Preparations for the next leg of the radiohead tour have been occupying my time somewhat, hence the delay in posting this update.

Planning for a tour is done many months in advance, I saw the first list of proposed dates in August 2007, versions entering double figures by the time everything was confirmed. A band such as radiohead have the luxury to choose their touring schedule based on ideals, rather that the practical, but my role at that stage of the planning is to apply those ideals and verify schedules and transport plans will work, as well as checking that venues will be able to accommodate the show.

With carbon reduction firmly on the agenda, travelling to far flung corners for the globe was always going to be a difficult thing to justify. However, turning back to the report that identified the detrimental effect of the fans travel, it was agreed to press ahead with the bands touring plan.

According the goals of the business, we strive to afford the ticket buying public the same high standard of show around the world. For this to happen, the band and their technicians require the tools of their trade, from a specific guitar and drum kit, the chef's knives to the correct microphone, audio desk and speaker selection.

Standardisation in speaker technology allows us to rent PA systems in each country, but the uniqueness of the band's sound and the groundbreaking application of LED lighting dictates that we have a lot of our own specific equipment. Traditionally, we would have air freighted 20,000kg gear around the world. For this tour, we set ourselves a challenge of a "no air freight policy".

This is trickier that you may think. Agreeing that we need to have our own equipment with us for all the shows, we started planning the tour around shipping lines and road routes, with the schedule having suitable gaps for the gear to be transferred by boat between continents. The business model was not working. Allowing around 3 weeks sailing time between the UK and USA, and USA and Japan, the wage bill and rental of hired equipment soon mounted up. Alternative plans were required.

Did we need to take our equipment with us at all? Could we have a European system and an American system? This proved more cost effective, eliminating the need to wait for equipment to arrive. The team set about locating and building two identical backline and lighting systems. Audio equipment has been rented locally. Some items were already owned by the band, some easy to source. A rareness of certain items required the touring set up to be modified. Although compromise was acceptable, 12 guitars could not be duplicated but the result of the project was the equipment that we need to air freight is now less that 1,000kg!


Next stop is Japan, a surprisingly long way from anywhere. Although a rich country steeped in tradition and technological innovation,  availability of entertainment technology remains limited. It took 4 weeks to build a complete set of lighting and band equipment, with our Japanese trip consisting of 6 shows at 3 venues in 2 cities over 10 days, one finds it hard to justify the expense of setting up a local system just for this part of the world.

Which raises the question, how far do you go? With the seven continents of the world, do you set up 7 systems? (although I'm not sure the penguins of Antarctica are Radiohead fans). Economically, two seems to be the magic number for our situation. Using sea freight and some careful planning, the cost of the second system is offset by the savings made on not using air freight. With fuel and air travel costs rising by the day a sea container can be as low as 20% of air freight.

To the boats it was. Four 45ft sea containers were loaded in Santa Barbara, complete with ample silica gel. They will take 22 days to arrive, then 22 days to return the gear to its home base of America.

I have my fingers crossed for calm waters.

www.soundmoves.com

This is wandering into the area of proof of concept rather than pure carbon reduction (although we are doing the sums to see how much carbon output we actually saved)

In the autumn of 2007, radiohead management were contacted by a man called Jim Breen, he runs a company called Mobile Solar Power

They have a product, a very good product, that uses solar panels to charge batteries then inverters to deliver mains voltage electricity.   Developed for the Californian building trade (lots of sun), their production unit is mounted in a trailer, pulled behind a van, charged while on the move then is able to supply enough power to drive the tools and, presumably, boil the kettle. (power required 32amp 1ph).

I was asked by the band to investigate Jim's product and see if it could be used on tour. Biofuels have their issues and ultimately, non combustion forms of energy need to be found.
We talked and we talked. In the beginning, I wanted 600amp 3ph. (the LED lighting rig had not be conceived at this time) and a system that could be used in the UK*. Many conversations were had on the topic of 3ph power and the reduction of the total load, but needless to say, we persevered and came up with many design concepts (all of which, unfortunately, were dismissed on technical and ultimately financial grounds)

Not wishing to be beaten, I enlisted the help of Sid. A touring sound guy and some what an expert in site power. Initially I had proposed running the sound off the system, it being the smaller of the two loads, but to this day are still unable to verify how large the spikes in the demand are, and if the system would cope. By this time the LED lighting concept was well underway and our plan moved over to building a system for that.

Using the products that Mobile Solar Power had proven, we came up with a design that could deliver 100A 3ph for 5hrs, but would require a solar array the size of a football pitch to charge it in time (less than 24hrs) Unexpectedly, the other issue was weight. A battery this size would weight approximately 8,000kg. Fine for a permanent installation, but unworkable for temporary and touring usage.

With the new design parameters hashed out - component weight limit of 2,000kg, 200A 3ph output, 4.5hrs of autonomy at full load, and easily set up - we moved forward.

Conceding that solar power was never going to work on this scale, a slightly different tack was taken. Could we build a battery that would power the show from load in to load out? It still has to be charged, but with nearly half the venues on the tour being supplied by grid electricity, we could charge in one city, then use the battery in the next, allowing one of the generators never to be turned on.

And that's what we did.

The result was a system made from 16x 2,000kg Battery strings running at 600v, in to a pair of paralleled Statron UPS panels.  Due to weight limits this was split across two trucks, that also carried lighting and set for the show.

It all looked good on paper, but until we actually got it out there and proved the system we still had the generator on site (switched off) as back up - we could not afford to lose the lighting and video during the show. I'm pleased to say that the calculations were spot on and it performed exactly as predicted. Enabling the touring lighting and video system to be run from the battery for the whole of the load in, show and load out.

Inserting a battery in the chain provides solutions to several problems.
  
Charging from an off site grid source and then providing stand alone power
Covering low power demands during off peak usage, then being charged from the spare capacity of a generator during peak usage
Providing for fluctuating power demands, removing the requirement for oversized idling generators, then using a small efficiently sized power source to charge
And not least - the system provides clean constant electricity with a extremely large battery backup (something that came into its own on more than one occasion)

Any alternative power source requires a storage medium for its electricity. The next step is to research charging methods that will provide enough electricity to complete a charge in a useful amount of time. I suspect it will result in a combination of wind, solar and even hydrogen.

I would like to thank Sid, Howard, Vince, Chris, Ed J and Duncan for working tirelessly in the quest to get this project of the ground. We ran into some teething problems at the beginning of the tour, it turns out that although the products are off the shelf, no-one had put together something of this scale before.
The supportive yet cynical lighting crew nicknamed it 'Neveready', but it was, and the 1st London show saw the lights and video running of the battery for the whole day.


*as I am sure many of you know, radiohead have a knack of attracting the
rain to their outdoor shows

In 2003, the year of the last major Radiohead tour, the lighting system required an electricity supply of 600amps 3phase (that's 1800A). A kettle, being one of the larger consumers of power in the home, pulls between 8 and 12A.

Our road to what became, we believe, the first exclusively LED tour lighting system started with a conversation about generators at festivals and green field sites.

Traditional stage lighting utilises dimmers to turn things on and off. When they are not on, they use little to no power; when they are on at 100%, they pull their maximum power.  A generator, therefore, has to be sized to provide the maximum power required instantaneously -- normally the big rock moment at the end of the show.  Up until this point, generators are idling inefficiently, using fuel and producing carbon emissions.

I suggested that we cut out these fluctuating loads and concentrate on more modern moving light system. These types of lights are common place. Using a discharge lamp; lower in power consumption, the unit remains on all the time using mechanical shutters to turn them "on and off". The concept being with all the lamps on all the time, the power demand would be constant and enable us to use the generators more efficiently.

Andi Watson has been the lighting and visuals designer for radiohead since their club days, and has a reputation for innovation and attention to detail. It was his creative genius and strong support of the concept that brought him to suggest we go further and use LED. Back to a direct power demand system but using much less power at 100%.

The full system (including video) is exclusively LED and uses 140A 3phase (420A in total) when turned on fully.  It's worth pointing out that LED lighting uses Red, Green and Blue LED's to make colours, with all 3 being on 100% to make white, therefore any colour effect only uses a percentage of the power. Traditional lighting uses a subtractive colour creation, with filters placed in front of a white source to remove the unwanted colour - therefore, in the case of red for example, using 100% of the power for a third of the light output.

LED stage lighting products have been around for a few years (Radiohead used one of the early units in 2003) but trying to find fixtures that would do all the jobs required was a challenge, resulting in a brand new light from iPix (www.i-pix.uk.com) and a never seen before lighting design.

Less power consumed and a visually stunning show. No doubt LED is the future. Technology is moving forward at a rapid rate, but LED's look and behave differently.  Should we be striving to achieve the same result but in a low power form, or adapt to the products and use them to do new and exciting things?

Regardless, with smaller requirements alternative power sources can be considered. I wonder how big the battery would need to be.....

Equipment manufactures and Suppliers

BB4. BB7, Satellites - www.i-pix.uk.com
Versa Tubes  - www.elementlabs.com
Colourblasts - www.pulsarlight.com
iwblasts, iflex - www.architainment.co.uk
Video Screens - www.nocturneproductions.com
Video Control - Scenographic Ltd
Custom Deployement System - www.specialz.co.uk
Lighting Control and Rigging - www.negearth.co.uk

Tour (noun, verb) - A journey through a given list of places

I am often asked if I get tired of the travelling. Having toured with bands since leaving school, it has become a way of life for me and thousands of other live concert practitioners. This may be an obvious statement, but to facilitate a live performance someone needs to travel, whether that be the audience, the artist, or both.

Schedule and safety dictates how the band and crew travel. Availability and reliability determines how the public travels.
Inner city venues are already well versed in coordinating the end of gigs with public transport timetables, and show times are arranged accordingly.

Information is key. We have spent a long time gathering local public transport information and posting it on the radiohead website. Regardless of eco concerns, getting home safely is always going to be the priority. The best solution?  Better and later public transport links, more coordination between venues / promoters and local authorities, and ultimately, better public transport to entertainment venues.

Car sharing has become more popular.  Maybe its just due to the rising cost of fuel but, though better than driving alone, the sight of a full bike park at any of our shows would really make me smile.

Then we come to the band and crew. Picture the scene, black limo pulls on to the tarmac, flight attendant flashes a friendly smile and the star is swept from car to jet in one move. The reality is a little different. The benefits of flying, private or commercial, are rapidly disappearing. Higher prices, tighter security, and congested airways make air travel less convenient and more tiring.
Tour buses are by far the best way for crew to travel. These are regular 52 seat coaches that have been converted to a bus with lounges, bunks, toilet and a small kitchen (www.beatthestreet.net), enabling us to travel and sleep concurrently. It takes a little time to get used to, but after time one may even prefer it to a hotel room - the constant movement of the bus can be addictive.

In the planning of this tour, we looked into train travel and it became apparent that finishing work at 2am and needing to be in the next city at 7am did not fit with normal train timetables. A daytime journey would require an extended schedule (a day inserted between each show dedicated just to travel), which is not commercially viable.

Today, I was asked if we chose airlines based on their environmental policy? It does sound like an oxymoron, but in an industry where some air travel is unavoidable, it's not such a daft idea. Society is not going to give up the convenience of flying or driving, or travelling in general, so we should be campaigning for electric trains, more affordable hybrid cars, and cleaner burn planes.

Just one final thought, over the past couple of weeks the phrase "green washing" has entered my life -- the act of claiming to be more environmentally friendly, but not actually making a net improvement. Carbon offsetting, if done correctly, can be a viable route to follow; else it acts as a conscience clearer, and not much else.

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/carbon_offsetting.pdf

127USD per Barrel of Crude Oil - Record High.

One major area where environmental concerns marry with fiscal issues: Trucking.

125,000lb / 55,000kg of Sound, Lighting, Video, Band Gear, Office and Catering equipment needs to be moved between every show. Shying away from the American tradition of just rolling equipment onto an empty truck, our 5 trucks are efficiently packed, requiring more labour time and some tetris skill to make the most of our space and weight limits. We don't have a huge number of trucks compared to super group stadium shows that turn in to 36+ truck monsters, but even our 5 still have an impact on the environment.

In our initial planing for the US tour, we looked into moving all the equipment by rail. The American rail system isn't bad and every major city has a station. Problems come up, however, when stations don't have sidings and trains can only pull up for a few minutes to load and unload passengers. Freight timetables are set months in advance; we have too much gear to take advantage of spare capacity and not enough to command a 50 wagon freight train.

So, back to trucking it is. Fuel used on the road is inevitable, but the tradition of idling engines to maintain cab power and air conditioning can be addressed.

Truck Drivers live in their cabs. Some are luxury palaces, but all can be uncomfortable sweat boxes in the summer heat. With safety at the top of the priority list, ensuring the truckers get a good night sleep is key, so asking them not to run their AC is not an option. In a move to save fuel, more and more trucking companies are installing Auxiliary Power Units (APU's). Small generators mounted to the side of the cab deliver the required power instead of idling the engine. These can be run whenever the units are parked, saving on fuel and engine hours (servicing etc etc).

We have partnered with Upstaging Trucking to go one step further. There is more than enough house electricity when parked at the venue. Mains connectors and inverters have been installed to our 5 trucks to enable them to be hooked up to venue power and remove the need to run their APU's at all.

For the first time, complete silence and clean air at the loading dock.

The cost saving as the price of fuel continues to rise is clear, and we are also reducing emissions. A win-win solution and the best we could come up with, at least until those Hybrid trucks are developed!

www.upstaging.com

Where to play? Where to play? The Best Foot Forward report identified fan travel as the single biggest contributor to our carbon footprint. Public transport moves further up the list of importance, but venue availability, power, space, truck parking etc etc are still priority. A nice clean, sterile arena would have been sufficient, but having more adverts than character is not appealing to any of us. So the needs of the product override the ideals of the project and thus this plan came together.

As varied as they all are, venues around the world present a specific set of hurdles when it comes to eco policies. There are so many layers of contractors who deal with all the areas (i.e. consumables like paper plates having been pre-bought for the whole year) and they have no obvious reason to help us. We are, however, benefiting greatly from the network of communication that exists between Live Nation. What?  The big multi national helping out the common man? It's true. With their national venue network and buying power, they have been able to dive head first into some of our incentives. Senior management have been overtly supportive

Our efforts started in December with the appointment of Katie, our tour Eco Coordinator. Despite national ownership, the beer, food and operations are, more often than not, contracted out to regional companies. With a whole range of different policies, sorting all this out is a full time job (Katie also manages our IT as well, so we keep her really busy!)

Our next move was to enlist some expert help in drawing up a hit list of practicable measures to action at the venues. Our top ten included....


·        Give car poolers preferential parking and promote this option through communications with concert goers   
·        Use low energy light bulbs in all areas
·        Purchase green power or power from renewable sources from electricity provider
·        Use reusable cups rather than disposable ones
·        Use recycled paper for all office stationery, tickets, posters, flyers and napkins
·        Use compostable recycled paper crockery and wooden cutlery not plastic
·        Install recycling points for all cans and bottles

The current arrangements at each venue were checked against our ten points, which then produced a short list of things to concentrate on. A plan was made to research solutions to the issues; it's no good requesting something without having some idea of how to achieve it. This part of the big green push relies solely on the venues actions, and for the most part, our suggestions have been met with great enthusiasm. Car pooling has been North America wide, some of the additional recycling plans have been venue specific. Having determined the level of existing eco action, our plan is to encourage improvement. A 1950's amphitheatre is going to be starting from a worst position than a modern one, but their efforts are just as valid.

Car Pooling and composting have shown particular promise, with an average 12% reduction on the total number of cars used, and an average of over 1000 spots taken each night on the car pooling lot. Preferential parking locations were offered, although a better incentive would be for Live Nation not to include the parking charge in the ticket price, so car poolers would actually save money!

Compostable food waste from the venue backstage kitchens has been collected and used by venue grounds keepers and local gardening clubs. Live Nation have independently started to supply compostable beer cups for all their venues. The provision of organic locally grown food for the audience was one area that we had no influence over.
Consumer demand prevails and we are told the consumer demands mass produced burgers and chemically enhanced beer - maybe time for a little customer feedback?

The ultimate goal is to introduce schemes that, once proven effective, will be perpetuated by the venues and demanded by other acts.

You can read our full venue reports at www.radiohead.com/tourdates/

After the Radiohead commissioned report by Best Foot Forward was published, a lot of questions were asked about the way that we tour. The main issue is how the audience moves to and from the show. With the location and public transport links now a more significant factor when choosing venues, fans are being encouraged to think about alternative ways of travelling.

Beyond this, we have asked ourselves - what can we, the tour, do?

Staying at home is the obvious answer - no tour, no carbon footprint! but people will still go to gigs, and we are running a business, the business of providing a quality product {live music} to the customer {the fans}. If you start from this position and remember that we are responsible for the welfare of the 60+ people on the road, you very quickly hit some brick walls.

In the coming weeks we hope to show you what Radiohead are doing to change the way they tour in order to reduce their own carbon footprint.

We want to show the failings as well as the successes, and who has helped us along the way.

None of what we are trying to do could have been possible with out the cooperation of the band, crew, venues, suppliers and fans. It's a joint effort. We can dream up new schemes and come up with the resources, but it requires each and every one of us to participate for the whole thing to work. Let's start a debate. Things will only change on a global scale if the customer demands it.

Some of the initiatives are very simple and obvious, but make a big difference, others are new and innovative. It's not a perfect model; there are always limitations as to what can be done when putting on such a level of show.

Ultimately, that's the point. None of what we are doing should impede your enjoyment of a Radiohead concert, in fact; maybe it will be a better show, through the discovery of new technologies and a fresh way of thinking.