My good friend, Professor Ken Lopez, often asks me to appear as a guest lecturer for his classes at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. In his music production classes, Ken and I customarily discuss career path vectors, both in my specific case and for employment in the music business in general.
During this season of graduation ceremonies for so many students around the country, our illustrious and insightful FRONT of HOUSE editor George Petersen asked if I could pen a hypothetical commencement address based on my classroom discussions and real life experiences.
Coincidentally, my son is nearing the end of his college career in San Luis Obispo, CA. He will soon be graduating from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in Environmental Engineering. The subject is therefore both timely and pertinent in my civilian life.
In pursuit of his chosen career path, my son will soon commence an internship at J. Lohr Vineyards in Paso Robles, CA. Although he will be receiving his diploma from a very prestigious engineering program, he understands that a piece of paper alone does not open any doors. My son has successfully networked his way to a well-deserved entry point that potentially leads to the exciting world of California wine production. He has the humility and the good sense to start at the bottom when accessing the rapidly growing environmental field — a specialty in which he will be both intellectually challenged and economically rewarded in the future. He has chosen wisely in opting to pursue a meaningful, valuable and totally necessary profession. His position at the largest vineyard in Central California will be in the area of water management and reclamation, an operation that is extremely critical during this challenging time for our drought-stricken home state.
Congratulations!
If I should ever be given the opportunity to speak at a commencement for those who intend to pursue a career in live audio, I would first congratulate all who have completed their course of study for judiciously choosing an industry with a strong growth outlook for the foreseeable future.
In the 1970s, when I began my career as a front of house engineer, those of us in the live sound business were looked upon as cowboys, dropouts and/or crazies. We were the poor relations to the studio engineers, mastering engineers and producers who inhabited the vast palaces of recording in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.
The record company money flowed to and through the studio scene in seemingly unending supply. The touring industry was another expression of extravagance. Ticket prices were too low to be taken seriously in the business world. The source of capital that actually paid the bills was the record companies. Tours sold records, and for years, records and royalties were the huge revenue. The term “tour support” — so common in the 70’s and 80’s — made up the difference between expenditures and income and kept us on the road.
Those of us who chose to make our living on the road struggled for years to gain legitimacy and earn respect. Our jobs were hard, our hours were long, travel was difficult and we were often beaten up and dirty. In addition, the prevailing culture of excess in the music business led to a certain degree of madness and overindulgence. Legend and reality were not that greatly separated. But somewhere during the dawn of the 80’s, it became apparent that we weren’t just living hard in a momentary dream. We were building an industry that has today become the strongest sector in the modern music business. The alternative employment choice from the 1960’s and 1970’s has become the vibrant, growing live performance arena that today’s graduates are hoping to enter.
Live Audio: A Thriving Industry
While my specialty within the live performance field is sound mixing, it’s only one of many possible areas of endeavor. The live audio field has developed myriad avenues of opportunity available to those who wish to join this burgeoning branch of the entertainment industry. As the recording studio business has severely shrunk and the record companies have experienced a sharp decrease in revenue, live performance has been exponentially expanding. It’s become the major source of revenue for the artists who work all over the world in venues ranging from clubs to stadiums. As the number of tours grows, the number of positions required to staff those tours has multiplied commensurately.
One can now establish a lucrative and fulfilling career in live audio without aspiring to become a mixing engineer either at front of house or monitors. Dedicated, intelligent audio professionals are needed as system designers, system engineers, live recording and playback specialists, computer system designers and operators and general audio technicians.
The revolutionary evolution in the manufacturing of the products we use on the road has opened the door to everyone. Single devices perform multiple functions that once required stacks of gear, digital consoles have become lighter and smaller, and speaker systems travel more intelligently and deploy light years faster, without the need for vast numbers of people employing brute force methods. A strong back and a commitment to demanding heavy physical labor are no longer the primary prerequisites for succeeding in the touring audio world. Many traditional physical barriers have been transcended and left along the roadside.
The “Other” Side of the Biz
The manufacturing sector has also generated a huge expansion in the number of specialized products for live audio. Speaker, microphone, computer hardware and software and electronics manufacturers have all formed strong ties with the performance side of the industry. One can have a deep involvement in live production while working on the manufacturing side.
The symbiosis between the creators of live audio products and the end users has never been stronger or more necessary. As digital products and the complex software required to optimally operate them have now dominated our industry, product specialists and consultants who can instruct new users and troubleshoot hardware and software problems are common and welcome visitors on many tours.
Although so many new entry points to the live sound industry now exist, the problem of getting one’s foot in the door remains the same as it ever was. As any door-to-door or cold-calling salesperson can tell you, there is no single, sure-fire method to accomplish that goal. There have always been those fortunate few who have been lucky enough to coattail the success of their friends by working for a band that started out as kids in clubs. There are others who have relatives in the business and have benefitted from the largesse of nepotism. But for the vast majority of people, it’s all about timing. Being the right person at the right place at the right time has always been the correct formula.
We Want You!
The live audio industry is always seeking to recruit intelligent, independent thinking individuals who are quick learners with good communication skills and are capable of responding in a constructive way to rapidly changing conditions. Men and women who possess the aptitude and personality compatible with our industry are equally welcome in this far more enlightened era.
Keep in mind that most of us started out at the bottom. Working one’s way up in any field deepens one’s knowledge of the entire process and provides a solid foundation from which one can build a lasting career. As my son’s postgraduate employment example has shown, this strategy applies to any field of truly desirable employment. Give a little to get a lot.
But if you should discover that you really want to be a mixer, then work shows anywhere you can — with local bands or at a club or church; at a local sound company; as a member of a local labor unit that works at multiple venues. Make yourself as visible as you can. Build upon and expand your education with the real-world knowledge and expertise that can only be gained by hands-on experience.
Keep in mind that this process will require patience, perseverance and purity of purpose. Remain focused on the long-term goal while enduring short-term frustration. Those who are meant to go further will always rise to the top and get noticed. Get yourself in a position to jump at any opportunity that comes along. And when that opportunity is finally offered, don’t ever hesitate. Just say, “Yes!”
Safe travels and may good fortune find you!
