How to be an Ally for Marginalized Groups in Audio

It’s time to stop talking about the lack of diversity in the audio industry. and do something about it. In order to do this, we need to understand the barriers marginalized groups face, institutionalized sexism and racism, double standards, and unconscious bias. This will be a continuing series and this first webinar will two-parts.

August 13 and August 20

2 PM to 4 PM PST

Moderator

MIKE BANGS – GEORGE STRAIT AEROSMITH, ERIC CLAPTON, KATY PERRY, TOM PETTY, LYNYRD SKYNYRD

Mike Bangs 20+ year career includes experiences as a monitor engineer and production manager for A-list acts including Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, George Strait, Katy Perry, Tom Petty, Kid Rock, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. An early advocate of live digital mixing, Bangs assisted a multitude of others in making the transition from analog in the early 2000s. A pioneer in surfaceless mixing that naturally gravitated to Allen & Heath, he built a close relationship with the manufacturer and ultimately joined the company to provide support to those on the road using dLive mixing systems.

Panelists

JERRY LOPEZ – EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS, CHICANO BATMAN, THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Named one the best LA-area live sound engineers by LA Weekly, Jerry Lopez mixes it up between running his own production company (Jerry Rig Audio) and engineering for some of the top acts in the world. Over the last 25 years he has mixed and supported a diverse range of acts like Run The Jewels, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Chicano Batman, and The Neighbourhood.

KARRIE KEYES – PEARL JAM, EDDIE VEDDER, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, SONIC YOUTH

Hailing from Los Angeles, Karrie has spent the last 29 plus 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.

JIM YAKABUSKI – VAN HALEN, AVRIL LAVIGNE, MATCHBOX TWENTY

With nearly 40 years as a professional sound reinforcement engineer, Jim started out mixing as club bands in western Canada in the early 1980s. He soon transitioned to a role as a concert staff engineer at dB Sound and the rest is history. Even with a packed schedule of writing pro audio books, penning articles for top industry magazines, mixing Peter Frampton, Journey, Avril Lavigne, Van Halen, Gwen Stefani, Matchbox 20 and basically any huge name band you can think of — Jim always has time to talk about the latest mix techniques, the coolest gear and fun audio tips and tricks.

DANA WACHS – MGMT, ST. VINCENT, M.I.A

A Brooklyn based Audio Engineer, Tour Manager, and Composer/Musician. Dana started her career in music in 1994, as bass player for the Dischord band Holy Rollers, which ignited her interest in live sound, after a national tour supporting 7 Year Bitch. Her first foray into the practice of live sound began after that at the Black Cat DC, and later the infamous 9:30 club.

Dana’s first national tour was as TM/FOH for Peaches supporting Queens of the Stone Age in 2002. Her first International tour quickly followed in 2003 with Cat Power. Since then, touring has kept her on the road 9 to 11 months out of the year with bands such as MGMT, St. Vincent, M.I.A., Grizzly Bear, Foster the People, Nils Frahm, Deerhunter, and Jon Hopkins to name a few.

Outside of touring, Dana composes and performs under the name Vorhees, with two releases on Styles Upon Styles (Brooklyn), and is currently composing her first feature film score.

SALIM AKRAM – BAD RABBITS, BILLIE EILISH

A multitalented and diverse musician, songwriter and engineer, Salim Akram is currently mixing monitors for pop superstar Billie Eilish (2020 Grammy Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year winner). When he isn’t behind an Allen & Heath dLive mixing console on sold-out global tour dates, he can be heard playing guitar at festivals and on tour with bands such as the post-R & B futuristic funk-punk group Bad Rabbits.

Webinar Part One

We will discuss

Institutionalized sexism and racism

How unconscious bias affects who is hired

Each of our panelists will share their experiences and insights on how we can move towards an inclusive industry where people are judged and hired on their skills vs. gender and race.

Questions and Answers

Webinar Part Two

We will discuss double standards, toxic masculinity, and creating a safe work environment for all.

We will be providing resources and checklists unconscious bias and sexism and racism.

Steps you can take personally take to be an ally.

Creating a safe work environment for all