The Live Music Experience GLOSSARY OF TERMS

[clicktrack]

Across the Womb, we have different terms and definitions in use. Its interesting to note, however, that some terms used in live work are totally foreign to those from standard studio environs. And the TV guys? They may as well be from mars with their lexicon.

So now, as a public service from the Live Music Experience, we present the Live Music Glossary of Terms.

Some terms here are specific to only certain facets of the biz and are noted as such with parentheses. Others are generic and should be noted if you spend any quantity of time in a live stage environment.


This, by no means, constitues a complete list. Feel free to add and contribute...this will be a never ending thread...


We, at the Womb, are not responsible for any damage or injury caused by usage of these terms in the wrong environment or company. For example, calling a lighting trog a "trog" to his face may cause problems... Please use common sense or discretion.


Oh...and no lighting trogs were hurt in the writing of this glossary.



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Upstage - The back of the stage (aka where the wall is)

Downstage - The front of the stage (aka where the audience is)

Stage left or Stage right - the left or right on stage from the actors position when facing the audience. all
stage directions are given based on this.

Strike - The act of removing a show from a stage or venue.

Load In - (Theatre/Concert) The act of installing a show into a venue.

Load Out - (Theatre/Concert) See "Strike"

Tear Out - (Television) See "Strike"

The "In" - (TV/Theatre/Concert) - A short form of "Load In"

The "Out" - (TV/Theatre/Concert) - A short form of "Load Out"

Show Call - The middle portion of a production day which involves the actual running of the show for an audience.
Typically production days may be split into three, Load in, Show call and Load out. Depending on the production's needs, some production staff may work the in and the out, while a reduced crew would work the show call.

Horsecock - A single cable consisting of multiple conductors. Called a "snake" or "mult" in polite environs,
the horsecock typically has a significant girth-to-length ratio and must be at least long enough to fit the text "If you can read this you must be one lucky motherfucker"

Mult - (Theatre/Concert) See "Horsecock"

Mult - (Studio) A section of the patch bay that provides "Y-Cable" capabilities. A mult allows one signal in the patch bay to be routed to multiple (hence the name) destinations within that same patchbay. This is done by creating typically three other copies together.

Snake - See "Horsecock"

House Tech - The technician who is supplied with the venue. This tech, in theory, knows everything and anything that you could every throw a them about how to get your show mounted in their venue. Depending on the size of the venue, a house tech may be specialized i.e. house electricians, house sound, house flyrail, etc. House Techs have the keys to everything, know where the power, pizza, and everything else is. Be nice to the house techs. Be Very nice to the house techs. Lets do this again...Be Nice to your house techs.

FOH - Front of House, the location of the main sound and lighting boards.

J-Box - Electrical Junction box, also known as a disconnect panel

LD - Lighting Director. This is the head lighting trog. The person who decides which type of fixture is hung at what position to create a specific effect. The LD may also call all of the lighting cues during the actual show.

SM - Stage Manager. The person in charge of all stage operations before, during and after the show. On a theatrical show, in terms of heirarchy, the SM will work with the director throughout the show development and rehearsal. Once the show moves into the venue, the SM becomes "the boss" and any change by the director must involve input from the SM. This is due to the fact that any one direction change can affect the work of multiple departments like sound, lighting, etc. The SM understands the "big picture" of the show's operation
and can veto the change if it a) creates a significant logistical issue b) threatens to hinder the normal flow of a production day or c) if he/she feels like it. The stage manager not only handles the technical aspects of the show, but also manages the human factor and ensures the needs of the performer(s) areadequately facilitated.

Gobo - (stage) also called a pattern in live theatre. A thin piece of metal with a design cut out, placed in theatrical lighting fixtures so that the projected light makes a pattern on the stage. Originated as a short-form from the word "Goes Before Optics" Probably because Lighting Trogs don't have the vocabulary to use the big words like "optics" and prefer cute and cuddlier terms.

Gobo - (film) a stand used to hold colour gel or diffuser to modify the effect of raw light from a large lamp. Sometimes known as a "flag".

Gobo - (Studio) a movable acoustic panel used as a baffle.

Spot - Follow Spot

Spot - Short name for a remedial book read by lighting trogs. Also known as "See Spot Run"

Gel - An acetate film used to modify the colour of a projected beam of light.

Frame - holds a gel in any lighting fixture. In particular, follow spots use this term in order to enumerate the multiple colours available in that spot. Operators will engage a lever in order to place the selected gel (frame) into the projected beam. For example, a typical call from a lighting director or stage manager to a follow spot operator will be: "Spot 3, frame 2 you'll be picking up the singer upstage right...standby...and go."

Ballyhoo - spotlight cue where the spots are waved in a sort of figure 8 pattern all around the stage or house for excitement.

Dimmer - The electrical boxes used by lighting that

Lighting Trog - Squint, The fucking lighting operator who argues about why the lights make the show...all while inducing 60 cycles into your audio signal path. Why is a lighting trog called a "trog"? Because. Thats it. Just because. What...are you a trog? Figures. Fucking well taks a trog to ask what the hell a trog is.

Distro - Power distribution box. connected to the stage disconnect via the tails, distributes power to all production elements. there may be different distro's for sound and lights.

Cams - Cam lock connectors that are typically used for each leg of a 3-phase circuit as well as ground and neutral. These provide fast & easy disconnection means while still preserving safety by means of the active cam-type lock.

Tails - cam lock to bare wire short cables that tie directly into the disconnect panel. house electricians will request the tails to tie in power

Audio Weenie - or humhead. No such a thing exists, however such a term may occasionally be emitted from the
sucking oraface of a lighting trog.

Point - the position where a truss chain motor is mounted to.

Steel - A "rope" of twisted steel wires that is Used by riggers to support a motor from a point.

Spanset - A cloth cord that is formed into a loop used by riggers to attach truss to the chain motor. The spanset is looped around the truss, and then shackled to the chain of the motor.

Shackle - A piece of steel hardware that has two parts - the shackle itself, which is a u-shaped piece of metal and the pin. The shackle is a quick-release mechanism that the ends of the steel are placed into to support other structures.

Genny - Generator

Grid - the thing that is fixed to the stage ceiling that the truss is hung from

Truss - the thing hanging from the grid that the lights are hung from. metal, usually 24" square, mini truss is half that size.

HEADS! - The term used by stage types to indicate to cover your head, duck, or get the fuck out of the way. Usually not a good idea to look up when you hear "HEADS!" being called.

Fuck - the term used by riggers when they drop a shackle pin. Usually said just prior and in rapid
succession with the warning "HEADS!".

Run on the Fuck - Think about it. You're working beneath a rigger. He/she drops a pin. You're most likely to hear "Fuck...HEADS!". If you run on the fuck, you buy yourself approximately 20 milliseconds of acceleration time to get the fuck out of the way.

Splay - a cabling bundle that terminates on one end in a multipin connector and on the other end in discrete connections for each channel that is in the multipin.

On Sticks - (Television) term referring to a camera on a tripod.

[dumbass]

Stinger - an extension cord.

Point or Points - The places in the grid that rigger's hang steel for truss using shackles and hopefully no spansets at the point, but it's cool on the truss.

[pounce]

i'll have plenty to add as i think of them. for now...

gaff tape - 3 or 4 inch wide cloth tape that tears easy and doesn't leave a sticky residue or pull up paint. used extensively in the business. not the same as duct tape, although lots of non entertainment industry folks bring duct tape out for their shows. that's a no no. always use gaff. especially on my cables or stage.

spike tape - thin colored tape used to mark where something goes. for instance, you might mark the spot on stage where the main bands' wedges go downstage before you move them for the opening band. you can then put the wedges back into the same place once the opener is done. usually little "L" shaped marks where the corners of things go. different colors often denote different things - ie: mic stands are yellow but wedges are red tape marks. also used on the flyrail of the counterweight system in a proper theatre on the linesets to mark the "in" and "out" trims for things like screens and backdrops. with spike marks on linesets, things flown back in to deck arrive at the proper height thanks to spike tape.

about points and rigging -

every point is a place a motor will hang. usually from the grid above a theatre. once a proper point is established, a piece of rigging steel (just referred to as steel) will be wrapped around the point and a shackle is put on it. from the shackle you will attach the chain end which has been run fully out of the motor. then you attach the motor to one end of the truss or whatever you are flying, usually with spansets (properly called slings), and run the motor from the stage up to the grid by letting it climb up that chain filling a chain bag on it's side as it goes up. there is a whole lot more to rigging, but this is the absolute most basic idea of what is happening with a point, motor, chain, and spanset so that the really heavy stuff can go up high. motors are rated by the weight that they can handle and one ton motors are the most common. flown speakers, lighting, video, and even set pieces might normally be rigged this way.

[bunnerabb]

TD - theatre - This is the Technical Director. He's the CEO of everything that plugs into anything and if something fucks up, he catches hell. Then you.

ATD - theatre - Assistant TD.

Sparky - theatre / concerts - The house electrician. Do NOT fuck with this person if they know what they're doiing. If they don't, get rid of them. Fast.

Runner - theatre / concerts - These are basically staff gophers who run errands for the house or the talent. Treat them like dirt and your Big Mac might taste funny.

Skate - theatre / concerts - Those nifty little dolly board or the bottom of a road case with the wheels on it when the case lifts off the skate. Like for a Marshall cab.

Hat - theatre / concerts - The part of the road case that you just lifted from the top of the skate.

Warm bodies to the FOH - concerts - Usually a shout from the AE or the TD to get all the warm bodies available to lift that stupid huge 4k console into position and take the cover off.

Doghouse - concerts - the back portion of the FOH desk case that holds all the interconnects and Littlelite PS/U and stuff and keeps them tidily out of reach of patrons and other maladroit fucks.

Toybox - concerts - Out of date slang for the FOH process racks.

One of my personal favourites was never in use except for a couple of crews, locally. Edna from Production. This was code for "there's some piece of skirt backstage with your name on it and whoever is standing next to you probably doesn't want to know, so.. you're needed by 'Edna from Production' " Private meeting.. business.. no wives or girlfriends.

[dumbass]

Fan - Audio The end of a multiconductor cable that has XLR or TRS connectors that get hooked up (hopefully in the right damn order) in the back of consoles.

Trunk - audio The middle section of a large multiconductor audio cable or "snake". Usually heavy as hell and care should be used to run out and run in the trunk.

Trim - everything! When something is flown in the air, this is the height at which the item is set for the performance. Usually the distance to the bottom of the item, but not always.

Deck - production The stage... as in "clear the deck" - Empty the stage of all the gear so we can get the fuck out and and go home.

Racks and Racks-n-Stacks - concert audio Racks are the main amp racks, stacks are the main speaker facing.

Scaf - production Scaffolding - Usually used to get equipment above the crowd in situations where flying is not an option or not called for. i.e. outdoors.

Fork or Forks - production - Forklift

[clicktrack]

Keep 'em coming, guys...well done.


Feeder - (concert) heavy-gauge power cable used to bring electricity from the distro to the various factions of the concert world (i.e. Monitor land, FOH).

Cadillac - (concert) An extremely heavy-duty road case made of solid 1/2" wood. Usually used to transport feeder. Typical cadillacs will have cut outs on either side to allow the bulk of the feeder to reside in the case while only the lengths required are pulled out.

BUFF - Big Ugly Fat Fucker, or Big Ugly Fat Fellow in polite society. Used to refer to anything large and unweildy.

[clicktrack]

about points and rigging -

every point is a place a motor will hang. usually from the grid above a theatre. once a proper point is established, a piece of rigging steel (just referred to as steel) will be wrapped around the point and a shackle is put on it. from the shackle you will attach the chain end which has been run fully out of the motor. then you attach the motor to one end of the truss or whatever you are flying, usually with spansets (properly called slings), and run the motor from the stage up to the grid by letting it climb up that chain filling a chain bag on it's side as it goes up. there is a whole lot more to rigging, but this is the absolute most basic idea of what is happening with a point, motor, chain, and spanset so that the really heavy stuff can go up high. motors are rated by the weight that they can handle and one ton motors are the most common. flown speakers, lighting, video, and even set pieces might normally be rigged this way.

This is dead on...I may not of stated it well early on.

I'm going to take a legal moment and mention that ALL RIGGING SHOULD BE LEFT TO A QUALIFIED RIGGER. DO NOT USE OUR DEFINITIONS AS AN RIGGING 101. IF YOU DON'T KNOW RIGGING OR ARE UNSURE, THEN DON'T DO IT! LIVES ARE AT RISK.

Back to our regularily scheduled programming....

[dumbass]

This is dead on...I may not of stated it well early on.

I'm going to take a legal moment and mention that ALL RIGGING SHOULD BE LEFT TO A QUALIFIED RIGGER. DO NOT USE OUR DEFINITIONS AS AN RIGGING 101. IF YOU DON'T KNOW RIGGING OR ARE UNSURE, THEN DON'T DO IT! LIVES ARE AT RISK.

Back to our regularily scheduled programming....

AMEN!

And I'll chime in this... If you don't ABSOLUTELY KNOW 200% for sure what the hell you are doing, DO NOT RIG STUFF IN THE AIR! This even applies to Jeannie Lifts!!!

This is serious shit. You DON'T want to be responsible for killing people... and it CAN happen.

If you want to learn rigging, then go to the local union, large format venue, etc. Talk to the head rigger. Tell him what you want to do/learn. Pull an apprenticeship, or find the local qualified riggers and hire them... PAY THEM WELL!!! They are worth every penny!

BTW, don't EVER piss your Rigger's off... it'll make for one Looooooooong damn day... and while your shit will be safely hung, it's likely to be a mess to pack and hang the next time... and that ain't worth it!

[pounce]

there is a trend in the industry for riggers to be certified and in some cases bonded as well. rigging training includes lots of math and structural design considerations so that a trained rigger can really determine the safety of all the baskets and bridles and so forth. rigging is serious business, and i dont' do it. high steel is a pretty scary place, and pulling up a hundred foot of chain while on a high steel beam takes a certain kind of person. not me, thanks. frankly, i cringe when i see badly hung speakers in nightclubs or churches. some of the home made rigging they have attempted makes me nervous.

[clicktrack]

high steel is a pretty scary place, and pulling up a hundred foot of chain while on a high steel beam takes a certain kind of person. not me, thanks.

I got a very basic training in rigging just when I started a very long time ago.

It was just enough information to know that I don't want to be anywhere near it. You gotta know EXACTLY what you're doing.


frankly, i cringe when i see badly hung speakers in nightclubs or churches. some of the home made rigging they have attempted makes me nervous.

What also made me cringe was the trainee riggers up in the air with the head rigger. Hence the term "Run on the Fuck" in the glossary ;).

[Jason Phair]

Someone mentioned STINGER as an extension cord - it's also an extension piece of steel if you need your point to be lower.

PACKS - (sound) Beltpacks, either a receiver for IEM's, a transmitter for wireless lavalier mics, or both for intercom.

IEM - (sound) In-Ear-Monitor

DOORS When the punters are allowed into the house.

CURTAIN/DOWNBEAT When the show starts.

GAK 1)items that need to be hung off truss or a pipe. 2)Columbian Marching Powder

WHITE-GLOVER A technician who tries his absolute hardest not to get his hands dirty.

SWAG No, I'm not talking about cheap weed. It stands for Stuff We All Get. CD',s shirts..pretty much any sorta merch will do. More appreciated if it says something about being crew on it.

TEN/COFFEE Ten: Ten minute break. Coffee: 15 minute break.

REAL TIME What the time on the clock says, not the time relative to the show.

[Spock]

REAL TIME What the time on the clock says, not the time relative to the show.

A related term

BAR TIME The time on the clocks in the bar. Some places set their clocks ahead 10 to 20 minutes. This is so when closing time comes, and people are still screwing around, by the time they get them out the door it is still in time so they don't run into issues with local laws about serving or open past a fixed time.

You might hear these things, "Are will going real time, or bar time?" "How far off is bar time?" "Be back from break at 5 till, bar time."

[burnsy]

Talking of real time and such like in lighting terms they work on a ratio of 2:4 so when they say This rig will be done in two days come back on the fourth.

[clicktrack]

Cyc - Short for "Cyclorama", the cyc is the white translucent curtain sometimes used in a theatre instead of the traditional black drapery. Cycs can be used as a video projection surface or as a surface to project lighting effect onto.

Scrim - An opaque fabric drapery that, when lit from one direction, is partially see-through, when lit from the other, is translucent.

[dnafe]

This one is for our Canadian brethren

Traynor Correctors

a 3 prong to 2 prong AC adapter...used for getting rig of a 60 hz hum

The reason for the name...way back when we had a Traynor PS 1200 power amp for our PA that had a notorious hum that could always be cleaned up with one of these adapters...hense the term

[bunnerabb]

Also called ground lifts or earth lifts

Aint those illegal in Canadia?

[bunnerabb]

These:

[dumbass]

We sometimes call em' "cheater's"...

You're cheatin' your gear out of ground... cheating death... etc.

[pounce]

soft goods - all the drapery in a theatre.
main rag - main curtain
legs - soft goods on stage left and right that block audience view of the wings
bounce - functionally the same as a flat cyc


rear projection - a video screen which is translucent so as to allow video to be projected on it from behind it

front projection - opaque video screen which uses projectors in front

[macfeedback]

Being a stickler.......

Strike means to make the stage bare, a temporary measure. Store shit locally.

Load out means to take everything that does not belong to the stage/ theatre and ship it out.

One can strike the stage between scenes but one would have a lot of egg on the face if one was to do a load out between scenes.

A strike can be followed with a RESTORE.

A load out is load the trucks and get the fuck out of Dodge and go home.

[macfeedback]

These:

Technically these are illegal most anywhere.

Just try using AC ground lifters in Japan, Australia, Europe..... and the list goes on.

Not good. Quick Fix but not good.

[CloseToTheEdge]

Some of my favorites from Roadie.net:

Betty - Slang: Groupie

Blacks - Official uniform of roadies

Book of Lies - Slang: A tour itinerary, which are notorious for being incorrect/out of date

Butt Fill - Monitors behind a musician, used for purposes of Deafness, Ego, and... well.. deafness and ego

Cable Monkey - Semi-derogatory term for sound crew, particularly junior crew

Cans - Slang: for headphones, tits, or Par-Cans (lighting instruments)

Civilian - Any non-roadie who doesn't really understand.... i.e. "My present girlfriend is a civilian...I guess we wont be together long then" Also applicable to non production "visitors" backstage, especially those that get in the way hanging in the wings during a show or right after the end. "Somebody get those fucking civilians outta my way..."

Cotton Tech - Slang: Person who sells T-Shirts

DFA - Label on fake knob installed on mixing console to deceive bands when they wanted more treble/bass/volume or whatever, and turned it to full at their request. "DFA"? Well, it means "Does Fuck All"

Dildo - Female to Female cable connector

Feeding the Fish - Guitar picks, drum sticks (broken or not) that are found on stage after the show and tossed (or sometimes even thrown) into the crowd

Fucking The Monkey - Running the show. "I'm not fucking this monkey, I'm just holding his arms down." (in otherwords, I'm not in charge, don't ask me)

Gig Turd - Small section of gaffer tape which attaches itself to your shoes at a gig

Grunt - Slang: Roadie whose main job is to move things and not touch the electrical equipment

HAMSTER - Hooker Actress Model Stripper Trainer Entertainer Runaway: Good looking female backstage looking to "hook up" with the lead singer.... "So, what do you do darlin'? ....I'm
a ......Model, Actress, Personal Trainer, etc.... (yeah right)

High impedance air gap - The resulting situation produced by a piece of equipment not being plugged in, as in, "Hey guys, I fixed the kick drum mic--it just had a high impedance air gap!"

Hoik - Move something, typically heavy. "Hoik the speaker up here"

Hot Patch - Or "hot patching": Plugging in a electrified ("hot") power cord or cable to any unit, thus increasing the chances of "shorting out" the cable and/or the unit

I tried to fix it - A complete lie which usually means "It wasn't working, I got pissed off at the fucking thing and threw it at the wall, thus breaking it into the five pieces you see before you"

Kak - Slang: general equipment or gear. Used in a derogatory way as an alternative to calling the gear "Shit". For instance, "Hurry up, let's get this 'kak' off of the truck so we can start setting up." Also a term for when your laptop PC crashes.

Laminate - Permanent plastic laminated stage pass given to road crew and band for an entire tour

Leatherman - Brand name of a type of tool with muliple functions. Usually has a pair of pliers, knife blade, screwdrivers (Philips & flat head), and a bottle opener. It's carried in a sheath on the roadie's belt, and is responsible for helping save many a show. Has multiple uses, beside just the tools. Very rare to see a roadie without one.

Lighting Guy - Derogatory comment made usually by an audio engineer...can be replaced with:
Filament Fag, Spark Fairy, Truss Tart, Galadriel, Gobo Geek, Focus Fairies, Squints, Par Pussies (and any combination of the above)

Lot Lizard - A prostitute that works a truck-stop or rest-area parking lot

LSD - Abbreviation: Lead Singer Disease..That pretty boy who thinks he's got Mariah Carey range..but makes Mark Slaughter look like Celion Dion

Magic Touch - When you touch a knob/fader/pot without moving it when the artist asks for "Just a touch"

Magic Wave - Moving the hands over the console (usually the monitor console) to make the artist think that you're actually doing something instead of messing with your perfect settings (related to "Magic Touch")

MABs - Moving Air Baffles. Slang: The people in the audience

NFG - No fucking good. Abbreviation: Non-Functional Gear - If you work with Christian artists some people may say "Hey fucktard, I know what that means", so this is a second G rated definition, just in case someone tries to give you a hard time about it if you work with churchies.

PSD - Short for Professional Shit Deflector / Slang for Monitor Engineer

Puntersville - The place were the audience congregates

Rider - The document details the performer's requirements regarding food, drink, etc. Also known as "the wish list"

Safety Meeting - The sharing of marijuana among crew and or band members. "Safety meeting on the bus in 15 minutes!"

Slacker - One who works as little as possible, more than a poser, yes less than an actual stagehand/roadie.

Starmaker - any reverb or delay effect used on lead vocal. Usage: "That guy definitely needs more 'starmaker' on his mic."

Suck Button - A switch, knob, fader, etc. on the mixing console that does absolutely nothing, but is used to threaten the band. (i.e. I'll push the suck button on your channel.) For a better effect, it should be labeled with a label maker

Swag - A term that comes from the olden days in Australia... A salesman would walk for miles to sell his goods to the aboriginal people and those in distant towns.. he would carry his goods in a bag over his shoulder and by the time he got to town, he would have a definite "Swagger" to his step from carrying the weight all day.. Hence "Swag" means commercial goods, trinkets, souvenirs,clothing..etc. Acronyms: Something We All Get, Sex With A Groupie, Scientific Wild Ass Guess, Shit Whiners Ain't Gettin, Shit Weasels Always Get, Stolen Without A Gun

Swag Fag - See Cotton Tech

TRS - Abbreviation of "tip - ring - sleeve". A jack connector typically used for balanced lines and console insert points

West coast over-under - The preferred method of returning video cables not on reels to a transportable condition

...World - Guitar World, Monitor World, etc. Anything World means an area. "That crap lives over there in Monitor World"

Zero Out - "Zero out" (verb) or "zeroed out" (past tense): Removing the masking tape that labels the channel-to-instrument designation at the bottom of the sound board table. "...

[Jason Phair]

Dildo - Female to Female cable connector

Also a phase plug.

[AxeSlash]

These are probably mostly UK-based gigisms, but hey...

For those who work in the warehouse:

LMDC - That phonecall just as you're about to leave that asks for a full FOH & monitor system to be prepped for some dick who couldn't organise a pissup in a brewery (Last Minute Dot Com).

Numpty/Chimp - Work experience student.



For everyone else:

Get In/Out - see as load in/out

Comedy Gig - A gig where everything's gone so badly that everyone's past caring and are just laughing at the state of it all.

Belgian - Upside down. Usually applied to flightcases when packing a truck. "If we Belgian that cube it'll fit in that gap."

Cube - Smallish cable trunk. Not usually cube-shaped.

Lampy - Lighting engineer.

Shank - To have a shit and a wank simultaneously due to lack of time.

Throw - lift (when packing truck): "we'll throw that cube up there"

Fuck That - Appropriate response to a request to "throw the multi"

Flatpack - A truck pack where nothing is thrown. Love these.

Scotpack - Incredibly tight truck pack.

Call The Pack - Being in the truck deciding how to pack it.

Strop - see Spanset

Spollowfot - Followspot

Distro - Mains distribution unit. One hefty input, lots of smaller outputs, each with it's ownt trip. Usually has a main RCD and trip as well.

Trap - Under floor cable run, much like a trapdoor.

AC/DC stack - Stacking all the subs for a gig together in one massive pile.

Headroom - Distance from floor to underside of mixing desk.

Hatchback Reversing Into A Music Shop - A crap band.

Trainwreck - see above

Turd Polish - Generically used for lots of things, but usually EQ.

Fine adjuster - Hammer

Irish Screwdriver - see above

One-legged - mic cable where one of the cores has become disconnected, resulting in a very low level, thin sounding signal, usually accompanied by a buzz.

Toys - "Non-standard" outboard; expensive pres etc.

Blundermen - White glovers who really don't know wtf they're doing.

Rat's Nest - Mess of intertwined cables. Usually created by Lampies.

Pick - a motor or strop purely for hanging cables off

VT - Video/AV world

VOG - Voice Of God; usually a switch mic kept on the desk for announcements/general shouting at people.

TTS - Talk To Stage; similar to VOG, used to talk to the artists or anyone else on stage.

Shout - Small speaker/mic system (e.g. a JBL Control 1 and a spare SM58 or switch mic) set up between FOH and stage/monitor world which is used for comms purposes without the need to put a headset on.

Talent - 1. The band/artist 2. Attractive womenfolk wandering around.

Corporate - Messy, bitty, pain-in-the-arse gigs that one supposedly gets more money for doing.

Rock N' Roll - Unfortunately this doesn't just mean Rock N' Roll. Any band-type gig with a stage, a band, and two stacks/hangs of PA either side of it.

Corporoll - Somewhere in between the two. Orchestral stuff seems to be like this.

Easytilt - Metal frame device to make tipping monstrous desks somewhat easier.

Do The Shepherd's Trick - Get The Flock Out Of Here; go home.

Shoot - Use software to figure out the optimum angle and height for a line array.

[Jason Phair]

Throw[/B] - lift (when packing truck): "we'll throw that cube up there"


We say "Float" for that.


Someone mentioned "Fucking the Monkey" Monkey-fucking, is also using a lit cigarette that's almost finished to light a fresh one, for when you really need more nicotine but are running short on time.

[Psyko/Acoustics]

Hello, a few I've come across:


Pick: Several cables, taped together. Could be a motor pick or several speaker cables...and others.

Loom: like a Pick, except it exists on the truss and is generally an elaborate group of cables intended to adequately supply data and power to your lighting.

Bead: a small strip of E-tape used to secure a cable to a pipe or truss... or whatever.

Sash: String used to tie up your cables after wrapping them.

"NO FLIP": If you value your job, don't fkin turn this case off it's wheels!

"Hollywood Pack": A truck packed so that it can all roll right off; no stacked cases, nothing flipped. Hardly ever happens.

"Over/Over": Method of wrapping cables where one continuously twists the cable in the same direction, as opposed to "Over/Under". Superiority of either method controversial to some; always ask if it ain't your cable.

[Dr. Bob]

Roach Coach: Catering

Fresh Meat: Newbie on the gig.

Flipper: (audio) A (usually short) XLR cable that has the hot and neutral leads hardwire reversed.

Isoblock or Iso: (audio) Small device or (usually short) XLR cable that has the ground wire lifted.

Jesus Box: Similar to a tech box, except that it is usually has virtually every type of connector converter and patch cable combination known to mankind. Derived from having one of these will save your ass.

Ears: In Ear Monitors - see IEM previous

Barf Blocker: Windscreen

[wrecker]

GIG-BUTT

chaffing of ones buttocks caused by sweat dripping between butt cheeks normally affects riggers locals and other active crew members,remedies cold slices of ham strategically placed in ones under garments!

[AxeSlash]

TRS - Abbreviation of "tip - ring - sleeve". A jack connector typically used for balanced lines and console insert points


Never ask a lampy for a TRS though...you'll get a length of 15A cable here in the UK. Technically TRS is the cable it's made from, not the connectors, so occasionally you will hear someone talk about 16A/32A TRS etc...

TRS in the audio world is of course a jack...


Some more:

Kennel - also known as the 'Backbox' - the box at the back of the desk which houses all the patch/multipin panels/PSU cable etc etc

High Quality (insert type of equipment here) - e.g. "High Quality Amp" means an amp that was industry-standard 20 years ago, and is now well past it's best and usually needs a service before and after every gig it does.

DFA Unit - much like the DFA knob, but the next logical step; i.e. a 2/3/4U (the bigger the better) rack unit with a number of LEDs (preferably flashing) and knobs (different size and colours) on it. The more the merrier. Ideally all different colours. Can be combined with the Magic Touch to provide more Starmaker without affecting the FOH mix. Or the monitors, for that matter.

Man It - damn near breaking one's back by lifting a case on your own because there's no fucker around to help. Derived from the term "that's a MAN'S flightcase!" It shouldn't happen, but it does occasionally. Usually when there's a panic on.

Shit Sheet - list of gear going on the job

Black Tat - smallish piece of black cloth (usually an offcut from a drape) that can be used to cover over unsightly looking equipment on corporate jobs.

Tat - crap gear and/or cloth

A Bag Of Shit - what crap gear sounds like

Listening With Eyes - what most corporate clients do; also true of most carnival jobs, but in the opposite way - carnival clients want to see hundreds of boxes. Corporate clients want to see no boxes.

The Firewood - the Set (wood/felt panels used as a backdrop on corporate gigs; often have holes for screens/small speakers etc designed into them. Often a pain in the ass)

Gigfoot - 1. coming home an inch taller due to the amount of tape accumulated on your boots; 2. a wheel of a case that has jammed/developed a mind of it's own due to the amount of tape wrapped around it

Quality Control - usually used when comparing gear to Behringer stuff. Comes from the ironic "Behringer Quality Control" sticker found on some older units.

Jamaican Flightcase - cardboard box, often reinforced with gaffa tape

Gender Bender - female-to-female or male-to-male cable

Will To Go On - item often forgotten when packing truck

Bar O' 6 - piece of scaff bar with 6 parcans rigged onto it. Often prewired with socapex connectors on one or both ends, with cables run internally to 6 separate 15A/16A connectors

Meat Rack - frame with wheels that accomodates a number of bars o' 6. Smaller versions also exist for bars o' 4, and some big companies have monitor meat racks for wedges (psychopaths!)

Loose - 1. estimated status of nearby female; 2. not packed in a case or frame when on the truck - e.g. bars o' 6 are 'loose' if they are not on a meat rack. Parcans are 'loose cans' if they are not on a bar o' 6.

Bat - Fart, as in "have you dropped your bat?" Cricket-related, I'm told.

Ghetto - anything slightly dodgy and/or cheap, as in "that's some ghetto PA you've got there"

Ratshit - Ratchet strap

Load strap - poor man's ratchet strap; more difficult to operate and less effective.

The Deck - the floor; not to be confused with 'The Decks' (plural), which are the stage. Or worse, DJ gear.

On The Piss - 1. the state of most outdoor stages, i.e. not level; 2. the location of the crew after the show if there's no load out (i.e. in the pub)

to Squeak Out or Ring Out - to EQ feedback out of the system by slowly cranking the gain on a mic

Shift Some Shit - move some cases

Handball - manually lift/carry something, as opposed to forking something

Humper - see Grunt

Von Porque - the most thoroughly insane engineer you will ever work with. Have you seen my horse?

Blend - mix

Crew Boss - 1. exactly what it sounds like 2. permanent name given to someone who takes this responsibility far too seriously...

Off Cans - comms headset taken off

13/15/16/32/63/125 - abbreviations of "13 amp", "15 amp" etc etc

RCA - phono connector. Yuk.

Soca - 1. carribean musical genre often found at carnivals that requires more sub than is strictly necessary and/or pleasant; 2. abbreviation of 'socapex', as in "run that 20 metre soca across the front of the stage"

To Backwind - to 'over/under' coil a cable.

Junior - small. I.e. a junior PA may be a pair of 150W boxes on sticks and a 4 channel powered mixer

Shed - truck/van/other vehicle that is in bad shape

BOH - Back Of House; term for when the desk has been positioned behind the stage by some clueless joker

NoiseBoys - what the lampies call us in the absence of other good insults

Double Ender - 1. gig where you are both playing and engineering (don't do this!) 2. Sharpie pen that has both a fine end and a thick end (don't buy them, one end leaks and the other dries up)

Liquid Sharpie - the worst idea in existence; only useful if first coated in half a roll of PVC tape to prevent cracking/bursting

Double Bubble - two different gigs in one day

Numptyproofing - colour-coding and labelling

Visqueen - brand name of plastic sheeting often used for waterproofing

Farting - distortion in the bottom end, e.g. a sub amp clipping

Fisting - 1. applying the appropriate splay spacing between the front of Meyer MSL-4s; 2. sexual practice discussed in detail during boring moments of the gig

Handbag - small case, usually with one handle, e.g. microphone box

Pie Case - case that requires one or more 'big lads' to untip.

Riding It - the practice of 'mounting' the back end of an easy tilt to act as a counterbalance for a particularly heavy desk when untipping. Usually results in a crew member suspended 3 feet in the air on an unstable easy tilt, wondering how to get down without damaging themselves or the easy tilt.

GigInABox - single rack containing desk, processing, playback, and amps, all pre-patched. There is a slight variant known as a FOHInABox, which is similar, but without the amps. This is usually reserved for larger consoles that feature rack strip in the case for PSUs/playback/system controllers etc. Becoming more and more common with digital desks.

Blanking Panel - device used to stop blundermen from fucking with a perfectly working rack unless absolutely necessary.

[Jason Phair]

The Ham Dam?


Wow, that's one I hadn't heard of before.


I tend to avoid sticking meat in my ass, and go with diaper rash cream or the obligatory preventative Gold Bond.



One thing I've been meaning to try, and inspired by my cycling days, is spandex cycling shorts underneath my regular pants.

[Sausage Maker]

Throw & Go- Throw up the gear and Go with the show (ie.,no sound check)

Buzz- An affectionate term used by lighting people to identify someone on the sound crew. (Not to be confused with "copping a buzz" or "fixing a buzz" These belong to another lexicon.)

Squint- An affectionate term used by sound people to identify someone on the lighting crew

Winger- The growing ball of tape that is stealthily flung with pin-point accuracy at terminal velocity between crew members. To be effective the Winger appears out of no where and was not thown by me... :Wink:

[gogo Getto]

Janus Electrical extention cable

Harold smoking a fatty, as in "has anyone seen harold? " "Meeting with Harold Backstage" ect

[Brendo]

BTW, don't EVER piss your Rigger's off... it'll make for one Looooooooong damn day... and while your shit will be safely hung, it's likely to be a mess to pack and hang the next time... and that ain't worth it!

What's fun is when your riggers get lazy and take shortcuts and you call them out on it and they have to redo it twice, swearing all the while.

Their fault in the first place, right? But somehow you're the bad guy.

[cilbribir]

They are really very cool, very wonderful
Great work .. really informative .. and thanks a lot for sharing ..
Glad it works as expected for you
looking good

[pounce]

zero out the board - return all knobs back to zero so the mixing board is fully neutral for a new show or mix. it's a polite habit in situations where the show is done and someone else is coming to use that mixing board for the next show. you don't leave knobs every which way for the next guy, you reset the board back to zero.

ps: you don't do this if you are doing the same show night after night and the mix info is needed.

[John Eppstein]

Squid - The fan out on the console end of an audio snake.

Kellums Grip - rhe woven wire strain relief at the end of the snake. Comes in three varieties: panel mount on non-removable stage bixes, connector mount on multipin connectors that attach to removable stage boxes, and a type that mount to the cable and feature a wire loop to strain relief the squid.

Black Hole - a massive power transformer used when your gear doesn't match the AC voltage of the country you're touring in.

Splitter - a microphone splitter to distribute mic signals between FOH, monitors, and sometimes recording or broadcast consoles. May be passive straight through (not good), resistive ( a little better, but still not very good), transformer coupled (very good), or active (best, if well designed). Often built into the main stage box in larger snake systems, may be separate in smaller systems.

[G cubed]

zero out the board - return all knobs back to zero so the mixing board is fully neutral for a new show or mix. it's a polite habit in situations where the show is done and someone else is coming to use that mixing board for the next show. you don't leave knobs every which way for the next guy, you reset the board back to zero.

ps: you don't do this if you are doing the same show night after night and the mix info is needed.

I use the term "normalized"...and you're right, I absolutely detest it when I take the case cover off the board to find channels assigned, eq settings, line pots and pans still adjusted, channel assignment tape still on the board, and ohhhhhh....missing power cords :doubledeuce:

I make it a point to tear the previous user a new asshole when I come across a situation like this. It's part of their job's responsibility to pack things the way they get them, and there's no room for lazy fucks who don't do the job right.

[John Eppstein]

I do it but frankly I don't see it as all that big of a deal if someone before me doesn't think of it - Kinda like leaving the toilet seat up.

Mildly irritating, but no big deal. Certainly not worth getting all bent out of shape about......

Do we know how to say "whatever....."?


'scuse me, I'm a little ineberrated..........

[Jason Phair]

New name for us noiseboyz I heard a few months ago: Decibel Douche.

[Jason Phair]

Two games we play once we're all loaded in and in the air:

For the squints: SPIN THE BOTTLE (focus)

For us noiseboyz: SCRATCH N SNIFF (line check)

[Jason Phair]

Another one I heard today:

PIGEON PLATE: Screw-on round base for a mic stand (actually a lighting guy term for them).

[Shotgun]

You know, I've read this whole thing now, and I didn't see anybody mention the term:

Popping Cherries: Making the little red lights on a piece of audio gear light up.