Bristow, VA- Washington DC- Sting Sound Check

Recently, Sting's "Symphonicity" 2010 tour visited Bristow, VA for the Washington DC show.
As expected, we greeted some very excited Xerox guests and escorted them to their seats. Typically Sting's production crew works like clock work, however today was a little bit different. As most knew, the FIFA World Cup final was happening. Once we received confirmation that the crew and Sting were highly involved, we knew it may be a few minutes before we got the event off the ground.


To keep our guests happy we brought them water, and encouraged them with hints of the show. Moments later, the 3 enormous show screens proclaimed the World Cup, and out came Sting! He didn't want to make anyone wait for him, so he decided to take a seat with all of our guests to determine the final score.


Our guests could not believe it. Sting sat right in the front row amongst everyone and cheered on Spain as they took the cup.As Sting's sound check began, he let everyone know that he was bored with singing alone. He then invited a group of ladies up to sing " Englishman in New York." (as seen in the below clip) They could not have been more thrilled. They all got a chance to sing with Sting and practice their vocals. The look on all of their faces was filled with joy and was quite a remarkable site to see. One guest later told me " I could die now, I feel like my life is complete!" It was great to see everyone's reaction.



Above, Sting sings " Englishman in New York" with some Xerox guests in Bristow, VA

Back Stage with Sting's Violinist, Miranda Allen

Today I had a chance to meet another member of the Philharmonic. Miranda Allen, she is one of Sting's violinsts.


Miranda has been playing and practicing for close to 30 years and has toured with the " Star Wars" broadway act as well.

Here, you can see Miranda and the rest of her violin crew deep in tune to the song " Desert Rose"

Miranda introduced herself on stage and played us a sample of her work.
Please see the clip below to meet Miranda.

A Packed House at Red Rocks for Sting- June 2010

Xerox Guests Enjoy Singing on Stage With Sting!!

In Atlanta, temperatures of 100 degrees blazed as we welcomed Xerox guests to Chastain Park. Bottled water, personal fans, and the soothing sounds of Sting could not even cool the heat!

This particular sound check event brought in 150 guests from all over to view Sting warm up to a few of his tunes. Fans would later see these songs in full production that evening.



As Sting welcomed our guests he mentioned that he was getting bored of singing alone, it was at that time when dreams for some came true! One Xerox guest,a long time Sting fan was called up on stage to sing along with a few other lucky Xerox patrons. The look on their faces as you can see here was an experience unforgettable. Later that evening, at the Xerox VIP hospitality event, she told us how sentimental this event was to her.



She let us know that she met her husband while listening to Sting and they shared their first date while listening to the "Dream of the Blue Turtles" album.

Once soundcheck wrapped up, a few lucky Xerox guests were brought on stage for a group photo with Sting. Everyone left with smiles and lifelong memories!

Meet Sting's Guitar Tech, Richie Mazetta

Today I had a chance to speak to Richie Mazetta, Sting's guitar technician for the 2010 " Symphonicity Tour"

Richie has been touring, playing guitar, and
" teching" for numerous years. In the past, Richie has worked with Sting on his Police tours amongst a variety of other high profile musicians. In speaking to Richie, we learned that we both grew up in Connecticut, ( New Haven primarily). We had a good chance to reminisce on old restaurants and famous pizza spots. Richie is a great guy, and enjoys his job. Above, Richie tunes an acoustic guitar prior to sound check.

Meet Richie!

Sting's Monitor Engineer Luke Underwood Talks to Us!

As Sting's " Symphonicity" 2010 Tour continues, I have been able to build relationships with a variety of Sting's crew. Today I had a chance to meet Luke Underwood. He is the Sting's monitor engineer. The " Symphonicity" tour is Luke's first tour and he is excited to be a part of it!

In this video, Luke runs me through some of his roles and responsibilities. Meet Luke below!

Sting's Bass Clarionet Player Rehearses Prior to the Atlanta Show!

When the orchestra buses arrive to the venue in each city, typically you know it is just about show time.

In Atlanta, I was on my way to the production office to drop off a document and came across, Masamo, Sting's bass claironet player. He told me he had been practicing and playing for numerous years.. " Too many to count" he mentioned.

In passing, I was able to steal a few moments of his pre-show time. He introduced me to the sounds of his instrument and his passion to play. Enjoy!

Back Stage with Gene Provencio, Sting's Percussion Engineer

Today I met with Gene Provencio, he is Sting's
"Percussion Engineer." Gene generously agreed to bring me on stage just after Sting had completed his sound check. He walked me through the technical aspects of his job and let me in on the various pieces of equipment that he tunes on a daily basis. In the past Gene gained such skills with bands such as: Ozzy Ozbourne, Sublime, Rob Zombie and many others. When Gene isn't touring he spends his time in Studio City, CA.

Check out a clip of our meeting below!

How we get around the country..

On a day to day basis the Sting crew navigates throughout the country by either bus or truck. The truck and bus drivers travel thousands of miles within the given tour period. A typical day would be something like this:

1:00 AM- Drivers Arrive to Venue
2:00-4:00 AM- Trucks are loaded with gear
4:30AM- Trucks depart for the next city/ venue

( Depending on how long the run is, the drivers arrive, drop their trailers, and head to their hotels. Typically drivers aren't seen very much unless it is very late at night or if we have a long drive during the day. 6:00AM- 3:00PM drivers sleep and prepare for their next drive.On drives longer than 8 hrs we have a co-driver that helps take some of the pressure off getting to the next city on time.


We have 7 trucks and 4 crew bus's. My bus is #3. The bus's are considered everyone's "home." Throughout the day when the crew's responsibilities are met, you can find them relaxing and getting out of the heat until show time. I share my bus with 8 other guys, primarily my bus holds the video crew. We also have merchandise and some of the crew chiefs on tour.

Behind the scenes with Sting's sound Engineer, Sean Prickett

Today in St. Louis I ran into Sean Prickett, the sound Engineer for Sting's production. He introduced me to what his day to day is like within the " Sound World." Sean has been touring for numerous years with bands such as Fleetwood Mac, Simon & Garfunkel, as well as with me in 2008 on Jonas Brothers.

See Sean take me through what Sting's sound set up looks like backstage, what their load-in looks like as well as what his role and responsibilities include on Sting's tour below.

Red Rocks..

Red Rocks Ampitheatre is a venue that everyone should visit. The drive in alone is breathtaking enough, however once you arrive and hike to the top (6300 feet above sea level!) of the venue you know that this is a special place.

The venue was established in the 1940's and has welcomed numerous classic acts. Behind the scenes at Red Rocks there is a board in which you can view by year and day to see what bands have played. I found out the Marhsall Tucker Band played the day I was born!


This photo was right before sound check began..

Xerox Brand Ambassadors Welcome Consumers & Sting Fans!

At every tour stop, we have Xerox Brand Ambassadors (BAs) assist us. Upon arrival, BAs are trained on the Xerox brand, as well as the Sting program deliverables.

Fans are welcomed by Xerox BAs wearing blue branded Xerox polos explaining the accompanying post card and greeting people into the show.

The Xerox/ Sting post card allows fans to take home a free souvenier and customize their show experience at:
www.xerox.com/about-xerox/sponsorship/sting-live-symphonicity/enus.html

The postcards have been receiving great response and all fans love hearing that Xerox is behind the scenes with Sting!

Below, see a clip of a Xerox Brand Ambassador in Portland, OR.

The Sting/ Xerox Sound Check Experience

In 10 select markets, Xerox guests enjoy Sting front row, live and uncut at his soundcheck. Upon completion of the Xerox Real Business Live event, guests are brought to the venue where they can sit front and center and watch Sting rehearse with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience that these Xerox guests will cherish for a lifetime.

This past week in Hollywood, we spoke with Bill Garcia. We had a chance to catch up with him at the hospitality event that followed the soundcheck. Check out his feedback below!

The 27 Hour ride to Minnesota...

6.19.10

It's 1:45am, we are just pulling out of the MGM Grand parking lot, beginning our trek of 27 hours to Minnesota. When we have these long drives, our driver Tony has a co-driver that joins the tour for a day or 2. In this case, our co-driver is Roger Mees- my old driver from 2 yrs ago (when I worked for the Jonas Brothers)- Small world!

Upon his arrival, we caught up and he let me know he is now in the Guinness Book of World Records for the " Human Voice Lowest Decibal" He had been training for this since I saw him last. After a good night's sleep, I awoke to find out we were in the middle of Wyoming and still had 20 hrs left. With any luck we will be in Minnesota at 6am!

Behind the Scenes with Sting's Video Crew!

6.18.10

Today we are in Las Vegas. Sting is performing at the MGM Grand Arena. We arrived yesterday morning very early and were lucky enough to have a day off. After catching up on some sleep, I was able to head over to the arena to see some of Sting's video crew loading in their equipment.

This video features Graham Howill, Sting's video engineer showing me around his world. I caught him right before he was getting ready to work on a technical aspect that allows the video cameras to white balance to ensure proper colors for the show.

Xerox on the Road with Sting's Symphonicity Tour Featuring The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Conducted by Steven Mercurio

Welcome to the Xerox/Sting Symphonicity 2010 Tour Blog!

My name is Brian Samuelson and to give you some background on me, I have been traveling with music tours on behalf of corporate partners for close to 8 years. I'm thrilled to be representing Xerox on the 2010 Sting Symphonicity Tour and hope to give all of you fans a behind the scenes look at life on the road with Sting and the business of producing a global tour.

Stay tuned for updates, photos, interviews and more as we travel around the globe.