Blog

Opportunity is Everywhere When You Truly Engage with Others

February 28, 2017 • By

Vaughn Kohler, author and professional speaker, shares a very valuable perspective in this article and it very much relates to my recent video, “THE ESSENTIAL MINDSET FOR MASSIVE SUCCESS IN LIVE SOUND”. Too many sound engineers are either indifferent or downright rude to the performers they work with. We, as sound engineers, should look forward to meeting all the unique people we get to work with and treat those interactions like an opportunity for something great, not an inconvenience we have to grudgingly endure.

Please read his article and if you dig it follow him on your preferred social media platforms and also check out the awesome podcast he co-hosts, The MFCEO Project.

http://vaughnkohler.com/how-to-infuse-every-encounter-with-magic-and-meaning/

 

Videos

The Essential Mindset for Massive Success in Live Sound: Exploding the MYTH of the “thankless job”!

February 19, 2017 • By

Episode #2. If you’re one of those engineers that believes live-sound is a “thankless job” then you desperately need a fresh perspective plus a new approach, because nothing could be further from the truth. After 10+ years mixing at one of America’s most beloved and well respected live music venues I’m now sharing what I’ve learned about establishing rapport and strengthening relationships with performers. Because mixing skills and having a good ear can only take you so far if you neglect the personal side of the engineer/performer relationship. So that’s what this video is about; all those little details and small actions that instill confidence and convey your professionalism in a way that will turn musicians (and your peers) into your biggest, most vocal fans. This is a step by step guide of what to consider from the moment you arrive at the gig right up to the start of the sound-check.

A huge thank you to the awesome Bob Dossa for all of his hard work shooting and editing around all of my mistakes and awkward nervousness while in front of the camera. You can find him and much more of his work at http://www.rainydayrun.com

Please share with engineers, musicians and/or anyone that performs on a stage. Thank you for your support!

T-shirt du jour: PROTECT.org http://www.protect.org/

You can also connect with me at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiveSoundTips/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrontOfHouseEngineer/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_at_FOH
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/live_sound_engineer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/livesoundengineer

Videos

Viewer Q&A – Proper procedures for cleaning microphone grills

February 5, 2017 • By

Important details for those of you that are willing to go the extra mile by regularly cleaning the grills of your vocal mic’s.

Huge thanks to Adena Marom for being on location with me at Bottom of the Hill to handle the production mixing and recording and to Rich Harris at Soul Effective Productions for editing and adding the music and comedic elements for this episode.

Please share with engineers, musicians and/or anyone that performs on a stage. Thank you for your support!

You can also connect with me at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiveSoundTips/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrontOfHouseEngineer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_at_FOH
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/live_sound_engineer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/livesoundengineer

Blog

Personal Branding Is Important

February 1, 2017 • By

TODAY’S LIVE SOUND TIP: Recognize that you are not “just” an audio engineer, you are a _brand_ and you need to think creatively, work hard and behave ethically to build brand recognition and create demand for the skills you have to offer. Just having business cards and a resume on LinkedIn isn’t good enough. You need to take it a few steps further if you want to survive in the current marketplace.

Listen to this episode of Andy Frisella’s MFCEO Project podcast for a better understanding of how and why many people are getting overlooked or left behind when it comes to hiring. #TheMFCEO #MFCEOproject

http://themfceo.com/personal-branding-andy-frisella-mfceo123/

Blog

Long range thinking

January 20, 2017 • By

Hey Friends, take a look at this old Bottom of the Hill calendar. 10 years ago this day I mixed Portugal. The Man for the first time. The next two times they came through the B.o.t.H. on tour I specifically asked to mix their shows again cuz I loved working with them so much. Exactly 5 years later (Jan. 2012) they were taking me on tour as their FOH Engineer in Europe (opening for The Black Keys) and Australia.

You always gotta think long term, people. Maybe right now you’re just mixing (or performing) in small bars or clubs but think of what you could be doing in 3, 5 or 10 years if you keep honing your skills and building positive relationships along the way. There are no shortcuts or get-rich-quick schemes that won’t leave you full of regret (and embarrassment) in the long run so always do the right thing and keep working on being your best version of yourself, even if you think you should be further along the path than where you are now. Just be patient. Like Gary Vaynerchuk always says, “Legacy is greater than currency.” 🙂

Videos

Crucial advice for amazing sound-checks in small clubs

October 28, 2016 • By

If you can’t trust a grown man in a Batkid shirt, who can you trust? Seriously.

Episode #2. After ten years mixing at one of America’s most beloved and well respected live music venues I’m sharing my time-tested, no nonsense methods for fast, efficient, awesome sound-checks. When you’re mixing in small venues where you’ll be mixing both monitors and front-of-house this is good stuff to know to keep things moving quickly while maximizing results and making the performers very happy.

A huge thank you to the awesome Bob Dossa for all of his hard work shooting and editing around all of my mistakes and awkward nervousness while in front of the camera. You can find him and much more of his work at http://www.rainydayrun.com

Please share with engineers, musicians and/or anyone that performs on a stage. Thank you for your support!

You can also connect with me at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiveSoundTips/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrontOfHouseEngineer/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_at_FOH

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/live_sound_engineer

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/livesoundengineer

Blog

Being a Live Sound Engineer isn’t so hard

June 24, 2016 • By

Stop acting like your job is so damn difficult. Because if you’re getting paid to be an “audio engineer” it really isn’t. I know you’ve got your war stories from the trenches about those gigs that strained your limits, physically and emotionally. At one time or another, obnoxious or belligerent people have tested your patience and questioned your abilities, qualifications or work ethic. And it goes without saying that even when things go perfectly you still feel grossly underpaid. I know, I know, I know… we’ve all been pushed to our limits on the job. That said, none of it changes the fact that as an audio engineer you should be thanking your lucky-stars, counting your blessings, kissing the ground or whatever is your preferred method for expressing gratitude over the fact that you don’t actually have to work for a living. You get to do this.

I know some of you folks get really pissed off when someone like me has the gall to suggest WHAT YOU DO IS NOT “REAL” WORK. But I’m not afraid to say it because I didn’t start my career as a live sound engineer until I was 35 years old and prior to that I had nearly 20 years of actually working “real” jobs (and I hated nearly every minute of it). I had long been relegated to whatever mind-numbing, soul-destroying, menial drudgery is given out to a maladjusted guy with little education and tattoos on his hands and let me tell you most of that shit sucks. Bad. So over the last 11 years I’ve come to realize how lucky I am to now earn a living doing something where my worst day on the job is still infinitely better than nearly any of the best days I ever had while working in retail, construction, food-service, and warehouse jobs. So let me reiterate, if you are an audio engineer and you think your job is hard (bwaaaaahaahahaha!) then either you’ve just never experienced REAL work or it’s been so long ago that you’ve since lost all reasonable perspective.

Sadly, I see this lack of perspective from live sound engineers on a daily basis. Occasionally I hear it while talking with colleagues but mostly I see it whenever browsing any internet forums related to live sound engineering. It always starts with someone sharing their latest “nightmare gig” (pfffffft. Oh puhlease…) which rapidly devolves as more and more group members join the fray with stories attempting to one-up each other in the “I’m-so-overworked/underpaid/unappreciated boo-hoo” category. Venting frustration can be valuable when it’s done with someone close enough to you that can be trusted to help manage the process so it doesn’t spiral out of control. However, venting in public forums only tends to create a vortex of negativity where every added voice escalates the levels of frustration (not to mention delusions of persecution) and tends to create even more anxiety about ways in which things can further go wrong on future jobs. Rarely do I ever see someone on a live sound engineering forum posting about the great events they’ve been working at recently or the talented people they’re so fortunate to work with each day. It’s usually just a shit storm of woe-is-me or I-don’t-get-enough-respect-wwaaaaaaaaah.

Look, I get it, you put in a lot of effort and it would be nice to get a thank you along with your paycheck. You want things to run smoothly on the job and if someone else provides faulty equipment, doesn’t schedule adequate changeovers between acts, isn’t providing enough laborers for load-in or whatever myriad things are beyond your control you could get blamed when the show goes poorly. Being the audio person everyone intensely glares at in the booth (or side-of-stage) when things go haywire is very, very stressful and embarrassing. I’ve been there so believe me, I get it. Nevertheless, it still doesn’t change the fact that you’re not digging ditches or tarring roofs in 110 degree weather. You’re not trying to repair a busted sewer line beneath a house in a crawlspace full of rats and black widow spiders. You’re not scrubbing floors, cleaning toilets or mopping up puke at the local elementary school. You most certainly ain’t carrying a rifle and 50+lb. pack on your back in a combat zone where people are trying to kill you and your fellow soldiers. I could go on and on but rather than me listing thousands of perfectly “normal” jobs that are infinitely more fucked up than being an audio engineer just ask yourself this… Has your job description as an audio engineer ever required cleaning up or coming in contact with someone else’s blood, excrement, bodily fluids or organs? No? Then quit your fuckin’ whining on internet forums about what a “nightmare” your gig was yesterday!!! By the way, when is the last time you thought of the millions actually forced/beaten/coerced to labor as domestic servants or trapped in violent sex-trafficking situations. That, my friends, is a real nightmare. Kinda puts things in their proper perspective, don’t it?

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wake up feeling grateful that I don’t have to go to a job that brings me no fulfillment while dealing with people I can’t stand to be around. But if the day ever comes when I do have to return to that kind of work I’ll still know I’m luckier than most people on the planet. Every day I think about the billions of people that grind their way through each day, toiling away at something I’m simply not cut out for. I think it’s a damn shame that there aren’t a lot more live sound engineers voicing how fortunate they feel about getting to do what they do for a living. Complaining seems to be the default for most. Maybe if there were more of us expressing gratitude about the very privileged position we’re fortunate to be in then we could attract better people toward our chosen industry and weed out the bitter, failed, ex-musicians and wannabe DJs.

Like I said before, I get it. It’s entirely possible my gig yesterday went sideways just like yours. But spare the rest of us the histrionics and save the “OMG THIS GIG SUX! WHUT A NIGHTMARE!” thing for your own private, one-on-one conversations so you’re not publicly depicting yourself as the world’s biggest crybaby with a grossly distorted sense of reality. You’re an audio engineer and in the grand scheme of things YOUR JOB IS INCREDIBLY FUCKING EASY. If you can’t appreciate that fact then I recommend you quit and GO GET A REAL JOB. Because nobody is keeping you here at gunpoint.

I-Keeps-it-Real

About

My Mission

April 27, 2016 • By

Live-sound advice, tips, secrets and Jedi mind-tricks from an unconventional, rule-breaking, maverick audio engineer. With no prior experience, no musical abilities, no formal education, no industry connections and no money, I became a live-sound engineer at the relatively old age of 35. Exactly three years after mixing my first show for a few people in a dive bar I was on tour mixing for 20,000 per night. I have since gone on to tour around the world with incredible performers, all while holding down my dream gig as the Head Engineer at one of America’s most beloved live music venues, Bottom of the Hill. Most of the tips presented here are intended for beginner level concert audio engineers (and struggling musicians!) so they can learn the skills and mindset required to make their dreams come true.

Me at the 9:30 in DC