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Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

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Strategies for a Successful Career in Touring

Join us for a lively discussion between a gathering of A-List touring pros as they share their stories and strategies for success and longevity in the business of concert touring.

… and guess what? They’re all women!

We will discuss

The Reality of the Job – Paying your Dues – Mastering Your Craft -What Technical Skills are a Must – How Production Crews are Staffed -What Production Managers are looking for – How to get your first tour and your next one – Being a Versatile Tech – Your Skill Set- Defining your job expertise – From A-List to Back in the Van.

August 5th at 3 PM Pacific Time.

Register Here

Moderated by Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato and Karrie Keyes

Michelle began working in live sound in the late 1980s,  a time when there were very few women in the field.  Her professional touring career started a few years later when she was hired to mix FOH for the band Spin Doctors. Since then, Michelle has traveled the world mixing FOH for some of the most recognizable names in music including Indigo Girls, Jewel, Gwen Stefani, Janet Jackson, Melissa Etheridge, Goo Goo Dolls, Styx and many more.  In 2015 Michelle was inducted in Full Sail University’s Hall of Fame and in 2019 Michelle created and launched Mixing Music Live an online video course for live sound and mixing.  She is an active mentor and coach to those seeking a career in Live Sound and Music Production and has been a frequent speaker on industry and university panels and conferences.  Michelle is Co-Founder of soundgirls.org and she continues to be a full time touring sound engineer, most recently on tour mixing Elvis Costello up until the current pandemic.

Karrie has spent the last 30 years as the monitor engineer for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder. Karrie started out doing sound for punk bands in Los Angeles in 1986 under the tutelage of Dave Rat of Rat Sound, where she spent twenty years helping to establish the company. She was able to gain an immense amount of hands-on experience and technical knowledge at Rat, which eventually led to her becoming the monitor engineer for The Red Hot Chili Peppers from 1990-2000. She first met and started working with Pearl Jam who opened for RHCP on their 1991-1992 Blood Sugar Sex Magic Tour. She has worked with Sonic Youth, Fugazi, and Neil Young. Karrie is a Co-Founder of SoundGirls

Panelists Include

Becky Pell is a monitor engineer with 25 years’ experience in the live music industry. Originally from the UK, Becky now lives in Australia. Her mixing credits include Westlife, A-ha, Anastacia, Take That, Il Divo, The War of the Worlds, Muse, Kylie Minogue, Bill Wyman, James Brown, Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Brightman, and Natalie Imbruglia. She is regularly in charge of monitors at the world’s largest festival, Glastonbury, and writes a monthly column for Live Sound International. Becky is also a qualified coach and Yoga Therapist, and between tours, she runs yoga retreats in beautiful locations around the world and coaches clients on Zoom.

Christina Moon has been working in audio for over twenty years. Primarily known as a touring monitor engineer, but has had her hands in a little bit of everything in order to get her foot in the door. Christina works with Sleater Kinney, Beach House, LCD Soundsystem, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Death Cab For Cutie and Interpol.

Claudia Englehart has been a professional live-sound engineer for 38 years. In 1982 she began her career working in the historic San Francisco jazz club Keystone Korner. In 1983 she moved to New York City and continued mixing live sound in clubs such as CBGB’s, The Bitter End, and S.O.B.’s, and then in 1985 began touring full time as a front of house engineer. Since 1989 Claudia has been working full time as sound engineer and tour manager for guitarist Bill Frisell. She has recorded two live albums for Frisell, “East/West” and “Bill Frisell Live”. She has also mixed and recorded just about all of his live concerts over the past 30 years, which has resulted in a Live Download Series, concert recordings available for download on Frisell’s website. When not on tour with Frisell Claudia has toured extensively with many other renowned artists, including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Ron Carter, Michael Brecker, Grover Washington Jr., Dave Holland, John Scofield, Charles Lloyd, Lee Konitz, Marianne Faithfull, Rosanne Cash, Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Sylvian, Medeski Martin & Wood, John Zorn, The Kronos Quartet, Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Eddie Palmieri, Willie Colon, and many others.

Marguerite Nguyen started her career interning with a local rock station and promoter. Working as a promoter, she realized there were not many women tour managers and decided that that was the path she would follow. She got her first gig on the road with the Indigo Girls working under Matt Miley. From there she moved to Los Angeles and has gone on to work with Coldplay, Janet Jackson, My Chemical Romance and more.

Melissa Britton started mixing live sound in a classic rock biker bar in Golden, CO. Shortly after, she started working for a sound company that opened the door to venues all over Colorado like Red Rocks amphitheater, Fiddler’s Green, Mile High Stadium and most smaller theatre’s in Denver. After several years with the company,  she was picked up by Dave Koz who she still works with today. Koz also exposed Melissa to other Jazz, Blues, Pop, and Funk artists (Al Jarreau, David Sanborn, Tower of Power, Keb Mo, Sheila E., James Ingram, and Boney James) that expanded her career.

Working in a smaller market is intimate, personable, and constantly shifting gears.  You wear a lotta different hats to get the job done. A positive attitude and a strong work ethic go a long way. It’s kept Melissa busy the past 25 years and taken her all over the world.

Tana Douglas is acknowledged as rock’n’roll’s first female roadie. Her journey started at the age of fifteen, in 1973 in Australia within a year she was working for AC/DC, first doing backline then F.O.H. Sound for the band. She then moved to lighting working for a Major Australian Promoter and completed in quick succession several tours with International acts such as Santana, Suzi Quatro, Neil Diamond, David Essex, and Leo Sayer and Status Quo all before she turned 18. Tana has worked in Audio, Lighting, Tour and Production Managing and Logistics.

Tana resides in Los Angeles, California, where she is currently participating in speaking engagements, mentorship programs to the next generation of Music Industry technicians and is writing her second book.

Versatile Microphones for Home Recording

I hope everyone is still staying safe & healthy. I also hope you are out there CREATING! I know I sure am. That’s why for this month’s blog I wanted to write about the best home recording microphones out there! Ones that DON’T break the bank, and some that do if you’ve got the cash! Either way, I’m really excited to write this month’s blog because this is something I am looking into myself right now with all the home recordings I’ve been doing as of late. So…here we go!

The Shure Sm7b

This microphone is SO versatile. I mean, I’ve recorded vocals on it. I’ve used it as a snare microphone. I’ve used it as a “kick in” microphone. I’ve used this baby on guitar amps and all sorts of other things. That’s why I think it’s such a great mic to have as a staple in your home recording studio. Or even if you’re like me and just looking for a better microphone to record your own vocals with- this one is a fantastic pick.

Some science behind this microphone. It is a dynamic mic. You are going to have to do a little eq-ing on the mixing side of things to get your vocals exactly where you want them, but with that being said- the raw audio this guy captures isn’t bad at all. Plus it’s only $399.99, so on the less expensive side of the microphone spectrum.

Blue Microphones “Bluebird”

I have heard so many good things about this microphone from friends who do a lot of at-home recordings. It is indeed a condenser mic, so you can expect to get some sweet top off the bat from this one. This mic has a hi-pass filter, and a 20- dB pad to help you capture the perfect tone going INTO the box. The price of this microphone is only $299.99, and they have other models that cost even less. This is just their fan favorite.

Fun Fact: Blue Microphones has an interchangeable cap series which is exactly what it sounds like. You can change the cap of the same base on a microphone giving you multiple options of sound to choose from. I’ve worked at a studio that demoed this exact cap series, and I was pleasantly surprised when some of the caps really did a pretty good job of replicating the more high-end microphones we all aspire to own one day.

Neumann TLM103

The next microphone is a large jump in price, and most of you might already be familiar, but it is a fantastic, versatile microphone that is great to have if you have the money! The Neumann TLM103. Some may say… this is an obvious choice, but I love this microphone. Like the Sm7b, I can use it on just about anything, but the range of which I can use it on is even wider because it is a large-diaphragm condenser microphone. I can use it on overheads (if I have a pair), vocals, guitars, room mics, etc. The microphone is derived from the class Neumann U 87. There are no pads or hi-pass filters on this microphone, but that’s because the capsule itself is immaculate. This microphone rings in at about $1,100.00 (which isn’t too bad if that’s in your price range especially for a Neumann).

Thanks again SoundGirls! I hope you enjoyed this blog. If you have microphone recommendations, PLEASE reach out and let me know of them! My email is virginiahaladyna@gmail.com

El sonido y sus profesiones aplicadas July 23

 

El sonido y sus profesiones aplicadas:

Conoce desde la experiencia de profesionales de que tratan algunas especialidades en mundo del audio.

Este jueves 23 de julio, tendremos la tercera sesión de esta serie de charlas: Sonido en Estudios de grabación, estaremos conversando con las profesionales:

Nilda Vechiatti,  se dedica a la Investigación, docencia y asesoramiento en temas de Ingeniería Acústica. Egresada de la facultad de ingeniería de la Universidad Nacional de la Plata en Ing. De telecomunicaciones con especialización en Acústica, ha realizado numerosos proyectos de investigación en el área y es la actual Presidenta de la Federación Iberoamericana de Acústica y Presidenta de la Asociación de Acústicos Argentinos.

Florencia Saravia: Desde el 1994 en el mercado de audio brasilero, Florencia comenzó su carrera en Río de Janeiro. Fue una de las pioneras en edición digital en Brasil. Dió clases de ProTools y Grabación en IATEC, en el Curso de Producción Fonográfica en Río Música y en el curso de Producción Fonográfica en la Universidad Estácio de Sá. Tiene varios artículos publicados en la prensa especializada nacional. Trabajó como segunda ingeniera de mastering en Classic Master, de 2005 a 2009. Trabaja en sonido en vivo para Gal Costa, Chico César, Luiza Possi, Filipe Catto y para varios artistas independientes. Fue ingeniera responsable del proyecto “Escuta como Minas”, de Spotify Brasil, en 2019.

Salomé Limón, Productora e ingeniera de sonido, presidenta de PIAudio (Asociación Iberoamericana de Productoras e Ingenieras de Audio) y miembro activo de la Grammy Academy, la Latin Grammy Academy y del CPI (Circulo de Productores e Ingenieros) de los Latin Grammy.

Comenzó su carrera en el Madrid en 2004. Su primer proyecto fue el disco de Andrés Calamaro “ El cantante”. También ha trabajado con artistas de la talla de Paco de Lucía, Anoushka Shankar, Chick Corea, John Legend, Vampire Weekend, Enrique y Estrella Morente, entre otros muchos.

Ganadora de 4 Latin Grammys y nominada como mejor ingeniero de sonido 5 años consecutivos por la Academia de los Latin Grammy.

A día de hoy Salomé continúa su carrera como productora, ingeniera y compositora a la vez que colabora como ponente y profesora compartiendo sus conocimientos a través de diversas charlas y masterclass en Berklee College of Music, Maxsine School en China, IE University, Fest Portugal, etc.

Regístrate en

Día: 23 julio

Hora:

  • 12:00pm(GMT-6)🇨🇷🇳🇮🇬🇹🇭🇳🇸🇻
  • 1:00pm(GMT-5)🇨🇴🇪🇨🇲🇽🇵🇦🇵🇪
  • 2:00pm(GMT-4)🇧🇴🇨🇱🇨🇺🇵🇾🇵🇷🇩🇴🇻🇪
  • 3:00pm(GMT-3)🇺🇾🇦🇷🇧🇷
  • 8:00pm (GMT+2)🇪🇸
  • 11:00am (GMT-7)🇺🇸

Carolina Anton, es Ingeniera de Sonido – Sistemas/FOH y Mon. con más de quince años de experiencia, ha colaborado con artistas y producciones distinguidos en más de veinte tours a nivel nacional e internacional; Ha mezclado para artistas como Kool & The Gang, Gloria Gaynor, Natalia Lafourcade, Mon Laferte y León Larregui, ademas trabaja para compañías como 2hands production services y Eight Day Sound. Actualmente se encuentra realizando mezclas en formatos de sonido inmersivo.

Carolina es cofundadora de la empresa 3BH, que desarrolla proyectos de integración tecnológica para estudios de post-producción y música en México y Latinoamérica y a partir del 2016 comenzó a representar a la organización Soundgirls.org en México, apoyando a las mujeres a profesionalizarse en la industria del espectáculo.

Andrea Arenas, graduada en Ingeniería electrónica, con estudios de música y percusionista, es ingeniero de sonido con 14 años de experiencia. Trabaja para Cirque du Soleil en el show Totem y cuenta con experiencia en sonido en vivo, grabación y producción musical en estudios, también grabación y producción musical de orquestas sinfónicas de El Sistema. Su experiencia profesional va desde trabajos en producciones discográficas de la Deutsche Grammophon con Gustavo Dudamel, como también soporte técnico de consolas Digico y otras reconocidas marcas en Hermes Music para bandas como Maná, Vicente Fernández, Ricky Martin; ha participado como voluntaria de audio para soundgirls en eventos como el She Rocks Awards, Girlschool y preparación de gira de Pearl Jam.  Ha sido técnico de sonido en varios shows del Cirque du Soleil. (At sea, Luzia, Amaluna y Totem)

Parallel Compression

 

Have you ever wondered how to get your vocal to punch through the mix? Or a kick drum to achieve a punchy sound? Or give clarity to a solo instrument? Well I have a technique that does just that and it’s called Parallel Compression, or as it sometimes referred to, New York Compression.

Parallel Compression is the art of mixing a (usually) dry signal with a heavily compressed one. The benefit of this is that you can achieve a very tight and compressed sound without it affecting the dynamics of the actual performance.

I will preface that it should be used sparingly and not on every track as it can sometimes sound harsh and brittle on the ears if used too aggressively.

To achieve parallel compression, create an aux track and send the signal to it from the audio track you want to use.

Then load up a compressor on the aux track.

The settings below are a rough guide for a punchy sound but feel free to adapt them if you want a more subtle sound.

Ratio: I personally like to set my ratio between 8:1 to 12:1.

Threshold: On a few tracks, the threshold is between -30dB to -40dB. I usually want around 10dB gain reduction.

Attack Time: You want a fast attack so nothing above 5 ms.

Release Time: I found the sweet spot to be around 50 – 100 ms.

Gain: Boost the gain if it is needed (sometimes I like the way mix without boosting the gain).

The next step is to play the track and blend the Parallel Compression in with the original audio. This is where you can make a few tweaks to the settings to get your ideal sound.

After these steps, hopefully, by now your track should be punching through the mix.

My final tip would be to trust your ear and experiment with this technique as much as possible until you find a variation that suits your style of music.

Happy producing!

 

 

 

Sounds Like Summer

June 20th officially marked the first day of summer, which means we are practically halfway through the year! Somehow the never-ending 2020 is managing to pass by in the blink of an eye. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we have been in quarantine for nearly 4 months now. I guess time flies when you’re stuck inside! Luckily, the world is slowly beginning to reopen just in time for us to enjoy the sunshine.

With the changing of the seasons comes a whole new world of sound. So, let’s discuss some key summertime sounds to keep an ear out for and record to bulk up your SFX library this time of year!

Sounds Like Summer:

  • Beach AMB – seagulls, waves, sandy wind gusts
  • Fireworks
  • Campfire
  • Summer Crickets
  • Water Activities – sprinklers, water balloons, water guns
  • Lawnmower
  • Ice Cream Truck
  • Air Conditioning
  • Slurpee Slurps
  • Badminton/Volleyball

Tips and Tricks:

Fireworks: Most towns have a celebratory firework display every 4th of July. Click here to check out a helpful blog post written by Boom Box Post-co-owner Jeff Shiffan about recording sound effects with your phone. In the post, Jeff uses fireworks as an example! Who knows, maybe you’ll also get some cool crowd reaction walla. I know I’m definitely that person who OOH’s and AHH’s way too loud at a good firework show.

Badminton/Volleyball: If you can get your hands on a badminton or tennis racket, quickly swing the racket back and forth to produce different swish/wipe SFX’s. These types of sounds are really handy to have in your library—especially when working in animation.

Ice Cream Truck: Does the ice cream truck not visit your neighborhood? That’s ok, you can make your own! Did you know the iconic music played by ice cream trucks across the world is public domain? The melody is from the folk song “Turkey in the Straw”. Download yourself a clip of the tune and throw it into a plugin like Doppler by waves. Make sure to check out these two blog posts (The Doppler Effect, Creating Motion In Sound Design Using Pitch) for tips on how to create the perfect “by”!

Slurpee Slurps: When I think of summer, I think of night drives with my friends to the local gas station for slurpees. Who doesn’t need a good straw slurp SFX in their library? I feel like it would come in handy more than you would imagine. Any tumbler and straw will do the trick! Although, if you can get your hands on a slurpee I recommend the Coca-Cola or banana flavor.

A COLLABORATIVE POST WITH Boom Box Post

 

 

El sonido y sus profesiones aplicadas 16 julio

Conoce desde la experiencia de profesionales de que tratan algunas especialidades en mundo del audio.

Este jueves 16 de julio, tendremos la tercera sesión de esta serie de charlas: Sonido en los medios de comunicación, estaremos conversando con las profesionales:

Claudia Cabrera: Ingeniera en comunicaciones y electrónica con especialidad en acústica en el IPN, dedicada a la post producción de audio para tv desde hace 8 años y pionera en flujo de post de audio en 5.1 para transmisión de programas de tv, 5 años de experiencia en docencia

Gina Salazar: Graduada en Tecnología de Audio en la universidad UNAD de Colombia, realizó un Máster en Sonorización de Espectáculos en vivo en la Escuela Técnica del Espectáculo “Trade” en Madrid, España. Con más de 15 años de experiencia en Audio, en diferentes eventos en vivo y pregrabados ; ha trabajado en Varios canales del sector audiovisual a nivel nacional en Colombia.

Sofía Navarro: Ingeniera en Audio y Producción Musical, dedicada a la promoción musical y de artistas emergentes. Ha trabajado como ingeniera de audio en vivo freelance para varios proyectos y desde hace tres años se dedica a la producción radiofónica y la conducción de programas dedicados a la música y a la promoción de la cultura.

Regístrate en

Día: 16 julio

 

Carolina Anton, es Ingeniera de Sonido – Sistemas/FOH y Mon. con más de quince años de experiencia, ha colaborado con artistas y producciones distinguidos en más de veinte tours a nivel nacional e internacional; Ha mezclado para artistas como Kool & The Gang, Gloria Gaynor, Natalia Lafourcade, Mon Laferte y León Larregui, ademas trabaja para compañías como 2hands production services y Eight Day Sound. Actualmente se encuentra realizando mezclas en formatos de sonido inmersivo.

Carolina es cofundadora de la empresa 3BH, que desarrolla proyectos de integración tecnológica para estudios de post-producción y música en México y Latinoamérica y a partir del 2016 comenzó a representar a la organización Soundgirls.org en México, apoyando a las mujeres a profesionalizarse en la industria del espectáculo.

 

Andrea Arenas, graduada en Ingeniería electrónica, con estudios de música y percusionista, es ingeniero de sonido con 14 años de experiencia. Trabaja para Cirque du Soleil en el show Totem y cuenta con experiencia en sonido en vivo, grabación y producción musical en estudios, también grabación y producción musical de orquestas sinfónicas de El Sistema. Su experiencia profesional va desde trabajos en producciones discográficas de la Deutsche Grammophon con Gustavo Dudamel, como también soporte técnico de consolas Digico y otras reconocidas marcas en Hermes Music para bandas como Maná, Vicente Fernández, Ricky Martin; ha participado como voluntaria de audio para soundgirls en eventos como el She Rocks Awards, Girlschool y preparación de gira de Pearl Jam. Ha sido técnico de sonido en varios shows del Cirque du Soleil. (At sea, Luzia, Amaluna y Totem)

 

Sound and its applied professions:

 

Learn from the experience of professionals who deal with some specialties in the world of audio.

This Thursday, July 16, we will have the third session of this series of talks: Sound in the media, we will be talking with the professionals:

Claudia Cabrera: Communications and electronics engineer with specialization in acoustics at the IPN, dedicated to audio post-production for tv for 8 years and pioneer in 5.1 audio post stream for tv program transmission, 5 years of experience in teaching

Gina Salazar: Graduated in Audio Technology from the UNAD University of Colombia, she completed a Master in Live Sound Performance at the Trade Trade Show Technical School in Madrid, Spain. With more than 15 years of experience in Audio, in different live and prerecorded events; He has worked in various channels of the audiovisual sector nationwide in Colombia.

Sofía Navarro: Engineer in Audio and Musical Production, dedicated to promoting music and emerging artists. She has worked as a freelance live audio engineer for several projects and for three years she has been dedicated to radio production and the conduction of programs dedicated to music and the promotion of culture.

Register

Day: July 16

Carolina Anton, is a Sound Engineer – Sistemas / FOH and Mon. With more than fifteen years of experience, he has collaborated with distinguished artists and productions in more than twenty tours nationally and internationally; He has mixed for artists such as Kool & The Gang, Gloria Gaynor, Natalia Lafourcade, Mon Laferte and León Larregui, he also works for companies like 2hands production services and Eighth Day Sound. He is currently mixing in immersive sound formats.

Carolina is the co-founder of the 3BH company, which develops technological integration projects for post-production and music studios in Mexico and Latin America and from 2016 began to represent the organization Soundgirls.org in Mexico, supporting women to become professional in the entertainment industry.

Andrea Arenas, graduated in Electronic Engineering, with music studies and percussionist, is a sound engineer with 14 years of experience. He works for Cirque du Soleil on the Totem show and has experience in live sound, recording and musical production in studios, as well as recording and musical production of El Sistema symphony orchestras. His professional experience ranges from works in Deutsche Grammophon record productions with Gustavo Dudamel, as well as technical support for Digico consoles and other recognized brands in Hermes Music for bands such as Maná, Vicente Fernández, Ricky Martin; She has participated as an audio volunteer for soundgirls in events such as the She Rocks Awards, Girlschool and Pearl Jam tour preparation. He has been a sound technician at several Cirque du Soleil shows. (At sea, Luzia, Amaluna and Totem)

 

Cómo los hombres pueden ser aliados

Últimamente he recibido MUCHO estas preguntas: Yo, como hombre ¿Qué puedo hacer para ayudar a las mujeres en el audio? ¿Qué podemos hacer para que el mundo del audio/música que históricamente son mayormente dominados por los hombres sea más inclusivo para las mujeres?, ¿Cómo hacemos para tener más mujeres en el audio y el área técnica?

La respuesta corta es   ¡CONTRATALAS! Aclaro, que estas preguntas vinieron de hombres que realmente desean ver una industria más inclusiva y balanceada.

Aquí hay algunas acciones simples que los hombres pueden aportar para que haya más mujeres dentro del audio así como en otras áreas dominadas por hombres.

Trata a las mujeres con las que trabajas, con el mismo respeto con que tratas a los hombres con los que trabajas. Las mujeres no piden un trato especial, sólo quieren ser valoradas como iguales.

Cuando alguien te hace una pregunta que debería ser respondida por una colega, en lugar de responder la pregunta, dile a esa persona que le pregunte a tu compañera directamente.

Ejemplo: Se encuentran la ingeniera de sistemas y tú, técnico de monitores; El jefe de producción local, insiste en preguntarte a ti sobre el PA, el rigging, el peso o lo que sea. Simplemente dile “Mariana es nuestra sonidista y puede responderte esto”.

A todos nos gusta obtener respuestas inmediatamente después de hacer una pregunta, pero este simple acto de dirigir las preguntas que corresponden a la compañera, hará que las cosas se muevan mejor a lo largo del show.

Nota: esto debería ser una práctica general y estándar. Siempre deberías dirigir las preguntas que no pertenecen a tu propio trabajo, a la persona apropiada.

Por favor dejen de dar “aprobación” por nosotras. A menos que te consulten por una referencia laboral o para recomendar a una mujer que está siendo considerada para un trabajo, no necesitamos que nadie le asegure al staff del lugar o a quien sea que nosotras podemos hacer ese trabajo y que no necesitan preocuparse por el hecho de que somos mujeres. ¿A quién le importa si el staff o quien sea no lo cree así? Ella y su trabajo pueden hablar por ella misma.

Ejemplo: Una típica conversación entre alguien del staff de la gira y el personal de audio local.

Personal de audio local: ¿Quién es tu personal de audio?

Compañero de gira: Susana, es nuestra ingeniera de FOH, pero no te preocupes que va a hacer un gran trabajo” seguido por una versión abreviada de su currículum.

Susana ya tiene el show asignado y sus calificaciones no son asunto de nadie del staff local.

Cuando quieras entrevistar a una mujer sobre su carrera/trabajo, no gastes su tiempo con preguntas como, ¿cómo es ser mujer en un ambiente dominado por varones? Hazle las mismas preguntas que le harías a un hombre.

En serio, hace 30 años que estoy en esta industria y todavía me preguntan” ¿Por qué hay tan pocas mujeres? ¿Cómo es laborar con puros hombres?” Las mujeres son capaces para dar charlas técnicas e igualmente competentes al discutir sobre habilidades profesionales, experiencia y conocimiento. Estas preguntas no sólo son irrelevantes, también son una pérdida de nuestro tiempo.

Si presencias algo que incomoda a una mujer, di algo.

Hay mujeres que todavía tienen que construir su carrera y su reputación en el negocio y necesitan el apoyo de otras personas, sobre todo del sector veterano de la industria (sean hombres o mujeres). Con demasiada frecuencia el miedo a perder la gira por hablar del asistente que la manoseó, supera su incomodidad. Sería bueno para las mujeres con las que trabajas, saber que pueden contar contigo si en algún momento necesitan que alguien intervenga.

Sé un ejemplo a seguir, especialmente si estás en una posición de liderazgo -como Jefe Técnico/Producción. Trata a las mujeres en tu equipo con el mismo respeto que a los hombres. Haz saber que el comportamiento inapropiado no será tolerado.

Mira, nosotras podemos manejar la “charla de vestuario”. No somos flores pequeñas y delicadas, si lo fuésemos habríamos elegido otra línea de trabajo, pero no estamos acá para complacerte. Estamos acá igual que tú, para hacer nuestro trabajo.

No te sumes en charlas inapropiadas sobre las mujeres de tu equipo y no te quedes callado cuando presencias algo así.

Si quieres que haya más mujeres en tu lugar de trabajo o gira, contrátalas. ¡Existe esta pequeña herramienta fascinante llamada GOOGLE que te ayuda a encontrar cualquier cosa que necesites! Otros fantásticos recursos incluyen el directorio makeiteql.com , soundgirl.org y womensaudiomission.org

Estas son las acciones más básicas que puedes hacer para apoyar a las mujeres.

Si tú REALMENTE quieres hacer una diferencia y generar cambios positivos:

Pregúntate a ti mismo si en el pasado o ahora mismo ¿estás siendo sexista?

¿Alguna vez hiciste gestos cuando el jefe técnico, te mandó tres mujeres para hacer un trabajo pesado?

Considera tus ideas/creencias inconscientes sobre las mujeres en esta industria y tus creencias conscientes.

Observa profundamente tus dobles estándares: ¿Qué cosas está bien que haga un hombre pero no que lo haga una mujer?

¿Por qué tienes estas creencias/ideas?

¿Trabajaste con alguna mujer que no fue buena en un show? ¿O que se terminó enganchando con alguien en la gira? ¿Por qué asumirías que todas las mujeres son así?

¿Te molestaría que una mujer asuma que todos los hombres son sexistas o peor? He trabajado con un montón de hombres que no fueron buenos en su trabajo y que intentaban acostarse con toda mujer que se acerque, y sin embargo no condeno a TODOS los hombres a ser malos en sus trabajos o que sólo están ahí para “levantarse chicas”.

¿Cuándo te quedaste en silencio y observaste un sexismo descarado, o acoso a las mujeres alrededor tuyo pero no quisiste decir nada por riesgo a ser ridiculizado, o simplemente lo ignoraste?

¿Qué tan seguido te sumaste a hacer chistes sobre mujeres del equipo? ¿Cuántas veces viste a uno del lugar coqueteando con o hablando inapropiadamente de aquellas que están ahí sólo para hacer su trabajo? ¿Crees que ellas quieren que les insinúen cosas? ¿Realmente crees que esa chica bonita de stage disfruta tener la obligación de sonreír educadamente ante cada idiota que le tira onda mientras está trabajando? Capaz la chica del “merch” tiene mala cara y no habla con ninguno de ustedes porque ya está cansada de que se la molesten constantemente sus compañeros de trabajo.

¿Cuántas veces hablaste mal de las mujeres del equipo a sus espaldas, haciendo comentarios inapropiados con tus compañeros varones? Mientras que frente a ella actúas  como un buen compañero y ellos son “sólo amigos, sólo colegas”. Si no hablaste sobre ellas ¿Cuántas veces guardaste silencio cuando otros lo hacían?

 

¿Cuántas veces al día, fuera del trabajo, tienes comportamientos sexistas?

¿Sabes lo que es el “mansplaining”? Cuando tienes preguntas o necesitas solucionar un problema ¿inconscientemente buscas al “hombre” a cargo? ¿Ignoras a las novias/esposas de tus amigos asumiendo que no están a tu altura? ¿Alguna vez asumiste que una persona no tendría suficientes conocimientos sobre un tema por el simple hecho de que esa persona era una mujer?

¿Cuántas veces llamaste o te referiste a una mujer como una loca/histérica sólo porque no se contentó con menos de lo que quería o esperaba?

Por ejemplo, una mujer artista que insiste en que las cosas se hagan correctamente, muy probablemente tenga una reputación de ser una perra o ser difícil, mientras que un hombre artista en exactamente la misma situación se consideraría algo normal.

Cuantas veces te han pedido recomendaciones de mujeres con las que has trabajado porque se han presentado “problemas” con su comportamiento que no existían en primera instancia.

“Dale, ¿Se acostó con alguien del crew o de la banda? ¿Estaba durmiendo con alguien en la gira?” ¿Cuántas veces has hecho esas preguntas? ¿Cuántas veces te ha preguntado lo mismo algún colega varón?

 

Cuando contrates o recomiendes a alguien para una fecha haz un esfuerzo sincero por considerar más que sólo hombres.

De nuevo, el directorio EQL es un gran recurso para encontrar mujeres calificadas.

Las mujeres por necesidad han aprendido a navegar en la industria del audio dominada por los hombres. Con respecto al sexismo, la discriminación o el prejuicio que encontremos, lo ignoramos, lo dejamos pasar o peor, lo aceptamos. Algunas han elegido confrontarlo. Algunas tienen que lidiar con esto muy frecuentemente y otras con tan poca frecuencia que cuando ocurre, estamos completamente desprevenidas. Eso no hace que sea menos cansado. Los puntos que he planteado en este blog son sólo algunas de las cosas que puedes hacer para apoyar no sólo a las mujeres del audio sino a todas las mujeres en general.

Escrito por

Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato:   El Amor por la música, la aventura y los viajes llevaron a Michelle a una carrera dentro del audio en vivo. Es fundadora de Soundgirls además de escribir los blogs “la vida en el camino” y “Lo que se necesita para tener éxito en el audio en vivo”. Michelle,  es la Creadora / Dueña de Mixing Music Live. En donde se publicó este blog originalmente.

Acerca de Michelle: Michelle, ha pasado los últimos 30 años de gira como ingeniera de sala (FOH)  tiempo completo para una variedad de artistas, como: Elvis Costello, Melissa Etheridge, Goo Goo Dolls, Gwen Stefani, Mr. Big, Jewel, Kesha, Indigo Girls, Spin Doctors, entre algunos más.

Read Michelle’s Blog | Other Articles by Michelle

 

The Positive Side of Negative Visualization

Stagehands often joke that we aren’t paid to run a show track. We’re really there to fix problems and (on tour) load the show in and out. With a little bit of direction, anyone can follow a track: page a curtain, swap a microphone or move something from one place to another. You hire a prop master because she has specialized knowledge and can rebuild or repair a prop that breaks or get an audio technician because she actually knows the components of the system and can suss out a problem.

Troubleshooting, especially mid-show, is mentally demanding. You have to run through all possible scenarios, eliminate them down to the most likely culprit, and execute the fix or workaround all within the space of moments. Backstage, this comes in the form of video, mics, or com malfunctioning, usually armed with all the information of, “This sounds weird, can you fix it?” as someone points to their beltpack.

When you’re out at FOH, your problems usually center around a glitch with the console, something making a noise that it’s not supposed to in the house, or trying to work around mic issue as the A2 works to fix things. As always, this is while mixing the show, because you’re a position that has a specialized track, so you actually are paid to run the show.

While fixing problems on the fly, even in non-catastrophic situations like switching from a sweat-out main mic to a clean backup, your reaction time matters. It’s the difference between missing a word or an entire line as you think through the process of which channel you have to go to or which page of user-assigned macros you need to be on.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our brains didn’t need quite as much time to work through problems? Well, (good news!) with a little mental exercise, it doesn’t.

Have you ever noticed it feels like it takes longer to walk to a new place than it does to walk back from it? You’re following the same route at the same pace, but something feels like it could be two completely different trips. What’s actually happening is that, on the way there, your brain is processing new information, which takes just the tiniest bit longer than when you’re walking back and now all your brain has to do is register a familiar sight.

The same thing can happen when you troubleshoot. If you’ve already worked through and fixed a kind of problem, you already know how to react and your brain can simply reference information instead of creating an entirely new plan from scratch. And it gets better: you don’t even have to physically experience a situation for your brain to pick up cues faster.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the term “Positive Visualization” as it’s a go-to in most guides to improve your happiness or your outlook on life. By all means, visualizing mixing a perfect show is wonderful, and can be a benefit all on its own, but we’re going to take a look at the opposite, but closely related, “Negative Visualization.”

I first heard the term in the podcast episode “Don’t Accentuate the Positive” of The Happiness Lab series. (I highly recommended the series, especially if you have any interest in psychology, plus that particular episode has a fascinating story about Michael Phelps.) While listening, I found I’d developed a habit of negative visualization over the past several years without realizing that that was what I was doing.

A few months into a run, I usually reach a point where I’m comfortable with the show and the company has settled into a routine, so everyone can relax just a bit. At this point, I’d start to play a “what if” game. If I noticed a cue would be easy to fire at the wrong time if I wasn’t paying attention, I’d walk through the process of what would happen if I did make that mistake. I’d make it my own mental exercise, going through what chain reaction that cue might set off and what specific process I’d have to use to recover from the mistake.

That’s what negative visualization is: mentally walking through a problem scenario. The benefit is that in a figurative world, you can also work through multiple solutions to that problem until you find the best one. So, in the event you find yourself in that situation, your mind reacts faster to decide on a course of action because it’s already done it, even if the trial run was just in your head.

I had an actress who occasionally sweated out her main mic, but always at the same point in the show. It became common enough that I made a point key up the macro page to the one with her backup shortcut if I knew the backstage area was warmer than usual, or it was just a hot day. In some instances, she would sweat out even in colder climates, and even for those, I was so used to the combination of buttons to switch to her back up, it was like I had my own cheat code which took the work of moments with minimal thought.

In another experience, I had the main fader bank on the console reset mid-show. I had a freeze of an “uh oh” moment, then switched to the backup engine. That same glitch has happened a couple of times over the course of a few years, but even with hundreds of shows between occurrences, the second time it happened, I didn’t even have that initial pause, my brain was able to recognize a similar situation and my hand immediately moved to switch engines. Now, if something happens on the console, I automatically default to the instinct to reach for the Engine A/B button. As my body is reacting, my mind can process if I should actually change or not so, if I need to, my hand’s already there, if not, I can pull back.

This kind of mental exercise is something that’s becoming more important given the current state of everything.

The news that Broadway and most large events won’t come back this year is demoralizing, and all of us face the hard reality of deciding on a course of action to either get us through the short term or consider changes on a grander scale. But the challenges won’t stop there. As the entertainment industry focuses on its eventual reopening, we’re looking to do it as we create a more inclusive, knowledgeable, and healthier environment, especially for the BIPOC and marginalized artists in our communities. For many white people, that requires us to be activists as well as advocates for our fellow technicians, musicians, and actors when we get back to work. For those of us not used to speaking up or purposely exposing ourselves to confrontational situations, we know it’s necessary if intimidating task. Especially so in workplaces where off-hand racist or sexist comments were previously considered “just kidding around” and bringing attention to them might have been met with “just ignore it,” “it’s too much of a hassle, and it’ll piss everyone off,” or “well, what did you expect?”

As we face all these problems and more, negative visualization can be a helpful tool to reevaluate and rearrange our future plans or make an effort, not only to step out of our comfort zones but to actively do the hard work of de-programming years and even decades of ingrained behaviors. If there’s a silver lining in all this, we’ll get plenty of opportunities this year to retrain our brains and mentally practice constructive reactions as we head towards getting back to work.

 

Breaking Norms: Moms in Audio and The Music Industry

Join us for a webinar on breaking the myth of “You Can’t Be a Mom in The Music Industry”

Saturday, August 1 at 11 am PST

Register here

In this webinar, you will meet several women working within the industry and are at different stages of their careers and parenting.  They will share with us wow they are navigating parenthood and their careers.

Moderated by Karrie Keyes – Monitor Engineer Pearl Jam/Eddie Vedder, Executive Director SoundGirls and single mom to twin daughters that are now 24. Her girls started life on the road in utero.

With

Erika Earl – Audio Experience Engineer / Hardware Developer

Erika is working on the new frontier of spatial, immersive and interactive ambisonic audio. After working as Director of Hardware Engineering for Slate Companies and Head of Technology / Chief Tech for the Village Recording Studios, Erika co-founded Earl Virtual Innovation Lab, or Evil Tech, and XR Creative to work with artists and engineers on the next generation of audio tech and experience design. When she’s not wielding a soldering iron, recording, or immersed in a VR headset, you will most likely find her spending time with her 14 year old Daughter and 6 year old son writing songs and volunteering in her community.

Leslie Gaston-Bird (AMPS, M.P.S.E.) is author of the book “Women in Audio”, part of the AES Presents series and published by Focal Press (Routledge). She is a voting member of the Recording Academy and a freelance re-recording mixer and sound editor. She was a tenured Associate Professor of Recording Arts at the University of Colorado Denver and Fulbright Scholar; prior to that she worked as a sound editor for Post Modern Company, Colorado Public Radio, and National Public Radio. She is on the advisory board for SoundGirls. Leslie is the proud mother of a 10-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter.

Kille Knobel has been the LD for Pearl Jam for 20 years and has toured with Cher, Bette Midler, Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, The Smashing Pumpkins and many others.  When she is not on the road, she works on The Jimmy Kimmel Show and wrangles her three sons- 15, 12, & 11.

Karen Loria is the Operations Manager for Pearl Jam. She started her career in the music business working for Righteous Babe Records while pursuing a graduate degree in photography at the University of Buffalo in NY.  She moved to Seattle and started working with local music venues in various positions supporting live shows. In 2006 she was drafted to the PJ organization and has spent the last 14 years supporting the band both on the road and in the band’s HQ as the bands Ticketing Program Manager, Tour Photographer, Fan Club Co-manager and now the Operations Manager.  Karen is a mother of 2 little boys, 5 and 3 years old, and holds a Board Position for Keep Music Live, a nonprofit aimed at assisting Washington State independent music venues impacted by the Covid-19 closures.

Jeanne Montalvo is a Grammy-nominated audio engineer and radio producer. She was selected amongst thousands of applicants as the 2018 EQL resident at Spotify Studios and Electric Lady Studios in New York City, assisting in the recording process for artists like John Legend, Alessia Cara, and many more. She also recorded sessions with Ivy Queen, Making Movies and Ruben Blades, Flor de Toloache, and Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra. In 2017, she was nominated for a Grammy Award as Mastering Engineer for Vladimir Horowitz: The Unreleased Live Recordings, and her recording of Multiverse by Bobby Sanabria’s Latin Jazz Big Band was nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album at the 2012 Grammy Awards. She’s worked at the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Tanglewood Music Festival, and worked on live recordings with Spike Lee and Al Kooper. She broke into radio after receiving her Masters in Music Technology from New York University, working as an audio engineer and producer for National Public Radio and the Duolingo Podcast. She is also the creator of “Live from Latino USA” a live and (mostly) unplugged video series that features Latinx talent from Jessie Reyez to Jose Feliciano. She is currently the treasurer of the Audio Engineering Society New York Section. She is the mom of a 2 1/2-year-old toddler.

Tina Morris started her career in music as a guitar and Music Production/Engineering student at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Immediately after college she started her professional career at Sound Techniques giving her a head start as an engineer and studio tech and working with some of the best in the business. After years of gigging with her band as a heavy metal guitarist, working as a freelance engineer for NPR, Q Division Studios and The Blue Man Group she decided to move to LA with her husband. After moving she landed the position of head evening tech for The Village Studios.  Continuing to impress employers and clients alike with her expertise, Tina’s hard work was rewarded with a promotion to her current position as Studio Manager of The Village. Now the proud mother of her son Jackson, age 10, Tina still manages to balance her role of manager and mom.

April Tucker (CAS) April has worked in Los Angeles for 15 years in post-production sound for films, television, new media, and marketing/advertising. She has performed nearly every role in the process from the bottom up; she started as a PA at a studio and worked her way up to re-recording mixer – doing everything from Foley, ADR and sound editing along the way. She is mom to a 3 year old boy.

Society tells us that being a mom means putting your dreams on hold. If you are working in audio, tour production, or the music industry you are told you simply can’t be a mom because of the long and sporadic work hours, travel, and simply being on tour for several weeks/ months each year.

It’s easy to fall into that belief and give up on our dreams because that’s what society tells us. Society also tells us this only applies to women, no one in the industry cares if our male counterparts are dads.

What we are not told is that it can be done, it might take a village, but it always has. How much better you will be as a mother who is following her passion. That it is possible to be working in a field you love and also a mother. It isn’t easy, but it is certainly possible – just look at your own career path, which certainly was not easy.

 

 

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