HAHAHAHA, I love that story.

Mr. Ron Shneider, I did not know you were the voice for Dreamfinder. I never rode the ride, but after seeing old video from friends and cds, I have to say,

"Imagination! Imagination!..."

The song is stuck in my head til this day. Thank you.

Being a sound tech for more than 20 years, and having done numerous shows, I've been thru this scenario a few more times than I would care to remember, so for me this was somewhat painful to read. These kinds of issues are unfortunately very common in a live show where there is very little advance notice of who will be doing what. But, still, the responsiblity lies on the sound tech to make sure the equipment is working and the mic is qued when the "talent" is supposed to be on.

I would be real interested to know whether these incidents were just human error and a result of the tech missing the que and not turning the mic on, or if they were technical-related and somewhat unavoidable. Regardless, it's bad show for everybody. However, if I were the director, I don't think I would have had you start over announcing names of people who had already walked on stage.

Admit it.  You timed this article just for "May Day" didn't you?

Oh, I hear the party that night was *much* more interesting...

Ouch! I use to handle sound for our band when I was a kid. Nothing worse than the sound failing when you're doing a show.

The only answer is, improvise! improvise!

Funny story, however.

Another great article, Ron! Make's me look all the more forward to your memoirs.