#117 - Working The Major Tours - Past, Present, & Beyond

Meet Ray Amico. A multi-faceted musician/composer/producer and studio engineer for over 30 years, at one time the guitar player in the legendary NY Bizarre-Core band, SIX AND VIOLENCE as well as a veteran Tour Manager, Production Manager, FOH Sound Engineer and Tour Accountant. Influenced by the band Devo at an early age, Ray started out working at A&M Studio, working on such projects as Celine Dion, Taylor Dayne, Mariah Carey, Cheap Trick, and many others. On this episode, we talk about what it takes working the major tours, where they've been, and what we can anticipate in the future once the Corona Virus pandemic isolation ends. Simply put, the past, present, and beyond of the working tour. Ray has toured with a wide diversity of artists, in multiple positions, from Toni Braxton to George Lopez, Sublime With Rome, The Cult,Ke$ha, DEVO, Fiona Apple, Jane’s Addiction, 2 Skinnee J’s, Jimmy Cliff, Zucchero, Panic! At The Disco, Dream Theater, “Weird Al” Yankovic, System Of A Down, Nancy Sinatra, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Eric Johnson, Chic with Nile Rodgers, Beastie Boys, Sinead O’Connor, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Jim Gaffigan, John Fogerty, Dane Cook, Smash Mouth as well as many, many others. He's also recorded an album titled "TYRANNOSAURUS RAY", called “The Never-Ending Battle Of Fear”, a compilation of Ray’s demos and recordings from all over the world. While living in Rome, Ray was introduced by a mutual friend to Eddie Zengeni, who along with Ray has a deep love, knowledge and fascination with Mob-related films such as “The Godfather” and “GoodFellas”, as well as a passion for all types of music. As roommates in Rome, along with Eddie’s wife, Emanuela, the three spent much of their time together performing music and digging deep into the film culture. While working for years as Tour & Production Manager for the band DEVO, Ray met his future wife Michelle, who was DEVO’s secretary at their MUTATO MUZIKA STUDIOS in LA. After moving back to the states, Ray married his loving wife Michelle in 2009, and adopted both of her children, Michael and Matthew. The Business Side of Music ™ © 2020 Beyond the Music Produced & Hosted by Bob Bender  Creator & Technical Advisor (the man behind the curtain): Tom Sabella Audio Engineer (one really cool guy): Jim Tennaboe Director of Video (the brains of the entire operation): Deborah Halle Lighting Director (the inventor of video): Mark Pleasant Marketing & Social Media: Kaitlin Fritts Recorded at (when we're not practicing Social Distancing): The Coffee House and Underground Bunker in Franklin, TN Mixed & Mastered at: Music Dog Studios in Nashville, TN Website: businesssideofmusic.com  Stream or Download (free) businesssideofmusic.com  To submit to be interviewed: [email protected] Sponsorship information businesssideofmusic.com/sponsor-affiliate/ Join our mailing list for show announcements, career advice, industry discounts, free gifts and more.  Like Free Special Thanks to Tom Sabella and Traci Snow for producing and hosting over 100 episodes of the original “Business Side of Music” podcast, and trusting us to carry on their legacy. For our disclaimer and all its details, please click on the applicable link on our website. You can check out the organization that Ray discusses on the show at www.tourmgmt.org Cuts from Ray Amico's projects include: "Hardass"  "Susie Sunshine"