USA - In Hollywood, entrepreneurial brothers Jonnie and Mark Houston are reinventing the nightlife scene from bottle service nightclubs to cocktail-focused themed venues. They currently operate a number of nightspots including the Cuban rum bar-themed La Descarga, the atmospheric Paris-themed Pour Vous and the Hollywood Piano Bar.

Their latest incarnation is No Vacancy, paying homage to Old Hollywood with a historic renovation of what the bar once was - a Victorian period house built in the early 1900s.

While other venue concepts have been inspired by trips abroad, No Vacancy is closer to the hearts of the twin brothers who grew up in the neighbourhood.

"We restored the house as much as we could and brought it back to life with every little detail from the knobs to the an

UK - It is with sadness that the Association of Lighting Designers has announced the death of Andy Collier, the editor of the Association's Focus magazine and long standing member of the Executive Committee.

Andy passed away suddenly on Friday 12th July on his way to an ALD Executive meeting, where he was due to discuss the next issue of Focus and the ALD website, both projects that Andy was intimately involved in.

Andy joined the Executive in October 1995, and filled several key positions starting as Associate Member Representative, then as Corporate Member Representative, before e

Australia - Chart topping Australian singer/songwriter Guy Sebastian is using Robe moving lights on his 47-date Get Along Australian tour, the latest stage in his impressive career, which has been nothing less than supersonic since winning the first Australian Idol back in 2003.

The tour's lighting and visuals design has been created by Bruce Ramus, and lighting director / operator on the road is Simon 'Junior' Johnson. The lighting and video equipment is being provided by Melbourne based Powa Productions.

Ramus has worked with Sebastian for about two years. He was giv

UK - Two Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing systems managed FOH and monitors for a special performance by the band, People's String Foundation, held at the Minack open-air theatre in Cornwall to mark a forthcoming album launch.

The 12-strong band debuted all tracks from its new album, due for release this summer, accompanied by a ten-piece orchestra.

"Positioned on a cliff top, the open-air amphitheatre was a logistical challenge, requiring a mixer that would fit with the rest of the PA in a van small enough to negotiate the narrow lanes leading to the venue but could also hand

UK - The eyes of the western world were on the Northern Ireland town of Enniskillen in mid-June, as its Lough Erne golf resort hosted the 39th annual G8 summit. As the heads of eight of the world's largest economies met to discuss 'trade, transparency and tax', Yamaha digital mixers ensured that not a word was missed.

With eight of the world's most powerful leaders involved - including Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande, Vladimir Putin and David Cameron - media interest was exceptionally high. Satisfying a demanding brief was Delta Sound, who chose exclusively Yamaha digit

Latest Issue. . .