OLD LYME, CONNECTICUT: Pro audio powerhouse, Sennheiser USA, and the most rockin’ chain of clubs in North America, House of Blues Entertainment, have cemented an agreement to enhance House of Blues live music venues throughout the continent with a dazzling array of Sennheiser and Neumann wired microphones and Sennheiser headphones. Sennheiser, which is currently celebrating 50 years of wireless technology innovation, has upped its commitment by supplying the current venues with Evolution Series wireless vocal microphones as well as Evolution Wireless personal monitor systems.
House of Blues has clubs in Anaheim, Atlantic City, Cleveland, Dallas, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Myrtle Beach, San Diego and Orlando and has further expansion plans into other markets. In recognition of the growth and aspirations of Sennheiser, House of Blues, and their new relationship, the companies officially joined forces at the grand opening of the House of Blues Dallas, located in the city’s aptly named Victory Park development.
Said Stefanie Reichert, vice president strategic marketing for Sennheiser USA, “The deal is more than pure altruism on Sennheiser’s part. It gives Sennheiser an incredible branding opportunity. The House of Blues hosts a tremendous number of bands in every imaginable genre, from the most established major label acts to the most promising upstarts. Now, every House of Blues will offer the use of Sennheiser and Neumann gear to the thousands of musicians, engineers, and instrument technicians who perform on their stages from coast to coast, night after night, year after year. The brand exposure is spectacular.”
“Our alliance with the House of Blues is poised to garner worldwide attention,” commented Greg Beebe, director of global relations. “The House of Blues clubs have a stellar reputation internationally as quality venues for live entertainment. Sennheiser is committed to supporting and partnering with HOB worldwide on future endeavors.”
House of Blues’ benefits are immediately tangible and enough to make any sound engineer or gear junkie salivate. Each House of Blues venue will be outfitted with multiple e 901, e 902, e 904, e 905, e 906, e 908B, e 914, e 614, MD 421 II, MKH 60-P48 and MKH 70-P48 wired microphones for amplified backline and acoustic instruments. Wired vocal microphones will include Sennheiser e 865 condensers, plus dynamic e 935 and e 945 models, as well as Neumann KMS 104 and KMS 105 condenser mics and two pairs of HD 280 PRO headphones.
Sennheiser Evolution Wireless systems installed at each venue include eight SKM 935 G2 handheld vocal microphones, plus four EM 550 G2 dual-channel true diversity receivers with active antenna splitter and a pair of A 2003-UHF active antennas. Two of the popular
Evolution Wireless EW 300 IEM G2 personal monitor setups with an A 5000 CP circularly polarized passive antenna and AC2/NT3 antenna combiner makes the wireless setup unbeatable.
“We could not be more excited that Sennheiser and Neumann wanted to partner up with us to establish this relationship that will not only benefit our two companies, but the hundreds of artists that play our rooms everyday, giving them some of the best microphones available,” says Aron Levine, vice president production, Live Nation Studios. “Furthermore, the level of commitment and training they want to do will only help to further educate our engineers in being able to provide the best experience for the bands and audience.” As well as being deployed to the live engineers at HOB, a few of the wired microphones will also be assisting Live Nation Studios in their efforts to capture audio multi-track recordings of approved bands for various uses, including live streaming and home DVD.
Noted Kristy Jo Winkler, Relations Manager, Americas and Canada, “The January 2007 NAMM Dealer Appreciation Party held at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California was a glimpse into the future of this beautiful new relationship. The party was sold-out to capacity and proved that Sennheiser and House of Blues are a match made in heaven. In addition to demonstrating our gear to engineers and artists, Sennheiser can also take advantage of all the other businesses the House of Blues operates, like the Foundation Room and Southern inspired restaurants, for entertaining and training.
Local Sennheiser market development and sales representatives will provide training and ongoing product support at each House of Blues location. These face-to-face training sessions will provide a forum to grow personal and professional relationships between Sennheiser personnel and the pros that rely on their products. Sennheiser experts such as Senior Engineer Volker Schmitt (known from the successful Sennheiser Sound Academy) and Industry Team Leader-MI, Robb Blumenreder are already creating a comprehensive training program on the wired and wireless products and applications that will be presented to in-house staff and regular freelance engineers at each House of Blues location.
In closing, Chopper Brady, director of production for HOB venues, enthuses, “As a touring sound engineer for twenty-plus years, I used Sennheiser products extensively. When the opportunity arose to create this relationship and have the microphones, wireless, and IEM packages that we now have in the venues, I was thrilled for the HOB engineers, as well as the touring crews who will utilize this great gear every day. Having followed the development of the Evolution series over the years, I know that there will always be a Sennheiser product in our arsenal that will satisfy even the pickiest sound engineers and/or artists. I am also very excited about the training program that we have created with the Sennheiser team that will be touring all of the HOB venues over the course of this summer, helping our guys become as
knowledgeable as possible about all the products in the packages.”
ABOUT SENNHEISER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION
As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems, Sennheiser is celebrating 50 years of wireless technology innovations. Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is active worldwide. Sennheiser Electronic Corporation is the U.S. wholly-owned subsidiary, with headquarters in Old Lyme, Connecticut. For more information, please visit: www.sennheiserusa.com
ABOUT HOUSE OF BLUES
Founded in 1992, this dynamic company with soul, spirit and vision was acquired by Live Nation in November of 2006. With eleven branded clubs, including Atlantic City, Anaheim, Chicago, Cleveland, Myrtle Beach, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Diego and the recently opened Dallas location, each House of Blues club features live music, Southern-inspired cuisine in an eclectic environment celebrating the African-American cultural contributions of blues music and folk art. For more information, please visit: www.hob.com
ABOUT LIVE NATION
Live Nation is the world’s leading live music company, annually connecting more than 60 million fans with their favorite performers at over 30,000 events. We are the largest producer of live concerts in the world, the second-largest venue management company and have a rapidly growing online presence. Live Nation creates superior experiences for artists and fans, regularly producing tours for the biggest superstars in the business, including The Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, U2 and Coldplay. Globally, we own, operate and/or have booking rights for more than 170 venues, including House of Blues-branded music venues and prestigious locations such as San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium, Nikon at Jones Beach in New York and London’s Hammersmith Apollo and Wembley Arena. Live Nation’s websites collectively are the second most popular entertainment event websites in the United States, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol “LYV.” For more information regarding concerts near you, Live Nation and its businesses, please visit our website at: www.LiveNation.com.
