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LAB Best Threads: Audio Veterans Share Their “First Gig” Stories

"I just started learning how to run sound from a sound tech I met through a local band called Sweaty Bob..."

Reply by Mike
I had met this guy who owned (and still does) PA and lighting. He seemed cool, I was a guitar player in a local metal band Ubiquitus (metal band names were awesome in the 80’s).

We booked our first show and of course I knew this guy with a PA so we called him. He said I could get a decent discount if we (the band) helped him load in and out his gear.

I was thinking “How hard could that be? Sure”—little did I know then. But I still thought what he did was the coolest, so I called him the next day and got booked to help him out the next weekend. I did off topics for him for a few shows and learned audio when I could, I was hooked.

My first test with audio was with another band (nightmare’s end, I think they may still be around, anyone in Madison, WI tell them I say hi), I was playing guitar and our drummer brought in his PA, a collection of MI gear and mismatched JBL and EV cabinets. I was the only one with any kind of experience with it.

It sounded pretty horrible at first, many phone calls to my original mentor and reading of a couple books, it started sounding halfway decent. I taught myself a distorted understanding of gain structure and EQ settings. Went to a recording school to further inform myself and one of my instructors worked for the company I am the production manager of now.

P.S, Once I found out what a monitor desk was and what it did, it was hard for anyone to get me away from it, I thought it was soooo cool. Still do.

Reply by Neale
My first gig was doing sound in-house at a club venue. Can’t remember what their front of house and monitor rig consisted of, however, I remember the gig was for Phyllis Diller – yeah….the comedian.

I went around the system with their (retiring) house guy the week before and he’s telling me where this and that plugs in etc…at the time I don’t think I had a clue what he was talking about – I mean how hard can it be, plug in a couple of mics and turn it up. At the time I had been a DJ for several years.

The gig…what a disaster. She holds the mic somewhere around her navel and wants her voice roaring out of the FOH. I bailed out of the second night (got a friend to do it).

It must have had some impact on me, ‘cause now I own a production company.

Reply by Tom
I used to work as a guitar tech until a couple years ago when our crew chief, told me guitar techs are sissies, real men do sound, and pretty much dared me to learn.

So I started working with him at his house gig, Barrymore’s Music Hall in Ottawa, Canada.

It was pretty intimidating because it’s the largest venue in the city and we get lots of major label bands.

The first few months were volunteer, just moving mics around, learning about the consoles (separate FOH and monitors) etc… He left a short while later and the new house tech asked me to stick around and help him for a while. Sure, works for me, I still wanted to learn a bit more.

Then came the first night I really got to do something. A band came in and asked me to babysit their monitors for them during the show. I figure it can’t be too hard, I kind of know the monitor rig at this point, if there’s feedback I turn them down, no problem.

But when we did the line check at show time, I noticed there were no wedges on stage. They had these things called “In Ear Monitors.” I was completely terrified, never having heard of these, let alone seen or used them. I couldn’t believe what I had got myself into. Somehow I figured it all out, the gig was fine and the band was happy.

A week later, I got, and still have, my first house gig: house monitor engineer at Barrymore’s Music Hall. IEMs have since become my good friends.

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