I was helping unpack a large shipment of microphone stands yesterday, when I got a great “blast from the past“. I am always amazed at the sorts of experiences that will turn back the clock for a few minutes.
I learned a lot of my “hands on” production skills working as a stagehand, first as a student, then as a part time employee at my alma mater, UNC Chapel Hill, on the tech crew there.
One of the first acts I had a chance to do sound for was John Sebastian, soon after he had left The Lovin’Spoonful to go out on his own.
In those days, acts never traveled with sound systems and rarely did any sort of advance work.
The day Mr. Sebastian showed up, the took a look at our sound system and said “where are the monitors?“. Not only did we not know WHERE the monitors were, we also didn’t know WHAT the monitors were.
After having him explain to us what monitors were and what they did, we decided that we could achieve what he wanted by simply setting up two complete sound systems, duplicate mixers, speakers, mics, stands, everything. One set for the audience. The other set for the performer.
I’ll never forget the first thing he said when he hit the stage. Looking at the audience through a forest of four big, shiny chrome microphone stands, he said “I feel like I’m in jail“.
Next time we produced a concert, we had the monitors.
GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. Click here to sign up for our newsletter. Lots more good ideas at our Twitter feed.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.