On Saturday, November 2nd, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers made a stop on their "Last DJ" national tour at Cricket Pavilion in Phoenix. At the front-of-house mix position was world-renowned live sound engineer Robert Scovill. As is always the case when a Scovill tour comes to Phoenix, students from the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences were invited to shadow Scovill during the setup and tuning of the audio system. Scovill developed the Conservatory's live sound curriculum several years ago, and very much believes in the idea of presenting information to the students as directly as possible. As a result, he has graciously allowed students to learn from him by shadowing during literally every tour on which he has come through Phoenix. "It's very much in line with our philosophy of hands-on training and internship", said Kirt Hamm, Conservatory Administrator. "We are cognizant of the fact that sitting in lectures and reading books alone simply do not accomplish the educational goals of our students. We insist that they roll up their sleeves and pitch in to really plumb the depths of understanding."

On the day of the concert, Scovill presented the students with a working lecture through the process of live sound. Starting with the physical setup and arrangement of the V-DOSC line array loudspeakers to the monitor console and then finally the front-of-house position, the walking tour enabled Scovill to discuss and explain the entire live sound process. The students were treated to a demonstration of SIA-SMAART system tuning, with Scovill making micro-tweaks in phase delays and spectral content to tighten and clarify the sound in the venue. The students were also allowed to stay for the sound check with opening act Jackson Browne.

Scovill has also invited Conservatory students to be present in this fashion at concerts of artists like Rush, Foreigner, and matchbox 20.