Blogs from the road. The tech behind the Illusion.

Whoah! How could I forget...

2006-12-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

How could I forget an extra SPECIAL shout-out to Karen aka "Mrs. Cheese" who found it in herself to take a roadie home with her and marry him. We know "Mr. Cheese" is a happy man. We can't blame him, especially after "Mrs. Cheese" brought by some of her most amazing chocolate chip cookies we have ever tasted!

ahh,,,,the "normal" venues...

2006-09-09T14:28:00.000-06:00

like this one

Weren't you just in...

2006-08-28T17:13:00.000-06:00

Yes, we probably were. Now we are here.

you sure do move around a lot...

2006-08-24T19:49:00.000-06:00

yes. yes we do.

today's lucky number:

42.31378 N 122.97125 W

Where are we today?

2006-08-20T16:19:00.000-06:00

37.23601 N 122.06446 W

Elevation 1387 Feet

Here

And a special shout..

2006-08-19T21:26:00.000-06:00

Here is a blog shout-out to Linda of northern California for bringing us her delicious cookies once again as we are playing Nice, CA today.

Thank you, Linda!

Good news and bad news.

2006-08-19T12:49:00.000-06:00

Good news:
I can get online and tell you something.

Bad news:
The only internet connection here is in-house and they are blocking everything but port 80. No FTP uploads allowed here so the cameras won't work. We are out of Sprint coverage area so the JB is out of range today as well.

More good news:
Tomorrow we are in Saratoga, CA in the heart of silicon valley. Yes. They indeed know what the internet is.

round and round they go...

2006-08-12T16:04:00.000-06:00

Round and round they go.
Where they stop...

Band on a plate again for two shows here in MA. Everyone gets a front and center, and side, and behind seat. You get to see what Todd looks like playing from behind as well as what the techs see most of the time.

Lake of the Ozarks

2006-08-06T18:14:00.000-06:00

9:30 pm CDT show. cams will be up...

if you build it, it will come...

2006-08-03T16:21:00.000-06:00

Waiting for the rain to stop before I put the cams up here in Medina, OH. Everything is under plastic right now...

"Art vs Money" or "Cams in the Casinos"

2006-07-30T08:14:00.000-06:00

Some of the casinos have networks that they allow traveling crews to use for the day they are there. Other casinos only have a network that is used for the slots and other general casino business. They get pretty suspicious when people want to tie into their network to access the internet. It is a security issue for them as well as a law by the gaming commission.

To answer Patti's question, if we are in a casino and we don't have cams, then it is because they don't allow us to tie into their network. This should be less of an issue as long as we are in Sprint cell phone range with the Junxion box. (We opted for the Sierra Wireless AC580 PC Card with Sprint 1X EVDO service).

Maiden Voyage...

2006-07-30T00:03:00.000-06:00

The Morton, MN gig was back to nature for us (no internet and no cell service) but tonight's show in Greenville, WI was the maiden voyage of the Junxion Box connecting the cameras to the internet. Everything worked as planned from what I could tell since I see the last pictures on styxcrew were from the end of the show. We have the core pieces (JB and the PC Card) to make the rig happen but should have the cellular amplifier and external antenna next week.

Yeee Hawwww!

Just another day in the life of...

2006-07-24T22:34:00.000-06:00

Well first-off it is good to see that the comments function isn't broken anymore on the blog. :)

I finally made it back home yesterday after not being here all month and found my lawn halfway up to my knees. I am sure my neighbors were wondering what was going on.

The PayPal account is at $1091.50 and you guys have certainly come through more than we expected! The gear is ordered and we hopefully will have it all by Thursday when we fly to Minnesota. Of course they will have to be some StyxCrew-ifying done to the gear so that it doesn't get banged-up and destroyed with all the miles we put on. One of the reasons we wanted a Junxion Box was its metal construction and Military-Spec certification.

Patti posted the Seattle Times article from today. There are several points that the writer missed or was misinformed. One of the ideas in the article is that the band posted this request. Well the blog is StyxCrew after all, not the band's website STYXworld. This is the crew's request, not the band's request. The writer states that Junxion gave us a "free" box. The word "free" never came up in any of my emails with one of the co-founders of Junxion who actually found the blog post via Technorati and completely surprised me when he emailed me. What he did do, however, is allow us to get the more expensive JB-110b instead of just the JB-110e. In exchange, we beat it up and report back any performance issues or suggestions just as we do with musical gear from other manufacturers. My last point of contention with the article (don't get me wrong, it's cool to be in the press and very surprising) is that they implied we traded tickets for goods. This is definitely not the case. I offered a limited amount of tickets to Junxion after the Junxion Box agreement was finalized. This gives me the chance, after using it for a month, to talk to the guys behind the product in-person to ask them technical questions about it as well as ask for suggestions to improve the way we are using it. The co-founder has been a fan of the band since the 70's which is a bonus for him, but most importantly it gives me the face-to-face time I wouldn't normally get since I am not able to leave the gig on show days.

The Junxion Box itself is only part of the whole system. The rest of the system includes an external amplifier, mounting hardware, antennas, protective case, and the PC card which connects to the cellular service. In addition there is a monthly subscription fee which we will now pay just like a cell phone.

I hope that clears things up. I will post an equipment list and photos for all you techie-geeks out there once "Everything Is Cool" with our rig.

We are readying the gifts for all who have contributed but we want to make sure they are perfect before we send them out. Perfection takes time. :)

You guys kick ass!

-c00kl3

Wishlist fund update

2006-07-18T19:51:00.000-06:00

Ho Lee Cow!

The Paypal account right now is at $995. I had no idea you guys would show us so much love.

I was absent from giving an update for the last week or so as I was playing email tag with one of the founders of Junxion. He saw the post on the blog and offered us a deal which allowed us to get the more $$$ box, the JB-110b instead of just the JB-110e.

There are a ton of people who have contributed right now and I haven't had a chance to count up all who have donated. You will get a small gift from us as soon as we can get it together with this busy schedule we have for the next couple of months (I hope it doesn't take THAT long, though).

You guys Rock!

Still here...

2006-07-12T13:04:00.000-06:00

We are working out a couple of details with the wishlist item...hold tight.

Wishlist Donation

2006-07-04T18:34:00.000-06:00

Okay, since everyone is...well...all over the place, the easiest way to handle this would probably be through PayPal.

Login or create a personal account (or pool your monies together and have one person do the PayPal thing).

Use the "Send Money" tab at the top and send your donations to (remember to remove the spaces) styxcrew @ att . net

Hopefully this will be the cleanest and most organized way of doing this. Please include your email address in the comment section so we know who donated.

Thank you!

Everyone Else has a wishlist...

2006-07-01T17:16:00.000-06:00

Everyone else has a wishlist...why not us? Something we need in this ever-important-to-be-connected world is a Junxion Box JB-110E.

What is this thing and why do we need this?
It is a box that takes a cellular phone data connection and converts it to ethernet.
What does that mean?
We can have an internet connection wherever we are as long as we are in cell phone range. Some of these gigs in the middle of a race-track or wheverever they can put a stage don't have internet connections. No connection, no styxcrew cameras. Yes, I know it's hard to imagine a world without the cameras, but it happens from time-to-time. This box will also allow a connection when vehicles (bus) are moving since it is cellular technology. Ahh yes...a connection on a 20 hour bus ride...

Why am I asking you guys, our loyal styx fans, for help? Well it costs more than the cameras did. If you guys want to get the crew something we could really use (like the Starbucks for the band) this would be the item. Yes...I know...shameless, aren't we? Plus everyone who contributes will get a small gift from the crew. :) Not to mention having cameras everyday at the gig!

Interested? Contact me here.

2006-05-23T13:02:00.000-06:00

What are we doing today?

2006-05-23T12:57:00.000-06:00

Loading in at Blossom! That's what!

Happy Birthday to Us...Happy Birthday to Us...

2006-05-09T20:36:00.000-06:00

Now that I think about it, styxcrew.com turns two this month!

Crewpodcast 10 - Rama, ON

2006-04-08T13:42:00.000-06:00

Here we are with another back-to-back set of shows at Casino Rama in Ontario. I turn the tables on the fans and put them on the podcast.

Links:
http://styxchyx.blogspot.com

Sneakin some in on ya....

2006-02-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

If you snooze, you lose. We are in a rehearsal studio right now. Anyone watching the cams?

Train Keeps a' rollin'

2006-02-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

Almost time for the Styx train to gain some steam. Are you ready?

You awake?

2005-12-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

Pssssst! I know it's been almost a month since the last STYX show. Are you guys still awake out there or are you just chillin' 'till the next show on the books? I'm doing a short run with the Andy Williams Christmas Show this month and enjoying the mild temperatures here in Florida, although we will end in Merrilville, IN where the current cam pics are from. Stay tuned!

Crewpodcast 9 - Upcoming break/Bus rides

2005-11-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

Nov. 18, 2005
We are taking a long break from the road.
What Libby is doing and how it is to sleep on a bus.
Ross and Paulie's plans for the holidays
Jimmie Bratcher "Bad Religion" from his album "Red."
What I am going to do.
Cruisebox's song "On A Podcast"

Ho lee crap

2005-11-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

maybe i am living in a microcosm of the tech/geek/audio/musician/roadie world, but i am getting damn excited about podcasting and the idea of podsafe music.

let's face it...podcasts without music get pretty boring unless you are listening to a pure science podcast. i have been struggling with the podcast i am producing by trying to be careful to not play copywritten music in it.

quite frankly, i was surprised how many podcasters were playing copywritten material in their shows knowing full well that they weren't paying ASCAP or BMI license fees.

maybe it was just the timing of it all but within 3 weeks we had the Sony/BMG rootkit DRM software discovery, the Portable Media and Podcast Expo, and many podcasters removing previous episodes to prevent risking being sued by the RIAA.

i just started listening to the rock and roll geek show...the first two tracks on this latest episode...man...BIG guitars and i am liking it already...

check out the podsafe music network...you will probably find something you will like. in 10 minutes i found 8 tunes i like already...

many podcasters are calling it right now for the music industry. they are saying the RIAA and corporations are killing the industry. i can certainly say there is a lot of resentment in the tech/geek world towards RIAA aka "the man" because of how they are attacking file sharing and their attempts to prevent piracy. in some ways they are perfectly legitimate. other ways, such as lobbying the government to limit technological innovations...well...that goes too far IMHO.

the old music industry model is broken for new artists. some bands (some that we all know and love) can still make a living on the old model. new bands, however, are in a different situation. in this age of flash-in-the-pan-one-album-make-as-much-money-as- you-can way of thinking in the record industry, this new way of thinking and finding new music may be the way.

Getting off my butt.

2005-11-15T18:41:00.000-07:00

Aron of Bitterman Circle pointed out a couple of things that I have been lacking on web design for Styxcrew.com. Okay...a small site revision was in order today here in Lafayette, IN.

What is it like being a roadie?

2005-11-14T23:11:00.000-07:00

I have been listening to another Roadie friend of mine on his podcast. He is a backline tech that has been doing this for many many years.

Episode 29 has an interesting soundscape of a load-in and in eps 30-31 he talks about some of the darker sides of being a person who does this for a living. He is able to say things that I haven't or probably shouldn't. We try to keep it light on our crewpodcast especially since we are attached to a band, but he is able to say what he feels more easily.

Parking In Bitterman Circle

Sony/BMG and the buzz on the net lately

2005-11-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

Some of you have heard about this story I am sure. For those that haven't, let me hip you to something that has been going on for the last month.

Sony/BMG music distribution has manufactured CD's with "Enhanced Content" including the Van Zant album "Get Right With The Man" which has Digital Rights Management or "DRM" software on it. The problem is they did it poorly.

Instead of me trying to paraphrase all the information out there, let me do two things. Googling "Sony rootkit" will bring up a bunch of articles that will give you information on what is going on. Last night on the bus ride into Lafayette, IN I was listening to a tech podcast that interviewed the man who discovered what Sony was doing. Check out these links if you have a chance.

Mark Russinovich interview
NPR program referenced
Sony may be breaking copyright law themselves

Here is a good timeline for articles about this story

cams are down here at borgata

2005-11-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

either IT dept here at the borgata are messin with me, or the ftp server for styxcrew is down....

Crewpodcast 8 - Paulie, Greg, Keith

2005-11-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest things is trying to get these guys to give you straight answers...

Crewpodcast 7 - Ross, Russell, and Jimmy

2005-11-07T23:25:00.000-07:00

You ask a question and you get an answer. Now about these answers...

Crewpodcast 6-Derrick

2005-11-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

Interview with with our truck driver Derrick.

Crewpodcast 5

2005-10-27T18:52:00.000-06:00

This episode is a one-on-one with Libby. She talks about her duties as a lighting director and her background. Questions posted about in reference to her spotlight call podcast are answered.

Waitin' on da bulls

2005-10-22T21:26:00.000-06:00

We are waiting for the bull riding to get done. We will go on maybe 10pm tonight here in Kansas City.

That's right, bull riding.

Crewpodcast 4 - Libby's Spotlight call

2005-10-13T01:20:00.000-06:00

This episode of the styxcrew.com podcast gives insight into Libby's job. This is a recording of the lighting clear-com channel. She is telling spotlight operators what to do during the song "Come Sail Away."
The periods of silence are portions where the band has been edited out to protect the copyright.
Note: Any music contained in this podcast is NOT podsafe music.

iTunes directory!

2005-10-11T00:36:00.000-06:00

Well it only took two months, but both the STYXworld and styxcrew podcasts are in the iTunes directory.

You can find these buy going to the iTunes music store and doing a search for STYX in the podcast genre.

Click this link to subscribe to the styxcrew podcast in iTunes

Click this link to subscribe to the STYXworld podcast in iTunes

Crewpodcasts

2005-10-07T23:10:00.000-06:00

I know, I know... Been busy...but we have two days off in Lexington without a submarine ride into the day off (unlike Colorado Springs and Rochester.)

Stay tuned...

Indio, CA

2005-09-25T19:08:00.000-06:00

Net access, but they are blocking ftp port 21. So nooooooooo cams.

Viewer mail

2005-09-17T13:42:00.000-06:00

Now how about this...you just post questions you want to ask the crew and we will read and answer the questions in a crew podcast.

Ask whatever you want like "What exactly do you really do?" or "Why do you walk across the stage so many times before the show?" You know, things like that are fair game.

Post your questions in the comments section for this post.

The Gorge Amphitheatre

2005-09-17T13:39:00.000-06:00

Well here we are again at the Gorge Amphitheatre. If any of you have never been here before....wow. Even giggin here as many times as we have we still take time to stand backstage and just admire the view. It never gets old.

You do what you gotta do...

2005-09-10T20:54:00.000-06:00

Foreigner is onstage right now. They flew into Denver and drove 4 hours to get to this gig. We know very well how much gear doesn't like to be bounced around in transit.

A sampler wouldn't fire up before the show. Jimmy loaned a soldering iron to the keyboard tech to fix the sampler. Mick's guitar rig goes down during the show. Jimmy pulls a spare head from one of Tommy's racks so they can continue their set.

We all know how tiring fly dates are...very little sleep, unfamiliar gear, etc. This is what we do out here on the road. Look after each other.

Btw, Foreigner sounds great with this line-up and undisputably classic songs.

Jimmy's Birthday!

2005-09-09T19:07:00.000-06:00

Today is JJ's birthday. Be sure to wish him a happy birthday when you see him...he hates it! :)

Crewpodcast 3 (sort of)

2005-09-07T01:30:00.000-06:00

So I've been playing around with Garage band these last couple of times at home. What do you think, will this work for a styxcrew podcast theme?

Camera looked like 4$$

2005-09-04T01:53:00.000-06:00

MN State fair. Giggin' with Rain Expected Outdoors.
I didn't want to get the cameras wet...but they looked like 4ss for the show.

The TUBES!

2005-09-01T19:44:00.000-06:00

ok. The Tubes are onstage right now. I have just one thing to say: LMAO

Ouch!! My head hurts!

2005-08-25T16:50:00.000-06:00

Wow. RSS, Atom, XML, Blogs, Podcasts...my head is starting to hurt just thinking about them.

In an ever increasing effort to do this the right way, I am switching different methods of producing the podcasts for the band and crew (crew podcast is always a guineau pig) in as much as they way they are coded and organized. Having an automated method of writing crucial files is always better than hand-coding them.

Posting a hyperlink here in this blog to new podcasts and letting the automation take over sure sounds like a good deal to me!

Now if I could just get the images to work properly in iTunes...and get into the iTunes directory...

Flickr.com

2005-08-25T02:30:00.000-06:00

So if you haven't noticed, there is a new band podcast. Check it out.

P.Hearn has uploaded some interesting stagecam photos to www.flickr.com. Flickr has a nice interface for RSS feeds (something podcasts use) and don't require a person to register to look at photos. Just look for the tag of "styxcrew" and you should be able to see the photos.

That also goes for you that want to post photos to flickr as well. Please tag the photos that you upload (if they are of gear, crew, or stagecam shots) with "styxcrew."

If you get bored, just click on "explore" and there will probably be some interesting photo in front of you in seconds.

Podcasts

2005-08-23T20:15:00.000-06:00

New styxworld podcast! Your iTunes will grab it if updates automatically.

Check out the news section of www.styxcrew.com if you need help in getting the podcasts.

Band On A Plate

2005-08-21T16:29:00.000-06:00

Well what can I say about today's gig?

Umm......Be sure to watch today's cams to see what I am talking about.

Wow, a whole day off!

2005-08-17T23:48:00.000-06:00

Howdy, folks!

I have started posting photos to flickr.com. The photos are tagged with "styxcrew" so you should be able view them easily. Flickr has RSS integration so I chose it.

If you have webcam photos you want to share, please upload them to flickr and tag them with styxcrew. Thanks!

Added the camera shots to this...

2005-08-12T17:50:00.000-06:00

As you can see, the two stage cams are on the right side of the page. Clicking on them will take you to a larger image. These images in the blog will also refresh every 30 seconds.

I started uploading photos to flickr.com. Relevant photos are tagged with "styxcrew" so check it out.

Hey, Where Are The Camera's?

2005-08-07T10:11:00.000-06:00

Ok, Ok, some of these gigs haven't had internet access lately which makes it a little bit difficult to provide images from Styxcrew.com.

Well, time to jump on a ski lift and go to the top of the mountain for the Kellogg, ID gig. This is going to be interesting.

Paulie's word of the day: BOLLOCKS!

Repeat episode?

2005-08-03T21:19:00.000-06:00

I refined some of the code behind the podcasts so it is more streamlined and up to standards. The downside is it thought the old podcasts (for the crew and the band) were new. Don't worry, you won't receive double podcasts (how annoying!) from here on. We are still working out the bugs in our system. Thanks!

What did the camera see?

2005-08-03T18:54:00.000-06:00

Nothing is ever wrong...

2005-08-02T19:29:00.000-06:00

2/18/03

Setting: House of Blues, Chicago.

Album release 'listening' party. This event is where the CD is played, front to back, for radio folks and their guests.

At FOH, trying to get my world in order, rushed as always, I notice the audio engineer, Gary, has a glazed and desperate look in his eye. This is not a good sign, it being 5:20, with doors at 6.

L: "Gary, what's wrong? You don't look so g-"

G: "We don't have the CD."

L: [sure I'd misheard him] "What?"

G: "The CD. The new album. Cyclorama, by the rock band Styx. Don't have a copy."

L: "Where's yours?"

G: "At home."

L: "Ask [the merchandise guy], he's got boxes of-"

G: "They told him not to bring any. No selling here tonight."

L: "Where's [the production manager's] copy?"

G: "In his workbox, in the truck, in Illinois."

L: "And [the tour manager]?"

G: "If he ever had one, he lost it."

L: "And the Guys [in the band]?"

G: "Are you kidding?"

>short pause, and light dawns. I rifle around in my laptop bag and find, loose, no jewel box, the bootleg copy of the thing the production manager gave me on the first day to learn the new material. It is slightly scratched, may be damaged, and has the name scribbled in Sharpie across it.<

L: (with unbecoming smugness) "You mean this Cyclorama CD by the rock band Styx?"

Gary snatches it out of my hands and runs away, I mean runs, yelling, "It's OK, everyone, we got it!"

Everyone assures me this really is the Big Time, but somehow, I'm often unconvinced.

;) Lib

Podcasts...check.

2005-07-31T23:51:00.000-06:00

We are waiting for iTunes to put styxcrew and styxworld podcasts into their directories. In the meantime, you can simply click on the links in www.styxcrew.com to hear what we have to say.

Second Styxcrew Podcast

2005-07-31T16:25:00.000-06:00

Podcast number 2

2005-07-31T16:05:00.000-06:00

This is our first posting for the styxcrew.com blog. We are currently getting a podcast for the crew and and a podcast for the band together. Stay tuned to Odeo and iTunes podcast sections for the feed. You will need iTunes 4.9 for podcast features. You will have to search for styx, styxworld, styxcrew, or roadie to find them.

Our schedule is a bit hectic as we just flew home today from Canada. We have three days off and then off to the West coast of the US for a few more weeks. This may not sound like much, but you have to consider the fact that we are doing over 110 shows a year for the last 5 years so any break we get is precious to see our family, friends, and quite frankly sleep in our own beds.

Off to do some more research!

First Styxcrew Podcast revisited

2005-07-30T16:08:00.000-06:00

Switching how these podcasts are organized. Please bear with me in my attempt to make this the way it should be.