at Work and Nicky Holloway wanted to rent my system for their gigs, I realised that’s probably where my skills were best used. A stint at Theatre Projects followed, where I had many long discussions about sound with an incredibly driven Jazzie B of Soul II Soul, and Brian Cro of recently acquired TFA rentals. After that, 30 years spread across JBL, Turbosound, Tannoy, EAW, Music Group and Harman followed.”
How has this led you to your current position with Bose Professional? Did you have much experience of the products beforehand?
“In truth I guess, like many of us industry folk, I shamefully had no knowledge of Bose’s current portfolio of professional products. Sure 802’s and maybe the bass cannon came to mind… but shamefully that was about it. It was only when I was talking to Bose Director of Global Concert and Rental Business, David Scheirman [formerly JBL Tour Sound President], in the US, that I realised there was a very serious line array system, the ShowMatch DeltaQ, and associated accessories. David then convinced me that Bose was incredibly serious about the rental market and had brought him in to help form a team of 7 of us globally to truly support our ShowMatch tour partners.
The EMEA region is a busy market for touring and gear rental – can you please tell us about what your new duties will be in the region?
“While Bose has a great provenance in professional audio, tour audio remains relatively new as ShowMatch is only 18 months old. Bose was structured to best serve its traditional markets and not geared for the demands of production companies. My appointment quickly addressed that. I now work closely with the teams on the ground to provide the glue – or oil – between the cogs, to provide the answers rental houses or FOH are typically after. This means our guys on the ground maintain the necessary day to day contact and I connect the dots, feeding back our successes to our now global network.”
What are your plans for this role, and the ShowMatch DeltaQ product line in particular?
“As a small format line array, ShowMatch is ideally suited for the European market and A/V production companies, in particular, providing a perfect platform for Bose’s aggressive future tour audio product plans. We already have a 40 strong ShowMatch rental partner network in EMEA, which I would anticipate is unparalleled for a debutant in this market with a high-level system. We expect to double those numbers within the next 12 months!”
What have been the milestone shows for this system?
“We’ve specifically targeted full-service production companies with ShowMatch and as a consequence, we have seen a variety of successful events cross our bow. From Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna in the US to Don Broco in the UK, Sissel in Scandinavia, and Juanes in South America. Then in the last few weeks, SSE Audio Group’s ShowMatch DeltaQ installation at the O2 in London has completed. Another highlight has been the newly rebuilt Longchamp racecourse in Paris boasted a ShowMatch rig at the launch event – the final event of the day was the concert of French DJ, The Avener, which involved a big ShowMatch DeltaQ array, with its 24 boxes, 20 subs and 3 Powersoft X8 amplification racks.
“Bose Professional is also proud to be the official Audio Partner of Giudizio Universale,
a multimedia show dedicated to Michelangelo’s celebrated work, playing from 15 March in Rome’s Auditorium Conciliazione. It’s a fantastic time for me to join Bose Professional, and I am really looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. I am sure we can add tremendous value – and great sound – to many events in the coming months and years.”
