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(Contributor: Steve Church - Firefest Roadie)
Diary from the Wings: The confessions of a Firefest
Roadie
Way back in 78’ I met a bloke called Jem Davis. He was
playing keys in a local band called Stranger. I met him
through my ex-wife who lived in the same village in
Bedfordshire. Stranger went on to merge with Bedford
band Force which then morphed into Tobruk in the 80’s.
Great player, nice guy I thought. For the record, he had
a mountain of gear, even in those days!
I’ve always played bass since my early teens but never
to any great standard (even though I’ve played in
numerous pub cover bands), so I ended up being roadie
and front of house sound for Stranger. When it became
Tobruk I left and pursued other careers. I kept in touch
with Jem through the next 25 years and kept track of his
career even though our paths in life were very
different. (but we always had the music in common). I
even did some work with Oasis a couple of years ago for
a friend of Jem’s when he was unavailable to help.
I’ve always been a great fan of FM and have all the
albums (and T shirts). So when, 6 weeks ago, he asked me
whether I’d like to roadie for him and Merv at Firefest,
It was a great honour and pleasure for me to accept. So
it was a bit of a weird experience to turn up at Papa
Joe’s rehearsal rooms and meet the guys. First meeting
didn’t go too well. I trod on one of Pete Jupp's crash
cymbals. Great start….But when you have size 14 feet,
your always treading on something…… I was then treated
to a private gig! Awesome! They were a few months into
rehearsals by the time that I arrived on the scene, but
even at that stage, they were gig ready in my opinion. I
soon got to know them and realised what a cracking down
to earth bunch of blokes they are. Soon the piss taking
started with reference to my O.C.D. with regard to
making lists….. It only took me 5 rehearsals (and
counting) to learn Jem’s set up and 45 seconds to learn
Merv’s!
The day of Firefest arrived and I’d got Smudge (Andy
Smith) an old mate from a previous job, who had worked
with me with Oasis, and My wife, Ali to give me a hand.
Smudge was going to help me with the keyboard set up and
Ali was going to handle the merchandising.
ON THE DAY
Up at 0600 and after the initial shock of seeing
‘Batch’, my roadie room mate in nothing but his
underwear, the day began with ‘load in’ at the venue an
hour later. My greatest fear was that we would have to
set up Jem for the soundcheck and then break him down
again, if there wasn’t enough room during the other
acts’ performances. Luckily we just managed to squeeze
them in at side stage and after sound check folded them
into themselves to save space. It takes about 20-30
minutes to set Jem up and there is only that time
between acts so it was a huge relief for me.
Sound check was special for band and crew alike, as it
was the first time in 12 years that they had played
together on a proper stage and I knew from the
expression on the assembled crowds’ faces in the
auditorium, that the night was going to be something
special. Sue Ashcroft’s expression was a picture!
The rest of the day was spent running around doing
errands for the band. I popped into town and bought a
new harp for Jem. Comedy moment the previous evening had
been when Jem had sucked a breath through the harp and
due to a blockage had nearly swallowed it whole!
Pete was a crash cymbal short, so after a lot of asking
around I managed to borrow one off Tyketto’s drummer.
Unfortunately, two numbers from the end of their set, he
split it - scuppering that idea. Bugger! So Pete had to
play on a compromised kit. Not good from anyone’s point
of view but he pulled it off all the same. What a Pro!
We lost a flight case with some of Pete’s bit and pieces
in it. It didn’t turn up until after the gig. Some kind
soul had put it under the front of the stage at load in.
The gig went real well except for the power problems. I
still don’t know what went wrong as the PA guys fixed
it. Jem get’s very tense when the power goes down. It’s
understandable, as sometimes the surge can cause all his
patch’s and settings to be lost. Not what you want in
the middle of any gig let alone, one that’s a high
pressure comeback!
For those that don’t know, from a crew’s perspective the
show should be uneventful if the prep’s been done right.
Most of the time you’re looking for gear that’s come
loose or spillages on floor. I try and tune Merv’s spare
bass every 15 minutes. Jem only needs his harp handing
to him twice in the set and the Wireless Van Halen look
alike ‘strap on’(keyboard that is) to be switched on and
configured with the right patch during the gig. So apart
from that, it’s all quiet for me. Smudge did have an
unexpected dash down stairs in ‘Only the Strong’ to
fetch Andy’s slide from his jacket pocket. (must put
that on the list)!
There was a time issue as to whether there could be an
encore due to the power cut. We were going to run over
the very strict curfew. I was getting pressure from the
Venue stage manager to finish. As the band came off
stage I shouted at them all to get back on stage again
for the encore as they only had 2 minutes left. I
figured that the venue wouldn’t get them off half way
through Grapevine…..(sorry guys, now you know why I
shouted!). In no time it was over. Smudge and I just
made sure that there was an open can of beer for every
band member as they walked off stage and before we knew
it, it was 12.30am and the gear was all away. (Thanks
for packing up Merv’s gear Ali)
Great band, Great crew and a very well organised and
professionally run festival. (If Steve the backline
roadie from the PA company is reading this, thanks for
the tuner. You’re a star!). I will never forget the
awesome response of the crowd. And thanks to Jem and the
guys for giving me the opportunity and making it one of
the most rewarding nights of my musical life. Can’t wait
to do it again. Must start making a list……
Steve Church.
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