Join Us

Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

Join Us

Kitzy – Independent Touring FOH Engineer and Production Manager

Kitzy is an independent touring FOH (Front of House) Engineer and Production Manager based in Philadelphia, has been immersed in the world of audio for over 20 years. In addition to owning a small audio production and rental company, Kitzy dabbles in studio work and podcasting.

Their journey began in the early 2000s, organizing punk shows in a firehall in central Pennsylvania, using a second-hand PA system. Reflecting on those days, Kitzy notes, “Audio wasn’t really the focus, but more of a means to an end. I thought I wanted to be a promoter, but in reality, I think I just wanted an excuse to put my band on shows.”

During the early to mid-2000s, Kitzy toured with various bands, experimenting with digital recording—again, primarily as a way to support their own band’s music rather than as a central career goal. However, in 2010, after their band dissolved, Kitzy found themselves at a crossroads. With family and personal pressure to find a “real job,” they set aside their musical ambitions, entering the tech industry and climbing the corporate ladder.

By 2015, Kitzy had relocated to San Francisco for work. While there, they reconnected with a former bandmate, reigniting their passion for music. This time, Kitzy delved deeply into recording and producing, benefiting from the wealth of free educational resources available on YouTube. “I realized how much I had been missing working on music,” Kitzy recalls. Despite their growing knowledge, the tech world and life in San Francisco left them unfulfilled, prompting thoughts of a new chapter.

In their search for inspiration, Kitzy discovered Weathervane Music and its Shaking Through series, which sparked their desire to return to music production. With Philadelphia’s vibrant music scene and proximity to family, Kitzy saw it as the ideal location to start over.

In 2017, Kitzy moved to Philadelphia, where they built connections within the local music scene, attending workshops, shows, and eventually forming a new band. They recorded and released an album, and things seemed to be falling into place. Kitzy also bought a house and built a home studio, intending to focus on producing records. But the pandemic in 2020 disrupted these plans.

Undeterred, Kitzy adapted by launching a podcast with a friend, centered on independent music. They also invited bands to perform live streams in their studio, which marked Kitzy’s first significant experience mixing live performances. This work sparked a new passion: capturing live music as an integral part of the performance. Kitzy found the dynamic immediacy of live mixing deeply fulfilling.

By 2022, with live events returning, a band that had participated in the live streams invited Kitzy to mix their shows on the road. Kitzy vividly remembers the thrill of their first live show: “The power under my fingertips was like nothing else I had ever felt before. When the band hit their first note, I knew that this was what I wanted to do more than anything else in the world.” Since that pivotal moment, Kitzy has been pursuing live sound engineering with an unrelenting passion, rediscovering their love for live music with every performance.

Early Life

When did you discover audio as a career path?

It’s really only the last couple years I’ve been taking it seriously as a career path. I spent my whole life being told that I can’t make a living in music and that I need to get a “real” job.

Did music and audio interest you while you were growing up?

I’ve been obsessed with music, and by extension audio, ever since I can remember. A lot of my early music taste was a direct result of the stuff my mom was listening to, like R.E.M., The B-52s, Yes, James Taylor – stuff like that. My grandmother also had an influence on my music taste early on. She would play stuff like The Beach Boys, Jimmy Buffet, and Cliff Richard.

My mom would take me to the local video rental store once a week and we’d rent a movie to watch together. They had a small shelf of music related videos, and there were two that I made my mom rent so many times that she probably could have bought them several times over: R.E.M.’s Road Movie and Yes’ 9012Live. If you’ve never seen 9012Live, I highly suggest you track down a copy. The concert footage is inexplicably intercut with colorized footage from a 1950’s Edison Electric film for some reason and the visuals are truly bizarre.

I remember getting a karaoke machine one year for Christmas. It had a pair of microphones, and two tape decks. I think the intention was that you could play the karaoke version of a song and record yourself singing over it, but I quickly figured out that I could record my own music and then overdub myself playing and singing along with it. I was convinced I had invented this and that no one else knew this incredible secret.

In high school, I graduated to a Tascam 4 track tape machine, and I remember being amazed that I could change the volume of the things I was overdubbing AFTER I recorded them. With the karaoke machine, I had to get the volume balance right while I was recording. But now, I had the power to get the mix just right. It felt like magic.

Career Start

Did you have a mentor or someone that really helped you?

Brian McTear was a great mentor when I moved to Philly and thought my future was purely studio work, and continues to be a sounding board for me to this day.

I never really had a live sound mentor, but I’ve been lucky enough to form friendships with some other up and coming live engineers who are an amazing support system.

Career Now

What is a typical day like?

Every tour is a little different, but I’ll use my most recent tour as an example.

Wake up in a hotel room around 8AM, pack up my stuff and head to the van for an 8:30 van call. I’m sharing driving duties with the tour manager on this run, and she prefers driving later in the day, so I’ll typically take the first shift. We stop for breakfast somewhere and then it’s anywhere between a 3 and 5 hour drive to the next city.

Halfway through the drive, I switch off with the TM. I’ll use this time to catch up on a little more sleep, review the parking and load in instructions for the venue we’re heading to, read over their tech pack, etc. I’ll also bounce the recording from last night’s show and upload it to Google Drive for the band to review if they want. As I’m listening through, I’ll make myself a few notes of things I want to try differently tonight.

We get to the venue early afternoon and unload the trailer. It’s a self-contained tour, so we’re carrying backline, our own console, IEMs, and mic package, and a lighting ground package. We also have a few set pieces. As the FOH engineer and defacto Production Manager on this tour, I’m responsible for all of it. I get my big items placed on stage first, and then work on setting up FOH while the band sets up their backline.

If I have time, I’ll put up a few measurement mics and verify the PA with Smaart, and try to get the tonality of the PA close to my target curve. Then I walk the room with my reference playlist and make sure it sounds good.

If I don’t have time, I throw on some music and EQ the system by ear.

Then I move on to micing and patching the stage, and I’ll do a line check with my iPad. If I have time, I’ll pull up the multitracks from last night’s show in a virtual soundcheck and see how the room sounds. I’ll also go on stage and listen to each musician’s IEM mix while standing/sitting in their spot to see how it sounds for them. I might make some minor adjustments to their mix here if something obvious sticks out to me.

Then I bring the band on stage for sound check. My FOH mix is pretty dialed at this point, and the room is going to sound different once we fill it up with people anyway, so my main focus here is to make sure everything is working (i.e., that the timecode from the playback rig is firing our lighting cues and console automation) and that the band is comfortable with their IEM mixes. Once the band is happy, I bring the principal artist out and we run through whatever she wants to run through. Once she’s happy, we end sound check.

We have an opener on this tour that I’m not handling production for, so I’ll strike our front line to make room for the opener and hand things off to the house crew. At this point, I swap the batteries in all of our IEMs and RF mics/packs with freshly charged batteries. I deliver the IEM packs to the green rooms so that the band knows where to find them before the show.

I’ll use the time between sound check and our set to eat dinner, take a nap, answer emails, and if the venue has a shower I will probably take a shower. At the very least I’ll put on a fresh pair of socks. Something about a fresh pair of socks really makes a world of difference.

In the changeover before our set, I re-set our front line, tune the principal artist’s guitar, and line check EVERYTHING. I send the console’s listen bus to my IEM pack, and I use my iPad PFL each channel one by one with my IEMs in and make sure I’m getting the sound that I expect. I even check that the timecode channel sounds like timecode. I always do this from the stage so that if there’s an issue that needs to be addressed, I’m already there.

Then it’s showtime. Perhaps counterintuitively, I’m doing the least amount of work during the actual show. This is a pop tour with backing tracks, so the same things happen at the same time every night. I’ve automated most of my moves throughout the show, like muting the acoustic guitar when it’s not being played, and boosting the electric guitar during the big solo. I’m just there to make sure nothing catches on fire, and I get to enjoy the show.

Once the show is over, I’m in a race with our merch manager to see if I can get all of our production packed up and loaded into the trailer before she has merch packed and loaded. I do not know if she is aware of this race.

Once the trailer is packed, we head for the hotel for the night and get ready to start the process all over again.

How do you stay organized and focused?

Early on, I would get super overwhelmed with everything that I had to do, especially during set up and strike. I’ve found that the best way to combat this is to just focus on the next thing I need to do. I don’t worry about needing to strike the entire stage, I just focus on collecting all of the microphones and putting them in their case. Once that case is packed, I move on to the next one. Rinse and repeat until I look up and everything is packed.

Whenever I’m in the moment, I’m only focusing on the next thing that I need to do. I trust my planning, my prep work, and my team around me, that things won’t go too off the rails if I’m not constantly stressing over every little thing that hasn’t happened yet.

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

I love when a band is really locked in and playing well to a room full of people who are enjoying every moment. I love knowing that I’m a small part of making that happen.

What do you like least?

Chasing people down to pay my invoices.

If you tour what do you like best?

I love traveling and seeing new cities every day. I love working in new venues with new people. I love seeing how a show changes and develops over the course of a tour.

What do you like least?

How long the days are, how little sleep I get, and when house crews are shitty to me because I don’t fit their expectations of who a sound engineer should be. I also hate the grind of always having to figure out what my next tour is.

Oh and being away from my dog.

What is your favorite day off activity? 

Sleep.

What are your long term goals

I’d love to have a long, sustainable career with a small handful of artists who are doing well, where I’m making enough money that I don’t have to stress about it.

I’d also love to get to a point where I’m not driving, and have enough of a production budget to hire a crew so I’m not doing everything alone. That sounds really nice.

I’d still like to work on records in my downtime between tours as well.

Oh, and I really want to mix a show at Red Rocks.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

Being both transgender and autistic has been a barrier, not in my ability to do my job well, but in other people’s ability to see my value. That said, I have been coming across a lot more neurodivergent people in the industry lately and it’s been so refreshing to be around other people with brains like mine.

I think the biggest obstacle I’ve faced has just been finding consistent work. All of the artists I work with are on really tight budgets, so even if I do a tour with an artist and they want to work with me again, there’s no guarantee that they’ll have the budget to hire me on the next tour.

I think I’m in a weird spot since I started my live sound journey so late in life. Because my live sound resume only goes back a few years, I get a lot of absurd offers like $500-700/wk, which would be fine if it was 2005 and I lived with my parents and was on their health insurance, but that’s not my reality. I know that this is an industry where you need to grind and work your way up, but I’m still trying to figure out how to survive while doing that.

How have you dealt with them?

I’m still figuring that out. I’ve been focusing on networking, making as many connections as possible, and putting myself out there as much as I can.

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

If you love it, do it. Keep doing it. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t. Find your tribe and then hold on for dear life.

Must have skills?

In my opinion, the actual audio engineering skills are only like 10% of it. They’re important, and you need them if you want to work in this industry, but I think that people skills, communication, organization, planning, delegation, and a positive attitude are more important and will take you a lot further than being the best mixer. At the end of the day, nobody cares what ratio your compressor is set to or what your reverb decay time is.

The people skills are probably the most important. The grumpy, bitter, and jaded sound tech stereotype exists for a reason. I don’t care how good of an engineer someone is, if they’re an asshole, I don’t want to work with them.

Favorite gear?

The Beyerdynamic M 201 is the GOAT on snare.

Karla Barrera Mixing at Both Ends of the Snake

 

Karla Barrera has been working in live sound for over twelve years and got her start working at clubs throughout Los Angeles, as a house tech, including The Viper Room. She works for Launch, and Motion Audio, and tours as FOH and Monitor engineer and is currently touring with Mt. Joy as their monitor engineer.

Karla has an extensive background in music, playing in symphonic, marching, and jazz bands, as well as drum lines. Karla says “Music was a huge part of my life and being able to play music in my teenage years really inspired me. I loved reading music and practicing whatever instrument I was into at the time while also reading the album credits on records that I loved. That’s when I discovered the people behind the recordings and production of a record. It sparked my interest in wanting to be a part of music behind the scenes.” Karla attended concerts and this solidified her path in audio, she fell in love with the ebb and flow of energy from the artists to the audience and knew she wanted to become a FOH engineer.

Karla would enroll in The Art Institute of Los Angeles and graduated with honors. She would cut her teeth interning at The Viper Room, and under the mentorship of Matt Andrade was able to focus on her mixing and teching skills. Karla credits several mentors that took the time to teach her how to be confident in her work, including; Christian Murphy, Jason Hines, Doron Dina, and Francis O’Riley (Franky Fingers).

Karla says some of the things she learned when she was starting out was signal flow on analog equipment, and considers it so valuable. She also learned that it was important to recognize signs of burnout. Karla recounts her experience with burned-out engineers “There were so many people I came across that were burned out and didn’t care as much about providing a good service to local bands. I learned that we are in a position of service to an artist and that it’s important to provide a good experience to them without ego.”

Career Now

What is a typical day like? 

On tour:

Load in / set up / sound check can be from 10 am – 4 pm

⁃ Set up monitor world on stage left

⁃ Direct hands to help me flip my desk, build mic stands, run hoses across the stage, etc…

⁃ Put up antennas and Scan for new frequencies

⁃ Make sure the artist is comfortable in the new space.

Dinner break 4-7 pm

⁃ Make sure all body packs have fresh batteries.

⁃ Allows time for a shower if I didn’t get to it in the morning

⁃ Reorganize my suitcase/day bag. Has to be done every other day or else life becomes more chaotic than it already is.

⁃ Go out for dinner w other crew members / wait for the group Uber eats order/catering

⁃ Stretch

⁃ Nap

⁃ Change into show clothes. Or just fresh socks and shoes.

Show/load out 8 pm -12 am

Just to do it all again the next day (unless it’s roadie Friday)

How do you stay organized and focused? 

I drink Guayaki Yerba Mate or a cafecito.  Also, PACKING CUBES !!! Oh and I take notes constantly.

What do you enjoy the most about your job? 

My favorite part is constantly learning and growing. I feel like, after every tour, I evolve into a new version of myself. I’m constantly soaking up new information and implementing new techniques.

What do you like least? 

When you build a file on an offline editor and the venue desk does not have the latest firmware.

Just a heads up: Digico SD12 had an update in October 2022 to v1619 and the only offline editor available for download is v1619.

If you tour what do you like best? 

I enjoy working directly with the artist and collaborating on ways to have the best-sounding show.

What do you like least? 

Weird sleep schedules and having to wake up in the morning and find the nearest bathroom in a new city/venue.

What is your favorite day of activity? 

Being in nature and getting some fresh air. It’s important to get off the bus or out of the venue and connect with the earth.

What are your long-term goals?

I have some bucket list venues I would love to mix shows at (Madison Square  Garden, Sydney Opera House)

Also, work with more Latin artists down the line.

Continue to become more knowledgeable and gain more practice networking pro audio equipment in all aspects.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced? 

One of the most recent obstacles I’ve faced was having a family member end up in the hospital while I was away. It was a rough time for me because I had to set aside my feelings and emotions in order to mix a good show.  I learned to keep myself together somehow.

Also, before I started touring with a console, I felt like a lot of house engineers couldn’t picture me as a seasoned sound engineer. I always felt like I had to prove myself to new people all the time. That was annoying. Once I started touring with my own desk, I felt like it somehow gave me more credibility as an engineer. I guess you could say that comes with the growing pains, but also mainly because I’m a  Latina woman mixing sound. It just doesn’t compute with some people right off the bat that I could, in fact, mix and navigate my way around any desk and mix in any room or at any festival. I’ve had many “first time doing this” experiences on every single gig I’ve been on. They’ve all been different, but I always managed to make the best of every situation.

How have you dealt with them? 

When it comes to personal family issues and not being able to help with what’s going on back home, it’s just not easy to deal with it. I knew prior to accepting my latest tour that my mom was struggling with her health and I was open to management about it. If my sibling told me he needed me in person, I would have to leave the tour. It hasn’t gotten to that point this last tour thankfully, but I had to keep working without letting the stress back home affect my work. I think being open and honest can sometimes help feel more supported by management/clients.

Also, I burned sage and palo Santo on stage left to help cleanse my space and mind to maintain a healthy and focused state of mind.

Re: preconceived notions of me – I learned to care more about what the artists/management think about my mixes and work ethic.

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

Always try new things; don’t stay in the same place for too long. There is so much room to grow in the world of production.

Watch YouTube videos / listen to podcasts about audio about live sound/rf coordination / SMAART / DANTE /  live sound desks / learn to network consoles  with waves or UA / learn how to multitrack on every console

Must have skills? 

Favorite gear? 

Karla’s Top 100 Favorite Albums!!

Karla’s Top 100 Favorite Albums 

  1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell
  2. Radiohead – In Rainbows
  3. The Mars Volta – Frances the Mute
  4. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
  5. Thom Yorke – The Eraser
  6. Jimi Hendrix – Axis: As Bold As Love
  7. Bob Marley – Kaya
  8. Arcade Fire – Funeral
  9. The Black Keys – Brothers
  10. The Strokes – Room on Fire
  11. Lianne La Havas – Self-Titled Album
  12. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Self-Titled Album
  13. Aniceto Molina – Los Mejores Exitos
  14. Nick Hakim – Green Twins
  15. Imaad Wasif – The Voidist
  16. The Budos Band – Long in the Tooth
  17. Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming
  18. Shuggie Otis – Freedom Flight
  19. Moses Sumney – grae
  20. Little Dragon – Machine Dream
  21. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup
  22. The Black Angels – Passover
  23. Fever Ray – Self-Titled Album
  24. The Knife – Silent Shout
  25. Toumani Diabate – New Ancient Strings
  26. Al Green – Call me
  27. Pedro Infante – Palabritas de Amor
  28. Badbadnotgood – IV
  29. Bjork – Medulla
  30. Portishead – Dummy
  31. Sufjan Stevens – Age of Adz
  32. Interpol – El Pintor
  33. Chet Faker – Built on Glass
  34. Charlotte Day Wilson – Stone Woman
  35. Donavan – Sunshine Superman
  36. Nick Drake – Pink Moon
  37. SadGirl – Water
  38. Haelos – Full Circle
  39. Idles – Joy as an Act of Resistance
  40. The Kills – Blood Pressures
  41. Band of Skulls – Baby Darling Doll Face Honey
  42. Them Crooked Vultures – Self-Titled Album
  43. Los Angeles Negros – Y Volveré
  44. Calle 13 – Self Titled Album
  45. Hercules and Love Affair – Self-Titled Album
  46. Selena – Amor Prohibido
  47. Durand Jones & The Indications – American Love Call
  48.  Caifanes – Self Titled
  49. Siouxie Sioux and the Banshees – The Rapture
  50. Bat for Lashes – Two Suns
  51. PJ Harvey – White Chalk
  52. Television – Marquee Moon
  53. Devotchka – A Mad And Faithful Telling
  54. The Unicorns – Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?
  55. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
  56. Heartless Bastards – Arrow
  57. Teleskopes – Self Titled
  58. The Hives – Tyrannosaurus Hives
  59. Savages – 2013
  60. Shout Out Louds – Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
  61. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground and Nico
  62. Devendra Banhart – Cripple Crow
  63. Helado Negro – Far In
  64. Soft Hair – Soft Hair
  65. Marconi Union – Weightless
  66. Glass Animals – ZABA
  67. Phantogram – Eyelid Movies
  68. Dirtwire – Electric River
  69. HVOB – TOO
  70. Janis Joplin – Pearl
  71. The Growlers – Are you in or are you out?
  72. Dungen – ta det lungnt
  73. Dr. Dog – B Room
  74. Moonface – Heartbreaking Bravery (w/ Siinai)
  75. Karen O & Danger Mouse – Lux Prima
  76. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
  77. Radiohead – King of Limbs
  78. Yves Tumor – Heaven to a Tortured Mind
  79. Antibalas – Where the Gods Are In Peace
  80. Wings – At the Speed of Sound
  81. U.S. Girls – Half Free
  82. All Them Witches – Nothing as the Ideal
  83. ZZ Top – Tres Homres
  84. Spoon – They Want My Soul
  85. José González – Veneer
  86. Kokoroko – Could We Be More
  87. Blood Orange – Coastal Grooves
  88. Curtis Harding – Face Your Fear
  89. Nina Simone – Baltimore
  90. Cream – Disraeli Gears
  91. Juan Gabriel – Lo Mejor En Bellas Artes – 40 Aniversario (En Vivo)
  92. Zola Blood – Black Blossom
  93. Future Islands – On The Water
  94. Sault – 5
  95. Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
  96. J.S. Epperson – Splendor
  97. Lee Fields – My World
  98. Grizzly Bear – Shields
  99. Local Natives – Hummingbird
  100. Miles Davis – Bitches Brew

 

Adriana Viana: Engenheira de Som Brasileira Independente

Read English Version Here 

A Brasileira Adriana Viana trabalha como diretora técnica, e técnica de PA e monitor freelance. Situada em São Paulo, já trabalhou com diferentes artistas da música Brasileira, como Teatro Mágico, Flora Matos, Plutão Já Foi Planeta, Rodrigo Teaser – Tributo ao Rei do Pop, e mixou shows de artistas internacionais no Brasil, incluindo Mark Lanegan, a banda jamaicana Toots and the Maytals e o guitarrista de blues Jimmy Burns. Atualmente está em turnê com uma das maiores compositoras brasileiras, Adriana Calcanhoto além de operar o PA das bandas Far From Alaska e Rashid. Ela também assina a direção técnica do Women’s Music Event, onde monta uma equipe de mulheres qualificadas para operar toda parte de audio do evento.

Quem vê Adriana operando uma mesa de som pode ter a impressão de que ela passou a vida inteira mixando. Mas quando ela começou a trabalhar na área há 12 anos, ela não tinha autorização para mexer no equipamento de áudio. Adriana sempre teve interesse pelo audio ao vivo – não apenas ia aos shows, mas também acompanhava seus amigos nas montagens e nas passagens de som. “Eu pensava, o que esse cara faz? Ah ele arruma o som… eu já entendia a profissão, sabia que tinha um cara que montava, um cara que fazia o som, um cara que fazia a luz, e achava super interessante.”

Quando soube que haviam duas vagas em uma locadora de equipamento de áudio, ela foi fazer uma entrevista no intuito de entrar no mercado, entender melhor a profissão e aprender.

Chegando lá, descobriu que as duas opções eram: recepcionista ou almoxarife. “Eu falei que queria ficar no almoxarifado! Me perguntaram se eu tinha experiência, eu falei que não, mas que era muito organizada e queria aprender para entrar no ramo.

Eles precisavam de alguém que conferisse tudo que tinha lá, contar cada coisinha. Então quando vinha um técnico, eu perguntava: o que é isso? ‘É um Shure SM58’. Esse outro também? ‘Não esse é um beta 58’. E aí eu fiz a contagem, deixei tudo organizado, dava entrada e saída nos gaveteiros.” Todos enfrentam dificuldades ao começarem uma carreira no áudio, mas Adriana aponta que mulheres ainda têm uma dificuldade extra que é enfrentar assédio e machismo. Adriana não foi ensinada sobre a parte técnica, e como solução para aprender, ela lia todos os manuais que encontrava. Sem apoio na empresa onde trabalhava e sem dinheiro pra fazer um curso de iniciação ao áudio, comprou um livro de fundamentos básicos do áudio e começou a estudar. “Eu ia aprendendo do jeito que eu podia, pegava apostila, livro, ia lendo o que eu encontrava. Eu ia acompanhando nos eventos e ficava observando.”

Um dia, em um dos eventos que Adriana costumava acompanhar, um técnico freelance percebeu seu interesse em aprender e convidou-a para acompanhar seu trabalho em uma casa de show “nos sábados, às 14h. Ele não operava, ele era roadie de palco, fazia todo cabeamento, patch, monitor, e tudo que ele sabia ali ele me ensinou. Ele falava, ‘isso é um XLR, isso é um P10, isso é um multicabo’. Ele me passou a visão geral do sistema, as conexões e eu fui aprendendo. Eu trabalhava de segunda a sexta na empresa de som, e todo sábado por meses eu ia de graça pra aprender. Cabeava, microfonava, ligava os monitores, AC, ficava na house vendo o técnico operar. Só olhando. Quando sentia uma brecha, eu perguntava.” Logo, o técnico que ensinou Adriana precisou de sub – e quem melhor para substituí-lo do que a pessoa que ele treinou? “Eu comecei a trabalhar como técnica de montagem de palco e logo eu comecei a operar, depois entrei no Centro Cultural São Paulo e fiquei fixa no setor do som. Aí comecei a trabalhar em várias empresas de som, fazer muito show. Eu sempre saí para trabalhar e aprender, eu lia manuais, não tinha dinheiro pra fazer IAV, nunca fiz, então eu lia apostilas. Tinham pessoas que me ensinaram algumas coisas, eu pude acompanhar grandes técnicos trabalhando, então você vai absorvendo. Mas foi muito na cabeçada também, de meter a mão e ir pra cima.”

As pessoas notavam o bom trabalho de Adriana e as propostas de trabalho iam aparecendo. Um dia, mixando uma banda na casa de show em que trabalhava, a banda gostou tanto de seu trabalho que passou a chama-la para trabalhar em seus shows. “Eles tinham equipamento próprio, eu ia junto ligava e operava.” Ela enfatiza, “tudo foi aprendizado, todos os processos pelos quais eu passei, todas as bandas. As oportunidades foram aparecendo e eu aproveitava.” Quanto mais ela trabalhava, mais bandas notavam seu trabalho e mais propostas de trabalho ela recebia. Logo, ela começou a viajar com a banda Teatro mágico como técnica de monitor, um divisor de águas em sua carreira. “Era outro esquema, todo mundo de fone, pan pra lá e pra cá, clicks, procedimentos diferentes de trabalho, RF, sistema sem fio; ali eu aprendi muito, eu fiquei três anos lá e quando eu saí muita galera me chamava pra fazer monitor.”

Agora que Adriana é um técnica reconhecida e com muita experiência, conversamos sobre os aspectos técnicos do seu trabalho e as particularidades de trabalhar com som ao vivo no Brasil.

  Ao ser perguntada  sobre quando começa a adiantar a pré-produção de um show, ela nos contou que “assim que eu recebo o contato, já faço. Tem show que eu recebo um mês antes, tem show grande que a produção técnica do evento já pega os contatos e já começa a pré, tem uns que é três dias antes do show. Eu peço o email, já envio o rider e peço o contrarider, via e-mail ou WhatsApp. Quando não dá pra fazer visita técnica eu peço foto, eu vejo online qual a casa de show. Tudo é formalizado por escrito, tudo que foi acordado, com todo mundo ciente, contratante, diretor técnico, dono da empresa de som ou técnico da casa, envio uma lista com tudo que eu preciso. Depois, se tiver algum problema com algum desses equipamentos, tem que avisar, e se precisar de substituição, tem que avisar com antecedência. E na passagem de som, se algum dos ítens não estiver funcionando perfeitamente, tem que ser resolvido na hora, senão não dá pra fazer o show. Eles sempre dão um jeito, mas tem que ficar em cima, e eu deixo muito claro, eu sou chata. Tem uns caras que dizem ‘ah tá bom, vai tá tudo certo’, e você chega lá e o equipamento é ruim. Então eu digo: se não trocar, não vai ter. Eles dão um jeito e trocam.”

A falta de profissionalismo na pré produção já serve de alerta para Adriana. “Respondem de forma genérica, ‘tem 4 monitores’, mas não dizem qual falante, qual drive, qual tamanho. Aí eu peço foto, porque as vezes só de olhar você já sabe, e já diz se tem que alugar outras caixas, porque essas não vão servir. Se você falar com outro profissional, você envia seu rider, ele manda o contrarider, você negocia o que não te atende e as opções para substituição, e você chega num acordo, só que quando não é um profissional, você não tem como negociar, é difícil, aí eu vou direto no contratante e informo o que está no contrato e o que não está sendo atendido.” Outro problema é quando as pessoas não são nem qualificadas para saber a diferença entre bom e ruim. “Você joga ruído rosa numa caixa e ela não reproduz corretamente, e o técnico diz que tá boa e tá funcionando. Como que um cara que trabalha com som não ouve? Ele não ouve o que tá ruim, ele não ouve nem um humming.”

Em quais consoles Adriana prefere trabalhar? “Eu gosto muito de encontrar mesas boas, gosto muito das mesas Soundcraft linhas Vi, 3000, 2000, gosto muito de Digico SD8 e SD9. Midas e SSL são ótimas mas difíceis de achar.” E o que ela mais costuma encontrar? “Yamaha M7CL e LS9, são equipamentos de muito uso, e se não fazem a manutenção direito, não dá. É o que eu mais pego, mas não entram em nenhum dos meus riders, nem com banda pequena, eu não peço, porque normalmente é o que vai ter. E até atende o input e o output, efeitos, equalizadores gráficos, mas o problema é o mau estado delas.”

Adriana não costuma encontrar equipamentos periféricos além do console, talvez um par de equalizadores gráficos, que muitas vezes não estão funcionando direito, então ela se adaptou a resolver tudo direto no console.

“Eu nem peço, porque pode ter um cabo de insert ruim ou mal colocado, aí o som não chega e você só perde tempo. Melhor ir no console, estou acostumada a trabalhar com qualquer console. O que tiver, você vai e faz. Tenho minhas preferências, mas o que tiver eu faço, não fico dependendo de equipamento. Claro que muda, né, as ferramentas, quanto melhores, mais fácil seu trabalho. Mas eu tô acostumada a torcer M7, LS9 e X32.”

As bandas brasileiras têm uma queixa comum antes de contratar Adriana como técnica de monitor. “O maior problema que as bandas tem é se ouvir. Uma banda que só pode ter um técnico, não vai ter um técnico de monitor, normalmente esse técnico vai fazer o PA. Muitas vezes é um técnico que faz só um show e depois vai embora. Músico que tá acostumado a ter técnico de monitor, se acostuma a se ouvir bem, e no dia que não tem, passa um perrengue.” Por isso, quando Adriana é a única técnica de som na equipe, ela levanta uma mix básica de monitor antes de ir para o PA, porque “enquanto eles não tiverem se ouvindo, eles não vão tocar. Não adianta o PA estar bom se eles estiverem errando, se eles não tiverem se ouvindo. Eu penso assim. Tem gente que não se importa porque foi contratado só pra mixar o PA, mas eu acho que tudo isso agrega no trabalho, se você chega e faz um trabalho mais completo a banda vai te dar muito mais valor e falar ‘a Adriana resolve tudo pra gente, quando for um show maior com cachê melhor a gente aumenta a equipe, mas por enquanto ela é o suficiente’”.

Então as bandas contratam apenas um(a) técnico(a) por causa da verba ou por que acham que não precisa de dois? “Tem bandas em que os músicos estão acostumados a não se ouvir e não tão nem aí. Tem bandas em que eles fazem questão de ter um técnico de monitor, mas a produção não tem verba, prefere chamar algum outro profissional, tipo dançarino ou figurinista, do que priorizar a equipe técnica.” Adriana costuma trabalhar com bandas com uma atitude profissional, e enfatiza que mesmo as bandas pequenas querem cada vez mais ter uma equipe eficiente e buscam contratar no mínimo um técnico de som, um iluminador e um roadie. Quanto maior o show, maior a equipe. Ela faz questão de não ocupar o cargo de roadie, para não tirar o trabalho de outra pessoa e explica para as bandas a importância de ter uma pessoa na equipe dedicada a esse cargo. “No meio do show, se der um imprevisto, quem vai virar as costas pro público pra resolver? O artista não pode resolver isso, tem que ter um roadie pra ir lá resolver o problema no seu instrumento, afinar sua viola no meio do show. Eu tento ao máximo agregar equipe, sempre, eu to acostumada a ter equipe grande porque funciona muito bem e um ajuda o outro, tudo funciona melhor. Eu sempre tento aumentar a equipe e mostrar a importância e a diferença que faz.”

Comparando a realidade brasileira com a americana, Adriana aponta que “aqui você tem que saber fazer tudo: alinhar o sistema, coordenar o RF, mixar PA e monitor, várias coisas. Lá fora é tudo mais setorizado, o que acabando sendo mais organizado. Aqui a gente acaba fazendo tudo porque, se sou só eu e começa a fugir um microfone sem fio, é da parte do som e isso complica o meu trabalho, então eu já garanto o RF. Se for um evento maior, tem que ter uma pessoa pra fazer isso, a casa de show tem que me entregar o equipamento funcionando, mas em shows menores com banda menor que a gente leva nossos próprios microfones e in ears, eu não vou deixar o artista passando sufoco.”

Sobre os problemas técnicos que costuma encontrar, Adriana suspira “a gente passa por muitas coisas”, mas encara essas situações já prevendo como resolver: “se você passa por algo e aprende, você se antecede, previne e toma medidas para evitar que aquilo aconteça, senão você tem que parar o que você está fazendo para resolver um problema. Independente do que seja, você já tenta, os cabos são todos por aqui, já vou fazer o RF, já vou checar tudo, já vou testar antes, logo quando chegar, pra ter tempo, então você vai se antecedendo. Vai dar um monte de imprevisto, cabo que pára e não funciona, canal que entra humming, mas a experiência faz com que você consiga lidar com isso de uma maneira mais rápida. Ok, aconteceu algo, resolve dessa forma; RF tá ruim? Então põe a base no pé da cantora, sabe? Então tem coisas que você já vai tomando medidas mais bruscas para garantir, não dá para perder tempo resolvendo um monte de problema, porque normalmente é só a gente que tá lá pra resolver.”

Falando em prevenir, perguntamos a Adriana o que ela costuma levar para os shows: “Eu levo par de pilha nova sempre, fita, hellerman, toalha, listerine e alcool gel, duas grades de sm58 – se for outro modelo eu limpo, caneta, pen drive. Uma artista reclamou que o microfone tá fedendo? No outro show você já entrega um microfone limpinho. Uma cantora reclamou, eu liguei no dia seguinte pra produção e avisei que tava indo comprar duas bolinhas de microfone e pedi pra ela me depositar. Acabou! Então você tem que achar soluções práticas ao invés de falar que está com problemas. Acho que equipe técnica é isso, achar solução e evitar problema.” No início da ano, Adriana viajou para a Europa com os irmãos, e mesmo sendo uma viagem de férias, ela levou fita. “A gente usou tanto! Colei o tênis do meu irmão que tava abrindo o bico, o livro da minha irmã soltou a capa, passei fita! Meu óculos tinha aberto, prendi com fita. A gente usou tanto, e meus irmãos riram, ‘só você mesmo pra viajar com fita!’. Eu também ando com um multiteste, porque são coisas que podem te salvar. Quanto menos você depender dos outros, menos problema você vai ter.”

Algo que notei ao acompanhar Adriana em montagens e passagens de som, é que ela costuma levantar a cena do zero. “Cada dia é um dia, não é sempre a mesma mesa. Eu tenho muita cena no meu pendrive, mas é difícil usar, já tive que fazer muitas vezes do zero porque a mesa não lia o cartão.” E é claro, cada dia é uma sala e um sistema de PA diferentes. Para verificar a resposta de frequência do sistema, Adriana costuma usar ruído rosa e na sequência tocar suas músicas de referência. “Eu gosto muito de Change The World, do Eric Clapton”, ela também toca versões dub de músicas do The Police para testar os subs. “Costumo usar também Massive Attack, músicas que eu tô acostumada, eu sei o que eu tem um detalhe aqui e ali”. Ela toca Everybody Here Wants you do Jeff Buckley, por causa do reverb longo da caixa, “tem PA que não tem o reverb da caixa, que não tem a resposta dos harmônicos. Tem uns que o stereo está péssimo, tem o stereo de altas, de médias, que estão na mix. Quando chega um backing vocal aberto e não veio, você sabe que aquela região de frequências não está certa.”

Em 10 anos, ela quer continuar fazendo o que está fazendo. Ela gostaria de passar mais tempo no estúdio aprendendo técnicas mais apuradas de captação e mixagem, “mas eu não posso parar de trabalhar para ficar aprendendo no estúdio e ganhando muito pouco. Eu preciso trabalhar. E eu realmente gosto do que eu faço. Tem uns trabalhos que você faz que você se sente parte mesmo. Eu fico feliz quando sei que no dia seguinte tem show do Far From Alaska, ali é a gig do coração! Eu não me vejo fazendo outra coisa. Quando comecei a trabalhar com som, eu nunca mais parei, eu sempre trabalhei muito. E a galera gostava e chamava de novo. Quando você é determinado e se esforça pra fazer o melhor, não importa o que seja, você colhe o que planta.”

Desde que começou sua carreira há 12 anos, Adriana só parou de trabalhar quando estava grávida de sua filha Luka, e mesmo assim trabalhou até os oito meses de gravidez. “Depois que ela nasceu eu fiquei seis meses só em casa com ela, depois eu voltei a trabalhar, por isso eu não tive mais filho, porque eu não posso perder esse timing e financeiramente eu não posso parar de trabalhar. Mas eu gosto muito do que eu faço, e eu gosto de fazer vários trabalhos diferentes ao mesmo tempo, estilos, equipes e produções diferentes, isso tudo é agregador e o aprendizado é maior.”

Adriana já foi chamada várias vezes para dar cursos de áudio, mas sua resposta é mais prática e direta: “Vem trabalhar comigo que você pega!”. Uma pessoa inclusive pagou para ter aulas particulares, e ela formulou como repassar todo seu conhecimento da melhor forma possível, mas ao fim ela resumiu “Eu levei muitos anos para aprender tudo isso que eu te ensinei em um mês. Agora, depende de você. Bate em porta de empresa de som, bate em porta de barzinho, casa de show, diz que você está estudando áudio e pede pra acompanhar, se ofereça como assistente. Você quer mesmo? Bate em portas”. Adriana não se sentia a vontade de indica-lo, pois ele não tinha experiência. “Eu aprendi com um técnico que nem sabia para que servia o botão de high pass, ele apertava pra descobrir, mas tudo mais que ele sabia, ele me ensinou. E eu sou muito grata a ele por isso.” Recentemente, Adriana estava mixando PA e no meio do show foi surpreendida pelo técnico que a orientou no início da carreira, ele foi lhe dar um abraço e dizer o quanto estava orgulhoso do seu progresso. “A gente tem que correr atrás. Hoje em dia é fácil, tem muito video, workshop, técnico que vem de fora dar curso, tudo agrega. É importante saber mexer no equipamento, mas o mais importante é saber o que você tem que fazer com esse equipamento. Equipamento é uma ferramenta, como se fosse um computador ou uma máquina de escrever, você pode aprender muito sobre som e audio, e conhecer as ferramentas, mas o mais importante é o ouvido.”

Adriana reforça: se a gente não correr atrás, nada acontece. “Nada caiu no meu colo. As coisas foram acontecendo porque eu ia me mexendo, nunca fiquei parada esperando nada. Graças a Deus todo esse tempo eu não fiquei sem trabalho. Quanto mais você trabalha, mais trabalho aparece. Isto é fato.”

Profile by Gabi Lima, engenheira de audio, produtora, compositora, instrumentista, cantora e comedora de doce.
Gabi Lima is an audio engineer, producer, songwriter, musician, singer, and candy eater. She is based in São Paulo, Brasil

Adriana Viana: Independent Brazilian Sound Engineer

 

Read Portuguese Version Here

Adriana Viana is a Brazilian freelance Front of House, monitor engineer, and technical director. Based in São Paulo, she has worked with many Brazilian artists such as Teatro Mágico, Flora Matos, Plutão Já Foi Planeta, Rodrigo Teaser – Tributo ao Rei do Pop (a Michael Jackson tribute concert) and mixed international artists when they played in Brazil, such as Toots and the Maytals, Mark Lanegan and blues guitarist Jimmy Burns. She is currently the front-of-house engineer for Far From Alaska and Rashid and is also on tour with one of Brazil’s finest songwriters, Adriana Calcanhoto. She is also the technical director of Women’s Music Event, where she puts together a team of qualified women to run sound for the entire event.

Those who get to see Adriana in action might get the impression that she has been mixing all her life. But when she started out in this business 12 years ago, she wasn’t even allowed to operate any equipment. Her interest sparked from going to a lot of shows, and as most people bitten by the audio bug, she would tag along with her musician friends for soundcheck. “I wondered, what are those guys doing? I could see there were people in charge of the audio equipment, of setting it up, mixing, doing lights, and I found it super interesting.”

She learned of a couple of job openings at a local rental company and went in for an interview. She then discovered the only two positions available to her were: answering the phone or keeping track of warehouse inventory, so she chose the latter, to be closer to the equipment. “They asked me if I had any experience and I didn’t, so I told them I was very organized and I wanted to learn so I could get in the business. They needed someone to manage their inventory, so I took that opportunity. When techs brought in equipment, I would ask: what is this mic? They’d tell me; it’s a Shure SM58. Next time they’d bring a similar mic, and I’d ask, “Is this a Shure SM58? They’d inform me that it was a beta 58, so I’d learn the difference. I would keep stock, count, and organize all the equipment going out and coming in”. It’s already difficult for anyone coming into this industry to work their way up, and Adriana points out that it’s even more difficult for women who have to deal with sexism and harassment. Adriana wasn’t really taught anything about the equipment, instead, she’d find the manuals and read them. She wasn’t given the opportunity to operate the equipment either, and couldn’t afford formal training, so she bought a book about audio engineering and started studying it.“I just learned by reading manuals, workbooks, books, just any printed material I could find. I was eager to learn so I’d go to events and watch.”

At one of the events that she’d tag along to, a freelance tech noticed her eagerness to learn and invited her to his regular gig “every Saturday, at 2 pm. He didn’t mix, he was a stage tech, ran all the cables, patched everything, and taught me everything he knew. He’d tell me, this is an XLR, this is an instrument cable, this is a snake, he taught me how the system was set up. I worked Monday through Friday at the rental company, but on Saturdays, I went to his gig to learn. You could say I worked for free, I’d run cables, set up mics and monitors, then I’d quietly watch the front-of-house engineer mix, and I’d ask questions when he had a break.” Soon, the tech who taught Adriana needed a sub – and who better to call than the person he trained? “I started subbing for him as a stage tech, and soon after that, I was mixing, then I became the house engineer for that venue. Then I started working for other sound companies as a tech, and I worked a lot of shows. Then I worked at other venues and learned even more. I was always out there learning and working, I read manuals, I couldn’t afford to go to school for audio engineering, so I never did. I watched people working, and I learned. I would always go for it and just try and do it.”

People noticed her hard work and kept hiring her for more gigs. While working at a venue, she mixed a band who liked her work so much they asked her to go on the road with them. “They had their own equipment; I’d set it up and operate it.” She emphasizes, “all I went through, all the bands I worked with, that was my learning process. Whenever there was an opportunity, I’d take it.” The more she worked, the more bands noticed her excellent work, and the more she would work! She soon landed a gig with the popular Brazilian band Teatro Mágico as their official monitor engineer. “It was full-on wireless, in ears, stereo mixes, click, everything! I learned a lot in those three years, and more people kept hiring me to mix monitors.”

Now that she’s an experienced and well-respected live sound engineer, she talked to us about the technical aspects of her work and the particularities of working with live sound in Brazil.

When asked how early she starts pre-producing a show, she replied, “as soon as I’m hired to do it. Sometimes a month ahead, sometimes a couple of days before the show. I ask for the venue’s tech contact so I can send in my rider right away and get theirs back, via email or WhatsApp. If I can’t do a site survey, I ask for photos, too; I also look online for more info on the venue and their equipment. I exchange all the information in writing, so everything that’s been agreed on by promoters, managers, the rental company, techs, and directors is documented, and everyone is informed. If the full rider can’t be provided, I ask that substitutions be worked out ahead of time, and inform that everything needs to be working during soundcheck or the show won’t happen. I stay on top of things, I request all the necessary info, and some guys will dismiss it with ‘relax, everything will be alright,’ and when I get there their equipment is terrible and their system isn’t working correctly, so I show them all the documented info and state: you either provide us with the right equipment or there won’t be a show, so they do.”

People who don’t act professionally during pre-production are a red flag for Adriana. “They give generic answers like ‘there are four monitors’ but won’t tell me the specific brand, model or specs. That’s why I ask for pictures, so I can identify if the equipment meets our needs, and if it doesn’t, I specify what they should rent instead. With real professionals, you can work out a deal between what you need and what they have, but you can’t really negotiate with people who don’t act professionally, they walk in circles, so I go straight to the promoter and let them know that the rider is not being met. The promoter then demands that all technical aspects of the rider be honored.”

Another problem is when people aren’t even qualified to tell good from bad. “You play pink noise through a speaker and it sounds terrible, but the house tech listens to it and says it’s working fine. Some people can’t hear hum noises either.”

So, what consoles does she request in her rider? “I love getting good consoles to work with – Soundcraft consoles, the Vi, 3000 and 2000 series, I like Digico SD8 and SD9. Midas and SSL consoles are great but hard to come across on the road”. So what does she usually get? “Yamaha’s, usually in bad condition, unfortunately. M7CL, PM5D, and LS9 are the most commonly used consoles, and if they’re not regularly checked and well maintained, they won’t work properly. I never request them on my riders, not even when mixing a small indie band – because that’s what I’ll usually get anyway, and though they have enough inputs and outputs, they’re usually poorly maintained.”

When it comes to outboard gear, she says venues usually just have a pair of graphic EQs, and if that’s not available or in poor condition, as often is the case, she’ll resort to using the console’s graphic EQs on her outputs. “I avoid poorly maintained equipment; the cables might be in poor condition too, so as not to waste time, I deal with it in the console. I’m used to working on any console that’s available. I have my preferences, but whatever is there, I’ll use it, I’ll mix on it. I don’t depend on equipment to do my job. Of course, the better the tool, the easier my job will be, but I’m used to getting a good sound out of not-so-good equipment.”

Brazilian bands have a common issue that makes them hire Adriana as a monitor engineer. “They have trouble hearing themselves on stage. If the band can afford an engineer, they’ll usually hire just one engineer, not two different people for monitors and FOH. And that one person will mix FOH. Sometimes it’s a one-off gig for that tech. Musicians that are used to having a monitor engineer are used to hearing themselves well, and when they happen to not have a monitor engineer, they’re in trouble.” That’s why even when Adriana is the only engineer in the crew and is mixing FOH, she’ll get a basic monitor mix up for her musicians, because “I can’t begin to mix FOH if they can’t hear themselves – they won’t play right. It doesn’t matter if I have a great-sounding PA if my musicians aren’t playing well if they can’t hear what they’re playing. At least that’s how I see it. A lot of people will just stick to mixing FOH because technically, that’s all they’re getting paid to do, but I think this makes my work better, more complete. And if I do a good job, the band recognizes and appreciates it, they see that I presented a solution, and I make sure they get a monitor engineer when their budget is bigger.”

So do bands only hire one tech because they don’t think they need two or because of a tight budget? “Some bands never heard themselves well on stage, and they’re used to it. Some bands only play if there’s a monitor engineer. Some productions don’t allocate the budget for it – they’d rather spend the money on a different professional, a dancer, a stylist, than having a larger audio crew.” Adriana is used to working with professional bands that hire at least one sound tech, one light tech, and one roadie. The bigger the show, the bigger the crew. She also makes a point of not working as a roadie and informs bands of the importance of hiring one, as that’s someone else’s job that she’s not taking. “If you’re playing a show and something goes wrong, is the artist going to turn their back to the crowd to fix it? That’s a roadie’s job. I try to add as many people to the crew as possible because everyone’s work is better that way. I always put together a good team and show the artist how important that is.”

Reflecting on the reality of working in Brazil compared to the US, Adriana points out that “You have to know how to do everything – tune the system, set up wireless equipment, coordinate the RF, mix FOH, mix monitors, a lot of different things. Overseas there seem to be different professionals for different tasks… but here, if something goes wrong with the audio, that’s all part of my job, and I want to make sure everything works. If it’s a big event, you need people dedicated to specific functions, the equipment needs to be working, but in smaller shows, my artists will bring their own mics and in-ears, and if something goes wrong, I have to fix it. We may not have an RF tech, but we have common sense. Each situation is different, but I won’t let the artist encounter difficulty and do nothing about it.”

When asked what difficulties she usually encounters, she sighed, “We go through so much…” but replied with a problem-solving attitude: “if there’s a problem and you learn how to deal with it, you can anticipate it and make sure it doesn’t happen again. You take precautions to avoid possible problems. And if you set up correctly and test ahead, you won’t have to stop what you’re doing to troubleshoot it. Things might go wrong, you might get a bad cable or a noisy input channel, but experience makes you identify possible issues and deal with them faster. Ok, something is not working, we’ll set it up differently. Poor wireless signal? Send the singer’s mix to her floor wedges. You know? You take precautions so you won’t waste time trying to fix a bunch of different things, because usually, I’m the only person there to fix it.”

Speaking of thinking ahead, we asked Adriana what she takes with her to a show: “Fresh batteries, tape, Hellerman tool, towels, Listerine and hand sanitizer, a couple sm58 grilles, pens, memory stick. An artist complained that the mic was stinky? Well, next show, you hand them a freshly clean mic. An artist complained, I called her production and said I was on my way to buy two spare sm58 grilles and asked them to reimburse me. There, problem solved. You have to come up with solutions instead of complaining about the problems. Good audio techs will find solutions and avoid problems.”

Earlier this year, she went to Europe on vacation with her siblings – even off duty, she took gaff tape with her. “I taped my brother’s shoes; they were coming apart on the sides; the cover was coming off on my sister’s book. I taped it! My glasses were falling apart; I taped them. My siblings were amazed that I took tape with me on a vacation trip. I carry around a multimeter too. The less I depend on others, the fewer problems I have.”

One thing I’ve noticed from watching Adriana set up and sound check, is that she’ll usually build up her scene from scratch. “Each day is different; I don’t always get the same console… I have a lot of scenes on my memory stick, but I hardly ever use any. Sometimes the console won’t read the flash drive!”

Needless to say, she encounters different rooms and PAs every time. She uses pink noise to check the system, see if all frequency ranges are responding correctly, then she’ll play some music. “I really like Eric Clapton’s Change the World,” she also uses dub versions of The Police songs to check the subs. “Massive Attack, you know, music I’m familiar with, so I’ll know what’s missing.” She plays Jeff Buckley’s Everybody Here Wants You, which has a distinctive long verb on the snare, “I can tell if the PA is reproducing the harmonics. With these mixes, I can also check the stereo image, especially the mid and hi mid-range. When you play a song that has a wide backing vocal mix, I can tell what’s there and what isn’t but should be.”

Ten years from now, Adriana hopes to be still doing what she does. She wishes she could spend more time in a studio learning recording techniques, but she “can’t afford to stop working and assist at a studio making less money. I gotta work. And I really love what I do. Some gigs make you feel like you’re part of them. I go to sleep happy because I know the next day I get to work with Far From Alaska, this gig is the apple of my eye! I don’t see myself doing anything else. Since I started working with live sound, I never stopped, and I’ve always worked a lot, and the more I work, the more work I get. When you’re determined, and you work hard to do your best, you reap what you sow.”

The only time Adriana stopped working since she started 12 years ago, was when she got pregnant with her daughter Luka and even then worked till she was eight months pregnant. “I took a six-month break when she was born; then I had to go back to work, that’s why I haven’t had more kids, because I can’t lose momentum, and it’s also not financially possible for me to stop working. And I really love my job; I always worked for different bands at the same time, different styles, different crews, different productions, it all makes my learning much richer.”

People keep asking Adriana to teach about live sound. Her reply? “Tag along, and you’ll learn.” One guy went as far as paying her for private lessons. Hard-working as she is, she developed a teaching plan and taught him everything she knew. In the end, she told her student, “It took me years to learn what I taught you in months – from now on, you’ll have to learn from your own experience. Look for a gig, go to venues, say you’re learning audio, ask if they need an assistant. Do you really want it? Knock on doors.” She said she couldn’t recommend him for gigs, because he didn’t have any real live hands-on experience. “I learned from a guy who didn’t know what an HPF button on a console was, he kept turning it on and off to find out – but everything else he did know, he taught me. And I’m very grateful.” Recently Adriana was mixing a show where her mentor happened to be, so he went up to her and gave her a big hug to tell her how proud he was. “You have to go after what you want. Nowadays there’s a lot of information available, youtube videos, workshops, panels. It’s important to know how to operate the equipment, but most importantly, you have to know what to do with it. It’s a tool, like anything else, you can learn a lot about audio and about your tools, but the most important thing is your ears.”

Adriana insists: things don’t happen if you don’t make them happen. “Nothing fell on my lap. Things happened because I went after them. Thank God I was never out of work. The more I work, the more work I get. That’s a fact.”

 

FOH Lisa Affenzeller – Chasing the Magic

Lisa Affenzeller is an independent FOH Engineer, who works mainly with Heavy Metal bands, such as Butcher Babies, TesseracT, Kobra & the Lotus, Devin Townsend Project, Overkill, Annihilator. She has been working in the industry for over ten years.

Growing up Lisa had always wanted to work and be a part of live shows “Every show you do has that little magic that lies within that kicks you, and you know that you love what you do.” She had a love for music growing up, although she never had much interest in actually playing an instrument. Lisa would attend SAE in Vienna and graduate with a degree in Music Production and had the full support of her parents. She says, “they love the technical aspect of my job as well as the traveling.”

After graduating she moved between a few cities across Europe before ending in Hamburg, Germany. Lisa would make ends meet with office work, stage managing, soldering, anything to get a chance to mix some smaller shows or opening bands. Allowing her to start working in small and mid-sized clubs all over Repperbahn and give her confidence in mixing live sound. It would also put her in the right place at the right time.

Starting in the clubs taught Lisa the ropes. First, she interned, then assisted, and then got to mix a few bands. From there she would start working at various clubs where she learned system engineering, mixing FOH and Monitors, stage managing, patching. And maybe more importantly how to put in long hours, fix broken equipment, and how to deal with artists and characters from all over the world.

Lisa would find herself in the right place at the right time and was able to start touring on the club level where she would learn how to mix on every possible console and PA, and how to get it set up quickly, and sound good. Although she found it intimidating at first, she now finds it fun.

Some of the challenges Lisa has faced while touring are gear breaking or failing. She says, “it sucks for sure, but it happens to the best of us, and it can happen at any time. It’s just a matter of how you deal with it and how fast you can troubleshoot, and that – again – comes with experience.

She elaborates “One time I had a massive show stopper happen on a big club show in Germany during a tour through Europe. One of the photographers in the pit accidentally broke one of the main Cat5e lines, and I was using the spare CAT5e connection to run my show on 96kHz (which, in hindsight, was super unnecessary). I had no backup and after six songs into the set and the cable broke, more than two-thirds of my input channels were not passing audio anymore — almost a total blackout. After we found out what exactly had happened, the audio team and I rearranged the patch together. We trimmed down the channel count and moved on with the show on a spare CAT5e line that we had with us.
I overcame the situation by staying focused (luckily during that time I had so many shows under my belt already I could remain calm), the team effort within the crew, support from my tour manager and indeed a lot of love and understanding from the fans around me. One of the guys in the audience even thanked me and bought me a drink.”

Lisa also finds festivals bring unique challenges. “Very often you don’t get a soundcheck and sometimes even just a 20-30min changeover time in which you have to set up the stage and line check the show and then go for it and fix a solid mix in the first couple of minutes of the show. It’s stressful for sure and challenging, but it’s possible. The upside to festivals is enjoying the other acts and getting to hang out with roadies and friends from around the world.

What do you like best about touring?

The fans, for sure! And also, the bonding you experience when you work and travel with a terrific group of people is priceless.

What do you like least?

White bread & cheese.

What is your favorite day off activity?

Exploring local bars & restaurants!

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

I think the biggest obstacle that I have faced in my career was my constant fear of failure and lack of trust in myself.

How have you dealt with them?

I have been fortunate with having had people in my life who believed in me more than I did and gave me chances. There might be a grain of truth in it when they say you have to work twice as hard being a woman, but when you do, and you cut your teeth on it, and you are willing to make some sacrifices, it’s absolutely worth it in the end.

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

You will eventually need to take that leap of faith and leave your safe haven back home to enter the touring world.

It sounds like a platitude, but you have to believe in yourself, it’s really true. You will work with a lot of shitty bands, and you will have a lot of bad shows, but you will also have A LOT of perfect shows, and they will love you for it.

You will make mistakes, and you will learn from them. Your ability to troubleshoot will get better, and so will your confidence. You will hit rock bottom, and you will stand up again. And before you know it, you’ll become a kick-ass sound engineer.

Must have skills?

Apart from the obvious, such as knowing your gear, I’d say being communicative is a big plus. And confidence & thick skin.

Favorite gear?

DiGiCo SD Series
DPA 4099 & 2011
Waves SSL G-Master Bus Compressor
Waves C6 & F6
Waves H-Delay
MANLEY Voxbox
BAE 1073
JH Audio In Ears
And a very special shout out to my Leatherman and my pink Peli

Find More Profiles on The Five Percent

Profiles of Women in Audio

How Do You Go About Setting Up Your Console Workflow?

Once you start mixing more than a few shows, you’ll start to find that you have some preferences in how your console is laid out.

Everyone has a particular way of doing things, and it’s all a matter of what works for you. For instance: How you do your input patch will determine where things show up on the surface.  It doesn’t have to be 1 to 1 with the snake patch; you can patch inputs to come up in whatever channels you like.

If you are mixing on a digital console with a limited number of faders available on the surface, you’ll have to think about how you want your inputs to populate them.  If you have 42 inputs and only 16 input faders/layer, how do you want to build your layers?

It’s a good idea to have all of your drums on the same layer or page so you can easily make adjustments to the overall drum mix. Likewise, if you have numerous inputs for keyboards and tracks, keeping them on the same layer or page makes for easier control.

Something I like to do is keep my most important inputs on the channels closest to the master section. For most of what I mix, this is the lead vocal or vocals. I rely heavily on VCAs/DCAs and do most of my mixing from the master section where they are found so having my most important inputs right next to the VCAs; they are always where I need them.

When I was mixing the bands Styx and Mr. Big, the music was heavy with 4 part vocal harmonies.  I would always lay out my console to make sure that the four vocal channels were right next to the master section and able to be pulled to the surface in an instant. It wasn’t a set it and forget kind of mix; there was constant massaging and blending of the vocals.

Keeping important inputs near the master section stems from the days of large frame analog consoles where inputs could be spread out over quite a distance.  But I find it still works well with digital boards and tends to keep things that need lots of attention close to that area of the console.

Other things to think about are your effects returns. You might want your effects returned in channels rather than the FX returns.  Using open channels instead of dedicated FX returns for your Effects will generally give you more flexibility in routing and better EQ options.

All of these things will be determined by your input patch, so give it some thought ahead of time.

Next, consider how you will designate your VCAs/DCAs and/or Groups. Think about how you can group things to make it easier to mix.  It’s much easier to mix from the 8 or so VCA faders than all of your individual channels, especially on smaller consoles that only give you eight input faders on the surface.

If you’ve got 42 inputs, you don’t want to have everything just assigned to L and R and be mixing on 42 faders jumping through layers or pages all night.

Things can be double assigned.  What I like to do is have one VCA,  that I label BAND for all of my instruments. I tend to set up my VCAs along these lines:

Every input goes to its intended VCA- drums to drums, bass to bass, etc., but is also assigned to the band VCA, except for the vocal channels.  This way, I have control of the overall level of the band with one fader, which is incredibly useful if I am having trouble getting the lead vocal above the music.  I can just grab the band fader and bring everything but the vocal back a bit.

Now if you have a four-piece band with 16 inputs total, this isn’t such a big issue.  But still, it’s much easier to mix on 4 VCAs than 16 channels. The more involved your show gets the more thought you’ll need to put into it.

Think about what your needs are?  What will help you be as efficient as possible, and what will give you the control you need?

Groups are great for processing multiple inputs at once.  Smaller analog consoles may only have Sub Groups available and no VCAs.  You can assign all of your drum inputs to a stereo group and insert a couple of compressors across your drum mix for a little added punch to your drum mix.  You can send multiple background vocals to a group and compress them so sit together nicely.

You’ll also want to consider AUX buses.  If you are doing monitors from FOH you’ll want the aux buses to be Pre Fader and depending on the console; you may only have the option of certain aux buses being Pre Fader.

Which Auxes will be for monitor sends and which will be for effects?  How many effects do you need? If there are enough available, it’s a good idea to have separate effects for different inputs.  For example, have one for drums, a different one for vocals and yet another for instruments like keys and guitars if needed. This gives you more control and allows for more clarity in the mix.

These are just a couple of things to think about when you are setting up your workflow on the console.  For me, I build my workflow around control and efficiency, but you may have other ideas, and I’m curious to hear what works for you.

For more from Michelle, check out Mixing Music Live

Shadowing Opportunity w/ FOH Engineer Kevin Madigan

SoundGirls Members who are actively pursuing a career in Live Sound or Concert Production are invited to shadow FOH Engineer Kevin Madigan.

The experience will focus on FOH Mixing. This is open to SoundGirls members ages 18 and over. There is one spot available for each show. Call times are TBD, and members will most likely be invited to stay for the show (TBD).

Kevin is currently on tour Santana.

Dates Available:

 

Petra Randewijk – Live Sound & Recording Engineer

Petra Randewijk is an independent sound engineer based in The Netherlands. Petra has been working in audio for 21 years, and she is currently on tour with Imogen Heap as the FOH Engineer. The world tour is heading to the U.S. & Canada in May and June.

Petra originally got interested in studio sound, while recording a demo with a band she played in when she was fifteen. “I wasn’t the best musician and didn’t enjoy a lot of what being a musician is about, like standing on a stage with people staring at me, but being in the studio sparked something. 
I wanted to study music technology to get a job in a studio, but didn’t get in at first try, so to gain some experience I decided to try and do some live work, or at least try and have people explain to me how all the sound equipment works.”

She would go on to study music technology and graduated as a composer for theatre and dance. She would learn live sound by just doing it, and while she wanted to go into the recording side, she would find the excitement of live sound addictive.

“I got my start at with a local PA company who provided sound for the local venues where I went to see bands and also played as a musician. They had an anarchistic way to organise themselves and a focus on equipment, to build it, repair it and take it apart in general for educational purposes or just the fun of it. What I learned there was that there is not one way of doing things, and whatever you do, it’s never good enough.”

Petra has in the past worked with international touring band Jungle by Night, a nine-piece Dutch instrumental band.
 She also works with other Dutch groups and occasionally will take on the role of TM/FOH.  When she is not on the road, she works at Doornroosje in Nijmegen and with local sound companies, where she will take on the roles of FOH, Monitors, Patch whatever needs to be done.

She also owns a small studio “where I record a mixture of bands in different styles. Doing this also helps me for live shows because, in the studio, there is way more time to talk with and understand musicians and how they feel about their sound. In live sound, it’s tough to do that, as musicians can never hear the end result of what you are doing during a show. So the conversation is always about hearsay or at the best you discuss in vague terms what we are doing. And I do believe this can help to better amplify and put across artist creativity and emotion, which is in the end what I think doing sound is all about.”

On the current Imogen Heap Tour, which is a mix of live shows, talks, workshops, and exhibition for Creative Passport, this is a different way to tour and Petra shares with us what life is like.

Yes, it’s indeed a bit of a weird one, compared to what people might be used to for touring. But for me, it keeps it interesting, and it is never dull. A week (sometimes shorter) differs in every city. It is done this way, because the tour is also set up to showcase the Creative Passport, and on the road talk to music makers all over the world on their point of view and needs on this. Creative Passport is the digital container to hold verified profile information, IDs, acknowledgments, works, business partners and payment mechanisms, to help get music makers and their works, linked and open (data) for business.

We also have Mi.Mu glove presentations, tech talk ones. For this, we use part of the same setup as in the shows. These talks are informative because Imogen explains how the things she does with the gloves actually work. This is a good talk which was recorded, and it also discusses Creative Passport.

My main focus as a sound engineer are the live shows, which are with Imogen, Guy Sigsworth, and four other excellent musicians on stage playing guitar, drums, cello, and keytar. The setlist contains Imogen Heap songs and Frou Frou songs.

The basis of the setup for the live shows is an A&H Dlive mix rack, which has a Madi card to communicate with Imogen’s computer through optical Madi and an RME madiface. It sends audio to Imogen which she can process, such as vocal, but also other instruments. It receives 20 input channels, as well. The full input list is 32 channels, and ambient mics, and all channels are split into FOH and Monitor channels. All musicians are on in-ears, and they take care of their own monitor setup with the help of an iPad app. This took a bit of getting used too, but we used the setup at all the pre-production rehearsals.

Whenever possible, we are sponsored by d&b to use Soundscape. For this, I added a Dante card in the Mixrack to send all channels. Soundscape is d&b’n new immersive sound system and amazing to work with. It can make everything sound very natural like its directly coming from where the musicians are standing. But there is also a whole new world to be discovered, the possibilities to use it for effects and electronic sounds. That makes it so much fun. And because it receives OSC to control the sound objects, Imogen can directly move sounds in the room with her Mi.Mu gloves.

There are intimate evenings with Imogen Heap, which are only for the people who helped start up this tour from day one as an enabler. There she talks about her songs and then plays using just a grand piano and vocal. The audience can ask for their favorite songs to be played, which makes the shows different every time.

Heap’s live shows feature both solo performances by the artist, as well as an electronic duo with Frou Frou collaborator Guy Sigsworth. The tour is also the first to showcase Heap’s innovative Mi.Mu gloves.

Can you explain the Gloves?

The Mi.Mu gloves are controllers. They come with excellent software that registers hand postures, movement, and relative location. With them, and the software, you can control everything you could want. It can output MIDI and OSC, and you can connect it to anything compatible. Imogen controls all the music that comes from her computer, running Ableton. They can do starts and stops, make drum loops, scroll through samples, as well as control effects as loops, harmonizers, delays, and reverb. Anything, is possible, although, it is the same as with other instruments, it does get complicated to keep track of all the movements you need to do. It’s always awe-inspiring to watch Imogen do all that.

You are touring with d-Live and Soundscape.  Are you touring with other production?

We are traveling with a Dlive rack, but still, need to get the surface locally supplied. We get great touring support on this from A&H and d&b is sponsoring Soundscape, whenever possible. Other than that, I am carrying a set of mixed microphones and DI’s. Nothing big, just my personal favorites.

Working with an artist like Imogen, who is at the forefront of new technology for music and musicians, both in helping to develop it and/or using it, makes it possible and maybe even needed to keep looking for new ways to make things easier and/or better. So I am now working to check if we can integrate KLANG’s 3D monitoring system in the setup, and using it to follow the glove movements.

This keeps me challenged to keep learning and trying out new things all the time, which for me makes this tour amazing.

How large is the crew for the show?

As for the crew, we are traveling with Imogen’s PA, a Nanny, the Mycelia head of operations, who also helps with the show setup, me, and a backline tech/general tech/driver. We all have a bit of a mixed-function description, as Imogen’s PA and the Mycelia head of operation also shares TM duties. My function besides sound is also PM. And one of the musicians also helps out with production and does the stage design. In general, we all make sure that everything that needs to be done gets done.

What do you like best about touring?

I love seeing new places and meeting wonderful people everywhere. And that every day is different. I feel I am at my best when everything has to be done on the spot, and maybe even is a bit chaotic. I sometimes even find myself thriving in chaos. (And smiling in the middle of it)

What do you like least?

Hanging around at airports.

What is your favorite day off activity?

Doing some touristy stuff, seeing the surroundings. Trying local food, when there is a vegetarian option available.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

The sound world is tough in general, and you do need to have a thick skin. I started at the end of the nineties when everything seemed even a bit rougher. More yelling, more making fun of people mistakes and all was never good enough. Being slightly insecure already, this didn’t help me. 
I can’t tell for sure if it was especially harder because I was a woman, I did get all the ‘you aren’t rock n’ roll enough’ ‘are you the sound guy’s girlfriend’ ‘this sounds rather good, did your boyfriend mix it’ and more of that stuff. 
It’s all small stuff, but together, it’s a constant reminder that I am less trusted by sight as my male colleagues. But to be honest, I had the same lack of trust in myself, so I may have been my biggest obstacle.

I didn’t meet a lot of women doing sound in the first ten years, so everything seemed personal instead of about gender, which maybe made it harder to get around it.

But I know I’ve seen a lot of guys leave as well.

How have you dealt with them?

I made it through the first part by being stubborn. Taking all the crap and just kept on going. Also, I didn’t know that there was any other option. After a while, people gave me more responsibility and opportunities to do things on my own, and in my own way, which worked better for me.

One day I decided I wasn’t going to take being yelled at from anyone anymore. So I started talking back, asking why people thought it is okay to do that, or stopped working with people and at places that got me down. I just found the best space for me. 
It took a lot of years to get to this point. Realising at least some of it wasn’t personal really helped me, and a place like SoundGirls is amazing to discover that. 
The SoundGirls community also told me to stop complaining about needing to know twice as much as my average male colleagues to be taken equally seriously. But just go for it.

In the end, gaining knowledge is never a waste. So I am still trying to learn as much as possible. Taking courses, asking questions, learning every day.

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

Don’t forget things are rarely personal. Things people say are more about themselves as they are about you. Having said that doing sound is also never about you, but about the music being made on stage. And how to bring that to the audience as much as it is intended to be.

And if you lose a gig, don’t dwell on it, there are always more gigs, and sometimes it’s just someone else’s time. The best way to deal with this is to keep going and get other gigs, preferably things that fit especially for you. But to establish that you mustn’t be afraid to take an honest look at yourself too. 
And never forget to stay your own person in the whirlwind off the rock and roll, it’s the best person you can be.

Never forget to broaden your musical horizon, because if you work in sound, this can never be wide enough. Every kind of music has his own sound ideas and sometimes even rules. And every new thing you discover can give you new information you might be able to use in the next show. So don’t be afraid to listen to music outside of your comfort zone.

Must have skills?

Stubbornness, patience, always staying relaxed, and a lot of curiosity.

Favorite gear?

For live, I am at the moment pleased with my d-live rack and the Allen and Heath d-live series in general. If I could bring one thing, this would be it. It has amazing possibilities with getting audio in lots of directions. Great sounding internal fx and compressors, and very easily flyable. And also very useful to do recording sessions on location. 
For in the studio, my favourite piece of gear is a Schoeps MK4 microphone, which makes everything it records sounds amazing.

 

Shadowing Opportunity w/ ME Aaron Foye

SoundGirls Members who are actively pursuing a career in Live Sound or Concert Production are invited to shadow Monitor Engineer Aaron Foye. Aaron is currently on tour with Willie Nelson.

The experience will focus on monitor mixing. This is open to SoundGirls members ages 18 and over. There are two spots available for each show. Most call times will be at 11 am (TBD) and members will most likely be invited to stay for the show (TBD).

Please fill out this application. If you are selected to attend, information will be emailed to you.

 

X