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Tuesday, October 08, 2019
How an improperly connected motor cable arced up the chain and almost ended in disaster
www.sounddesignlive.com: In this episode of Sound Design Live I talk with the touring FOH sound engineer for Godsmack, Erik Rogers. We discuss how he dealt with various SPL limits while on tour, console setup, and why safety is never a compromise.
When I realized this was an hour-long podcast, I was a bit hesitant about listening to the entire thing through. However, in the end, the title of the episode drew me in and I decided to give it a listen. Honestly, I am very glad I did. Not only did I get a chance to learn more about the story behind the title, but also got to hear the story of a Front of House mixer and how he got the where he is now. It was a nice story from Erik Rogers about how he got his start, being an effects mixer, back when the Lexicon 480L was a self-contained digital effects unit. He recounted how he ultimately became a travelling FoH mixer, and it was nice to see a story of someone pursuing a passion and being successful. I feel like this is what I’m doing, and at first I was nervous, because initially I did theatre as a hobby, but the more I am learning about it the more confident I find myself, and stories like these offer reassurance that if I put in the work, I will see a result.
Erik Rogers, what a cool sound engineer. I really liked this podcast because the interviewers asks about how a person got started in their audio career. The fact that this guy just sorta hopped on a tour as a rookie and then sorta just got the opportunity to mix, and then he started making friends with people who really understand sound equipment and he learned that way. Now this guy is a sound engineer that tours everywhere. Literally incredible. The fact that this dude really learned all of this on the road and simply through experience is just incredible. And the fact that he got into all of it because he wanted to play in a band. And now he sound engineers for live shows. Wild. He also considers himself like an interpreter that the UN uses for meetings. Not only has this dude done live bands, but he’s done radio station work. He also has a huge focus on safety, which after this week in PPM with crisis management, is so important.
This article relays something that is not often said, safety should never be compromised. Often times it feels safety just isn’t on people’s minds. Sometimes it just isn’t a concern because they are following the proper protocols or practices, etc. but other times it feels like safety is disregarded. This often true with equipment that keeps you safe but also inhibits you in some form or way. If safety is making your job harder, either the job doesn’t need to be done or the safety isn’t actually important, its just a legal cover. These thoughts seem to be the common opinion among many and there is a degree of truth in there. If the safety is so high that it restricts you from being able to do your job… then you probably shouldn’t be doing that job, or anyone else. Safety is about doing your job and minimizing the risk of inflicting injury. The key word is minimizing here because something like a hard hat or a harness keeps you safe, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get a paper cut or prevent you from walking into a pole if you weren’t paying attention. Safety is important and it should be relayed more often.
3 comments:
When I realized this was an hour-long podcast, I was a bit hesitant about listening to the entire thing through. However, in the end, the title of the episode drew me in and I decided to give it a listen. Honestly, I am very glad I did. Not only did I get a chance to learn more about the story behind the title, but also got to hear the story of a Front of House mixer and how he got the where he is now. It was a nice story from Erik Rogers about how he got his start, being an effects mixer, back when the Lexicon 480L was a self-contained digital effects unit. He recounted how he ultimately became a travelling FoH mixer, and it was nice to see a story of someone pursuing a passion and being successful. I feel like this is what I’m doing, and at first I was nervous, because initially I did theatre as a hobby, but the more I am learning about it the more confident I find myself, and stories like these offer reassurance that if I put in the work, I will see a result.
Erik Rogers, what a cool sound engineer. I really liked this podcast because the interviewers asks about how a person got started in their audio career. The fact that this guy just sorta hopped on a tour as a rookie and then sorta just got the opportunity to mix, and then he started making friends with people who really understand sound equipment and he learned that way. Now this guy is a sound engineer that tours everywhere. Literally incredible. The fact that this dude really learned all of this on the road and simply through experience is just incredible. And the fact that he got into all of it because he wanted to play in a band. And now he sound engineers for live shows. Wild. He also considers himself like an interpreter that the UN uses for meetings. Not only has this dude done live bands, but he’s done radio station work. He also has a huge focus on safety, which after this week in PPM with crisis management, is so important.
This article relays something that is not often said, safety should never be compromised. Often times it feels safety just isn’t on people’s minds. Sometimes it just isn’t a concern because they are following the proper protocols or practices, etc. but other times it feels like safety is disregarded. This often true with equipment that keeps you safe but also inhibits you in some form or way. If safety is making your job harder, either the job doesn’t need to be done or the safety isn’t actually important, its just a legal cover. These thoughts seem to be the common opinion among many and there is a degree of truth in there. If the safety is so high that it restricts you from being able to do your job… then you probably shouldn’t be doing that job, or anyone else. Safety is about doing your job and minimizing the risk of inflicting injury. The key word is minimizing here because something like a hard hat or a harness keeps you safe, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get a paper cut or prevent you from walking into a pole if you weren’t paying attention. Safety is important and it should be relayed more often.
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