The Heat is On
It’s June ’09, and even though the highs in Bakersfield have not yet reached 100 °, summer is already sizzling for PacWest.
“Graduation season is always a logistical matrix”, laughs Jonathan Wright (J-Dub). Glancing at J-Dub’s huge 10’ x 4’ production schedule board might make the average Joe a little dizzy, but not this fiery Production Manager. “I have to admit that during my first grad season with PacWest I didn’t get much sleep. But now I’m on year 4 and, though not without its surprises, productions are smooth and precise. It’s not easy, by any means. Our guys bust their tails pulling down this many productions at the caliber we deliver. But hey, it’s exciting and challenging and we’re all in this industry because we love it, not because it’s a cake walk!"
PacWest knocked out 16 graduations in 3 days with another 2 full-sized rock shows on the weekend immediately following! How do they do it and keep such a stellar record?
“Planning, planning, planning!” J-Dub is known for his relentless thoroughness and PacWest President, Brent Milton, couldn’t be more pleased by this. “Having J-Dub at the helm of production has freed me up to focus almost exclusively on Design/Build work. Sometimes I’ll walk into his office and look at that production board and as quickly as I can turn around and walk out! Production is a monster unless you’re the kind of guy that J-Dub is – tenacious and hardworking. We’re lucky to have him. And of course we’d be nowhere without the rest of our talented production team grinding out perfect show after perfect show. Milton also commented on the frequent feedback he receives on the Adamson: “There’s a lot of people nationally that are excited that we have this French-Canadian speaker system. It’s a great platform to work from. Everybody loves mixing on it.”
Another exciting addition to the world of PacWest production is their new contract with Hollywood Park. “It’s a long day at the races, I’ll tell you that much”! jokes J-Dub. PacWest provides full production for the race track’s concert series every Friday from April 24th – July 17th. “Because the horses are sensitive to noise we load-in and sound check extra early and then the concert doesn’t begin until after the last race around 10pm.” Not a bad day if you’re into horse racing.
J-Dub is looking forward to the second half of 2009. Monster Massive, (October 31st), and Together As One, (New Year’s Eve), are on the schedule for the sixth year. Take a look at these two events online to get an idea of their enormity. In 2008 PacWest took in 56 thousands pounds of gear, 132 speaker boxes and over 700 thousand watts of power. Once again both shows topped the charts for indoor events in North America.
And while the PacWest world of Production continues to impress, the Installation department is forever on the move, providing innovative Design/Build jobs from Bakersfield to Los Angeles to the Central Coast.
“We’re a relatively small team that works smart and pays close attention to detail”, remarks Milton. Led by Chris Berendsen, the install team loves a challenge. One of Berendsen’s most recent jobs was the Kern High School District’s Board Room. “The integration of an AMX control system to run a myriad of manufacture’s equipment was complex, to say the least. But that’s what I love about my job - there’s always something new and interesting to learn.” Berendsen and his team are gearing up for the St. John’s Lutheran multi-media installations in both their contemporary and traditional worship centers.
PacWest continues to grow and deepen its team of talented audio guys. In the past 3 months they’ve welcomed Allen Upchurch as Account Executive, and Kevin MacDowell as the new Repair Technician. “At times I have to pinch myself,” says Milton. “It was just yesterday (+20 years, ouch!), that I was working alone out of a one room studio, and here I am today recruiting top guys from Los Angeles to come and work for me here in Bakersfield? Is this for real!? My wife calls me “The Accidental Buddhist”, and says that she’s continually amazed by all that I’ve created around me. I’d love to claim that I’m deeply wise, but in actuality I really just have a passion for the audio industry and work hard for what I love.”
Whatever Milton’s strategy, his team works together remarkably well with superb deliverables, again and again and again.