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In India and having a good time, NOT!

Day 5: Show 3- Dimapur, India
Here we are again, another perilous cab ride winding through a spider web of unmarked city streets to the venue- a stadium.
I had an anxiety attack on the way to the gig, worried that with all the chaos following the last two gigs if I managed to get left behind after the show I’d be so SOL. This isn’t my first third-world country. I’ve been to some dicey places, in some precarious situations, but I am honestly starting to feel like I am never going to see civilization again, like I’m stuck here and there’s no way out. I’d have no chance of finding a U.S. embassy. The closest one is probably five hours away by plane, and I wouldn’t even have a clue how to get to the airport and where the one flight/day could take me. We have no information. Our tour manager has been fighting to get anything out of the promoter since day one. We don’t get our flight info until the last minute, we have no idea where our hotels are and there are no contact numbers. It’s like a bad made for TV movie, “ Lost abroad” , or “Lost, a broad”, it could go either way.

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First Out of State Gig!

 

I got word this week that I’ll be working at a corporate conference in Novi, Michigan March 20th-22nd. It’s a two-day conference for a prominent beauty line. I will be working the gig with my fellow co-worker and long-time veteran of live sound, Rod Price. He’ll be showing me the ropes and teaching me to fly my first V-dosc rig. (more…)

FOH ENGINEER

What does FOH Engineer stand for?
FOH stands for Front of House and the FOH Engineer, (sometimes referred to as Band engineer or soundman/soundwoman) is responsible for mixing the sound for the audience at a concert. What you hear coming out of the PA speakers is for the most part under the control of the FOH Engineer.  Other factors can have an impact on the mix such as; the quality of equipment, venue acoustics, stage volume, how well the band plays, etc…  These are at times beyond the control of the FOH Engineer.

What does an FOH Engineer do?
Simply put: Each individual instrument on stage has it’s own microphone and input, from the lead singer all the way down to the individual drums and cymbals on the drum kit. The FOH Engineer manipulates the levels and equalization of the various instruments and vocals blending them together, adding reverb and effects as needed, to produce a mix of the band which is amplified through the PA system.

The level of creativity and freedom a FOH Engineer has with the mix varies from artist to artist.  Sometimes a band or artist has a clear vision of what they want to sound like live. It is the FOH Engineers job to interpret and re-create this via the sound system.  Sometimes a band leaves their sound entirely up to the FOH Engineer.

It is usually up to the FOH Engineer to decide or at least recommend what microphones to use on each instrument and vocal.  On large tours the FOH Engineer provides a technical spec of what the sound system requirements are. This generally reflects their preferences in microphones, mixing console, outboard gear, plug ins, PA system, etc… and any other details pertaining to how the system should be set up.

FOH Engineers can be very involved in the set up and tuning of the PA System or they can rely on the system tech to do that and just mix the soundcheck and performance.

How is a FOH Engineer different from Monitors Engineer?
A FOH Engineer mixes the the band to be amplified through the PA system for the audience to hear. A Monitor Engineer mixes the instruments and vocals on stage for each individual performer to hear. A FOH Engineer is only responsible for mixing one mix for all of the audience to listen to while a monitor engineer is responsible for many different mixes depending on what the performers need to hear. They listen to these mixes through either speakers on the stage or in ear monitors, or a combination of both.

What kind of background or skills do you need?
An understanding of the basic concepts and terminology of audio and sound reinforcement, signal flow and proper gain structure as well as the technical knowledge to operate various mixing consoles and equipment.  A well trained ear and ability to recognize frequencies.

You should comprehend the principles of equalization well enough to be able to create the tonal picture that is desired.

Good communication and people skills are a must.  Not only will you be dealing with the artist but also various other representatives of theirs including but not limited to: their management, label reps, agent, family, and friends.  Tact and diplomacy are incredibly beneficial.

A background in electronics, physics of sound, and mathematics is also helpful but not necessary.

Reason! Sanity! Focus! : Part 3

 

Act 1 Sitzprobe totally…happened. And we all survived. Everything is relative, I’m filing that under “good news”.
And relativity is key when you have 16 mic’d actors on stage, who are getting their first chance to sing with the band, and the band, who are getting their first chance to play with each other, AND along with singers in a smaller-than-they-expected pit, and a new system getting its first chance to pump out all of it, and an operator/designer who is figuring out just how little all of her script notes mean at this point! It is key because unless I remember that all of this is part of the PROCESS, it can all get overwhelming really quickly. And an overwhelmed mind lacks three things needed to make the process fruitful – reason, sanity, and focus. So my tech mantra for Rent is…REASON. SANITY. FOCUS. (more…)

Geared up and Gearing up: part 2

 

So I got to check out a Rent run-through for the first time last night.

WOW. These guys are killing it.
The cast, the set, the music, the direction, and the management of the show, all brilliant. I always have this moment, watching run-throughs, where I look around at all of the talent in the room, and what they’re making happen onstage, and it really sinks in for me what all they’re putting in my hands and trusting to me. “Butterflies” doesn’t begin to describe it. (more…)

Loading in Rent

Loading in Rent

By: Kerrie Mondy originally posted 2/15/14

Today my rental guy and I did the lion’s share of my load-in for a small company I work fors production of “Rent”. The theater is a quirky little space. It’s a 200 seat venue with a steep seating rake and a flat, sort of triangular stage floor that’s maybe 30 feet at its widest point. The whole thing is brown and green. No wing space, squeaky stairs, plenty of insect inhabitants, and no exit to the bathroom for patrons during the show except to walk across the front of the stage! But it’s got a few things that make my job great (more…)

Touring in India part two

 

If you missed last month’s blog be sure to get caught up before continuing with part two here.

Day 3 Show day, Shillong India
The local promoter hires several taxis for the crew to be taken from the Ri Kynjai hotel to the gig in the center of Shillong. The drivers speak no English and we all take a deep breath and cross our fingers that they know where we are going, since we clearly don’t. The drive takes nearly an hour, winding down the mountain past miles of nothing but shanties and dilapidated shacks. The poverty here is overwhelming, and the condition of most of the structures and the few actual buildings is alarming. About 35 minutes into the drive, myself and the monitor engineer who is in the car with me, start to get a bit concerned since we were told the venue is about 20 minutes drive from the hotel. We spend the next 15 minutes or so zig-zagging through the city streets which would be impossible to navigate on our own, until we finally reach the venue- an outdoor polo field in the heart of the city. (more…)

The Women’s International Music Network,

a wonderful organization that connects women in all facets of the music industry recently interviewed SoudnGirls.Org founders- Karrie Keyes and Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato. Read the interview here.

Andie Cascioli and the Columbus Live Music Scene

 

This month I sat down with a fellow sound engineer and friend Andie Cascioli. Andie and I both attended Capital University together. Andie is now working as a live sound engineer in Columbus OH. As for myself, I have been busy busy busy at Eighth Day Sound, building cables and new interface boxes for the new D80 amplifiers Eighth Day Sound is starting to use. (more…)

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