Nashville group Here Come The Mummies is popular for their mashup of funk and ska, lyrics rife with witty double entendres and of course, the bandages that encase their faces, keeping their identities under wraps.
Along with the presumed extra rolls of gauze tape, the band owns a floor package of lighting and a High End Systems Road Hog 4 console.
Lighting Director Thom Roberts says, “We have had a Road Hog 4 since September 2013, and it is about the only console I want to use anymore!”
The LD explains how he sets up his console. “I do a Cue to Cue show, with a Cue List and a dedicated Page for every song. I also have several strobe cues on the Command Keys, and chases, effects and specials like audience blinders on several faders, which I can grab quickly whenever necessary,” Roberts says. “I also use a lot of Scenes for solo specials, emergency looks when the band goes off their set list, and conventional PAR chases, for the increasingly fewer gigs with PAR rigs. Many of these are triggered from Comment Macros built into my Cues.”
The touring veteran formerly managed the moving light department at Light & Sound Design in Nashville back in the day, and toured with artists such as Randy Travis. He got his start on Hog consoles in 1994 on the Crown Royal Music Tour, and has used subsequent console versions ever since.
“When I started with Here Come The Mummies, my predecessor Jake Tickle had just spec’d a Road Hog 4, which arrived for his last show and my first with the band,” Roberts explains.
His favorite software features include the ease of patching, replicating and/or Changing Types, which “are major advantages,” he notes, with venues ranging from casinos and clubs to festivals, summer camp barns and concert halls. “We carry a floor package, but use house systems wherever we go. We have a rider and request specific fixtures, but quite frankly, we take what we can get! So, these features are essential.”
He also likes the Hog’s work flow in programming. Touching on specific hardware preferences, he enjoys the Road Hog 4’s larger 22-inch screen, and the location of the Go Button on the lower left corner as opposed to the center on all other versions of other Hog consoles.
The bandaged band wrap up their tour of the U.S. and Canada in November.