Behind the scenes at Staind, Hoobastank concert

• Tweet
• 

Editor’s Note: Staff Reporter Christopher Parker Noe followed the production of the Staind and Hoobastank concert and witnessed the culmination of the process from about 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort Concert Hall, 6800 Soaring Eagle Blvd.

The music of Staind brings people together.

When the band played their show at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort Concert Hall, 6800 Soaring Eagle Blvd., Saturday night to a sold-out crowd, Henry Kubin, the production manger at Soaring Eagle, saw it as a reunion for many of the people involved with the production.

“There are a lot of guys working here today that I have known for a long time,” he said.

CMU alumnus and Staind Production Manager Clay Hutson played football at CMU. After a knee injury ended his playing career, he started working in the theater department.

“I know Henry through one of my first gigs at Rubbles where he was the sound guy,” Hutson said. “Henry is a great guy and has always been a true professional.”

Working with Staind is something that Hutson finds rewarding because he said that they are understanding.

“They are really cool guys,” he said. “They’re real people and not just rock stars.”

Kubin started his career playing in a rock band called “Warrior” in 1979 and when the band broke up in 1985, made the transition over to the technical aspect of performances.

He has worked at several venues, including the Saginaw Civic Center, the Palace of Auburn Hills and spent six years in the events department at CMU before moving to Soaring Eagle in February of 1998.

“I was here when they started having entertainment at the casino,” Kubin said. “I was hired on as technical support and moved up from there.”

These days, Kubin’s responsibilities include dealing with more than 150 acts that come through the casino with an average of 60 national acts that come through the concert hall each year.

“I manage the technical aspects of off loading, setting up, taking down and shipping sound equipment,” Kubin said.

Kubin’s role does not stop there as he is also responsible for getting rooms for the acts, providing ground transportation from local airports and renting equipment to acts as needed.

Show preparation

The preparation for each show that comes into the casino starts weeks in advance, as Kubin receives a “rider.”

He said there are two basic riders that come through his office, a technical rider, which lists all the sound, lighting, and video equipment an act might need while for a performance. The second rider is a catering and hospitality list, which incorporates all food and beverage items an act needs before entering the dressing room at a venue.

Kubin coordinates his efforts with the catering department of the casino as well as his head lighting and sound technicians.

“I have two full-time staff, Rob Hadley is an audio production assistant and Brian Berg is our lighting technician,” Kubin said.

Hadley, a Saginaw native, said his role with the performance varies based on what each act needs accomplished.

“Everything is preplanned and on a day like today the band brought all their own gear, so I am just pushing production for the day,” Hadley said.

He has been with the casino for nine years and said the biggest challenge he sees with almost every act is the logistics of trying to get several semi-trucks worth of equipment into a smaller venue.

“The rigging also becomes an issue because we really need to watch our weight levels and it’s one of the biggest safety issues we face,” he said.

One of the biggest challenges Kubin deals with is keeping up with ever changing technology and the demand for new technology.

“All large companies are making cutbacks and it’s hard to get what you want. However, the casino is very good at working with us to get what we need.”

The Soaring Eagle owns equipment and Hadley said because of this and because it is some great equipment it makes his job easier.

The show required more than 50 crew members and countless assistance from other professionals working both with the casino and the bands. Kubin said that he is happy with the help.

“I am thrilled to be working with some of the finest technicians available,” he said.

Check out cm-life in the coming days for a photo gallery of the concert and a video of the production process.