We are one.

As a (much) younger adult, I worked on the road with touring rock bands in a variety of roles, Tour manager, production manager, sound engineer, and stage manager. And I worked many similar jobs at venues with a rotating calendar of acts – including the servicing and operation of a vintage cinema projector that stood an equal chance of chopping off my finger, electrocuting me, or vaporizing me in a shrapnel cloud of xenon gas. Each of these jobs taught me one thing about the life of those working in and around the stage and screen.

This life comprises approximately 80% misery, 15% boredom, …and 5% ecstasy. And the ecstasy does not come from the wild excesses that most people imagine. It happens when an old friend you haven’t seen in years appears in the audience. It happens when the blizzard forces you to spend an extra night in Fargo and everyone goes bowling together…or when someone’s friend takes the crew out on his houseboat for a day off and you steam the Damariscotta at sunset.

But, no matter how grueling or boring, every day contains at least one ecstatic moment. It is an electric moment – sacred. It is a moment so pure and clean that time stops.

Jackson Browne sings in The Load Out, “We just pass the time in the hotel rooms/And wander 'round backstage/'Til those lights come up, and we hear that crowd/And we remember why we came.” He’s right, of course. Stepping onto the stage is exhilarating. But the ecstatic moment – the sacred moment – occurs just before then. The stage is humming. The lights are down. Crew is all in position. Band waits in the wings. There is a heaving, collective exhale and each make that silent promise to each other as the lights come up: “We are one.”

Today marks the final week before APEX 2022. The planning is done, the registrations are still rolling in. There is still time to join us. Well, actually, you only have one more day because the registration deadline is Wednesday, October 5. 

“People, you've got the power over what we do/You can sit there and wait or you can pull us through/Come along, sing the song/You know that you can't go wrong.”

As the grueling work of putting on this event ramps up to its final sprint, there will be a similar, singular ecstatic moment right before the lights come up on APEX 2022.

We can’t wait to see you there!

As always,
Bruce