How do I become a Sound Tech with a National Act?
I’ve been running sound for one of my best friends’ band for a couple months now. How do I become a tech with a national act?
-Jeremy. Naperville, IL
Do you have a job, work everyday, and have that steady paycheck coming in? Then keep it. Trust me! It’s stable and you get to shower every night. My advice is if you work with a local act and have a job, keep this as a weekend job. It can be something you do on long weekends, vacations, or a summer holiday. If you really want to do this fulltime my suggestion would be to go to halls and facilities and get some real stagehand experience. Learn how to move equipment, tie knots, and other things that you wouldn’t learn by hanging around bands at bars. Learn to change lighting equipment, soldering, to lift things correctly and then pack them away. This is not setting up mics at Schleepys Pub between pints. If you’re still in school I would suggest taking as many stage craft type courses at college. You know the ones… drama, musicals, ect. Some may seem a little lame but the disciplines you learn are essential for any rock tours you may do. Staging Grease or Macbeth is pretty similar to staging Iron Maiden as far as terminology and basic ideas go. Please, please learn the difference between “up stage” and “downstage stage” and “Stage Left” or “Stage Right”. If you don’t have answers for a question ask someone. And it’s a good idea to remember gaff tape can fix nearly anything on the road.
