Whether it was the Live Sound Workshop, an evening stage monitoring presentation at a SynAudCon seminar in Colorado Springs, or an employee training session with me at Audio Analysts, Albert would never refuse to share his seemingly endless knowledge of audio.
Audio Analysts colleague Ken Toal:
“He treated everyone like they were a million-dollar customer, like they were Bruce Springsteen, even if they were just some young kid.”
Beyond that, Albert was fun! Everyone always wanted to go to dinner with him because he was just so likeable, and road-dog war stories would always accompany the meal. The only caveat was no chicken. Albert had an absolute intolerance to chicken, having been forced to partake of far too many rubber chicken meals on the road to ever touch it again. And the meal, invariably at a good Italian restaurant (he was a French-Canadian of Italian ancestry), had to end with a shot of Sambuca.
During one of the workshops, Albert and Mick Whelan (then of Electrotec) were doing a presentation on microphone applications. Albert was busy discussing the attributes of, I think, a beyerdynamic M 201, a big mic, and he was holding it slightly below his waist while speaking. Standing next to him, Mick was holding another mic, a much smaller mic. And then he disappeared behind Albert and came out holding an Electro-Voice RE20 below his waist – an even bigger mic, and an even bigger grin on his face. The whole room erupted into laughter, while Albert just looked at Mick and rolled his eyes.
Virtually everyone who has contacted me since Albert’s passing has mentioned the Live Sound Workshop. It started out in 1989 in association with Don and Carolyn Davis as a SynAudCon workshop, though it was ultimately headed by Paul and Cris Gallo, then of Pro Sound News, with a wonderfully cooperative association of Albert, Mick, Will Parry, Dave Scheirman, Howard Page, David Robb, Dave Revel, and myself. Sound gear was always graciously supplied by Dave Shadoan and Sound Image.
Over the years, the workshop also benefited from a number of other industry luminaries as instructors, including Ron Borthwick, Roy Clair, M. L. Procise, and Craig Schertz, to name but a few. But the basic outline of the educational program was created by Albert, who took it to heart, gave it life, and due largely to his efforts, influenced at least a thousand audio professionals worldwide.
Brenda Brown of SynAudCon:
“Together we were in the beginning stages of planning a Live Sound Workshop for 2011. On July 8, I received an email from Albert apologizing for not getting back to me as he was in the hospital and that the cancer had taken a turn for the worst. Here is a quote from his letter: “I am sorry! My friends but I really, really tried to stretch this out.” He wanted this workshop for the live sound industry. He, of course, would have been on the list of instructors and doing what he loved – sharing his knowledge with others.”
I’d love to see a resurrection of the workshop, and this time, it should be in the name of Albert, because it always was largely his anyway. Let’s call it the ALLS, for Albert Leccese’s Live Sound Workshop. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
Albert, my friend, now we get to stand on your shoulders…
John Murray is a 34-year industry veteran who has worked for several leading manufacturers, and has also presented two published AES papers as well as chaired numerous SynAudCon workshops. He is currently the principal of Optimum System Solutions, a consulting firm.