KAA does PA for VP -Yellowstone National Park, Wy.-

Equipment:

• Mains: 6 Apogee AE-9's powered by multiple Apogee Amps and 2 Apogee AE-2's.
• Sound Board: Spirit 16x2 as the main house board.
• Flyware: 2 Genie Towers at 20'.

Yellowstone National Park celebrated its 125th anniversary on August 17, holding an event honoring the "Friends of Yellowstone", individuals and corporations who have been outstanding contributors and sponsors to the Park.

Scheduled to appear were Vice-President Al Gore, Secretary of the Interior Babbit, Senator Baucus and Park Superintendent Michael Finley, among others; the main part of the event were the remarks by Vice-President Gore.

KAA provided sound reinforcement for this important event. The main speaker system consisted of 3 Apogee AE-9's per side, flown from Genie Towers. They provided coverage for the general public area, extending 300+ ft. from the stage; another pair of AE-9's on the floor served for the press riser and mid-field, while a pair of low-profile Apogee AE-2's supplied sound to the restricted-access VIP area (near-field). Thanks to the excellent pattern control of the Apogee speakers and a brilliant deployment scheme by the KAA team, coverage was seamless, with highly coherent sound quality. Sound levels were quite uniform and comfortable up to the very front of the seating area.

The event presented some unique challenges. Setup time was very limited, due to uncertain weather conditions; the Secret Service's customary "sweep" for explosives took another half-hour out of the already tight setup time. Routing of snakes and power cables was also difficult, as the White House required an absolutely "clean" look, while at the same time keeping all cables out of the VP's walk-up route towards the stage.

In the end, we were commended by the White House, Secret Service and National Park Service for an outstanding job, and our services were required again for a similar event on August 25th, this time at Old Faithful.

Edited and written by Eduardo Garza.

Last Update on:

[Landscape view of the setup with Eduardo in the foreground]
[Chris and Laif unloading the truck]	[Apogee AE-9's and "AirForce 2"]