Press

01.04.2009 - Frankfurt/Wedemark

Rocking across Europe with Runrig and HammerFall: StageMeisters sought by Sennheiser

Sennheiser will be offering to turn the dream of countless music fans and budding sound engineers into reality this summer. The audio specialist is running the StageMeister Contest with a coveted prize of two places on the road crews of Scottish Celtic Rock band Runrig and Swedish heavy metal band HammerFall. Applicants have between 1 April and 15 May 2009 to explain online at www.sennheiser-stagemeister.com exactly why they are ideally suited for the job. In return, they’ll get a unique chance to support the bands; getting a taste of what life on tour is like.
 

“For many people – especially the young – working as a roadie is an exciting challenge, or even a dream come true. We’d like to give the winners an idea of what life on the road is like for a week, and perhaps even their first experience of being a sound engineer,” says Susanne Seidel, President of Global Marketing at Sennheiser. The competition has already generated huge interest in North America where the StageMeister contest was launched in January at the NAMM show. A roadie is currently being picked from applicants for Canadian band Simple Plan’s upcoming festival tour.

   
 
 
 
 
Up to the challenge of life on tour?
 
This second strand of the contest running from 1 April is a Europe-wide search among music fans. The first step towards becoming a trainee is submitting a convincing application. Entrants must send in photos or videos demonstrating why they of all people are ideal for life on tour. What is it that qualifies you to do the soundcheck for Swedish heavy metal band HammerFall? Why are you the right person to tune Runrig’s instruments? After the initial selection process, two finalists per band are selected for a telephone interview with sound specialists from Sennheiser and a member of each of Runrig and HammerFall’s production teams.
 

When all is said and done, being a roadie carries a huge amount of responsibility and a need to be quality conscious. “In a fast paced world of cutting edge audio technology, it is imperative to have partners that play a leading roll,” says Bruce Guthro, singer in the Scottish band Runrig. “Runrig’s longevity in the music business is a result of our commitment to the quality of the production and the integrity of our music. Sennheiser has some of the best sounding gear on the market today. We welcome the opportunity to join forces with them on this contest and look forward to giving you an inside look at the working of a professional tour. We'll see you on the road!”
 

A training session for apprentice roadies
To enable the winners to survive the endurance test that is everyday life on tour AND meet Runrig’s and HammerFall’s demands, they will be attending an intensive training course at Sennheiser. Over two days, they will get an introduction to radio microphone and monitoring technology, correct miking as well as tour and production technology.
 

“Runrig and Hammerfall keep thrilling their fans with fantastic shows and perfect teamwork. The same perfect team play is required from their backstage crews. All have a tough job to do, but the passion for music is almost palpable and you can sense the magic of a concert. If you want to be a part of the team that makes this magic happen, you should definitely apply,” explains Susanne Seidel.

About the bands:

Runrig
Scottish band Runrig was formed in Glasgow back in 1973 and Canadian Bruce Guthro has been lead vocalist since 1997. Over the band’s 30-year history, Runrig has supported U2, the Rolling Stones and Genesis. Their own concerts have broken records with a highpoint being the legendary open air concert in Balloch Country Park, enjoyed by 50,000 fans. Their single “An Ubhal as Airde” made them the first band to break into the UK Top 20 with a Gaelic-language song. Their most successful albums include “Amazing Things” and “Big Wheel”; their current studio album – their thirteenth – entitled “Everything You See” has already gone double platinum.
 

HammerFall
HammerFall was founded in 1993 by guitarist Oscar Dronjak in Gothenburg, Sweden. Their debut “Glory of the Brave” quickly took the heavy metal band into the Swedish and German album charts. Their third album “Renegade” stormed to the top of the charts in their native Sweden and helped give heavy metal a whole new status on the Swedish music scene. Meanwhile, their new studio album “No Sacrifice, No Victory” came out in February and HammerFall will be performing from it on tour in 2009.
 

www.sennheiser-stagemeister.com
 

The Sennheiser Group, with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. The family-owned company, which was established in 1945, recorded sales of over €395 million in 2007, 83% of which were generated abroad. Sennheiser employs almost 2,000 people worldwide, around 55% of whom are in Germany. Sennheiser has manufacturing plants in Germany, Ireland and the USA, and is represented worldwide by subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark (Nordic), Russia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Japan, China, Canada, Mexico and the USA, as well as by long-term trading partners in many other countries. Also part of the Sennheiser Group are Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin (studio microphones), K + H Vertriebs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (Klein + Hummel studio monitors, installed sound) and the joint venture Sennheiser Communications A/S (headsets for PCs, offices and call centres).

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pressrelease_010409en.zip (2,7 MB)
 

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