We are embarking upon the high season of live sound production, and it is good to think about the items that will be plaguing us and our crews during this time. This article is a compendium of ideas from the authors and a call to action before the summer gigs become imminent.
Tip 1
Stock Up On Favors If you have not already done this over the winter, shame on you! Kissing up to your fellow sound companies and freelance crew members is essential over the quiet months. By doing little favors throughout the year for others, you bank a few “you owe me” favors during your rushed summer schedule to cash in when in need.
Both touring and corporate sound companies have ebbs and flows seasonally, and helping out a corporate provider in their high season of midwinter to spring trade shows and conferences with extra stacks and racks means that their quiet summer could benefit you with extra crew members or gear.
Tip 2
Clean and Maintain Early spring is an excellent time to get all the rigs passing through the shop for heavy maintenance and cleaning. All castor-ed cases should be checked to replace bent up or loose castors while emptied out for cleaning. Remember the Army maintenance mantra: “If it shines polish it; if it doesn’t paint it.” Get all the dust, dirt and cobwebs out of everything. All touring speaker cabinets should get inspected so that all drivers are in-phase, so that mid-season blown driver replacements get checked thoroughly. With amp racks and processing racks, now is the time to clean and neatly dress all the cabling. Remember all those trips the crew took into the backs of these racks with a mini-mag flashlight? Well all those last-second/mid-show surgeries need to be healed at this time.
The same goes for digital processing and effects gear in racks as well. All those guest engineer presets and other tweaks need to be expunged from the processors, and a clean load of factory and/or shop presets need to be put back in.
Tip 3
Crew Maintenance And while all that top level soundco stuff is being worked, crew pruning and retention issues (i.e., hiring and firing) need to be addressed. Remember the crew lead that got his ego out of control last summer? It is time to let that person go and create new crews that play well together and respect their lead crewmembers.
It is also time to call up all those interested freelancers and arrange interviews with the willing to fill in the missing slots in your crews. And complete crew training is a great idea so that everyone is up to date on the new gear and could fill in if other crewmembers are missing suddenly.
Morale building is something that should be at the forefront in crew maintenance needs. How are you going to get a crew to stay motivated during 18-hour show days if you do not have something for them to remember from the spring or look forward to in the fall? Things as simple as an all-crew party can bring back good memories in the face of short-term tough work schedules.
Tip 4
Trucking Prep Spring is also the time to put all the trucking through a refurbishment process. First and foremost are getting the licenses renewed, fresh log-books and anything the state DOTs need to keep you on schedule. Are your trucks the right sizes for the gear to be hauled? No one wants to be held ransom at a weigh-station because you slightly overloaded the gig rig.
And obviously, get all the rubber checked on your gig rigs so there is plenty of tread on the tires and no hoses showing cracking or aging. Get all those truck fluids and lubricants changed out, and make sure every cab has all the just-in-case tools and fluids needed for every probability.
Make sure your insurances for the rigs and crew are all caught up and appropriate for the types of work you will be doing. And if you can, upgrade the trailers to e-track systems over D-rings and spring bar payload retention systems. Loose gear is not something you want to be worried about down the road.
Tip 5
Cross Renting Cross renting is not collusion with competing soundcos, but a sound practice of not purchasing gear with a limited amount of usage. If you are not getting a twoyear payback on your summer season gear, consider at least sub-renting it to other soundcos or cross renting from these other soundcos as required. This especially applies to large consoles and esoteric outboard gear that is not in common demand.
Tip 6
The Weather Problem It is also time to acquire and inspect all the rain-resistant plastic sheeting, tarps, bungee cords, pop-up tents and other tie-downs needed for inclement weather and outdoor gigs. There never seem to be enough handy cover-up materials when you need them, and now is the time to stock up.
And do not avoid practicing the rain-drill. Nothing brings attention to missing weather gear like a mock drill. And when the next real drill comes, everyone has a task. And remember to train the crew in overnight stage stowage, because sleep is not an excuse for a stage full of rain-soaked gear.
And do not forget the insect repellant and high SPF sunscreen for nature’s other minor plagues. A crew that looks like lobsters, or who are driven insane by bugs, is not a pretty sight or likely to have good morale.
Tip 7
Stencil Madness As mentioned in a previous issue of FOH, putting your “mark” on your racks and stacks and everything else helps when sorting out after a festival gig. And you do not need a tattoo artist to design your soundco logo; just break out the spray paint, tagboard and stencil letters for the official statement of live sound ownership. And don’t forget all the other ownership markings like cable labels and engraving tools on chassis.
Tip 8
Gig Butt Prevention “Gig butt” occurs when you have been living and sweating in your underclothes for extended periods of time. While a shower and a clothes change are the ultimate cure, most times that ain’t happening when you need it. Your first help in extending your fresh feeling is to encourage the crew to liberally apply a favorite talcum powder to the nether regions before heading off to the gig. A bit of Johnson’s Baby Powder or Gold Bond Powder is essential. And do not forget to bring a “spare” roll of toilet paper when the show amenities are sparse.
Tip 9
Artist C-Store While not essential, it gathers more artist IOUs than any other aspect in show execution. Set aside a little trunk space and store a bunch of 9-volt, AA and AAA batteries, plus the usual “I forgot” muso items (like drum sticks, packs of guitar and bass strings, 15-foot guitar cables, drum keys and felts and anything else that can be forgotten). A spare 14- inch snare head would really be icing on the cake.
Tip 10
Beverages and Eats While not always a soundco forethought, a bunch of heavy duty coolers for ice and bottled water are needed for most any gig without top notch catering. For crews, I would not advise sugared beverages, but sometimes the caffeine kick is necessary for us addicts. Emphasize orange juice for its potassium content, as it is one of the body’s key fluidic ingredients and it can help prevent muscle cramping when taken in balance with salt (sodium). Water will cut thirst, and that is the best item to not skimp on.
While the crew can pretty much dictate what they eat, beware that some foods are more risky. All it takes is a little less-than-clean lettuce, and the most healthy-eating of crew members will be distracted by sudden calls of nature. Also beware that too much grease and cholesterol in the bloodstream of the crew makes for an insect’s dream blood donor. So eat plainly and eat items that will least offend other crewmembers. While a garlic- rich diet will keep the bugs away, the resulting body odor will also strain personal and business friendships.
