I was contacted by a close friend who directs the alumni organization for a well-known college, and she needed my help for one of their fundraising events. They didn’t have much of a budget (who does these days?), and they needed someone to do sound for their annual talent competition fundraiser. I told her that I would be glad to help and that I would bring as much gear as I could so she shouldn’t need to rent anything for sound.
A few days later, I received an email with a list of three performers, their individual audio needs, and a link to the event flyer with the club information. I had never heard of this particular club, so I asked my friend if she had ever been there. She said they had a stage, some speakers, and a soundboard with those “sliders.” I asked how many “sliders” the soundboard had. She had no idea, but gave me the phone number of the club employee she had met with. My call was greeted with the automated response that his message inbox was full. A few more calls and a text over the next two weeks received no response at all.
Expect the Unexpected
As the event date approached, still not knowing anything about the club dimensions or what equipment they had, I became concerned about exactly what I would need to bring. I evaluated what would actually fit into my car (not a truck, a small car). With only a week left, I was able to lock in an input list: drums, bass, guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboard, saxophone, three vocals and CD playback. I was responsible for all audio-related needs, and my director friend would rent the instruments and backline.
The day before the gig, still having only an input list, I decided it was better to be safe than sorry, and I would bring absolutely everything that I could fit in my car. I brought twice the XLR and quarter-inch cables that I thought I would need, DIs, adapters, mic stands, a case of extra mics, three small monitor wedges, enough NL4 cabling for the monitors to have homeruns, a small monitor amp, a Yamaha ProMix digital mixer, my Yamaha StagePas 300 powered PA, and a flash recorder just for fun. All of this fit into my small Honda Fit along with my mom, my wife, myself and some snacks for the drive from Orange County (seriously great car!).
We arrive at the club and park in the loading area (metered parking about 50 feet from the front door). Thanks to my wife and my mom, the three of us loaded everything into the club pretty fast, and we were greeted by a tiny little stage in the back corner of the club that was approximately six by six feet. I had to laugh. They had one speaker hanging in the left corner aiming at the stage, and the other hanging behind the stage, towards the audience area. The sound booth was a 4-by-2-foot platform elevated three feet off the floor in the back of the room. The soundboard was a small, four-fader, DJ mixer sitting next to a DJ CD player. It’s a good thing I decided to bring everything!
We only fit the drums, the bass amp, the guitar amp, and one leg of the keyboard stand on the stage. We found a small 2-by-2-foot stage extension and added it to support the other keyboard leg and provide a small standing space for a vocal. Due to lack of space, I started trimming the input list. I figured I would start with vocals, keyboard, and acoustic guitar, and I could always add things later as needed.
I got the system up and running, and did a quick sound check with the first performer. The second performer showed up with only her bass player and said the rest of her band might not make it until later. We did a rough sound check with vocal, keys and bass. She was feeling good, but concerned about being able to hear once her whole band was playing. I told her I would gladly adjust monitor levels, just give me a signal.
The third performer walked in at this point and let me know that his whole band couldn’t get there until after the doors opened and that they would just wing it.
It’s Showtime!
The club filled up quickly. I was as ready as I could be, considering the scaled-down sound check. The show started great with the first performer. It came time to switch to the second performer, and the 15-minute change-over time turned into five minutes. After the second song, the singer asked the audience if they could hear her vocal and all the instruments, because she was having a hard time hearing herself. What can the audience do to fix that? (Hmmm… When I said just give me a signal, I was thinking more like a thumbs up or down).
Thankfully, everything was balanced in the house, so the audience responded positively. I took her comment as a request for more vocal in the monitor and made the necessary adjustments. Two songs later, she breaks out a harmonica and wails into the vocal mic. My hands were riding the fader and the gain to make sure nobody went deaf. She finished, and it was time for the third performer with the band that just showed up.
During our five-minute change-over time, I noticed that the lead singer had an acoustic guitar, electric guitar and a ukulele. The keyboard player was also doubling on all the saxophones, and a melodica (a wind instrument that has piano keys on it, but isn’t electronic). It’s a good thing we had so much space on stage! They informed me that they play loud, and needed me to make sure that the vocal could be heard where their friends were sitting at the opposite end of the club, in a separate room, on the other side of the bar. I gave him a big smile and a sarcastic thumbs up. Of course, I was going to do my best to make his band pleasantly audible for everybody, but if your friends came here to hear you, maybe they should move a little closer during your set.
They weren’t kidding when they said they played loud. The band started their first song and the lead singer plugged his ukulele into the acoustic guitar DI. It had barely any output, and he kept signaling for more level, but there was barely anything there. With only a little gain added, the monitors started to ring. I pulled it out of the monitors so that I could get an appropriate level in the house, and things were okay.
For the next song, the lead singer plugged his acoustic guitar into the same DI where the ukulele just was. I pulled the gain back and pulled the level down. For the next song he picks up his electric guitar, which made me happy because I wasn’t miking it and the previous bands sounded great with just their amps. He started to play and caused everybody to cover their ears because his amp was so loud. He didn’t turn it down, he just kept strumming away.
I maxed out my vocal fader and rode the gain just to get it over the electric guitar. Luckily he didn’t play that aggressive during the verses. We finally reached the last song of their set, and the evening, when the lead singer pulls out a harmonica. He slams it into the vocal mic and plays as hard as he can. Luckily I already had my hand on the fader and yanked it back in time to avoid major hearing damage for all involved.
The band finished their set and my wife smoothly faded in some background music while I attempted to strike some of the cabling on stage, leaving only the main vocal as an announcement microphone. While wrapping cables I noticed that the lead singer’s mic stand beer holder wasn’t sufficient enough for his two beers because one of them had spilled all over the floor and all over my cabling. Awesome!
Morals and Mayhem
With all the night’s surprises, everything ended up turning out just fine. My friend and her alumni group were able to raise a good amount of money. I was glad to be a part of their event, and I even got a few compliments about the sound being comfortably loud without being painful (except for the electric guitar amp, of course). I guess the moral of the story is “Plan for the worst, but hope for the best.” If I had assumed that the club had even a basic sound console, snake, or even a P.A., I would have been in big trouble and the event might not have been so successful. It’s unfortunate that some clubs feel comfortable saying they can support live music without having even the basic essentials. Sales is not my cup of tea, but if you are into it, equipping these small clubs could be a job opportunity for someone out there.
John Campbell is a full-time audio tech and post-production editor at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA.
