Chronicle Editor
Kusile Madlela
Award-winning musician, Vusi Mkhaya (real name Vusumuzi Ndlovu), has urged artistes to utilise technical (tech) riding for the preparation of their live performances as this will enable the successful staging of shows as things will be done professionally and seamlessly.
A technical rider is the name given to the technical information an artist should have on hand to provide to a venue, promoter, stage manager or sound engineer prior to their performance. The tech rider should include a Stage Plan (sometimes called a Stage Plot), Channel List (sometimes called an Input List) and an Equipment/Backline List.
“All these things are important if the performance will be a success,” said the Imbube musician from his Austrian base. Vusi said tech riders are very important for performing artists and promoters who are serious about the music business as it next to impossible to hold a successful event without one.
“Without a tech rider, there’s no show. People must know that in order for a show to happen, there must be a tech rider. The musician or sound engineer who will have been engaged by the promoter must have a tech rider to make sure that the show goes through without a hitch or any technical discrepancies.”
The 2020 National Arts Merit Awards outstanding artist in the Diaspora recipient went on to say that it is worrying how there are some in the entertainment industry who believe that it is not important to have a tech rider.
He said when he started performing Imbube in the early days, they did not utilise any P.A systems and therefore, they just got to the venues and performed.
“In the early 90s, we performed at venues like Stanley Square where there were no live bands and P.A Systems to back us up so we just did acapella. However, things have changed significantly since then as we now have guitars, keyboards and monitors to amplify the music which makes it necessary to seek out the services of a tech rider.”
Vusi added that tech riders make life easy, especially when one is performing at a festival where there are a lot of performances within a short space of time.
“I’ve noticed that at festivals where there’ll be pressure, some artists who’ll have not employed the services of tech riders, do soundcheck for one hour and they end up performing one hour instead of the two they’d have been allocated.
“That becomes embarrassing because the audience will be right there waiting for the show to begin,” he said.
The imbube musician insisted that performing artists must consider consulting with sound engineers so that they help them with this tech riding requirement as it will go a long way in making their performances seamless and worth the time of the audience.
Online Reporter