LAS VEGAS – It was Vegas, after all, so the bet was on. “We were all voting when Benny [Collins] would start crying, and I said he wouldn’t make it through the introduction, and I won,” laughs production professional and friend Steve Thomas. Thomas, with Michael Ahern, presented the Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award to Collins, the live event industry’s highest honor. Collins took the stage choked up and shed some tears in giving his appreciation to all he’s worked with and made friends with over the years. It was a fitting end to an evening filled with emotions, laughs and tears.
“I’d like to thank my competitors,” said Moo TV’s Scott Scovill, who gave one of the many classy acceptance speeches of the evening in accepting the Parnelli for Best Video Company of the Year. He recited the names of all the companies that were nominated, and said: “This is a tough business, it’s very competitive, and all these guys are amazing.”
Terry Lowe, publisher of PLSN and FOH magazines, who is also executive producer of the Parnellis, echoed this feeling of mutual respect when noting that while many of the 41 sponsors that make the live event industry’s highest award ceremony possible are “competitors.” “When you take a look at our list of sponsors and production partners, it’s inspiring to see competitors in business come together as an industry to make the Parnelli Awards possible. It is a true testimony to that old saying that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
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As is frequently the case, the Parnellis offered up the unexpected, and no one expected to see Frankie Valli himself to show up onstage to offer humble thanks and accolades to Audio Innovator Honoree Bob Goldstein. “I never expected to see him,” Goldstein said after. “I can’t believe you did that!” Frankie it turned out lent Goldstein a couple of hundred dollars in the early days to build a sound console and the two have had a mutually beneficially relationship for over 40 years.
Fee Waybill, lead singer of The Tubes, was the emcee and regaled the crowd with jokes and stories. Waybill, it turns out, started out as a “roadie,” but then his career went “horribly wrong” when he was “demoted” to singer. But in one of the many touching moments of the show, at the end when he and Lowe closed the ceremony, he said, “I’m so glad you guys have the Parnellis, because you make rock star’s rock stars. You’re the ones who make it all happen.”
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Richard Belliveau easily made the case for lighting designer Howard Ungerleider receiving the Parnelli Visionary award. He recited the seven signs of a visionary is saying, “They are imaginative … for Howard that is an understatement. His imagination is always on turbo and like fueled on a continuous supply of five hour energy drinks.” Ungerleider was also congratulated in a video presentation by Geddy Lee from Rush.
Of course, the recent passing of Parnelli cofounder Patrick Stansfield was on the mind’s of many attendees, and longtime friend and former founder of TMB Marshall Bissett came out and introduced a video he shot of Stansfield a few weeks earlier. He explained that Stansfield knew he wasn’t going to be able to make it to the show and wanted to welcome everyone, make a few jokes, and talk a little about the award’s namesake, Rick “Parnelli” O’Brien. (O’Brien’s wife Kate was in the audience as well.)
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The star-studded list of presenters included LD Marc Brickman, production manager Steve “Chopper” Borges, video director Bob Higgins, FOH Engineer and Parnelli honoree Stan Miller, ATK’s Michael MacDonald, and Coldplay’s tour manager Marguerite Nguyen.
“Just wanted to say it was an excellent show last night,” wrote Solotech’s Dean Roney. “The speeches were short, emotional, and meaningful – it was a really great night.”
Here is the final list of all the winners.
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Lighting Company of the Year: Upstaging |
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Hometown Hero Lighting Company of the Year: Eggshell Lighting |
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Lighting Designer of the Year: Butch Allen |
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Lighting Board Operator of the Year: Eddie “Bones” Connell |
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Set/Scenic Designer of the Year (Tie): Jordan Coopersmith; Mike Swinford |
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Sound Company of the Year: Sound Image |
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Hometown Hero Sound Company of the Year: Audio Visions |
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FOH Mixer of the Year: Craig Doubet |
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Monitor Mixer of the Year: Greg Looper |
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Audio System Tech of the Year: Andrew Dowling |
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Video Rental Company of the Year: Moo TV |
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Video Director of the Year: Mark Haney |
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Staging Company of the Year: Stageline |
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Rigging Company of the Year: Atlanta Rigging Systems |
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Set Construction Company of the Year: Gallagher Staging |
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Pyro Company of the Year: Strictly FX |
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Production Manager of the Year: Chris Adamson |
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Tour Manager of the Year: David Milam |
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Coach Company of the Year: Hemphill Brothers |
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Trucking Company of the Year: Upstaging |
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Freight Forwarding Company of the Year: Rock-It Cargo |
| Indispensable Technology “IT” Awards: | |
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Lighting: Clay Paky – A.leda B-Eye K20 |
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Audio: Eastern Acoustic Works – Anya |
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Video: PixelFLEX – FLEXCurve |
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Staging: Stageline – SAM750 Mobile Stage |
Kudos to the 2014 Parnelli Awards Crew!
