World Stage Lighting Inc. Co-owners Dwight Wood and Devin Sunderland have been providing concert audiences in the Pacific Northwest with crystal-clear sonic experiences for decades. The company was given the opportunity to create a next-level experience for a recent performance by rock band Smash Mouth at Seven Feathers Casino Resort and provided a custom PA featuring the Anna and Otto ADAPTive system from Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW®).
Industry veterans and longtime users of EAW equipment, Wood and Sunderland were immediately impressed when the company introduced its new Anna ADAPTive PA system. “When we first heard Anna and saw what it could do for us and our client’s events, we were blown away,” says Sunderland. “The timing was right, so we seized the opportunity to purchase products from EAW’s ADAPTive line. It’s an amazing system.”
The duo purchased 16 Anna three-way full-range ADAPTive array modules and 8 Otto ADAPTive subwoofers to give the system a matched low end. They also added, from their extensive EAW inventory, eight EAW MW12 stage monitors and four EAW RL15 Redline two-way powered speakers to their rig for the Smash Mouth performance. The system has received rave reviews from both touring engineers and audiences in the almost 20 shows it has been deployed.
The new EAW system was put to the test for Seven Feathers Casino Resorts’ annual outdoor concert. “This year’s outdoor show was really special to us,” adds Sunderland. “In addition to the sound, we were also asked to provide a turnkey, full production product including lights, roof and stage. We own a 40-foot by 40-foot Applied Electronics arched roof system, and instead of adding the speaker bays to the roof, we chose to fly Anna line array speakers on the new Applied Electronic LA12-25 Line Array Lifting Towers. It was a visually stunning presentation and sounded absolutely amazing. We couldn’t have pulled it off without the help of EAW, Elation Professional, Applied Electronics and, of course, Smash Mouth, their crew and the great people at Seven Feathers.”
Wood and Sunderland use their new Anna system with EAW’s Resolution 2 software. “With other brands’ line array’s, you have to fly it, and then every couple of boxes you have to set an angle,” says Sunderland. “That can be a slow process and if you get one of the angles wrong, your room coverage is going to be off. However, with the EAW Anna’s straight hang, you have none of that to deal with. With the Resolution software, it’s so easy to deploy the system. We wire it up, get it in the air and we can be up and running so much quicker. You can focus your coverage while sitting in a chair. Every engineer we have used it with has just been thrilled. It also saves on labor costs, which is a huge benefit.”
Beyond the performance, the duo has also been very happy with the service and support they receive from EAW. According to Wood, “The team at EAW has taken great care of us. In our line of work, it’s always about getting the show correct and giving the client the right products; EAW has allowed us to do that. They have been wonderful. Jonas Domkus is such a great resource at EAW. He came to Oregon and trained us on the deployment of the system, and made sure that we had the skills, training and confidence to ensure we could deploy the system every single time. It’s been a wonderful relationship.”