Does anybody else think this is crazy? Or am I the one being an idiot here?
To the OP:
Look what you started--I hope you're satisfied with yourself young man
Wow, 8 pages and numerous cuts and contusions later
and all that in only a few hours on a Sunday afternoon. Obviously its not football season.
For all of us who are NOT touring pros with decades of big-time gig experience and privy to the decadent luxuries afforded thereto, what follows is a long-time gigging amateurs perspective, with some learnin accumulated during many a night spent behind-the-board thrown-in. Most of the experience which contributes to this perspective was gained in small to medium venues with the corresponding wide variation of room and system quality and sophistication (not to mention engineering talent). Pros can skip this whole thing and luxuriate with some high-end product endorsements for awhile
1. Performers are NOT on stage for the benefit of the sound tech: the performers are there for the audience.
2. The sound tech (engineer) is NOT there for the performers, unless the band IS the employer.
3. A lot of small venues provide the engineering staff. Sound techs get the gig for a variety of reasons, maybe a recommendation from another engineer, maybe the nephew of the owner who has no job and no life but somehow knew how to re-program the VCR after the big storm knocked-out the power back in 86. But for an engineer to get invited back for more underpaid abuse requires a somewhat higher standard of performance which may entail (in no particular order): shows up; knows where to find all the gear and takes care of it; knows how to drive the whole rig; makes the house sound good; puts everything in the proper place after the show; makes certain that none of the house gear grows legs and wanders off into the night never to be seen again; works cheap; and doesnt turn large quantities of profitable liquids into urine (speaking of which, occasionally at really small gigs the "sound guy" is also the owner so don't piss him off). Nearly all engineers are gear heads, which can be common ground--especially when we performers take a little time to familiarize ourselves with what happens to the signal after it leaves our rig.
4. At some level, the audience is the bossif they go home with unfulfilled expectations, its a bad thing for everyone. The engineer has a much better chance of serving the employer and the audience by providing a comfortable performing environment for the musicians and dialing-up a mix that accurately presents the performance to the audience. Facilitating him/her in that pursuit can only help in attaining the mutual Prime Directive.
What to do, what to do?
A. Communicate our wants, needs, and capabilities to the engineer. With specific regard to the OP, if the engineer insists on using different gear and/or techniques from what we prefer, and if a few sentences of polite, knowledgeable, and confident persuasion cannot win him/her over to our side, then we have to decide whether to let it go and focus on OUR game, or get into a tussle. Usually, a tussle ends up being counterproductive and besides, the engineer JUST MIGHT know something we dont. Whatever happens, the show itself belongs to US performers first and foremost and its our responsibility to, ahem, bring the rock (or the polka or the drill-index-meter Balkan folk extravaganza), regardless of what the engineer does.
B. Provide a good stage plot and input list. With any luck, the engineer might actually
look at it in advance. No really--it COULD happen.
C. Do some homework and find out as much as possible about the venue so we know what to expect and can plan accordingly.
D. Bring ALL the gear we require. Know how to use it. Make sure it works right. Whatever we think about tone and appearance when we buy gear, rock-solid reliability and real-world functionality should be at the top of our list of requisites. Still, things do go kaput, so we have a backup plan for that crazy night when the magic smoke leaks out.
E. Know what we want to hear in our monitor.
F. Show up early; never later than on-time. With all our stuff.
G. Be a grown-up (or at least act like one) and don't be a di... I mean, don't be
that guy
H. Be emotionally and intellectually prepared for things to go wrong because things WILL go wrong. When that happens, try to think of it as an adventure rather than a disaster. Unless it really IS a disaster like that storm back in 86.
I. Create great art.
J. Have fun.
Oh, and dont forget to tip your over-worked, under-paid, under-appreciated small-venue sound guy: he might be me (and if I happen to be the bass player and YOU are the sound guy, please
please please dont make my upright sound like a bass guitar. In return I might explain what a VCR is and how to program it.)
