ProSoundWeb: Joe Dougherty is one of my oldest friends in the pro audio business – we first worked together in the mid-1990s while serving in the U.S. Air Force as sound technicians for the Airmen of Note big band jazz ensemble. We covered tens of thousands of miles together, working together on hundreds of gigs with their associated load-ins, setups and teardowns.
1 comment:
Oh, my gosh! I love this article. I worked a lot as an A2 in high school, and it's my favorite position ever. Handling mics is something I want to do for a living. Anyway, I thought these tips were really great and relevant. My favorite "Do" was Be meticulous with labeling. If someone is assisting you, and/or you end up pulled into a different area of the job, make sure that anyone else can easily figure out what you’ve done. I love labeling. I always go all out with it when time permits. For one of my school's shows last year, I made custom labels for everyone's mics with their faces and the show's logo (https://www.dropbox.com/s/wpgmend02838c5j/IMG_4816.jpg?dl=0). It was silly and fun and a lot cleaner than the usual white gaff and Sharpie other A2s at my school used in the past that would get all smudgy and gross from sweat (even with mic covers).
In general and not necessarily sound-related, I labeled a lot, especially when we were taking apart scenery in the shop to load in to the theatre. I would spend hours coming up with a system to label each connection. It was so nice seeing how easily we could load in when we had a clear system.
I also love the tip about having mint/gum. I think that's clever and cute. And also, YES to the personal hygiene part. You are up close and personal with these actors all night; it would be nice for them if you didn't smell awful... I just love the A2 position. It's such a thrilling job and an interesting look into the lives of actors. I can't imagine not being able to work so closely with them for a show.
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