The 20th Annual Parnelli Awards were held Friday, June 3 during the 2022 NAMM show, with both events taking a big, if asterisked, step toward pre-pandemic normalcy. On the “normal” side, there were plenty of attendees at both events, and everyone there relished the chance to meet up again, face to face, after being kept apart for way too long.
On the asterisked side, the impact of the Covid shutdown time meant that with so few live events in 2020 and 2021—and so many event and touring pros out on the road in June—the Parnelli Awards forewent the ‘Best of the Year …’ awards and instead the plaudits focused on the three Parnelli honorees for Lifetime Achievement, Visionary, and Audio Innovator. There were also awards for the Parnelli NextGen, and the four Indispensable Technology product awards.
And at the very last minute, Covid managed a disheartening surprise this year: Parnelli Executive Producer Terry Lowe was forced to attend only via video as he self-isolated after a family member tested positive for the virus. However, Kevin Mitchell, Marshall Bissett, the rest of the Parnelli team, and the honorees themselves rose to the challenge, creating a truly memorable evening that took off like the helicopter that everyone imagined as host Jammin’ Jay Lamont let loose with a truly astonishing array of vocal sound effects. And though he wasn’t there to hear it, Lowe drew a big laugh when, at the end of his video to welcome the attendees and thank the sponsors, he revealed that his professional attire did not extend below the waist. Talk about exposure!
The first of the three awards for career achievement went to Sam Berkow, the man behind SMAART, the real-time sound measurement software first developed in 1995 and still widely used by sound pros around the world. Although best known for his software creations, Berkow is, first and foremost, a lover of great music.
There to laud Berkow’s prowess at helping to “unleash this magic” for everyone in the audience was presenter Ken Berger, head of KB Consulting, who had also played key roles launching EAW and VUE Audiotechnik.
Berkow talked about his love of jazz music along with the Grateful Dead, and how the opportunity to work with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center team was “the thrill of a lifetime.” He did “joke” about the irony of receiving an award for career achievement while still actively working with no thoughts of retirement, saying emphatically, “I’m not done yet!”
PLSN Co-Editors, Michael S. Eddy and Debi Moen presented two of the Indispensable Technology (IT) Awards. The one for Lighting went to Avolites for its D9 console, which was accepted by Avolites’ Koy Neminathan, Brad White, and Stephen Baird-Smith. The IT Award, Video was presented to ROE Visual for its Black Pearl BP2 V2 LED panels and accepted by Managing Director, Frank Montero, along with Tucker Downs and Nick Jevons ROE Visual.
The next presenter, a previous Parnelli Visionary honoree, Michael Tait, noted the parallels between his career and that of fellow Visionary honoree, Peter Morse. He spoke about how their paths eventually crossed, how much he appreciated how Morse’s beautiful lighting designs “made my sets look to be worth the cost,” and how both longtime industry pros are “still working.”
Video tributes for Morse came in from Barbra Streisand, Lionel Richie, Dolly Parton, and Bette Midler, who commented that “I loved being bathed in his light. Not just beautiful, not just glamorous, but made me look tall!” At one point, Morse was interrupted by an audio cue glitch, and without missing a beat, quipped that “Audio gets me again!”, to the roar of laughter from the crowd.
Morse commented on the swift transition from conventional to automated lighting rigs, with just a few moving lights on Michael Jackson’s Dangerous tour to 85% automated for the HIStory tour a few years later and, shortly after that, working with a fully automated rig for Madonna.
Morse dedicating his award to all the visionary programmers he’s worked with over the last 40 years, many of whom have become lighting designers themselves. The long list of programmer names even included PLSN Editor Emeritus, Richard “Nook” Schoenfeld.
Lance “KC” Jackson, one of the Co-Founders of Roadies of Color United, then took the stage and spoke about the mission of RoCUand the importance to “keep moving forward.” He presented the NextGen award to Arica Rust. Rust earned certificates in live sound recording before graduating from San Francisco State. She was a touring systems engineer, most recently out with Wilco, before joining L-Acoustics where she now works in the Education & Scientific Outreach Department as the Trainers Network Manager for the U.S.
George Petersen and Jammin’ Jay presenting the Audio IT award to Meyer Sound for its new Panther line array, which was accepted by Meyer Sound’s Engineering Director, Acoustical & Mechanical, Katharine (Katie) Murphy. The Staging & Effects IT award was presented to Look Solutions for its fog and haze systems. This award was accepted by Look Solutions’ Nathan Kahn and Tyler Mickley.
It’s been a tough couple of years for the live event industry as a whole and there were a number of people who died since the last time we came together. After the presentation of the In Memoriam video, Bissett noted the recent passing of yet another industry icon, Production Manager and Educator, Doug Pope.
On a happier note, a Parnelli first: Bissett announced of the three honorees for career achievement for the next Parnelli Awards, to take place April 14, 2023. The honorees include Roy Lamb with the Lifetime Achievement Award; Keny Whitright as Visionary; and Marty Garcia as Audio Innovator.
The final honor of the evening was the Parnelli Lifetime Achievement award, which was presented by elder brother, and rock photographer, Joel Bernstein to Rock-it Global’s David Bernstein, aka The Great DCB, at least to the lion’s share of Parnelli career achievement award winners and “other pirates and pranksters that he’s supported over the years on tours across the globe.” He had great stories, like working with Parnelli Award namesake, Production Manager, Rick “Parnelli” O’Brien. After Bernstein told Parnelli his containers of equipment for the original Rock in Rio concert were going to be late, Parnelli quietly said that if they didn’t show up at the new time, Bernstein “was going to be a LOT closer to God!” He regaled us with the epic fail of a Madonna show in Buenos Aires, where the fates conspired to force the cancellation of an event that was to be nationally televised, as well as attended by the president of Argentina. It was preserved for posterity as part of a documentary. “If you have to f**k-it up, do it in style.” Movingly, he called his family his “true lifetime achievement.” Summing up, Bernstein cited inspiration from his dad Stanley as well as the credo from Galaxy Quest, “Never Give Up, Never Surrender!”
It was an apt motto for this year’s Parnelli Awards—and the live event industry as a whole—we never give up; we never surrender. We are all looking forward to seeing you all at next year’s Parnelli Awards in Anaheim, CA at the 2023 NAMM Show, April 14, 2023.
Some moments from the 2022 Parnelli Awards:
