Like many people who grew up in the post-war era of the last century, I played guitar and was sure I’d make my fortune doing the same. I was imbued with a wanderlust and was hypnotized by the siren’s songs that lured me into a world of music and travel. I was certain there was no other path for me to follow and despite the warnings from older and more seasoned musicians, I refused to tie myself to the mast as protection from the alluring siren’s songs. I followed the sirens and went on a journey familiar to many of that era.
We had lofty ideals and were convinced the new music we were playing would change the world. We might have been over-reaching a bit, but we were young, full of hope and filled with the ideals of youth. The live music and touring business was changing and along with it an emerging audio business began to flourish. Bands were playing to larger audiences and the business of live audio was beginning to take shape as a major contributor to the world of music; included with the new technology was a work force of studio engineers, inventors, electricians and people who otherwise might have needed to choose a different path.
The Live Audio Path
The world of live sound offered many of us the option of being in a band without being a player. We were the so-called fifth Beatle. The guy that wasn’t seen but was definitely heard. It was a business in its infancy stage, but making huge leaps as solutions were being created to counter myriad problems that were only learned by doing. The technology we take for granted now did not exist and was only being developed at the time by some of the great audio pioneers. At New York City’s Fillmore East, Bill Hanley developed the first multicore snake.
While hardly the sexiest piece of gear in our modern audio arsenal, the multicore snake is the one piece of equipment that has enabled the engineer to move to a position away from the stage. In the mid-1990s, I had the pleasure of meeting the esteemed Dinky Dawson when he was mixing a touring band in a club I was managing. As Fleetwood Mac’s sound engineer, Dinky’s reputation preceded him and hanging out with him in the sound booth was fun, as well as a learning experience. One of the things he shared with me was what a game changer it was to use a multicore snake for the first time at the Fillmore East. By the time Dinky told me this story, it had been close to 30 years since his life-changing moment at The Fillmore and until his recounting of the story, it hadn’t occurred to me that there was a time when multicore cable did not exist.
The Brave New World of Audio
Of course, many things that weren’t around years ago are items we now take for granted. Necessity — being the mother of invention — has provided us with a brave new world of audio that didn’t exist even 10 years ago. Options have changed and technically there is more to do, which also means there are more jobs that need to be filled; this means there are more ways to earn a living. For many young engineers it’s the call of the road they hear. Getting paid to mix a band and traveling around the world seems like a dream come true. You’re working with music and you’re outside of the box. Your workplace changes day to day and there’s glamor and excitement in what you do, not to mention the incredible rush that accompanies every night’s downbeat. There is nothing more gratifying for live engineers, than listening to their own mixes through a great system when that mix is just right. One lives for that moment and tries to recapture it every night of a tour.
This is all well and good, but what I tell the young recruits who are longing for a career in audio is that they are not only choosing a career, but also a lifestyle. Part of being a live audio technician is being able to incorporate into the lifestyle and being able to hang with it. My disclaimer here is that none of that is a negative, but it’s a gig mentality that demands long hours and sometime not great pay. There is a lot of waiting around and then a lot of hurrying up. It’s an ongoing party until one day you wake up and realize you might be a candidate for AA meetings. The travel is exciting, but for the most part you’re working and don’t get to see much of the local scenery before you have to get on the bus with ten other people for the overnight to another city you won’t get to see. When you do get a day off it usually coincides with a layover in Indiana, Pennsylvania or Columbus, Ohio and — while I am not disparaging these places — it might just be counter to one’s vision of a glamorous tour.
Some Advice
Again, to be clear, I am not being negative about touring, but I do think that understanding what one is signing up for is imperative to a good education. Sort of like kids in school when they are learning math. Before diving into the more abstract subjects like algebra and calculus, the math curriculum should include a course in doing taxes, mortgages, interest rates and a study of credit card fees and management. In the same way that I feel certain applied math is overlooked in schools, I feel instruction in certain touring practicalities gets overlooked.
While the study of gain structure, the use of dynamics or the flying of a speaker array should be mandatory knowledge for a young engineer, it should be as equally vital to know how to juggle your marriage or kids in the middle of a six-month world tour. It’s also good to know at which point of the current tour one should start calling around for their next gig. My word of advice for those aspiring to a career in live sound is to take as many road gigs as possible while you’re young. Work in clubs mixing three bands a night. Work long hours and do one-off gigs while at the same time figuring out how to save money instead of paying it all to an apartment you visit once every three months.
Sound engineering is a noble and exciting profession and there are many avenues available for one to utilize their talents, but first and foremost be aware that you have signed up for, not just a technical career, but for a lifestyle.
