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Audio on the 50 Yard Line

The Super Bowl is no doubt one of the biggest watched events across the nation. I’m not a fan of the sport but you betcha I’m there watching at someone’s Super Bowl party for three reasons. The food, spending time with friends and family and the halftime show. No matter who is playing and performing that night, I’ll be there to watch. As a child, I thought it would be the coolest thing ever to be a part of a major production like the Super Bowl. Doing audio, doing some cool stage designing, or calling the shots that go live to all the viewers out there watching.

Now I am working within a venue that gives me the opportunity to be a part of large productions (not as big as the Super Bowl) but each day is something new. One aspect of my job that was very new when I began working within this venue was heading audio in a stadium setting. High school football is a big deal to everyone here in Texas and at one of the biggest stadiums in the state, we like to do things big. College and professional leagues aren’t the only ones putting together big games and housing big crowds.

At Cy-Fair FCU stadium we can house 11,000 people at a time. All the district games and homecomings are showcased here along with the battle of the marching bands and activities like such. Being in the profession of audio can lead you many different ways. I want to share my experience heading audio on the field. There are a lot of challenges that are faced.

One being distance away from the source. We typically run everything audio-related from the 50th-yard line which is center field. In my case that leaves me even further away from the source which causes a very long delay. Our speakers are housed about 80 feet in the air, and about 240 feet away from the 50-yard line. So not only are you experiencing a long delay but depending on where a spectator is setting they can be experiencing an even longer delay.  

When mixing a choir down on the field for a national anthem or a production for homecoming, my best friends are my cans (headphones). This way I get a solid mix out to my house, I then set a proper mix for my choir monitor that lives right in front of them during the performance. This helps keep the focus off the delay that is accruing. Another thing that makes it extremely challenging is wind. If it’s a windy day I have sound flying every which way. Not only is sound being bounced around. I have wind hitting my microphones pretty hard which causes dropouts from time to time. On days like these, I use a gate to try and control when my mic’s open and close to catch the performance only with minimum dropouts and the loud howl of high winds.

Another major part of audio during the games is the Referee microphone. The red is equipped with a headset- countryman-styled mic with a bodypack each game. Connected to his headpiece and the bodypack is an in-line mute switch that allows the Ref to open and close his mic as needed, this takes some of the stress of your back by not having to mute the mic during actual playtime. You still have to pay attention and listen because sometimes a Ref will forget to cut their mic after a call and it’s on you to cut any unwanted chatter into the stadium.

Lastly, running audio from the press box is the most difficult for me. One, I can turn my monitoring system up in the booth, but I don’t know what it sounds like in the stands. Sometimes I have to rely on my camera ops to communicate with me and let me know if we need more or less volume in the house. The other option I have is to use an app to control my audio surface, which is most efficient when time allows.

I know Soundgirls are working in all areas involving audio. But if any of you specifically want to get into sporting events, or have experience within the sporting side of things. I would love to hear how you specifically deal with challenges. I’ve headed audio for the final four basketball events, slam dunk contest, and nothing has challenged me more than audio out on the field. Your challenges might be different than mine, maybe you’ve done gigs outside that weren’t sporting events. I would still love to hear how you deal with different weather conditions. The thing that drew me to this platform is the same thing that keeps me here. Being able to share experiences, learn and grow together. I can’t wait to hear from you all.

 

Brace Yourself

Starting out in the audio industry, whether in live or studio, is a wee bit tough. Even when I was in school during finals week, when I had three papers due, juries and ensemble shows to perform, and recordings to finish while also working a day job, I don’t think I was this stressed and worn out.

I wake up in the mornings with my teeth sore from clenching, my brain slipping though my ears from what feels like overuse. I pay my bills with a day job that is far removed from what I want to be doing, and on the few days and evenings I have off, I’m at the job that I do want to be doing.

It’s physically grueling. Many of you youngins may also be feeling the same way. But it’s all worth it, because the pride I feel when a session is going well, or when I successfully help rotate one live band’s setup to the next band’s setup in less than fifteen minutes is immeasurable.

Throughout all this stress, it’s important to remember to carve out even just a few little minutes a day for yourself. It can be anything; reading a favorite book in the break room, taking a few centering breaths before bed, stepping outside to stretch… Anything. Beyond that, make sure you’re surrounding yourself with a strong support network of people who “get it,” those that understand that you’re working towards something great.
Steeling yourself away is a tough thing to do, especially if you’re on a gig that’s lasted over nine hours, and you haven’t showered in two days. But it’s as necessary as a decent night’s sleep, and it’s what will keep you moving forward. After all, you can’t give from an empty basket.

SoundGirls.Org  Note – Keeping yourself sane and avoiding burnout is important. Some of our contributors have written about avoiding burnout and stress.  Here are a few

Finding Balance

The Grind

Hi! My Name is Samantha and I am Addicted to Work

Part Time Mixer —– and Part Time What?

A Perspective on Success

Taking Care of You on a Gig

Happy New Year! Goals Anyone

Soundgirls Europe Chapter Tour of The Church Studios

Back in August this year, members of our Europe Chapter were offered a unique opportunity to get an inside look at one of London’s most iconic recording studios, The Church Studios.

As the name suggests, the studios are located in half of a historic 19th-century church building in Crouch End, north London. The other half of the building is still a place of worship, as it has been for over one hundred years.

In the early 1980s, half of the building was purchased and converted into a film studio by animators Bob Bura and John Hardwick, best known as the creators of classic British children’s programmes Camberwick Green and Captain Pugwash. After a couple of years, the duo rented the huge upstairs room, which formed half of the original main church space, to another soon-to-be-famous duo: Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox of Eurythmics.kirsty-gillmore-oct2016-pic1 Eurythmics recorded their debut album Sweet Dreams in the studios in 1984, with the title track apparently recorded in an office room. Following the success of the album, Stewart and Lennox bought the entire studio facility and spent the next twenty years recording material, as well as opening the studio for artists such as Bob Dylan, Radiohead, and Depeche Mode.

In 2004 the studio was sold to David Gray, who owned it until 2013 when it was bought by Paul Epworth. The award-winning producer of Adele and Florence and the Machine, among many others, rescued the studio from the threat of becoming luxury flats.

2013 saw the start of a major refurbishment for the studios, a move that would take it from an iconic studio to a world-class recording and production facility. As well as transforming the beautiful main church space into a unique tracking studio (Studio 1), the refurbishment included a total redesign of the SSL studio (Studio 2) into a state-of-the-art space and the creation of a separate writing room.

kirsty-gillmore-oct2016-pic2Walking into Studio 1, I was first struck by the space. Even knowing the building was a former church, the sheer size, and height of the room was still a surprise. The acoustic treatment is effective but not intrusive:  an acoustic ceiling suspended about the Neve desk and a few curtains, carpets, and baffles. House engineer Riley MacIntyre was kind enough to let us experiment with a binaural microphone so we could explore recording in the space.

The second thing I noticed was the gear. So much amazing, vintage gear. From analogue synths to outboards, it’s pretty clear that Paul Epworth is something of a collector. For a dose of serious gear-envy, there’s a full list of the gear available here. I was struck by a few notable examples.kirsty-gillmore-oct2016-pic4

The 72-channel vintage EMI Neve console is pretty unique. The only one in London, it is, in fact, two desks put together – one-half originated from Abbey Road and the other half from the Pathe Marconi studio in Paris. And it’s huge – you need a studio the size of The Church just to house, plus an extensive patch-bay.

Riley told me his personal favourite piece of kit was the1960s EMI RS168 dual limiter. I’ll have to take his word that it makes everything sound amazing, this processor is so rare I think the closest I’ll get to another one will be a virtual model.kirsty-gillmore-oct2016-pic5

We ended the tour with a quick look in the machine room to admire the Studer A80 and Otari MTR 12 1/4” tape machines and the EMT 140 Plate Reverb and to take in the unique décor (baroque-styled wallpaper and iron curlicues) leftover from Dave Stewart’s tenancy.

The infamous tartan carpet is long gone, but The Church continues to welcome famous faces – U2, Kanye, and Thurston Moore were all mentioned as being recent clients during our tour. Long live the regeneration.

With thanks to Riley MacIntyre and The Church Studios for being so welcoming.

 

 

SoundGirls.Org European Chapter to Tour The Lowry – Manchester

lyric_754Soundgirls.org are pleased to offer members a look behind the scenes at unique performing arts venue The Lowry, located in the heart of the redeveloped Salford Quays in Greater Manchester. Members will get an in-depth look at the sound system for a large, multi-space and multi-purpose venue. The event will include a tour of both main theatre spaces covering the house PA, monitor rig, comms system, install lines and patching.

We’ll also be able to see the setup for the current show in the largest venue, the Lyric Theatre, and so some listening in the mid-size venue, Quays Theatre.

Following the event we’ll go for lunch in a local cafe – details TBC

If you’ve considering a move into theatre or venue sound work or if you’ve just always wanted to know what it was like to run sound in a large multi-purpose venue, this event is for you! We would love to meet members based in the north of England so if you can’t come to the tour, please feel free to join us for lunch afterwards.

This event is free for members of Soundgirls.org and is limited to 15 spaces. Please confirm your attendance by emailing soundgirls@soundgirls.org

More information about The Lowry

Their Rightful Place in History

As a woman in tech, it can sometimes feel like we are fighting for recognition and it is troubling when those who write history choose to ignore women and the tremendous achievements they made. Women were instrumental in both sound engineering and computing from the beginning. Here are just a few.

Ada Lovelace Computer Coder – 1815 – 1852

adaMost people who code have heard of Ada Lovelace. Ada was the daughter of Lord Byron. Lord Byron was considered mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Byron left England for good when Ada was four months old. Ada’s mother, Lady Wentworth wanted to ensure that Ada was nothing like her wayward father, so Ada received an education in Mathematics and Logic, very unusual for a woman at that time.

Ada was introduced to Charles Babbage by her tutor Mary Somerville. While Babbage may have built the first computer,  Ada wrote the programs for it. Ada and Babbage collaborated on the Analytical Engine. In 1843 Ada translated an article by Luigi Menabrea on the Analytical Engine and added her own extensive notes which included the first published description of a stepwise sequence of operations for solving certain mathematical problems. Ada is often referred to as ‘the first programmer.’

Ada speculated that the Engine ‘might act upon other things besides numbers, the Engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent’. The idea of a machine that could manipulate symbols by rules and that number could represent entities other than quantity mark the first transition from calculation to computation. Largely forgotten by the world until 1953 when her notes were published in Faster Than Thought: A Symposium on Digital Computing Machines. Ada has received many posthumous honors for her work. The US Department of Defense named a computer language after her in the 1980s.

Cordell Jackson Record Producer – 1923 – 2004

cordell-jacksonCordell started her own record label in 1956, Moon Records. It’s still trading today and is the oldest continually running label in Memphis. In 1956 she was a sound engineer recording her songs in her home studio. A real pioneer of sound engineering she found it hard to break into the male-dominated studio industry although she did record demos at Sun records.  Cordell bought a cutting lathe in 1947 and started recording demos with local bands.

“I have done everything I have ever thought of as long as it wasn’t immoral, fattening, or illegal,” Jackson says. “That expresses what my life’s been. It’s got to be right-can’t be anything wrong with it. That follows me all the way through. A long time ago, I was told little girls don’t play guitars. And yet I would steal the show wherever I played. In the Bible, God says to conform not, and he doesn’t want you to conform but to one thing, and that’s his love. That’s it. I don’t conform to the world about anything.”

 

 

 

“Steve Shirley” Software start-up entrepreneur – 1933 –

young-dame-stephanie-300-x-400In 1939 at the age of five, Stephanie was a lone child refugee to Britain from Germany. Part of the Kinder Transport Child Rescue Program.  Although she attended a girls’ school in England she received permission to study Mathematics at the local Boys School, as Mathematics was still not something routinely taught to girls.

After School, Shirley chose not to study the limited range of degrees available to women, instead deciding to study mathematics for six years at night school. In the ’50s Stephanie worked for the Post Office Research Station, where the world’s first programmable electronic computer was built, The Colossus Mark 1.

In 1962, Stephanie founded the software company Freelance Programmers. She was ridiculed, as no one bought software as it was given away with hardware. Stephanie structured her business around working wives and mothers and recruited professional women who had quit working to care for the needs of the home. These women worked from home, job shared and had flexible working hours. To understand just how pioneering this was you need to appreciate the restrictions put on women just 50 years ago. A woman did not return to the workplace after having children, she did not have access to equal opportunities and pay and couldn’t even have a bank account without the permission of her husband.

Stephanie, who addressed herself as Steve in business letters to get her foot in the door, owned the company that wrote the code for Concord’s black box flight recorder. Code is written, “by a bunch of women, working in their homes”. The company also developed software standards that were later adopted by NATO.

You can see Stephanie Shirley’s Ted Talk here and here the history of her company from its start to becoming a multi-billion dollar company.

 

If women have been around in tech from the start, why is it still a mainly male-dominated field? Are women’s achievements always diluted when seen through the lens of their gender? How do we address this imbalance and give the women who fought just to have careers outside the home, let alone made tremendous achievements claim their proper place in history?

Defence Against The Dark Arts – A Monitor Engineer’s Guide to RF

In my last couple of posts, I talked about the process of getting ready for a new monitor gig, from getting the call, right up to dialing the band’s mixes in. I touched briefly on RF, but it’s a big topic, and one that merits its own post, especially in a monitoring context. In this post, we’ll look at the basic principles which will give you a good foundation for a clean radio platform. As RF is a complex subject, it’s beyond the scope of this article to go into great detail, so I’ll also offer a few links that will give you more in-depth information about the science behind it all – and it is science, as much as you’ll hear it referred to as a dark art! I advise reading up on it as much as you can within an audio context, but there’s no need to get caught up in the math beyond a basic understanding unless it interests you and you plan to specialise. I also recommend attending the training days that are sometimes offered by major manufacturers like Sennheiser and Shure, as they give you a great chance to ask questions face to face. But for the basics that will serve you well, here we are – a monitor engineer’s guide to RF.

Firstly, make sure you have the right tools for the job.

Just because a transmitter and receiver from different manufacturers are in the same frequency range, it doesn’t mean they’re compatible. Compansion (compression > expansion) is the process by which a signal is compressed before transmission, and then re-expanded in the receiver. It’s important for the compansion circuitry in a system to be compatible with its ‘other half’, for optimum performance and signal-to-noise ratio, so make sure your transmitters and receivers are designed to be used together.

Choose the right antennae.

That usually means directional paddles over twigs for radio mics, and if they’re active, have them set on the lower gain. (Higher gain means they pick up over a greater area, but they pick everything up, not just the frequencies you want, and 3dB is ample for most stage applications.) A helical or ‘bubble’ antenna for IEMs offers superior reception to a paddle, but be aware of the polar coverage – typically a 40 degree cone-shape, so keep that in mind when you position it.

Minimise connections.

Every connector in the path of an antenna cable results in some RF signal loss, so avoid extending RF cables and using excessive adaptors and panels.

Maintain direct line-of-sight between transmitters and receivers.

An antenna that’s tucked around a corner and can’t ‘see’ the stage won’t do its job well, and keeping an artist’s IEM pack antenna on the outside of their clothing is good practice where possible. You may have to negotiate with the wardrobe department if you’re doing a costume-heavy show, but it’s very normal for wardrobe to make a little fabric pouch for the pack to sit in.

Use the right cables.

It’s easy to mistake a BNC cable that’s intended for the back of a desk (ie MADI) for an RF cable, as they have the same connectors – but they have different impedance and you need to keep them separate. RF uses a 50-ohm cable, digital data uses 75 ohms. It’s also worth using a specific low-loss cable such as RG-213 with N-type connectors for IEMs – they are thicker than standard cables and BNC connectors and lose a smaller amount of RF signal – especially useful in circumstances where you have no choice but to run longer cables.

Keep those cables short.

An RF signal would always rather travel through air than cable, so keep cable lengths to a functional minimum – never use a 10 metre cable if a 5 metre will reach. If you need more than 10 metres, reassess the positioning of your racks to see if you can get them closer.

Get high.

Height is your friend when it comes to antenna placement, so take stands up to their fullest extension. Diversity receiver paddles for radio mics can be close to each other – a minimum of 1/2 wavelength is good practice – the wavelength for a 700mHz signal is around 40cm, so a T-bar on a single stand is fine. Keep some distance between receiver paddles and your IEM transmitter antenna though – I usually put my IEM antenna nice and high near the downstage edge of my desk, and the receiver paddles at the upstage side.

Set your squelch.

Squelch is a muting mechanism that silences the audio output of your receiver should an erroneous signal cut across it. This is a good thing – that signal can be a lot louder than the desired one (ie your IEM mix) and can give the listener a nasty blast of noise. We want to set the squelch low enough to allow our desired signal through, but high enough to keep out the uninvited. Around 7-11 dB is a good all-rounder – if you set it too high, the desired signal will also be muted more easily when your artist moves further away (because of signal loss).

It’s not enough to simply have clear spectrum

(ie nothing else transmitting) around your frequencies. Not all frequencies play nicely together, and they can intermodulate – a phenomenon whereby they interfere with each other, even though they may not be close by in range. Most manufacturer’s equipment will therefore have preset ‘groups’ of frequencies that are compatible, and there are also charts available, as well as software that can calculate compatible frequencies for you. When everything is set up and tuned, you can check for intermodulation by switching every transmitter and receiver on, then switching one transmitter off at a time, checking to see that the associated receiver has lost all RF signal, and then switching it back on to repeat the process with each transmitter/receiver pair. A little tip here – make sure that your radio mics are not all sitting in a pile – the proximity will make them intermodulate no matter how compatible the frequencies, so spread them out on a work surface with their antenna ends pointing away from each other.

Be aware of the effect that LED screens have on RF

they transmit low-level interference, so you may need to play around with optimum antenna placement. If it’s just a single backdrop screen it shouldn’t be too bad, but if you have an entire stage made from an LED screen, as on one tour I did, you may need to enlist the help of an RF expert who can fix you up with a high-powered booster for your transmission.

Be aware that RF hates metal.

(Not the music, it’s quite a fan of many hard-rock bands I believe…) No, RF hates to touch metal hardware, so keep packs off metal belts or costume parts, and make sure antennas aren’t resting on metal walls or truss. It’s all to do with an interesting phenomenon called the Faraday effect.

Get the right tools 

I highly recommend investing in a hand-held scanner if you tour and use RF regularly. Some places you will switch your receivers on to see a hot mess of RF coming from who-knows-where (TV stations and cellphones have a lot to do with it!), and it saves you a whole heap of trouble to get a visual of what’s going on in the spectrum rather than flying blind. Then you can look for the ‘quiet’ gaps, and plan your frequencies accordingly.

Finally, use your ears!

RF is a science, but the end-user – your artist – is a piece of biology! Test out their experience before you hand them their RF equipment – walk the performance space with their pack (not a PFL pack on engineer mode – that won’t tell you if there’s anything wrong with their hardware) and talk to yourself in their mic the whole time – that way you’ll experience any problems for yourself and have time to fix them before they walk on stage, so they have a happy, peaceful RF time up there. And we know what happy artists make, right? Happy monitor engineers!

Rachael Sage – Singer-Songwriter – Producer – Label Owner

bernstein_0851_rs_webRachael Sage is a singer-songwriter and producer, visual artist, and founded her own record label.  She has shared stages with A Great Big World,Semi Precious Weapons,] Sarah McLachlan, Judy Collins, Marc Cohn, The Animals, Jamie Cullum, and Ani DiFranco. She has released eleven solo albums on her own label, MPress Records, and regularly tours both North America and Europe.

Rachael shared her experiences as an independent artist and producer with us. Rachael is an inspiration and shows that you can do it on your own.

 

How did you get involved in music?

I started playing piano by ear when I was 2 & 1/2 years old, after my mom sent me to a pre-ballet class. I came home and played all the melodies I’d heard on the piano, and they knew something was up! So really, I’ve been playing music since as long as I can remember; it’s been the primary way I’ve oriented to most things in my life – often more than reading, or talking!

How did you get started?

Although as mentioned above I became aware of my ear for music very early on, I didn’t become hyper-focused on it until I was about 5. I went away to sleep-away camp in Maine, and one day the musical accompanist was sick, so they needed someone to play piano at the weekly talent show. All of a sudden I realized I was “qualified” to do this. I knew all the songs already, and it was a very pivotal moment where I recognized that this skill I’d developed was something “mature” and “useful”, socially. The head of the camp had heard me play many times so he basically volunteered me to take the accompanists’ place, leading everyone in the camp song. I heard the power of everyone singing along to what I was doing with my fingers, no one laughed, everyone clapped, I knew I was onto something and later all the kids asked me if I could play songs from the radio and it was good to be able to say yes! I suppose that was the beginning of my identity as a professional musician.

Give us a little background on your career as a musician.

I started writing my own songs when I was 5, and recording them on a 4-track when I was 12. I won the ASCAP Pop Songwriting Contest in my teens, and Tony Visconti came to my house and offered to make demos with me but sadly, my parents were nervous about it all and told me a music career would have to wait until after college. Needless to say, college was pretty long for me! But every summer I’d continue writing, demo’ing new songs, refining my production skills and I basically completed my 1st album my senior year, so once I moved back to NYC, I was ready to put something out I felt confident about, and get some gigs.

My second album, I included a song I’d written for Ani DiFranco which lead to her inviting me to tour with her which was an incredible, trial-by-fire type of experience. I went from playing for 50 people at The Bitter End to 6000k+ die-hard folk fans, and I learned an enormous amount in a very short period of time. Gigs at Lilith Fair and supporting Eric Burdon followed in the US and Europe, and by a few albums in I had distribution for my record label, MPress, and a Label Manager named Walter Parks who really helped me organize my touring and promotional efforts. Eventually we began playing together, and then he went on to tour with the great Ritchie Havens for many years. Since I started the label I’ve released 12 albums and several EP’s, signed four other artists and released 5 volumes of our charity compilation series, “New Arrivals”. But really, my proudest achievement is simply that I haven’t stopped writing songs.

Have you toured and if so what do you like best about touring?

I’ve toured for many years, and I love it! My favorite thing about touring is that it’s a chance to basically fall in love everyday…Every venue, every town, every audience you meet new people, see new places and can recover very quickly from a prior misstep and grow from your mistakes in a way that’s essentially “on speed”. The pacing of artist development – and personal development in general – seems to be quicker, in my experience, than if you’re just staying home, in one place; it’s an intense, extremely dynamic and adventurous lifestyle that’s not for everyone, but I can’t imagine not touring. It’s the thing that permits me to feel most human, because of all the types of people we meet, and places we see. Universality becomes less abstract – you see with your own eyes and experience daily how very much people across the country and around the world want the same things.

What do you like least?

I dislike the long drives. I have bad knees from years of ballet, and it can be a drag sitting in a car for many hours, and feeling creaky and stuff when you emerge. Stretching becomes crucial!

rsage_photo_gal_58942_photo_1190523360_lrWhat is your favorite day off activity?

Going to the movies! I saw Brooklyn in Dublin last summer. I went by myself. It was so damn good I sat through it twice, by myself, weeping (of course).

What is your educational or training background

I attended The School Of American Ballet in High School, and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Drama. I also trained at The Shakespeare Lab at The New York Public Theater and The Actors Studio MFA Program, in NYC.

What are your long term goals

To become a great songwriter with as much command over my craft as possible; to become a more dynamic performer and to merge more multi-media elements i.e. Dance and Visual Art and more ambitious musical/sonic technology into my show; to resume a career in Acting and work in TV, Film and Theater. Basically I want to tell stories through art, in whatever medium, and just get better and better at it.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

I think playing the piano and a singer-songwriter in general is an obstacle, for a physical person such as myself. An audience comes to expect you to play your own instrument which of course is a passion, but likewise it becomes constraining. I saw PJ Harvey tonight and it reminded me how early on when I could not play guitar, I hired a guitarist to accompany me. I danced around, I was free with my body and the mic in a totally different way; sometimes it’s a mixed-blessing being self-contained. I’d like to get back to orchestrating more of my music so I’m not tethered to my instrument. I think I have a lot more to give and project with my full range as a physical being, but it will take the right musical “casting” to let go of always playing everything myself…

I also think it’s been an obstacle to feel so reliant on other people for the technological aspects of creating music. In my teens I was a midi-whiz, I ran my own home studio, recorded to analog and didn’t really need anyone to get my ideas down. Then the programs changed, everything shifted to Protools and I was in college, sort of out of that loop so lost the thread a bit. I began hiring engineers and recording in proper studios as a once-a-year rarified endeavor rather than having an ongoing, consistent process of writing and recording like I had prior. My orientation to “the studio” shifted, for better and worse.

How have you dealt with them?

I don’t think I’ve really “dealt” with these issues head-on yet. I’ve been too busy putting out records and touring – but I am aware of the challenges and ways in which I’d like to shift these paradigms to feel more empowered as an artist, so I’m gearing up to refine my home studio so it’s more efficient and easier for me to use on my own without an engineer, and I have lots of new musical ideas brewing already for my next project, that hopefully this winter I’ll have the opportunity to develop. I think I’m at the point where my next album needs to be radically different than anything I’ve ever done before. It’s an exciting prospect!! Perhaps no piano, and something more edgy/rock than people expect from me…we’ll see.

Advice you have for other women and young women who wish to enter the field?

I always suggest to young musicians that they get a regular, steady local gig where they can shed, make mistakes, not have a lot of pressure on them and just figure out who they are as an artist. I did that in college at my coffeehouse, and later in NYC at The Bitter End. I think it’s as important to learn how to play a room as to play an instrument…even if that means you barely say anything as your “persona”; but it should be intentional, and committed. It’s hard to refine all that in the privacy of one’s bedroom!

Must have skills?

Politeness (yes this is a skill!), a serious work ethic, organization, an ability to lead and inspire other musicians, writing thoughtful emails that show consideration for (and where applicable, research on) the party on the other end!

You started your own record label – please explain and walk us thru running a label?

Yes I founded MPress Records in 1996, to release my first album “Morbid Romantic”. I was just out of college and it was basically a collection of my best demos, so far. My first album I distributed nationally was “Smashing The Serene”. Basically, I always pretended to have a staff, even when I didn’t. I got a fax machine, signed fancy press kits and packages with a fake manager’s name when I sent them to radio, and was somehow able to chart very quickly alongside artists like Jewel, Ani DiFranco and Sarah McLachlan on the College Radio Charts which launched my label in earnest. I learned the ropes of every facet of running a label by being very hands-on in those early years, from overseeing an intern, to applying to festivals, to sending promos to indie record stores, to working with a publicist. I did all my own album art and somehow had the energy to do all of this by day and play shows by night, without much help, until eventually MPress grew into a small staff and signed other artists. That was a big shift, but by the time it happened, I was “ready” and had a pretty clear vision of what types of artists I wanted to release.

Artists you represent?

rachael2We represent Seth Glier, A Fragile Tomorrow, K’s Choice and also have several Melissa Ferrick releases in our catalog. You can learn more about my label at MPress records, and about my upcoming shows and news at RachaelSage.com.

 

SoundGirls.Org Supports City of Terrace Girls Empowerment Initiative with Live Sound Workshop

SoundGirls.Org is honored to support the City of Terrace Library’s Girl Empowerment initiative to inspire girls and young women and ensure that all young people reach their full potential.

SoundGirls.org presents a concert production workshop for teens. Attendants will participate in a variety of roles in concert preparation and even mix music for a live band. CALICO the band has volunteered their time to come help us.

The workshop will take place on

SoundGirls members that would like to volunteer to work the event – please contact us at soundgirls@soundgirls.org

unspecifiedCALICO the band is Kirsten Proffit and Manda Mosher. Kirsten & Manda came from individual singer/songwriter careers until Calico brought them together. As powerful as each is individually, an undeniable magic occurs when their writing and voices come together. It’s at the heart of their debut album, Rancho California, which is replete with singularly strong songwriting chops, rich harmonies, and a pervasive Americana passion. Like the expansive spirit of Laurel Canyon that spawned so many famous bands and artists, now comes this new spirit, rooted in the vast valleys and canyons of L.A.

Calico stands for California country, and also for the cat that appeared at Manda’s door one dark night, and a ghost town about halfway between L.A. and Vegas. It’s in the gentle mystery of that cat, and in that dusty stretch of desert that their music starts, haunted by Western ghosts of the past, but gentle with modern spirits, too, all blown together like tumbleweeds towards the big city. Calico is about that eternal place where the big city meets that lonely desert, where the freeways converge at the ocean. It’s about timeless roots music; it’s about voices singing in harmony.

 

Beckie Campbell – Versatility and Passion

beckie-1Beckie Campbell is the owner of B4MediaProduction, a growing production company, supplying anything from small corporate set-ups and medium to large concert system set-ups. Being versatile, Beckie also works as an independent contractor to several companies around the US. Beckie’s experience  in the audio field is comprehensive, having the ability to work as Production Management, FoH/Monitors, and as a PA/System or monitor tech.

B4MediaProduction works with an impressive list of regular clients including the City of Orlando, PennellChing Development (Corporate events), Hibiscus Festival/New Year’s Eve Bash/Freedom Fest(Florida Festivals) and Next Level Productions and Promotions (Concerts and Festivals).

Raised in McMillan, Michigan, Beckie’s interest in music started when she was a kid. She remembers locking herself in her uncle’s jeep and listening to Three Dog Night on an 8 track as loud as she could. She would close her eyes and visualize being on stage with them. She was just five years old! She would also sit in the living room with her ear up to her dad’s stereo listening to old Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings records until she could pick out every instrument and sound. Her aunt and uncles would go to concerts all the time and bring her back heaps of concert swag. Beckie remembers the feeling of wearing a new REO Speedwagon shirt, and jamming out to Tina Turner on her Walkman, all the while dreaming of being backstage with them.

When Beckie turned 18, she started working at a radio station doing on-air concert announcements and interviews with artists at festivals. This experience showed her another side to the business, and all she could think of was that she couldn’t wait to run sound. Beckie attended every concert event she could between the ages of 18-25. After several years of this, Beckie returned to school with the aim of getting a degree in live sound engineering. Beckie attended Full Sail University graduating in 2001 with a degree in Show Production. After graduation, she interned as a tech in a Mega Church in Orlando, and six months later they asked her if she would be interested in becoming their Technical Director. Beckie took that role on full-time and continued to freelance around Orlando. Eventually, Beckie moved beachside to Florida to run FOH for another church.

Since starting B4MediaProduction, she has worked all over the United States as a Monitor Engineer, FOH Engineer, Stage Manager, and Production Manager. She is in a position now where she is called weekly asking if she can fill in for others on their tours, as well as for festival work and corporate gigs. B4MediaProduction have a mix of systems available from small QSC K systems and JBL Eon systems for the corporate gigs and a D.A.S. Aero 8 line array for middle-of-the-road stuff. The business is continuously building its inventory and has its sights set on either L-Acoustics or a d&b rig for the next purchase. Beckie says these are her favorite PA’s to mix on.

When touring, she loves the fact that she gets to play with many different pieces of gear. She has many favorites depending on the gig and budget. For a console it would have to be Midas Pro series, Microphones: Shure ULXD series for vocals with Neumann KMS105 capsules or SM68, saying her new favorite all-around application mic is Heil Pr 30, & PR 31BW. d&b, L-Acoustics, or Meyer rigs are the favorites for cabs. Beckie still has an old-school Lexicon PCM90 verb and says she loves it so much – it will be with her till she dies!

Beckie is known for her experience and her ability to step into many roles. She has been in the live sound arena for the past 16 years and has an impressive resume that showcases her versatility within the industry. In addition to providing systems and working as both FOH and Monitor Engineer, Beckie works as a production and stage manager. Her list of clients is extensive; from Amy Grant, Nicole Nordeman, Ellie Holcomb, The City of Orlando Parks and Recreation, Blue Mountain Brandon Heath Tour, and numerous local events and festivals.

Her advice if you are looking at becoming a FOH or Monitor Engineer is that it helps to know your microphones, DI’s, and mic techniques. If becoming a Production Manager is your thing, then communication skills go a long, long way in this job. Learning proper ways to communicate with different personalities and learning to actively listen and ask questions is essential.

beckie-3She loves seeing new places and meeting new people, but she says “my favorite thing is about 1 minute before the show when the house lights are going dark and you can feel the anticipation in the air from the crowd and then when the first sound hits and everyone goes nuts. “Nothing in the world like that feeling”!  Her least favorite things are cold showers at festivals and people with bad attitudes saying “Everyone has a bad day now and again, but if this is not in your blood or your passion and it’s just a job to you it will quickly weigh on you and everyone you’re around”.  

When on tour her favorite day off activity is going anywhere there is water (swimming, kayaking, hiking, sitting by a river or ocean, etc.) She likes to visit places she has never been to and have little adventures and try new foods. She also enjoys the occasional peace and quiet once in a place she has never been to before. If a day off is near family one of her favorite things is to visit nieces and nephews.  Or just a day with Netflix, a bag of chips, and an ice-cold beer.

During her career, she has faced her share of obstacles – while just doing her job. She tells me she has run into a few guys (mostly old school ones) that refuse to let her do things based on the fact that she is a woman. Beckie hears the little comments here and there and finds that at times, they have treated her like a clueless child. For example: being on the ramp hearing comments like “hey this is super heavy and you shouldn’t be here”, or, “do you even know how to run sound?” “Is there a manager or someone who knows what they’re doing here?” Over the years Beckie has learned to deal with these issues as they arise with pure grit and determination and when they see that she doesn’t just give up and walk away, they realize that she CAN handle anything just like a guy and accept her into the pack with open arms.

Beckie shares some good advice about gaining respect from your peers saying “I tend to show what I can do and not run my mouth about it. I have run into the occasional jerk that is just old school in the way they think, and there is nothing I can do to change that. I have found more often than not that even the guys who don’t think I can do it to start with, watch and see and notice that I can and then they too come around. Even the guy who asked me “Is there a manager or someone who knows what they’re doing here?” came back to me after the show and apologized profusely for thinking I wasn’t aware of what I was doing and said “I am sorry for not giving you the chance you deserve, you work harder than most guys I have worked with and you really know your stuff”

Being professional and friendly goes a long way. Beckie says that as a female in this industry it can be hard to break into work but by keeping your head in the game, networking and making contacts, and generally being a nice person that you will never lack for work. Being pleasant and communicating properly without being a jerk, or having her defenses up, helps toward being treated as an equal member of the team. There are always exceptions to this rule, but by following her own advice, Beckie is still working and making it in this industry saying your character will take you much further than your mouth.

The majority of the people Beckie has dealt with are at first a little hesitant about a female in charge of their event, but they quickly realize Beckie knows her stuff and does the job with excellence. She then becomes their go-to person for events and has a steadily growing list of returning clients.  

beckie-4Beckie has great advice for other women and young women wishing to enter the field. She says “Stick to your guns, remind yourself that there are others like you who have been doing this a long time and that you too can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Be responsible, if you mess up – you mess up, no one is perfect all the time. Stay humble, not one of us knows it all, and it’s ok to ask someone. Stay close to some seasoned professionals and ask lots of questions and take their advice. Above all never think you have arrived. You’ll always have something to learn. Our business is growing and advancing all the time with new gear and new ways to do things – continue to learn!”

Up until July this year, Beckie also taught part-time at Full Sail University. She remembers having a class of 12 students (both guys and girls) and asked them if they were hoping to tour and be on the road. Beckie says she was excited when 8 of the class raised their hands and 6 of those were women. She left Full Sail on a friendly note and has a great relationship with them which means she can reach out to the teachers to help fill in some intern needs. Beckie hires some of the students for events she does locally so that they can gain more exposure. Beckie is currently training a young woman, taking her on a job to Ohio. Beckie says “We are making a difference in the industry and I am grateful for those who have paved the way in our industry. We SoundGirls ROCK!”

beckie-2Her long-term goals are to continue growing her production company and staff to give the next generation more opportunities to tour and do gigs. She would like to develop successful, affordable training camps/sessions for church production technicians to teach them the proper way to do things. One day Beckie will purchase a beach home, find a hot single sugar daddy and (gasp) retire with a beachside bar/live music venue and bartend in her old age.

Last words from Beckie are that she loves SoundGirls.Org and the opportunity it’s providing for young women to feel accepted and encouraged in this business as well as intern and learn. When Beckie started out, she was not aware of other women working in the industry. She knew there must be other women somewhere, but she never saw any or worked with any.  The first woman she ever met was in the ’80s, and she was the drummer’s girlfriend who happened to tech with the band. When Beckie attended Full Sail, she was the only girl in the class.
Beckie is passionate about encouraging others and helping to be part of a growing community that strives to educate and help each other become better at what we do and says she will see you on the road!

2019 Update from Beckie:

“I am currently out on the road as the FOH engineer for the Indigo Girls, I have been incredibly blessed to be able to tour with such an accomplished team of people and to be welcomed into their camp. They are absolutely amazing and so talented. I love that after all these years they are still so down to earth, but professionals. It’s a great team of people and I am honored to work alongside of them all. I am running a Digico SD10 and Waves server (both new toys for me) so it has been challenging and rewarding at the same time.

I am about to step into a full season of corporate gigs with my company, B4Media Production. We will be all over from Dallas to Manhattan to Naples and Orlando, FL. in September. I am advancing these shows and building them now while out on the road with IG. So it has been a fun summer so far, and busy season is about to start. I am looking forward to what the road holds when busy season in Florida is over and I am currently looking for the next tour I can join when that time comes. I love to tour and be out there, but also love to train and build our business at home, so being able to do both this year successfully has been a super huge deal and very rewarding. I am still training church tech teams and doing SoundGirls expos and meet-ups when I am home. All things I love to do! I even got some beach time with the nieces and nephews this summer, and I am currently sitting by the pool with an ice-cold beverage while writing this, so all in all, life ain’t bad.”

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Profile by: Toni Venditti

Toni Venditti is the director of G.V. Productions that provides PA and Lighting equipment and is based in Sydney, Australia. She also is a senior industry writer for the CX Network and a contributor to SoundGirls.Org. Toni has worked in audio and lighting for over 25 years.

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