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Tana Douglas is widely acknowledged as rock’n’roll’s first female roadie. Her journey started in 1973 in Australia, where within a year she was working for AC/DC, first doing backline then F.O.H. Sound for the band. She then moved to lighting working for a Major Australian Promoter and completed in quick succession several tours with International acts such as: Santana, Suzi Quatro, Neil Diamond, David Essex and Leo Sayer and Status Quo all before she turned 18.
After getting her Father to sign her passport so she could travel Internationally she ventured to London to start 3 years with Status Quo running their lighting rig. She then brought that rig to TASCO a major Production company in London that until that time had only supplied Sound for tours. A relationship developed there that would last several years and include working for such artists as: Status Quo, The WHO, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, The Police, Elton John, Iggy Pop and Johnny Halliday the French mega star.
Her relationship continued with TASCO enabling her to transfer to the United States after they opened a Los Angeles division. After becoming a U.S. resident she broadened her working relationships to also include both Delicate Productions and Light & Sound Designs. The tours that followed were Elton John, INXS, and Men at Work, before being once again called back to Paris to manage the largest lighting rig ever built for a 7 month residency for her old friend Johnny Halliday, for Light & Sound Design (LSD).
After successfully completing that task it was time for a change. Los Angeles had offered Tana new passions and she gradually left lighting and stage/production to focus her skills on logistics for everyone including Lenny Kravitz, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Luther Vandross, Ice-T and Ice Cube to name a few.
As the music industry grew to become a worldwide cultural phenomenon, Tana was there, in the thick of it, a girl.
Tana and her unique position in the music industry have been included in several other people’s books – most recently a chapter in Stuart Coupe’s book, Roadies, which confirmed her as the first female roadie. But now it’s time for Tana to tell her story, in her own words. Her Memoir, LOUD, is being published through HarperCollins Australia and tells of the joys and struggles faced as a girl out on the road on her own in the wild and wooley days that created this industry of music. It is due to be released in April 2020.
Tana currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Today’s episode is sponsored by Soundgirls.org & ShowPro Beard Co. Use the code ROADIE to get great discounts when you check out.
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Special Mentions:
Loud: A Life In Rock ‘N Roll by the World’s First Female Roadie. By Tana Douglas, Mixing Music Live, Tour Health Research Initiative, Charlie Karp Scholarship Fund, Telefunken M80 Microphone, The Last Seat in the House: The Story of Hanley Sound, The Power of Podcasting Panel at NAMM, Soundgirls, Roswell Pro Audio Mini K87, Filming Great Concert Footage, Roadie Short Film, Roadie: A True Story (at least the parts I remember), Roadie Free Radio Merch