The Sound Guy
by T. Perry Bowers
If you’re in a band, you’ll need a sound guy. Of course, there are plenty of women in the trade, but for the purposes of this article, I will be using the term “sound guy.” Please forgive the political incorrectness.
I’ve been playing in bands in small clubs for a very long time. One thing I’ve learned – it’s not worth playing unless you have someone to advocate for you on the other side of the footlights.
I help run sound for my son’s band. Because I’m familiar with their songs I can blend their vocals well and I know when to turn up the guitar solos etc. Sometimes, I sit behind the board and run the whole show but most of the time, I just “help” the house guy. I talk with him and let him how the band like their vocals. If the kick is boomy I EQ it a little. Mostly, I just let him know that I’m in the house and listening to his work. This is usually enough to put him on notice that he needs to do a good job, at least for the 45 minutes that my son’s band is on stage.
Being a sound guy in a small club isn’t easy and it doesn’t pay well. They are usually subcontractors so the club owner doesn’t pay them an hourly wage. The sound guy’s money usually comes out of the door takings. Typically, it’s the first $75 (or less). This for a job that usually starts at 8pm and often doesn’t finish until 3am! It’s not much money and that’s why most sound guys in the scene are young and inexperienced – often straight out of music school. They are finding out that these gigs and their day job at Guitar Center are the only jobs that are out there. By the time they are good at the sound man job, they need to make more money to survive. So they start chasing commissions at GC or they are onto another career altogether. I’m not trying to bad-mouth the people working their butts off in small clubs around the country (or at Guitar Center for that matter). They usually try hard to make every band sound good. Sometimes they just don’t have the skills or knowledge to pull it off.
Occasionally, however they don’t really want you to sound good. Maybe because of something that happened to them that day or because they’re unhappy with their life. Perhaps they don’t like your music or you were unintentionally rude. Whatever the reason, my band once experienced this “sound sabotage” or “turning up the suck knob” at our CD release party. We were playing a small club in Uptown, Minneapolis. We’d been working hard on our CD for five years and been practicing the show for about 6 months. We promoted it well and had a great crowd. As you can imagine, we were stoked to finally share our new music with our people. But the sound guy decided it wasn’t our night to shine. Our mix was terrible. We had feedback problems throughout the set. We did our part, but a guy we didn’t even know sabotaged us. You might say I’m being paranoid. Maybe he did his best but didn’t know what he was doing. If so, why did the other bands that night have no issues? Even if he didn’t do it on purpose it still proves my point – which is: You need to bring your own sound guy. They should be part of your band and be paid accordingly. God knows there are enough people graduating from sound schools. It shouldn’t be too hard to find one. They are working for you. They know your songs and how you want to sound. They also know how to tune a PA. And they want you to succeed so they have a chance in the music business, too.
Of course, it is not always possible to have your own guy, especially if you’re just starting out. It’s something to work toward. If you haven’t got a sound guy yet, you need to establish a relationship with the house sound man as soon as you arrive at the venue.
The first and most important thing is always be respectful. There is absolutely no place for rudeness or arrogance. It will always hurt you. Make sure everyone in your band is kind and polite. Use phrases like, “could you please turn up the guitars in my monitors? Thank you.” Words of appreciation go a very long way. Demanding words won’t work at all. Remember, they have a lot of power when you are playing. They can make you look great or like total amateurs.
Should you tip a sound guy? Absolutely Yes! You should tip him before the show, and if he does a good job, after the show. It might be as little as five dollars or a beer. For a really important show, twenty dollars is better.
Some clubs are doing away with sound checks and just going with a quick line check before the set. I understand why – it’s about time and money. You can look at this two ways: It saves time not having to do a sound check but it greatly increases the chances you’ll sound like shit. If you only get a line check and you haven’t brought your own sound guy (already two strikes against a decent show), it’s good to describe what you want to the house man. It could be written down on the set list you give him. You do give him a copy of the set right? For example if might say “beefy mid-tones in the rhythm guitar, delay on vocals on dreamy choruses, bass should be prominent,” etc. If you want something specific make a note under the song on the set list. This is where a $20 tip goes a long way. There’s nothing wrong with telling him there’s another tip at the end of the night if it all goes well.
If you do get a sound check, ask for what you need. Don’t just blow through trying to look cool for the bartender. This is not part of the show so save the theater for your set. Remember, what you hear on stage is most likely nothing like what comes through the house speakers. The most important thing is to have a blend that is right for you in your monitors. Typically as a singer, I like to have the rhythm guitar and the harmony vocal prominent. I also like a little bass and kick drum. Everything else I can hear from the amps or the live drums. As drummer, I like to have the kick drum and the bass prominent and everything else needs to come through the monitors because as a drummer, often you are behind the amps. The point is, get what you need. Be polite, but don’t settle until you feel comfortable.
If you’re fortunate enough to have your own sound guy, then you work all of this out before hand. When you enter the club, you know exactly what you’re going to do. It doesn’t mean you can ignore the house guy. It’s still his domain so even though he isn’t going to have ultimate power over you during your set, it’s still nice to have his cooperation. So make sure you greet the house guy before you get to work. Your sound man should know how to tune the system. He’ll get all of the feedback tuned out of it, EQ it, get the gain structure set properly. If he doesn’t know how to do this keep looking for a real sound guy. You should be ready to go; feeling confident that when you get up on stage there is nothing holding you back from delivering a top notch performance.
I want to mention one last thing whether you have a sound person or not. I think, because there are so many bands and so many shows every night all across the world, musicians and fans have come to accept a certain amount of amateurism when it comes to presentation. Bands get up on stage and bang around on their instruments. Check one, two, three in the microphone. Then they just start their set. Bassists sometimes doodle around on their guitars between songs. Tuning lasts for eons. It can be very casual. Even if you’re only getting a quick line check before your set, consider going up there, doing the line check and then coming back off stage for a couple minutes. When you walk on stage again, you should pick up your guitar, click off the first song and dig in. Don’t futz around in between songs. Be deliberate. It’s the magic of entertainment.
