This is kind of a moot question because the war on terror changed everything. But it's an interesting debate. I have been posting on this really bad site called political.com. It's put together terribly and has a real problem with the comments section. Here's the link to the poll about Reagan.
http://www.political.com/OfferSeriesPage.aspx?g=5fe9c98da93146cdb726d88991ef953e&nm=018ggfw6urxyar&fb_comment_id=fbc_10150755036600210_22712412_10150756878845210&se=52#poll-comments
This site is dodgy so please discuss here! Thanks! My personal take is that America has gotten gradually more conservative since Nixon. A true conservative would be against everything the modern conservative stands for. Legalizing freedom would be a great start. Avoiding nation building also seems like a conservative viewpoint. I am not saying that the Dems don't have their own part in this but I find the Republicans to be more interested in what I ingest or what happens to my private parts more than the left wing. The left wing seems to be more interested in what I am learning and how they can manipulate that. Independent thinkers welcome.
I started this blog the day my daughter was born. But I decided that I didn't want to blog all her personal details... This blog will now be about live pro sound and some of the gigs I work with pics... It seems that all I talk about is politics these days... If I do any good gigs I will post...
Friday, April 6, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
UNIONS YES!!!!!!!
I just did my first gig for Iatse Local 4. I have worked in my field for over 10 years and it's very hard to get into the union.Most of the jobs are passed through family and friends and if you do not have those connections it's very hard to get a job with them. That's the negative part. 
The positives far outweigh the negatives. For some reason the production industry does not follow any sort of corporate rules. People work for 36 hours straight with no break. In corporate AV you can work for days with no sort of consideration as to whether or not you've slept at all in the last 48 hours. When you work for the union this happens much less. And if it does happen you are compensated for it. Some nonunion compnies pay union rates. Those are the good ones.
My union makes sure we get dinner breaks. They make sure you get a few minutes to be by yourself and make a few personal calls and basically help you live your outside life even though you are working a ton. If it wasn't for the union most of these productions would be using illegals or paying people minimum wage on the promise that they are going to be in "show business"...
Thank God for the unions. They protect us from people who would abuse us due to our good nature. Thanks Local 4.
My union makes sure we get dinner breaks. They make sure you get a few minutes to be by yourself and make a few personal calls and basically help you live your outside life even though you are working a ton. If it wasn't for the union most of these productions would be using illegals or paying people minimum wage on the promise that they are going to be in "show business"...
Thank God for the unions. They protect us from people who would abuse us due to our good nature. Thanks Local 4.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
NYPD sure does get away with quite a bit.
The NY Daily News has been doing a fantastic job of covering this story. I will link to the most recent article.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/key-witness-rape-case-nypd-officer-michael-pena-rips-jury-failure-convict-rape-charge-article-1.1053984?localLinksEnabled=false
"quacks like a duck, it's a duck"
Now I know this guy got properly reprimanded by the NYPD. However why wasn't he convicted on the full rape charges? I know he got the maximum sentence and that is good. Did it have anything to do with the fact that he was a cop?
Or was it this?
Pena, who joined the NYPD in 2008, admitted assaulting the 25-year-old Bronx school teacher but insisted he did not rape her — and under New York law a rape conviction requires proof of penetration.
That disgusts me.
They also did not buy the testimony of witness Gregory Matherly, who was on a skateboard a dozen feet from the incident and testified that Pena raped the woman.
Why does it matter that he was on a skateboard? Did the 3 idiot jurors make a judgement call based on the fact that he skateboarded! If not why is that even on the record?
Discuss and support my sponsors!
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/key-witness-rape-case-nypd-officer-michael-pena-rips-jury-failure-convict-rape-charge-article-1.1053984?localLinksEnabled=false
"quacks like a duck, it's a duck"
Now I know this guy got properly reprimanded by the NYPD. However why wasn't he convicted on the full rape charges? I know he got the maximum sentence and that is good. Did it have anything to do with the fact that he was a cop?
Or was it this?
Pena, who joined the NYPD in 2008, admitted assaulting the 25-year-old Bronx school teacher but insisted he did not rape her — and under New York law a rape conviction requires proof of penetration.
That disgusts me.
They also did not buy the testimony of witness Gregory Matherly, who was on a skateboard a dozen feet from the incident and testified that Pena raped the woman.
Why does it matter that he was on a skateboard? Did the 3 idiot jurors make a judgement call based on the fact that he skateboarded! If not why is that even on the record?
Discuss and support my sponsors!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
TRAYVON MARTIN TRAGEDY
Ok, SO here's my take on this tragedy. Yes I used the word tragedy. Remember that a young man died. Now I have three thoughts about this really.
1. I don't think Neighborhood Watch should be killing people. He should have waited for the cops unless he saw the kid actually doing something. I don't bother people in my neighborhood and they don't shoot me.
2. At first "they" were saying this wasn't even going to trial and that's what angered me. Anytime a person is shot and killed it should be investigated in a court of law. Not even necessarily arrest but it should be judged by more than just the police officer on site. Now I hear that it is going before a grand jury. Is that true?
3. I think it's about time the professional racists get out of the game. Al you had your time in the sun. Let the younger generation speak for themselves. I hate how this tragic event for the people who are really involved turned into a payday for a whole bunch of people... It seems most of my independent thinker friends at least agree with that last point.
1. I don't think Neighborhood Watch should be killing people. He should have waited for the cops unless he saw the kid actually doing something. I don't bother people in my neighborhood and they don't shoot me.
2. At first "they" were saying this wasn't even going to trial and that's what angered me. Anytime a person is shot and killed it should be investigated in a court of law. Not even necessarily arrest but it should be judged by more than just the police officer on site. Now I hear that it is going before a grand jury. Is that true?
3. I think it's about time the professional racists get out of the game. Al you had your time in the sun. Let the younger generation speak for themselves. I hate how this tragic event for the people who are really involved turned into a payday for a whole bunch of people... It seems most of my independent thinker friends at least agree with that last point.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
THE STAND
This is one of my favorite books. Stephen King is also one of my favorite authors but the man has a hard time ending his books... Anyway it is definitely worth the time spent reading this book. Nobody builds characters like SK.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
MY 5 BEST GIGS
OK So I don't have pics of most of these so they will just be reflections of my favorite gigs....
1. The Jammys 2002 Roseland ballroom.
Ok I am going to admit something. I am a deadhead. So when I got booked for this show I was so psyched. My gig was setting up the mics for the bands. The thing about this was that the theme that year was 2 bands playing simultaneously. Here's the wiki because it was such intense work that I was in a bit of a daze.
2. Aretha Franklin at Radio City Music Hall.
I mixed monitors. That means I did the stage sound for Aretha and her entire orchestra. She being the queen of the divas did not show up for soundcheck(which is normal). Her musical director walked me through the entire soundcheck for the big band and the 30 piece string section. There were 18 monitor mixes on stage. They are speakers that the individual musicians get so they can hear everything on the stage. It's a challenging job but it's my favorite gig.
So before the show one of my friends who was on the crew came up to me and gave me some pointers. He was well equipped since he had toured with her as her monitor engineer. He told me that there was only one thing I needed to know. I had to keep my eyes on her and never waver. She would check on me and if I wasn't looking I would get chewed out in front of the entire audience. So of course I stared and she did look. Over her shoulder real quick and made eye contact... So everything's going great and I'm feeling pretty good when she sits down by the piano and says " OOh this piano don't sound that great... But I can't blame the soundman because I didn't come to soundcheck." Which while it sucked she didn't like the piano sound I thought it was great that she showed me the respect of acknowledging her part in it. In the end it was one of my best experiences in the biz that I've had.
3. Amsterjam 2005 Randalls Island
I had the easy gig at this one. I was in charge of the VIP beer tent! This was a Heineken event so they had a special tent for their distributors. It was far from the stage so we had to set up speakers and a satellite feed so they could enjoy the show. So I proceeded to sneak about 10 of my friends in to the festival and beer tent. It was fantastic. They stored all the Heineken by where all my gear was and there was tons of it...I gave out so many damn 12 packs that day it was great. My wife and her friends got wasted and so did I... I also got to meet Michael Lang the promoter of Woodstock at that event. For me that was pretty awesome.
4. Ipecac records festival Irving Plaza NY
This was great because it was 3 of some of my favorite bands. Also I got to see a band for the first time that may have been the best set I have ever seen. I was mixing monitors. Ipecac records is Mike Patton of Faith No More's record label. I love Mike Patton and did most of his projects. For these three shows he played with Tomahawk all 3 nights and the Fantomas Melvins Big band. The Melvins also performed two of the three nights. Sick shows. During the set up day I saw this guy and he looked real familiar. So he asks me if I can help him load in his drums. It wasn't really my job but I knew he looked familiar and as I'm helping him unload his drums I realize HOLY SHIT this is Dave Lombardo the drummer from SLAYER!!!!!!!!! He had no roadie so I helped him set up his kit. Frickin cool. So the band I had never heard before was the fantomas melvins big band which is all of the members of the Melvins and all of the members of Fantomas playing each others songs together. I love metal and have seen most of the greats over the years. this was the heaviest sound I had ever heard. Totally unbelievable. The Melvins and Tomahawk were all great as well and it was definitely some of the best music I ever got to be a participant in.
5. Wilco and the Flaming Lips Madison Square Garden New Year's eve 2004-5
Working New Year's at the garden is a special treat. There is nothing quite like it. Especially when the Flaming Lips are playing! Man they put on an incredible show and they really turned it on for this show. I mixed monitors for the Lips. Wayne Coyne was an unbelievably gracious man. He was so happy to be playing the Garden he was beaming. I spoke to him for awhile and let him know how much I dug his music. I have been listening to them since 1993 when I saw them open for the Butthole Surfers. So here's the show that night. Onstage you have the band, 20 strippers from Scores,a bunch of people in bunny and alien costumes and also random mascot outfits. Their light show consisted of a giant projections screen with video clips that went along with the music. They only had 4 lights on ! the rest of the lighting was supplied by the menagerie who had those handheld deer spotting lights which are extremely bright. They were pointing them at individuals in the crowd and it was pretty crazy... Towards the end they took out about 50 giant beach ball type things so that was pretty crazy... The Lips put on the best stage show of any band going right now. If you don't know them start listening now!
Wilco came on at 11 30. At the time I was not that big a fan so I wasn't that into it. They entered the stage in their pajamas which was hilarious and then played until 2am or so. So shortly after that gig I got a tour with Wilco and about halfway through it I really started listening to in and fell in love with the music. They are one of the all time great bands and I consider Jeff Tweedy to be the modern Bob Dylan... His songwriting is absolutely superb. So I just wish I enjoyed them on New Year's because I"m sure it was a great show! The Garden is a great place to do a show... The crew worked double time on the loadout and I got to have a few beers with my wife and her friend so it was a great night...
I will probably post a 6-10 at some point. I really struggled with these choices...
1. The Jammys 2002 Roseland ballroom.
Ok I am going to admit something. I am a deadhead. So when I got booked for this show I was so psyched. My gig was setting up the mics for the bands. The thing about this was that the theme that year was 2 bands playing simultaneously. Here's the wiki because it was such intense work that I was in a bit of a daze.
Rat Dog bassist Rob Wasserman and DJ Logic kicked off the night. Next was Rusted Root, DJ Logic and guitarist Melvin Sparks, who played "Send Me on My Way" and "Ecstasy", with host John Popper (Blues Traveler) adding harmonica. John Scofield was joined by saxophonist Skerik (Critters Buggin, Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade), drummer Stanton Moore (Galactic, Garage A Trois) and bassist Andy Hess (Gov't Mule). Pedal Steel guitarist Robert Randolph sat in with the Blind Boys of Alabama for "Amazing Grace". Unannounced guest John Mayer collaborated with Randolph andDerek Trucks. Particle and Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson of the B-52's played "Planet Claire", "Private Idaho" and "Love Shack". Original Blue Öyster Cult members Eric Bloom (vocals), Buck Dharma (guitar) and Allen Lanier (guitar, keyboards) took the stage as moe. was finishing "Rebubula" and segued into "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." Reid Genauer, Jessica Lurie (Living Daylights) and Hope Clayburn (Deep Banana Blackout) joined house band The Tom Tom Club for "Take Me to the River". Bassist Stefan Lessard (Dave Matthews Band) played "Beautifully Broken" with Gov't Mule, before the Allman Brothers Band took the stage.[4]
Rat Dog's set was capped by the dual stage jam, which closed out the show with a version of "Turn on Your Lovelight," with countless musicians on both stages. Rat Dog was joined on the main stage by guitarist Trey Anastasio (Phish), Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule, The Allman Brothers Band), Al Schnier (moe.), Popper, Abts, and DJ Logic. Meanwhile, the second stage included bassist Mike Gordon (Phish), guitarist Fuzz (Deep Banana Blackout), Randolph, saxophonists Skerik, Clayburn, Lurie, Tom Tom Club vocalists Mystic Bowie and Victoria Clamp and "Flute Girl."[4]
So the work was very intense. I put in 40 hours in a 48 hour period! But it was great for me I got to meet many of my longtime heroes and help set up their equipment. It really was a fanboy's dream. And the absolute best part was that my dad(RIP) came to the show and hung out backstage. He was a big deadhead and got to meet Bob Weir and everyone else. He wasn't shy... He was sitting next to Al Franken (who was extremely high) and some young girl was dancing in front of them. So my dad was like "hey Al what do you think of that tomato huh?" AL quickly got up and walked away... Great 2 days for me...
2. Aretha Franklin at Radio City Music Hall.
I mixed monitors. That means I did the stage sound for Aretha and her entire orchestra. She being the queen of the divas did not show up for soundcheck(which is normal). Her musical director walked me through the entire soundcheck for the big band and the 30 piece string section. There were 18 monitor mixes on stage. They are speakers that the individual musicians get so they can hear everything on the stage. It's a challenging job but it's my favorite gig.
So before the show one of my friends who was on the crew came up to me and gave me some pointers. He was well equipped since he had toured with her as her monitor engineer. He told me that there was only one thing I needed to know. I had to keep my eyes on her and never waver. She would check on me and if I wasn't looking I would get chewed out in front of the entire audience. So of course I stared and she did look. Over her shoulder real quick and made eye contact... So everything's going great and I'm feeling pretty good when she sits down by the piano and says " OOh this piano don't sound that great... But I can't blame the soundman because I didn't come to soundcheck." Which while it sucked she didn't like the piano sound I thought it was great that she showed me the respect of acknowledging her part in it. In the end it was one of my best experiences in the biz that I've had.
3. Amsterjam 2005 Randalls Island
I had the easy gig at this one. I was in charge of the VIP beer tent! This was a Heineken event so they had a special tent for their distributors. It was far from the stage so we had to set up speakers and a satellite feed so they could enjoy the show. So I proceeded to sneak about 10 of my friends in to the festival and beer tent. It was fantastic. They stored all the Heineken by where all my gear was and there was tons of it...I gave out so many damn 12 packs that day it was great. My wife and her friends got wasted and so did I... I also got to meet Michael Lang the promoter of Woodstock at that event. For me that was pretty awesome.
4. Ipecac records festival Irving Plaza NY
This was great because it was 3 of some of my favorite bands. Also I got to see a band for the first time that may have been the best set I have ever seen. I was mixing monitors. Ipecac records is Mike Patton of Faith No More's record label. I love Mike Patton and did most of his projects. For these three shows he played with Tomahawk all 3 nights and the Fantomas Melvins Big band. The Melvins also performed two of the three nights. Sick shows. During the set up day I saw this guy and he looked real familiar. So he asks me if I can help him load in his drums. It wasn't really my job but I knew he looked familiar and as I'm helping him unload his drums I realize HOLY SHIT this is Dave Lombardo the drummer from SLAYER!!!!!!!!! He had no roadie so I helped him set up his kit. Frickin cool. So the band I had never heard before was the fantomas melvins big band which is all of the members of the Melvins and all of the members of Fantomas playing each others songs together. I love metal and have seen most of the greats over the years. this was the heaviest sound I had ever heard. Totally unbelievable. The Melvins and Tomahawk were all great as well and it was definitely some of the best music I ever got to be a participant in.
5. Wilco and the Flaming Lips Madison Square Garden New Year's eve 2004-5
Working New Year's at the garden is a special treat. There is nothing quite like it. Especially when the Flaming Lips are playing! Man they put on an incredible show and they really turned it on for this show. I mixed monitors for the Lips. Wayne Coyne was an unbelievably gracious man. He was so happy to be playing the Garden he was beaming. I spoke to him for awhile and let him know how much I dug his music. I have been listening to them since 1993 when I saw them open for the Butthole Surfers. So here's the show that night. Onstage you have the band, 20 strippers from Scores,a bunch of people in bunny and alien costumes and also random mascot outfits. Their light show consisted of a giant projections screen with video clips that went along with the music. They only had 4 lights on ! the rest of the lighting was supplied by the menagerie who had those handheld deer spotting lights which are extremely bright. They were pointing them at individuals in the crowd and it was pretty crazy... Towards the end they took out about 50 giant beach ball type things so that was pretty crazy... The Lips put on the best stage show of any band going right now. If you don't know them start listening now!
Wilco came on at 11 30. At the time I was not that big a fan so I wasn't that into it. They entered the stage in their pajamas which was hilarious and then played until 2am or so. So shortly after that gig I got a tour with Wilco and about halfway through it I really started listening to in and fell in love with the music. They are one of the all time great bands and I consider Jeff Tweedy to be the modern Bob Dylan... His songwriting is absolutely superb. So I just wish I enjoyed them on New Year's because I"m sure it was a great show! The Garden is a great place to do a show... The crew worked double time on the loadout and I got to have a few beers with my wife and her friend so it was a great night...
I will probably post a 6-10 at some point. I really struggled with these choices...
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
DEDICATED TO MARK "RAOUL" HALL
RIP MARK HALL 1964-2009
So my friend Mark Hall died a couple of years ago. He was a legend in the stagehand industry. A lot of you have asked me if I have met a lot of celebrities and the answer is yes. But I totally get starstruck and there really is no story. This is absolutely not true of Mark. He had NO fear. Nothing. I am going to post some stories from the what ya pullin foundation Facebook page. Read on if you want to read some 100% true stories of what it's really like behind the scenes...
Peter Walker Doing a show on Wall street and the President is giving a speech. Mark says to the Secret Service guy " Hey can I play with your gun"?May 26, 2009 at 9:16pm ·
Todd Sobleski Mark and Pete Walker started the "NAPKT"....National Association of People that Know Things"....right in the Agora Cafe...May 26, 2009 at 9:38pm ·
Bob MahnkenMy personal fave (Pete was there) involved Mark doing a mic check down center at the Garden in front of 20,000 Islamic fundamentalists who had gathered there to condemn the West and all its excesses. There they were, the women with their faces covered on one side of the arena floor, the men with their beards and scowls on the other; and up on stage this jacked-up, grinning freak in black with that huge mane of hair, personifying everything those people had assembled there to deplore, saying "One, two, check..."
Mario started strobing the Intellebeams and Mark said, into the mic, "Wow...I'm feeling a little funny. I knew I should've broken that in half."
Dead silence. So quiet in there it echoed. So Mark looked out at the covered faces and angry glares and continued: "Welcome the the Garden. It's nice to see so many smiling faces."
The Mark I knew was fearless. I can't imagine what happened.May 26, 2009 at 9:40pm ·
Brad AllenMark, Pete and I spent a year or two on the road together back in the mid 90's. At the close of our tour, I lost touch with Mark though I kept tabs on him through Pete. I don't think Pete and I have ever had a conversation that I didn't ask how Mark was and Pete's never been at a loss for words. Until I just read Bob Mahnken's, my favorite of all time starts exactly like they all do, Mark is back stage and someone famous is in the wrong place at the wrong time.... Luciano Pavarotti wanders a little to close and Mark asks, "Hey man, what's your story?"May 27, 2009 at 7:58am ·- Peter WalkerMark and I doing a fundraiser at the Garden and Mark is busy in the upstage x-over wrapping up cables. Here comes president Clinton and the secret service.
One of the agents asks Mark to stop working wile the president walks by.
Mark yells out at Clinton, " Hey I don't knock the cocks out of your mouth when your trying to work"!May 27, 2009 at 9:45am · 
Susan Csendes I am reading all of these and just laughing hysterically, Mark's voice is in my head when I read the quotes.
Hey Pete, trying to upload a photo for you, are you allowing photos? I can't seem to be able to do it.May 27, 2009 at 10:04am ·
Casey HabermannSome of my best stories ever involve Mark....
One that just came to mind is one night backstage at the garden....Sean Penn and Richard Gere walked by..SOmeone mentioned gerbilling under their breath...Mark proceeds to yell at the top of his lungs"Gerbils? What the fuck is he gonna do with gerbils???" And he got such a kick out of it he just laughed and laughed...The rest of us are sitting there totally freaked and being stared at by Richard Gere and Sean Penn angrily....
RIP Mark you will be missed.May 27, 2009 at 3:21pm ·
Laurence Howard DolinLaurence Howard Dolin Mark and I were doing an event in Cleveland called "Kidsfest. They flew these 4 guys in to play kids songs for an hour. It was a miserable time meant for all. Mark ran monitors. The 4 guys, like Mark, did not want to be there. While they were setting up, Mark asks, "where are you guys from? 1 guy says, "3 of us are from New York and this guy is from New Jersey". Mark says, "yeah, what exit?" The guy walks off stage pissed off, ready to go home. He comes back 5 minutes later. Mark walks up to the middle of the stage and says, "my name is Mark, I am your monitor engineer for the day. If anyone needs anything from me, write it down on a 20 dollar bill and throw it at me. The whole band cracks up. It was a great day after that. Nobody busted balls better than Raoul.May 27, 2009 at 3:29pm ·- Todd Sobleski I'm sure you remember....."....just a little something I picked up in the Orient..." or for the crew guys.."...you've got to move that ramp....it's causing a bit of re-verb-er-ation...."May 27, 2009 at 6:08pm ·
- Peter Walker I remember Mark telling a TV director , " Hey Iv been cussed at by people that are GOOD at what they do! "May 27, 2009 at 6:22pm ·
Red Atzy Fondly remember a screaming match between Mark and Leslie West regarding Mark's placement of his pedals. He got pissed rolled a carpet right over Leslie's gear and set up right on top of his shit. You can see it in Johan's photo. Never a lack of Balls.May 27, 2009 at 6:41pm ·- Peter Walker During a christian convention in Atlanta Mark finds a mic that is connected to the buildings public address system and for all to hear he made the announcement, " Oh master I awaaaaait your hot piss" .May 27, 2009 at 9:41pm ·
- Peter Walker On day 2 of the same convention the church group had a group hug at the end of the night.
I look over and in the middle of the group is Mark holding hands and leading the group singing Kumbya.May 27, 2009 at 9:45pm · 
Scott Reiter OMG i forgot about the "I await your hot piss" line!
Ahhh.. good times...May 27, 2009 at 9:45pm ·- Peter Walker All of Mark's NYC people are here and all the Cleveland @ Friends of Mark "Raoul" Hall... share as many stories as possibleMay 27, 2009 at 9:49pm ·
Jebi Jeffrey KritzMark, Pete Walker and myself went to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon for a festival with RCS Gear and Mort Meyer People. Yes ....Mort Meyer for AAA Search light! We almost wrecked the RV on the way there and back several times. Once I was thrown from the bunk as we ran off the road, I ran up to the drivers seat and Mark turned around like nothing happened and said" I got it, sorry" The festival was on a dry Indian reservation. We gave 3 Indian stage hands money to go get us beer off the reservation. On the way back....they got busted for DUI!!!
I know Pete remember more but I know i will never forget that gig.May 28, 2009 at 12:51am ·
Dean CornellTodd Rundgren Tour:
So Raoul came out on Todd Rundgren with me and was stage manager and Praire Princes drum tech. One day he cut out womens junk pics and put them all over Prairies drums.When the rest of the band saw them they felt left out and said Hey what about us. The next day Raoul had all their gear covered with crotch shots! Todd said Hey man I'm in the band what about me? Raoul said ok I didnt want to make you mad I'll take care of it. I dont know where he found the pictures but when the band hit the stage for sound check the next day all of Todds gear had head shots of Gary Coleman!
Cleveland Agora:
When Raoul was stage manager at the Agora a new up and comming band would roll in all excited to be out of the bars and playing at the Agora. Raoul would greet then with the same line every time. "Welcome to the Agara. My name is Raoul, I'm the stage manager here. We'll see you on your way up and we'll see you on your way back down"
RIP my brother! See you when I see you!May 28, 2009 at 8:25am ·- Dean CornellSo Mark goes out as a carpenter on Jesus Christ Superstar. The first day Mark is in the elevator with the guy who played jesus. Mark says Hi I'm Raoul I'm the new carpenter here and Jesus introduces himself. Mark says to Jesus"So same ending every night"?
besides being the funniest guy I ever meet he had bigger balls than anyone
Everybody Anybody please send me pictures!May 28, 2009 at 8:44am · - Peter WalkerOn Superstar Mark had covered the inside of the elevator with pics of naked woman for Ted ( Jesus ) to look at before he rose up.
Well the actor that played Pilot was gay and faced the other way on the elevator. One day he said to Mark " hey don't I get any pics for me?"
So the next show Mark had sent the runner out for several gay porn mags and he covered the inside of the downstage wall with pics of penises.
The best part was on a load in, Mark would find the most disgruntled stage hand and make him hold up the "cock wall" for no reason whatsoever.
Mark loved the fact that a pissed off guy had to stand there looking at a wall of dicks.May 28, 2009 at 10:13am · - Peter WalkerOn the Rundgren tour Mark and I went to porno shop to buy a blow up doll to put in the dressing room.
Mark found a blow up sheep called an " I Love Ewe" after blowing it up he used a red sharpie to make the vagina red and he put it in the bands dressing room.
After the show was over the sheep was gone.May 28, 2009 at 10:16am · 
Billy Parente Just like Sue , reading and laughing. We're all gonna miss ya Mark.May 28, 2009 at 2:05pm ·- Dean CornellNautica Stage Boardwalk:
we just finished the load in and lunch and were hanging out on the boardwalk playing the Bimbo Score Card Game. This old lady comes back stage and think she knows Raoul.
"how are you? Long time since I've seen you and on and on" Raoul keeps up his end of the conversation the whole time he keeps looking over at us with that I dont know this lady look. After about 15 minutes of paying the game he drops the line" Hey you got that $20.00 you borrowed from me"?
we thought she was going to have a heart attack on the spot.
"I cant remember borrowing $20.00 from you"
" Thats ok you can keep it" and he walks away.May 28, 2009 at 2:43pm · - Laurence Howard DolinLaurence Dolin
We set up a holiday lighting fesival in Berea where the cars would go about a half a mile with Christmas lights on both sides. Mark was hired to be Santa Claus. We were freezing our balls off and he was warm inside the suit. He got fired for smoking pot as Santa Claus. At the Agora, Mark was happiest when he was the front of house engineer. He would dissappear into the snake hole at the mix. A couple of seconds later he would reappear with a smile on his face. Raoul was the king of the 1 hitters.May 28, 2009 at 3:04pm · - Susan Csendes I have to spend some quality time and print all of these out, too damn funny to float off into never never land.May 28, 2009 at 3:20pm ·
- Peter WalkerYes Mark, Jebi and myself where going to the grand canyon to do a hippie show in the middle of nowhere.
I was driving the audio truck and Mark was driving the motorhome full of hippies ( and Jebi ) behind me. We all know Mark hated to drive and his idea of long distance driving was from W65th to the Agora.
So we are somewhere in Texas and I look in my rearview mirror and I can see that Mark is trying to pass me.
Well the motorhome swings wild into the median then back over 2 lanes and then swings to the side of the road. So I pull over and walk back to where the motor home is stopped and Mark is sitting behind the wheel covered in sweat.
As I was standing by the window, you can hear people panicked in the motorhome ( Jebi asked if we were there yet ) and Mark turned to me and calmly said " Jesus I just pulled a Clark Grisswald"May 28, 2009 at 4:00pm · 
Bob Prah on a Danzig tour me and raoul were roomates and one night I woke up to use the bathroom and there was raoul sleeping in the bathtub the next day I asked him if he got that wasted the night before and he said man you snoreMay 28, 2009 at 9:02pm ·
Linas Johansonas Check-out the >>> Friends of Mark "Raoul" Hall <<< facebook group.May 29, 2009 at 2:28am ·
Matthew T HallPlease share this with the friends of Mark "Rauol" Hall sites? Thanks and we appreciate your comments.I
wish to share with all of you that Mark was found by his brother Matt on Sunday may 24. We had him cremated when we went up to Brewster on Wednesday. Mark as always had things in order and in his computer he had letters indicating his health had been deteriorating and did not want to involve anyone with his personal struggle. He also had a “Last will and testament” in which he specifically requested that there be “No funeral or wakes please, remember me in your thoughts” He also requested that we do not put newspaper reports, obits, news releases or network info out on him. So, we, his family will not, but I do think that his international network of friends should honor him in any way they wish. I'm sure his mother, Laura, Mike, Matt and I, will cooperate in any way we can. I should tell you that the overalls still live... Ed HallMay 29, 2009 at 12:41pm ·- Dean CornellMatthew & Ed,
Thanx for the posting! Now it all makes sense.
I knew in my heart it couldn't be anything else.
More of Raoul being Raoul!
RIP Bro!May 29, 2009 at 10:48pm · 
Phill ManzoMark and I where loading in at Peabodys in the flats,struggling to get some big heavy roadcase through the front door.This old couple must have been in their 80's dressed in their Sunday best,just passing by when they stop to watch us try to jerk this thing in the front door.Mark turns to them and says
"Hey folks instead of just standin' there watchin' can ya give us a hand?...Come on grab a handle there's one for all of us"May 30, 2009 at 3:10pm ·- Phill ManzoMark and I are staying at fancy hotel on Miami Beach.
We are coming back to the room with arm loads of beer.Katie Couric then host of the Today show is walkin' down the hallway towards us and says "You guys are sure ready to party huh?
Marks says "Sure your welcome to join us it'll be fun." She Says Sorry I gotta work early in the morning." To that mark comes with
"Aw come on its not like you've never worked reekin' of liquor before ,and I am sure ya got great hair and make up people."
She didnt know what to say,
We could not get the key in the door fast enough finally
We both spilled through the door and on to the floor laughing and rolling around like little kids Celebrating another celebrity caught in Mark Hall drive- bye.
I LOVE THAT GUY.May 30, 2009 at 3:41pm · 
Ron WiseHe will be truly missed. One of my favorite memories:
Rugburns at the Agora Theater w/special guest: Jewel. Jewel bounces into production asking to use the phone. Mark kindly asks who she is and if she has raided Ace Frehley's wardrobe. After receiving a puzzling look Mark continues to explain to her who Ace Frehley is and later that year Kiss reunites on the MTV music awards where Jewel receives an award.May 31, 2009 at 12:01am ·- Ron Wise Mark was a one-of-a-kind true professional, true talent, and true colorful personality. I am deeply saddened by our loss and i am truly enjoying all of these "Mark" stories. Really fantastic!May 31, 2009 at 12:05am ·
John FritzWow, I remember some of my first gigs with RCS... Pete, Jebi, Mark, Al Jones, Blaine, Tommy Stazzone...
The Mark Hall Standouts...
At the Agora...
"if anyone wants to share a needle, I'll be outside in the alley"
The classic look and comments from kids that would walk into the ballroom and see the Midas Pro 5 FOH console and Mark would tell them, just make the lights flash, it will sound great.
Then he would tell Jurist that we needed a chalk board sent over to the agora so he could hold mixing and algebra classes for the traveling engineers.
If mark saw tension with the muso's on stage during load in / sound check... he would be sure to egg it on... If the Drummer asked for more vocal in the mix.. mark would gladly let him know that the bass player told him outside to make sure to keep his vocal down.
I always looked forward to being on a show or even a loading dock with Mark, Pete, Alex Jones, Tommy Stazzone and Larry Dolin .... ( the list could go on )June 1, 2009 at 11:26am ·- Todd Sobleski So many shows....Mark and I doing a show in the ballroom for some death metal act, and during the show I am looking all over for him. I finally see him with his black leather jacket and all that hair, moshing with the kids in front of the stage...classic Raoul.....June 1, 2009 at 11:55am ·
Carlton Cash Damn! It just dawned on me just who Mark was; saw his pic and all the gigs we did together came back into view..........He will be missedJune 1, 2009 at 2:57pm ·- Phill ManzoMark doing FOH in the Agora ballroom for Deicide the singer with the upside down cross on his branded on his forhead. Marks done with line check and comes over the talkback to the band...."OK fellas can ya play me a lil' number...Preferably something one of my favorite bands "Bread"?
Later the singer thanked us and asked if we wanted shirts mark replies "No thanks man we're into the lord here."June 1, 2009 at 4:16pm · - John FritzHow about Belkin Country fest with him wearing those crazy ass overalls and cowboy hat !!!! Someone MUST have a shot of that somewhere... maybe Blaine?!
I remember Mark and Pete in Monitor world with a finely selected centerfold from a premi...See MoreJune 1, 2009 at 4:34pm · - Dean CornellI remember Raoul asking me to build him something for the Arora Ballroom rig. he was already doing monitors from the FOH console and the FOH mix but was having trouble running lights at the same time. He wanted a foot switch that he could plug into the piece of crap lighting console so he could program a chase and step on the switch to advance the the chase one step at a time. I made the cord too short to position the thing where he wanted it to be so he grabbed a extension out of the work box and taped it to the floor under the FOH console. I can back later to watch him running monitors, FOH and lights. King of the tripple dippers plus he was getting the stage managers pay. sorry King of the Quad Dipper!June 1, 2009 at 8:03pm ·
- Dean CornellHow many drummers did he call "Ringo" just to piss them off?
when someone would ask " can I get some more of my vocal in the monitor"? and Raoul would answer Yes I can do that then ask if the guy could get more tallent in his monitor.
I having a hard time remembering if we spent more time together at the Agora on the stage, the basement, or the grid??
Black jeans, Black tee shirt, Black socks, Black Converse tennies, and it 100 degrees and he is sweeting like hell and out comes the Black hankie and the head tilt to get his Black hair out of the way and the wipe! How much more black can it be and the answer is non more black.June 1, 2009 at 8:12pm · - John Fritz dean, only when Al Jones was on the gig! but if he heard you say it...you would get a big F-you..im not black, im brown!
oh and dont forget mark and pete with their fresh copies of black tail!June 1, 2009 at 8:57pm · - Peter WalkerBlack Tail came from we where on any tour together Mark loved sending the runner out for porn.
He particularly like to ask for very rare magazines so the runner would have to go into all the porn shops and ask for the latest issue of Ouch or Foreskin Quarterly.
And of course....Black Tail. It always reminded Mark of Angies Soul Food accross the street from the Agora.
He said he always likes the way the black girls said Raoul. He would walk in and the girls would say " Hey Ra oo".June 1, 2009 at 10:58pm · - Phill Manzo And we all loved the Blue Gremlin he drove for a while .Its brakes went out in a parking lot so he went "Spanky Spangler" with it , drove it into a light pole and walked home.June 2, 2009 at 6:08am ·
Blaine BrintonMark, Pete and myself were sent to do a rap show at the Stuffed Mushroom--a crap little bar at Kent State. Something went down in the bar before the show even had a chance to start. The Kent Police showed up in their best subtle riot-gear fashion and tear-gassed the place without warning--like it was 1970 all over again but instead of hippies it was little hip-hop thug-wannabees. And no one died. The three of us huddled in the front of the General GMC Top Kick while 10 inches of snow fell--smoking and laughing our asses off--still waiting for the go ahead to return into the club and load out the gear, which included RCS FL4-s on a hill in a blizzard with no stage hands--(For the NYC fellas on here--not the lightest PA system ever devised, trust me). Once back in, Mark walks straight up to the officer in charge and says "Heyyyy you guys sure no how to save us from a bad time. I'd give you a tip but I spent it all on an 8 ball before the show even started."June 2, 2009 at 10:53am ·- Susan CsendesSpeaking of rap shows, remember Scarface at the Agora, want to say it was late 94 or early 95. All hell broke loose, and not a cop to be found, they all left before the sh!t hit the fan. If I recall correctly, carface had a chainsaw up on stage and was telling the crowd to kil all the crackers, or something like that. I don't know where everyone was, but my office, and Larry D's mom's old couch was triage-central. Bartenders bailing on the bars, security thrown through the glass doors, tables cracked over their skulls, box office doors smashed down (thank God we had it reinforced after Bone Thugs near-riot). I remember wondering in all of the mess where were Mark and Ray, the only two non-rappers in the house, I think they told me that Ray went under the seats behind the mix, and Mark climbed up. That was quite a night. Happy to get out of that one in mostly one piece.June 2, 2009 at 1:39pm ·
Frank RovitoI remember that night. Bob Henninge and I were up in the perch running spotlights and Scarface was screaming over the P.A. for us to shine the spots on the fights in the pit. I remember Bob saying "don't you F__king dare!". I think it was because he was afraid of getting shot. What he thought was the sound of gunshots was actually the sound of the 2"x4"s from the barricade being broken over the heads of the rioters. I remember not going down stairs for a long while and Jimmy doing the settlement with the band from behind his .357.
That was my last rap show.June 2, 2009 at 2:18pm ·- Susan CsendesWhat a fu@ked up night.
I came across some old Agora pictures from the night we had that national fraternity-sorority rental (Kappa kappa whatever, that was the first of the not great experiences with rap and whatnot at the Agora). Fire i...See MoreJune 2, 2009 at 3:43pm · 
Jenn Walker I miss production meetings upstairs at The Agora with Mark Hall and listening to him reduce grown men and women to the verge of tears with his sharp tongue. No one could rock those ridiculous Hee Haw overalls but Raoul.June 2, 2009 at 3:53pm ·
Raymond J. LiptakHello Everybody,
Not the circumstances I would have preferred to say hi to all of you who I don't get a chance to see much anymore.
How many have heard this line before,
We’re wrapping up after one of those long nights in the ballroom, I think for a band called "Defecation"
Mark and I, and I think Philbert are the last ones in the ballroom when some drunk bum stumbles in and asks Mark for some work b\c he needs the money. Mark politely asks him where he's from and he tells us he's a recovering alcoholic from some hall down the street. Mark immediately escorts the guy out the door and tells him we don't hire quitters.
Mark, wherever you are you will be missed by many.June 2, 2009 at 4:54pm ·- Blaine Brinton Haha! I remember that line Ray.
Defecation...sounds like a lovely night of music. Must be the shit!June 2, 2009 at 5:34pm · - Ron Wise I remember that he would tell the monitor engineer that the monitor mix was all ready and that he zero'd out the console for him.. Nothing like full service.June 2, 2009 at 9:35pm ·
Ingrid Kottke JCSS - our guitar player had to leave the tour for a doctors thing and Mark would get up at 7:30am, load in the show as the carpenter, go to the back of the bus and rehearse the show, then play the show, then put the guitar down and do the load out. And then do it again the next day. For almost a week he did this...just for shits and giggles...and Covin putting the spot light on him in that little church/theatre place during the guitar solo for Judas when he stood up and tore up the solo. Man! He was one talented dude!June 3, 2009 at 4:47pm ·- Ingrid KottkeAnd he would always clean the bus...after the driver had gone through...he was fastidious about that. And he used to rearrange the furniture in the hotel rooms to be on an angle...
Whatcha pullin' Mark...RIP and many fond memories to cherish. Will upload the pics from the JCSS and WSS tours when I get home.June 3, 2009 at 4:50pm · - Laurence Howard Dolin Mark would sometimes say, "here's a little something I learned in Vietnam". Then someone on the tour would say,"you were in Vietnam"? And I would tell them that Mark used to take family vacations there before the war. Stayed at the Holiday Inn. I missed throwing the bull with Raoul.June 3, 2009 at 8:31pm ·
- Peter Walker Mark was like Spanky from the "Little Rascals". He did everything in the show except sell the tickets.June 4, 2009 at 8:01am ·
- Laurence Howard Dolin Another great Raoul line remembered by Jim Burley. After a show with foreign touring personel, Mark would ask, "so what did we learn in America today?"June 5, 2009 at 10:32pm ·
Christene PantaloneIngrid,I totally forgot that Mark played the JCS show. I did remember how he liked to arrange his hotel room and clean. He once told me that he didn't want to listen to tunes b/c it would distort what he wrote.... im still not sure if he was jokin me.
Funny to hear all the stories about cars... when we were in Cleve,we went to some random show at Blossom and he drove my dad's Jag... I don't like to drive...turns out he didn't either.
Mark was great. I wish I knew where he was 4 months ago, then I coulda reached out to him to tell him... and he coulda given me somesmart ass comment to remember himby.June 6, 2009 at 1:52pm ·- Laurence Howard Dolin Whenever I saw him or talked to him, he would always called me BABUUUUUUUUUU, after the Seinfeld character. And I would reply, JERRYYYYYYYYYYY. I don't know if he was a Seinfeld junkie, like myself, but I assume he was.June 9, 2009 at 2:33pm ·
- Casey HabermannI only worked with Mark for 3 months but I have at least a dozen stories....Here's a good one he told me about..
He was backstage at a Grateful Dead show with very little to do...The venue where they were having the show was being used all summer for an opera. They had just let the Dead in fort heir three shows or whatever..Sooo the opera had the entire stage marked with all their spikes so they know where to put their set pieces during the show. Mark thought it would be funny to move all the spikes to various places on the stage.....I would have loved to see the night they came back.....The entire set would be in the wrong positions and thel ighting would be totally off. HA! Only Mark would even think of doing something like that!
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The former president of the USSR politely declined and to the horror of everybody around us Mark said " Well how about a Ho Ho?"
Mr Gorbachev smiled and walked on to the stage without the Ho Ho.