Join Us

Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

Join Us

Leslie Ann Jones- Part two

LA JONES photoDon’t be afraid to raise your hand

Women can sometimes hold themselves back out of fear of failure, whereas men will generally jump at opportunities to take on something new even if they’ve never done it before.  It’s often a challenge for us to overcome the feeling of needing to be proficient at something before agreeing to take it on. Leslie recognized this herself in the early days of her career. “Wanting to be of service as an assistant and yet trying to be ready so when the moment came to be thrown into the fire, even though I might be nervous, to just do it was challenging. And yet to this day, that is what molded me. My curiosity, my willingness to try different things, to step out of my comfort zone on purpose.”

“To tell you the truth I NEVER really felt comfortable and secure. I always felt like there was so much I didn’t know, and so much I needed to learn. Even before I became a professional, when I would walk into Hi-fi stores or instrument stores and ask questions, it was really to try and get a better grasp of terms. When I worked at Capitol Studios, we started doing more film and TV scores. But the method of working and the language was so different that I ended up taking a film sound class just to get more comfortable with the vocabulary and the work-flow. So for me, it never stops. I guess deep down now I am secure in knowing I will figure it out. Every step of the way I learn more. I still ask questions, even of my contemporaries.”  Leslie adds that for women to push past their comfort zone and take the necessary risks to advance in their careers, “The most important thing is to raise your hand, say yes, and then find a mentor or someone you can tap into to help you along the way. At ABC I was so fortunate to feel like everyone there, from the tech staff to the engineers to the artists had a vested interest in my success. But you have to be open to that.”

Leslie has taken on many challenging projects because she does raise her hand and say yes.  Recently she took on a live project called “The Hidden World of Girls.”  “I was asked to do it by Laura Karpman, an Emmy-winning composer and client, and friend of mine. She composed the music for the Cabrillo Music Festival in Santa Cruz centered around The Kitchen Sisters. They (Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva) had a radio show where they asked girls to call in and leave a message about their “hidden world,” things about them others didn’t know. They were fascinating stories, and a whole full-length performance was built around those voice recordings, Laura’s music, and the music of 3 other women composers, all conducted by Marin Alsop and the Cabrillo Orchestra. And to add to the challenge, it was being performed where that festival is always performed, in a civic auditorium that also gets used for things like basketball games. I decided to mix it in surround. My assistant and trusty sidekick Dann Thompson and I brought a whole pro tools system and played all the voices off that. It all had to be timed perfectly like an old radio show. In fact, that is what I wanted the audience to experience…to close their eyes and be transported to these different worlds. There were a lot of masters, err mistresses to please. Laura, of course, asked me to do it because of my orchestra experience, I have known and admired Davia and Nikki for a long time, and then there was Marin and the orchestra. Nothing was done to a click, so that made it even more challenging. But she is a great conductor. It all took care of itself.”

 

Having started in this business when women audio engineers were extremely rare, their number still has not increased greatly over the past 40 years.  The answer to why this is difficult, but Leslie offers two ideas: One being that girls need to be given the tools they need while they are in middle and high school. “ Girls tend to be more concerned at that age with peer pressure, boyfriends and puberty. They need to be supported for their convictions and their tenacity and regarded for raising their hand first, regardless of the consequences. That is why organizations like Girls, Inc., and The Institute for the Musical Arts are so important. They build confidence.”  And again, having the courage to take risks and seize opportunities when they arise, “. I think it is still a big leap to go from being a great assistant to having all the responsibility for running the session. I saw it as a means to an end. I could still be involved in the creative aspect of making music but in a different way.”

Leslie, Bonnie Raitt and June Millington, circa 1979

For those who are interested in getting into the business, Leslie feels that an education in the recording arts is essential for anyone looking for a career as a recording engineer.  Equally as important though, is the creative part of the job which cannot be taught in school. Especially for those wishing to become producers. “Being a producer and what the job entails has so much to do with what the artist needs. There are very few multi-room studios now where one can get experience working on different projects, different genres, and alongside different engineers.”

Leslie has seen many engineers come and go and notes an important trait shared by the most successful engineers and producers is, “not getting upset. If there is a problem, just deal with it and keep the session going and the artist happy. I recently participated on a panel at AES in New York titled “What Would Ramone Do?”. It was a tribute to Phil Ramone, the producer and engineer legend. Al Schmitt told a great story about Phil; that if there was ever a problem in the studio, like a technical problem, he would just go out into the studio and start rehearsing with the band, or call for a dinner break and buy some time, all without letting on what was happening. When things were ok, they’d swing back into the session, and no one was the wiser.

Scoring Stage at Skywalker Sound

Scoring Stage at Skywalker Sound

Setting yourself apart from the competition is key to getting the job, and as with anything it takes more than technical skill.  “Still to this day I remain impressed by people that will do whatever it takes to get the job done. Extending themselves, showing up, asking questions, staying after school. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is this entitlement some younger kids feel that means they don’t have to do any of that. Communication skills, writing (yes penmanship), being of service, all of those will make you stand out. Find something you are great at and make the most of it.”  “To paraphrase a famous character, there is no thinking, only doing.”

Leslie Ann Jones has certainly done…a lot.

“You really have to walk in every day ready to make music, no matter what that entails.”  “Making records is a creative process, and that needs to be the focus. Remember what I said about Roy Hallee having all his tools in place? Then he could go ahead and be creative. Making records, making music is about joy and having fun. Our job is to make sure that happens.”

Leslie’s list of clients, projects, and accomplishments over the years has been extensive, and she says the diversity has helped her longevity in the business. Helping artists and composers fulfill their aspirations, and being able to do that in a facility that honors the creative work that helps make that happen, is one of the most enjoyable parts of Leslie’s job.   Working at Skywalker Sound, she says she’s had the pleasure of working with some of the most creative and talented people she’s known.

Leslie with one of her Grammys

Leslie with one of her Grammys

Like most women, Leslie finds it challenging to have a career and a life at the same time.  “Both are very important to me as one feeds the other. That balance continues to be challenging, and I think it is harder as a woman than as a man. I don’t have children, but I have watched many of my contemporaries have families and children. Unfortunately, we live in a society where it is still seen as the woman’s main responsibility for parenting, even when the Dads are great parents and our work is quite time-consuming. “  But when asked if she could imagine herself having chosen another career path Leslie replies, “I can’t imagine having chosen something else. I have a great career, exciting, challenging and fulfilling. I am surrounded by music all the time. I get to work with incredibly talented and creative people. Well, perhaps a little more time to make my 2nd wine would be appreciated.” : -)

leslie2

Leslie Ann Jones- Having the Courage to Raise Your Hand

leslie-at-work

Multiple Grammy-winning Recording Engineer Leslie Ann Jones is a true trailblazer. A most respected and revered engineer among her peers with a career spanning decades, Leslie has had the pleasure of working with many incredibly talented artists at several historic studios and is presently Director of Music Recording and Scoring at Skywalker Sound, where she’s been since 1997.

To say her list of accomplishments is impressive is an understatement. Here are a few:

First Woman Recording Engineer at ABC Studios in Los Angeles 1975

First Woman Engineer at the legendary Automatt Studios in San Francisco, 1977

First Woman National Officer of The Recording Academy

Sound engineer and Road manager of one of the first American all-women bands- Fanny, in the 1970s

Multiple time Grammy Award nominee and five-time Grammy Award winner for:

2003-Winner for Best Chamber Music Album- The Kronos Quartet, ‘Berg: Lyric Suite’

2005-Winner Best Jazz Vocal Album- Dianne Reeves, ‘ Good Night and Good Luck’

2010- Winner Best Engineered Album, Classical- Quincy Porter, Complete Viola Works

2015-Winner-Best Engineered Album, Classical- Laura Karpman-Ask Your Mama

2019-Winner-Best Engineered Classical-Kronos Quartet-Terry Riley-Sun Rings.

In 2014, Leslie was nominated for two Grammys: Best Surround Sound Album- Signature Sound Opus One,  and Best Engineered Album, Non- Classical- for Madeleine Peyroux, ‘The Blue Room.’  ( A category she shared with fellow engineer: Trina Shoemaker, and also the first time two women engineers had been nominated in the same category).

You never know where the road will take you

Growing up with musical parents, (her Father was novelty drummer, percussionist, and bandleader Spike Jones and her mother- singer Helen Grayco),  Leslie’s introduction to the music business started at a very young age.  Musician friends of her parents were always visiting the family home, and that led to Leslie being exposed to a wide variety of musical styles and sounds. Spending so much time around musicians from such a young age also gave Leslie incredible insight into working with artists.  From her Father’s creative use of unusual instruments (cowbells, brake drums, foghorns, and such) and her mother’s style of singing and introduction to the styles of Sinatra, Bennet, and Streisand, [1] Leslie’s young ears were already being primed, and she was forming a set of skills that would be invaluable in her later career as a recording engineer.

jones:grayco:photoagency

Leslie’s parents and brother Spike Jr.
Photo Credit: Photo Agency

Leslie started playing guitar around age 14, after receiving one as a Christmas gift.  She then formed a musical group with some family and friends[2] which proceeded down the all too familiar road of performing, recording, getting a record contract, and then getting dropped due to the ever-changing record company scene of the 1970s.

Her interest in audio was piqued when she found herself in charge of the sound for the last rock band she was in. Though she had a knack for mixing, Leslie felt that being self-taught on guitar she didn’t quite have the chops to be on par with those she admired like; Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, and Stephen Stills, so she focused her attention on becoming a producer like the legendary Producer/Manager- Peter Asher.  She began arranging music for other’s bands and acquiring PA gear.  “Then when the band broke up, and I found myself with a small PA system, I started mixing live sound and formed a company with friends who also did live sound. We pooled our equipment and went to work! I seemed to have a natural talent for it, even though I was not mechanically or electrically inclined. So I had to work harder at some aspects of it, but I loved to mix.”

During the same time, Leslie had a day job at ABC records working in publicity and artist relations. In her desire to become a world-famous Producer/Manager, Leslie had the foresight to know she needed to learn more about audio engineering and approached the studio manager for a job. [2]

It took some time though before she was engineering records.  “My first job at ABC Studios was as a “production engineer.”  I was on the 4 pm-midnight shift. In those days U.S. based record companies would send a 1/4″  2 track tape called an EQ copy to their foreign affiliates, and those affiliates would press LPs and cassettes using the EQ copy. That way it had the same sound as the US releases.
tape
My job was to make a copy of the EQ master that was generated by the mastering room so it could be sent overseas. We also had a large cassette duplication machine and would make cassettes for all the label execs and artists and producers working in the studios.”

Some months after she had started, she finally began doing setups for sessions.  Next, she volunteered to assist on a session and then did nothing but assist many engineers for months, later engineering their overdub sessions when they got too busy.  The studio manager, Phil Kaye was a bit unsure in hiring Leslie, as female engineers were an extreme rarity in the 1970s.  “We did have a female mastering engineer at ABC, Lois Walker, so the presence of a woman in a technical position was not foreign. But being in a mastering room and being in the trenches of a live recording or mixing session were not really the same thing”.

Despite that, Leslie found that the men she worked with at ABC Studios were supportive, being patient with her, as she learned. Something that probably wouldn’t have happened if she wasn’t open to accepting people’s help. [3] “I had so much support from the staff engineers at ABC who all took me under their wing: the late Barney Perkins, Reggie Dozier, my boss Phil Kaye, and of course Roy Halee, but it was also the first time I was taken off a session because I was a woman.” Roy really laid a foundation for me and the things I learned from him are branded into my DNA: Work ethic; making sure all your tools are as you want them so you can just go to work and be creative; Zero on a meter is important; using your ears; the value of reverb (he was a master). “

johnmayall-ahardcorepackage-sealed-lprecord-371997In those early days, Leslie had to walk the fine line of showing people you can do the job with confidence, rather than arrogance.  “Once I got thrown into sessions with outside clients I would still get asked when “the engineer” was showing up. I would say I was the engineer and of course would be met with some skepticism. That lasted about a half-hour into tracking. Once they realized that, not only did I know what I was doing, but they loved the sound, then I could do no wrong. Plus having a sense of humor (thanks, Dad) helped immensely.”It was at ABC Studios that Leslie finally engineered her first album with John Mayall, called – A Hard Core Package.

The Automatt

When Leslie moved to the Automatt in 1977, Fred Catero was the only other engineer at the time, and it wasn’t clear whether Leslie would be his assistant or another First Engineer.  All it took was a client to call who didn’t have an engineer and Leslie was it.  At the Automatt, she had the chance to learn from Roy Halee, Fred Catero, and David Rubinson.  “Roy came from CBS in San Francisco (later called The Automatt), so when I got there, I felt a little like I was following in his footsteps.”

“Roy’s contemporary Fred Catero taught me the art and value of recording many things on one track given limited “real estate,” 24 tracks in those days. How to stack tracks, how to do live bounces of backgrounds or horns when you didn’t have enough tracks. And both Roy and Fred were master editors.”

“And David, well he was what I had originally aspired to be…a great producer and manager. He could make great records and then go upstairs to his office where he made sure his artists got the best follow through. He and Fred trusted me with their demos, their artists, and later with many of the groups that came to record on their own. David also taught me about creating songs from 16-minute jams and how to listen and create on the spot. But my fondest memories of David were not recording-related at all. He had a great wine collection and a palate to match, and it was my first experience with that. That became my second passion, and after all these years I have just made my first wine.”

During her time at The Automatt, Leslie was lucky enough to have recorded the first digital multi-track recording session in San Francisco on the 3M tape machine, Carlos Santana’s album- ‘The Swing of Delight.’  Later at Capitol, she fell in love with the sound and operation of the Mitsubishi X850 and X880 32 track, which was later superseded by the Euphonix 48 track disk-based recorder at Skywalker, “because I was able to record 48 tracks at 24/96.”  “None of those are available any longer, but they were all great in their day. They allowed me to use technology to enhance my work.”  Some of Leslie’s other favorite pieces of gear include: a Neve 88R which is an analog console, one of the first digital reverbs, a Lexicon 224, EMT plates, “and yet I also use new things, mostly microphones.”

Use what you’ve got

The Automatt at one time had a staff of 6 engineers, 3 of which were women. “It was the Bay Area of course, infinitely more tolerant. But that ratio was unheard of…probably is still to this day.”

“At The Automatt, I first started working on sessions with all women. That was the era of ‘women’s music,’ primarily folk music specifically marketed and created for and by women. Women-owned record labels, musicians, producers, engineers artists, distributors, festivals, etc. Mostly lesbians, all feminists. It was when I first encountered being hired because I was a woman and what that brought to the sessions. Because the Automatt had a split staff, many times on regular projects, we would have a woman 1st engineer and a male assistant or vice-versa. One producer, in particular, would “cast” the sessions based on the vibe he wanted for the artist. I started to realize that being who I was and bringing that to whatever session I was doing was the most important thing I could do.”

Of Leslie’s many skills, being open to adapt to whatever situation comes her way and always ready to seize an opportunity, “not being afraid to raise my hand,” are two traits that helped pave the way to the top of her profession.

Leslie mixingWhile she admits that trying to find your way in a room full of guys can be challenging, Leslie also sees that women bring a different set of skills in the way we approach our jobs, with the ability to multi-task better than most men, being one.  Also, “there seems to be much less ego with women than men (for better or worse). We are more prone to work with people as team players. Maybe that is why I have always enjoyed being on staff. Those qualities are really important if you are going to show up at the same place and work with the same people all the time. BUT having said that, those attributes can be our downfall as well. I liken it to female chefs. We make great assistant engineers/sous chefs, but it is quite a leap from there to the Big Chair…to being in charge of the session/kitchen or restaurant. Still to this day that seems to be the most difficult transition.”

Leslie moved to Capitol Records in 1987 where she was hired as a staff engineer and became known for engineering Jazz, Vocal and Classical.  She had a roster of regular artists such as; Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, Bebe, and CeCe Winans and others. She also won her first Grammy for Dianne Reeves- ‘Good Night and Good Luck.’

Ten years later Leslie accepted the job of Director of Music Recording and Scoring at Skywalker Sound.  Having begun her film-scoring career with the movie Apocalypse Now during her years at the Automatt, Skywalker would allow Leslie to showcase both those skills and her talent for music recording while also bringing her organizational skills as Studio Director.

Read Part Two Here

 

Find More Profiles on The Five Percent

Profiles of Women in Audio

SoundGirls.Org in the Community

On December 3rd, 2013, FOH Engineer and co-founder of SoundGirls.Org, Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato, stopped by Luzerne County Community College in Northeastern PA for a guest lecture hosted by Professor adjunct Jason Oakey who teaches the Live Sound Reinforcement class at LCCC.  The lecture was attended by students of the Recording arts program, local sound professionals, and a few high school students interested in a career in the music business. (more…)

Thank you to our Members and Supporters

SoundGirls_logo_rgb_web

December 30, 2013

Dear SoundGirls.Org Members and Supporters,
Seasons Greetings. SoundGirls.Org wishes you a Happy Holiday Holiday Season and all the best in 2014.

It has been less than a year since we launched SoundGirls.Org and it has already expanded in directions that we could not envision a year ago.  From the beginning we have been humbled by the amount of positive support from the industry and women worldwide. We have enjoyed meeting and connecting with talented women working in professional audio and sharing their stories with you. We are also encouraged by the amount of interest from young women and girls wishing to enter the field of sound. (more…)

Don’t make assumptions

 

I’d like to talk about assumptions and how they seem to run rampant in this business.

As a touring FOH engineer for over 20 years, I have worked with a wide variety of artists both in musical styles and personalities.  Some have been extremely easy to work for and some have been challenging to say the least.  No matter what, I have always tried to do my best work for each and every one of them no matter how big or small the gig.  I’ve done tours with full production and tours with no production, in everything from clubs to stadiums, with the occasional botanical garden or zoo thrown in. (more…)

Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

By: Gilli Craig

I have recently returned from mixing the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The band, one of New Zealand’s most beloved acts, have an improbable cult following, who can’t get enough of the band and their ‘four stringed bonsai guitars’.

The ensemble of 10 singing ukulele players and a bassist translates into 30 channels of madness!  There is a total of 16 ukuleles on stage, including baritones, resonators, a banjolele, a Tahitian ukulele that’s strung with fishing line, with concert and soprano ukuleles rounding out the ensemble. There is also, in a moment that some find alarmingly dylanesque, an appearance from an electric ukulele.

The band stand in a semi circle- there is no main soloist in the band as members take turns at singing the lead either from their position in the semi circle or they come forward to a front mic position. The beautiful ensemble singing and vocal arrangements are as much a feature of the band as the ukuleles.

All the ukuleles are miced up with DPA 4061’s. Two players have pickups installed in two of the instruments as well, which are used for volume boost in the monitors when they solo, and for the judicious use of a few carefully chosen effect pedals.

There are a couple of reasons why the DPA 4061 is the mic of choice: the primary one being the sound. They just sound great on the little bonsai imposters! The other reason the 4061 works is because it can be taped flat onto the ukulele, with the capsule poked into the sound hole and it doesn’t get in the way of the player.

Usually we run 8 wedges on 8 sends with a monitor engineer. For the Edinburgh Fringe Festival there were 8 wedges on 5 sends of monitors from front of house. The front of house console was a Yamaha CL5, which, as it turned out, was surprisingly good for doing monitors from FOH for the band.  The venue, the Debating Hall in the Gilded Balloon, was nicely kitted out with d&b from Orbital including M4 wedges which are a favorite with the band.

Prior to going to Edinburgh, I was able to spend a few hours making friends with the CL5 thanks to Drew Mollison, the Yamaha guy at MusicWorks New Zealand.

As the CL 5 has plenty of inputs I was able to do virtual splits of everything for the monitor mixes. The layout of the console lends itself well to this concept for this band as the left fader bank has 16 channels, the middle fader bank has 8 faders, including DCAS, and the right section a further 8 faders including, usefully, another 8 DCAs .

Because there are 16 faders on the left side of the board I was able to replicate the positions of the monitor channels to be the same as the FOH channels by soft patching, ending up with two layers for FOH and two layers for monitors. As each player has a corresponding main ukulele and vocal, it also meant that the channels associated with each player stayed in the same place from layer to layer, and from monitors to FOH.  So no Nigel wandering all over the console. Nice!

I also colour coded the channels and DCAs – green for FOH and red for monitors. That meant I could glance down and immediately see if I was looking at FOH or monitor channels.  Having the extra 8 DCAs meant I could have a handful as master level controls for monitor channels.

As I was able to have all 16 DCAs in front of me on the middle and right hand banks, it meant that all my key FOH and monitor channels were within easy reach, and I could flick between the two FOH layers. I had each monitor mix as mix on faders on quick keys.  While it still took a couple of steps to get in and out of the monitor mixes for monitor cues that were not addressable via the monitor DCAs, it wasn’t too bad. I just had to be very aware of getting myself back to my main FOH banks and faders.

The venue was busy, with tight turnarounds between acts…we had 15 minutes to get every thing onstage, patched and checked, and 15 minutes to get the house in. Anytime the band do a festival or multi band show, I always request 10 extra mic stands, so I can prep the ukulele microphones onto the mic stands. The DPAs are fixed to the stands with a cunning arrangement involving a bulldog clip, rubber bands and gaffer tape, ready to be whipped onto stage and into place. Rather than the band having the DPA s fixed to their ukuleles prior to going on stage, its easier and faster for both the band and stage crews if the DPA s are fixed to the stands ready to be patched into stage cabling and line checked. The band are quick and accurate at placing the DPAs onto their instruments, so I very rarely have an instrument sounding wildly different to how it should due to erroneous mic placement.

For this band, I don’t do scenes on digital consoles as they have a large repertoire and rarely repeat a set list. There is also a fair amount of improvisation, so it’s better and more fun to just roll with the show. However, if I was to mix monitors again from FOH on the CL5, as part of a tour rather than a festival I think I would create a handful of scenes to manage some of the monitor cues.

Finally, as the venue was originally a debating hall, the mix position was in a tiny old fashioned enclosed booth, with the windows open, up in the back of the venue. It was as cozy as a Finnish sauna!  Orbital installed a couple of Genlec studio monitors in mix position to fill in missing HF detail, which worked really well.

Turn it Up – Turn it Down

 

Eddie Vedder Solo Tour.

Life on the solo tour is just a bit easier, but it is not a piece of cake or vacation by any means. It is extremely challenging and demanding, yet easier as all energy is focused on one. The venues are theaters and the sound characteristics are a bit nicer than loud, steel, and cement arenas. I am not fighting volume from other band members, as the show mainly consists of acoustic instruments and one incredibly talented human.

The monitor system is fairly simple – yet it is complex for a solo artist. I am running a Midas Heritage and eight mixes, made up of wedges, side fills, and Shure Vocal Masters. There are two IEM mixes, one mix is provided to Ed for the performance of the song Arc, which is a vocal loop, and one for guitar tech extraordinaire, George Webb.

You might be wondering at this point if there was a typo – surely she did not mean Shure Vocal Masters? Yes, I meant Shure Vocal Masters. We are running all of the acoustic instruments into the Vocal Master. The acoustic guitars are run directly into the vocal masters, while the ukes, mandolin, and banjo I send to the vocal master from the monitor board.  Ed has owned a couple of vocal masters for years, and I always knew they would end up in the monitor system somehow.  At any rate, the instruments have a nice warm sound coming off the Vocal Master and I add the instruments to the side fills for some high-end definition and clarity.

The Vocal Master and wedges are set up behind Ed – This helps to achieve a loud – full sound that does not vibrate the acoustic instruments and helps to reduce feedback. I wish I had been the genius who thought of this, but Ed is responsible for the design. You are probably asking, really, the monitors are that loud to vibrate the instruments? This is not a low-volume acoustic show onstage. I believe the monitors do a decent job of covering certain areas of the venue (balconies), much to the dismay of our FOH engineer. The other mixes are for the pump organ and Hard Sun positions and a guest mix.

 

 

I truly love mixing and being a part of the solo tour, but most of this tour I am pondering how to solve the PJ dilemma. How to get the overall volume onstage down – while increasing the volume of certain inputs.

What I do know is that we will be flying side fills to increase vocal coverage and volume. This poses problems as I have five other musicians onstage that do not necessarily desire louder vocals. The vocal mic is not just the vocal mic – it is the sound of the center of stage – you don’t necessarily hear the guitar rig or the monitors but they are a part of the sound, so essentially every time I send the vocal input to a mix – I am sending the center of the stage sound as well. The vocal mic is the loudest thing in everyone’s mix, so much so that if I turn it off it sounds like we have lost power. The goal will be to find PA boxes that will cover the center of the stage and not the entire stage. I am not currently sold on the flown side fills – but currently cannot nix it.

1) Reducing the overall stage volume is going to be tricky as I can’t destroy the sound of each of the rigs.

2) Ed’s cabinets are open back and just blow underneath the drum riser into bass and drum world – this needs to be resolved.

3) And that old sound trick of angling the rigs offstage is not working for Stone and Mike, depending on where they are standing the rigs are either too loud, too quiet, or perfect. I am guessing it is too late for them to adapt easily to a new stage position.

So I start collecting ideas and suggestions – they range from good ideas, warrants further research, to not going to happen – but everything is on the table.

Fly lots of big loud PA boxes

Neil Young Surround Sound Side Fills

New Louder Wedges

The band should just go to in-ears and put the amps offstage – sure they will have to do at least a month of production rehearsals to get it dialed.

Turn down the amps turn up their ear mixes

They can monitor their amps from their ear mixes

Baffles

Plexiglass

Put power soaks on all the rigs

New vocal mic

Someone suggests to me that maybe microphone technology has improved and we should see whats out there.

New In Ears

Get Springsteen set up

Well on Marilyn Manson they do

Go back to analog

Open the stage – spread everyone out

Cover the stage in wedges

Go see Springsteen

Before the tour ends I meet with Ed to discuss the direction he wants to go. What I believe is that he wants to get off his ear mix and go back to wedges and I ask him this. He tells me no and tells me he will probably never be able to lose the ear mix. This is key – so remember this – we will come back to it. We discuss the flown sides, possible new wedges, and opening up the stage five feet on either side and pushing amp lines upstage by five feet. We also discuss the possibility of trying a new vocal mic.

This all sounds reasonable and feasible – so I plan to get to work and make plans to go visit Springsteen.

Oh – and can this be ready for South America. The tour is in March – but the gear has to ship mid January. It is now Dec. 7th….

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD0gC0k2o2g]

For more on the Shure Vocal Master system click here: shurevocalmaster.com

 

Kim Watson- You Have to Learn From the Best

UK-based sound engineer Kim Watson has been a freelance audio engineer since 1999.  Kim’s foray into live sound started with a love of music and a desire to work in the music business.  “I always knew I wanted to be in the music industry, I just never quite knew in what respect.”  Although having started her training in recording school, she found recording sessions boring and monotonous.  Kim was attracted to the challenge of live sound, “having one chance to get it right and then, that moment is gone.”

It never hurts to ask

While she was at a show, Kim approached the FOH engineer to whom she expressed her interest in live sound.  Luckily for her, he was the owner of a local PA system and gave her a call the next week to show up for work.  Kim recalls how she was the 3rd person on the show and was ‘paid in pizza and information.’   It was a proper sound company, and Kim spent the next three years learning as much as she could.  “First thing he showed me was how to coil cables.  Then how he wanted mics plugged in Stage box end first, roll the cable to mic stand, so it lies flat, coil left at the bottom of the mic stand in case it needs to move, etc…” She got on very well with the crew, earning their respect by getting her hands dirty, asking questions, and learning how to not get in the way if a problem arose.  Her fellow crew guys became very protective of her, jumping in if anyone gave her a hard time.  One bit of wisdom she retains to this day, ” If a mic goes down on stage, you have 30 seconds to fix it before everyone notices, and the band stops the song and kills the flow of the show.”  Kim paid close attention to the crew guys when they were talking tech, ” At first I didn’t understand much, so I picked up on words- ‘Crossover,’ and would then go home and research what it does.  The next time I would ask questions. I made it my mission to read the Live Audio Boards every day, even if I didn’t understand it, things would sink in.”

Festival FOH Four years later while she was working with another company, Kim would get her big break as a monitor engineer, when she got drafted to replace a co-worker who didn’t show up for a festival.  It was a 50’s Rock and Roll weekend with ten bands a day and a crash course in mixing monitors.  “First time on the monitor board was fun.  Feedback wasn’t so much an issue as we set up the day before, and Barry, the guy I was working for, had me ring the monitors out, teaching me as we went.  Barry introduced me to the principle of subtractive mixing, pulling back something that’s in the way of the item they want more of, be it through EQ or nudging the aux back a touch”, she says.  Kim’s been doing monitors ever since.

She is currently the monitor engineer for The Subways.  When she isn’t touring, Kim works freelance for PA companies, such as ESS (based in Mansfield), and is also an audio tech for the O2 Academy in Newcastle, UK.  Having a sweet house gig at the Academy is a huge advantage for Kim, being that she can always find work in the downtime between tours.

Kim is an experienced system/fly tech and more than capable of mixing FOH when required, but most often finds herself at the stage end of the snake.  “Primarily I tend to end up being Monitor Engineer and these days specializing in mixing IEMs.”  The close interaction with the band and the on-stage shenanigans that the audience doesn’t see is one of the things she enjoys most about doing monitors.

FestivalmonitorsNever stop learning

During her school years, Kim went to careers meeting with her parents where she was told that being a “sound engineer” wasn’t a real job.  While her parents tried to guide her to a more reliable career as a music teacher, she knew it wasn’t for her.  “It wasn’t until after I had started work experience with the PA company, that they realized it could be a job, but I would have to MAKE my way job in the industry.  For me, it was all or nothing.  I got into the habit of giving 110% on every show.  People are always watching, and that is what gets you up the ladder.”

Her educational background includes; studying music throughout her school years, Technical college, which included education in Music Tech, Math, Computing, and Physics, also getting her HND* in Music Production, while she was cutting her teeth working at the PA companies.  Kim also plays several instruments and has a background in music theory, which she finds very helpful in mixing.

Kim continues educating herself to this day.  To keep her chops up, besides working and mixing as much as possible, Kim also makes an effort to attend manufacturer’s training seminars.  “I did the Meyer Sound Comprehensive System Design (5 days) and the SIM3 (5 days) courses a few years ago.  I learned so much from both.  Understanding a lot more about the physics behind the sound system, audio interactions, and system measurement has helped a lot.”  Kim is also grateful for having studied Physics at College; she says it “made understanding the principles of phase and wave interactions (in wave theory) very easy.”

She has done training on every digital console she could get her hands on.  “I have always been a computer nerd and got my head around digital desks very early.  I am one of those engineers, that even though I have never used a certain type of board, I can make the show happen the same as I would on analog.  This makes festival walk-up gigs really easy.”

EmiliSande monsystemtech Royal Albert hall

Emili Sande at Royal Albert Hall

For The Subways, who she’s been with for going on two years, Kim is mixing IEMs.  The band usually carries their own LS9 and Sennheiser transmitters, and she’s hoping to have them fully self-contained on stage by next year’s tour.

Kim has been working for the O2 Academy since it opened in 2005.  Recently, she was Monitor System Tech for the two UK legs of Emili Sande’s tour, Monitor tech and Fly tech for Brit Floyd UK and Europe, and Monitor Engineer for “Wow- A celebration of the music and artistry of Kate Bush.”   Kim loves the people she meets on tour.  Familiar friends of The Subways will show up at their local gigs, sometimes joining band and crew on the bus for a few days.  She is also lucky enough to work with a band that enjoys organizing days off in towns with something interesting to do or see, such as visiting a castle or museum.

Lack of sleep is the hardest part of touring for Kim.  “There have been a few tours where hours of sleep at night are very minimal, with lots of back-to-back shows.  That nearly killed me, pushing me right to my limits and making me quite ill.  It’s learning to get the balance.  When you are on tour and you have the option of one of- shower, food, or sleep – choose wisely as it can be your undoing.”
While she admits to having difficulty picking a favorite piece of gear, since gear is always changing, she says, “ My favorite piece of gear is the one that works when you plug it in, and it’s right for the job at hand.”

From the start, Kim’s long-term goal has been to be in the top 10% of live engineers.  “I was told early on by one of my mentors, to be the best you have to learn from the best.  I went out and found out who the top engineers in the world were and read everything I could online that they had written, (through prosoundweb.com and other sites).  It’s been awesome over the years meeting, working with, and hearing the engineers I looked up to.”

Britfloyd Systemandmontech

Brit Floyd

When she first got started in the business, Kim asked another female engineer for advice which she quickly adopted as her own rules.

And one final word of advice: “The most important skill in this job is attitude.  Do it all with a smile and your day will be very easy.  Become a ‘yes person.”

*An HND is roughly the equivalent of two years of university and generally vocational in nature leading to work in a specific industry and entry into advanced levels of the university, somewhat similar to an Associates degree in the USA

Truck Party

Working in the shop we hear over the intercom, ‘Truck Party’.   It’s no special occasion or celebration, but the call of a truck on the dock needing to be loaded or unloaded.  We all gather at the dock and drop our dock ramp to begin.  If the truck is ready to be unloaded, we unpack the truck and scan the large items such as; cases and speakers, into inventory before we move them to the proper department, where all items are unpacked and scanned.  These tend to be the quickest of truck parties. Loading a truck often takes a little more time, due to planning how to pack the truck, especially if it’s gonna be a tight fit. (more…)

X