Robert "Fuzzy" Frazer rock climbing in Railay Bay, Thailand.
Fuzzy’s the one on the left.

IA Stage has added a couple new faces to our ranks: Robert “Fuzzy” Frazer and Bear Garber. Yes, we have a Fuzzy and a Bear on the roster. Isn’t that great?! Today, I’m going to introduce you to Fuzzy.

Many of you in the industry will know Robert Frazer from a variety of places. The man’s been all over the place. The first thing I asked when I met him, of course, was how and where he got the nickname Fuzzy. He doesn’t have a big beard or mustache, so I was curious. As he was sitting down, he explained, “I went to an all-Black grade school with a crew cut – the boy sitting behind me ran a hand up the back of my head and yelled out, ‘That’s fuzzy!’” The name stuck.

Robert Frazer is originally from Weirton, WV. He went to college at WVU to study chemistry and psychology. At some point into his college career, “I decided the academic world was too slow for my taste, so it was time for a change.”

He had been looking for growing job trends in the US, and FL was roaring. So, in 1973, Fuzzy moved to Florida to follow the construction boom in Miami. Turns out his roommates were students at the University of Miami and they worked rock and roll gigs on weekends. He joined them and eventually, he and two of his roommates started Helfrey Productions, providing stage hand labor for concerts.

Railay Bay in Thailand - one of Robert Frazer's favorite places in the world.
This is a picture that Fuzzy took in Railay Bay, Thailand. In addition to rock climbing and cooking Chinese food, he also dabbles in photography!

Fuzzy broke from Helfrey after two years to pursue his own path. The break coincided with Mike Hirsh, Rush’s tour manager, asking him to join the tour as part of the sound crew with National Sound, who were working of out of DC.  “We bought the second Meyer sound system in the world,” Fuzzy said. He was out on the road with Rush for 5 years and got to see the band transition from large clubs to 1500-2000 seat venues.

After Rush, he joined UltraSound from San Francisco. He spent the next 15 years touring with artists such as Yes, Lou Reed, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Kiss, and Bob Dylan. Fuzzy was “the stacks/racks/fly guy, flying our MEYER MSL-3 system” for Dylan.

“25 years in rock & roll,” he says, “I was 45 and I decided to grow up.”

Fuzzy switched gears and became an MTV Location Manager/Tour Manager while also working with his good friend, Mike Esmonde, as the TD for Universal’s Halloween. He met Esmonde in 1979 while touring with KISS. Eventually, Fuzzy came on full-time with Universal as a Project Manager. Fuzzy was at Universal for 15 years until he was furloughed due to the pandemic. He explained, “I survived the first three rounds of staffing cuts, but when they let 3000 people go, I was one of them.”

He came aboard with us in September in the capacity of Project Manager out at the parks. We’re glad to have him.