After my internship is finished how much money should I expect for being a newbie sound guy at a bar\club?

It depends on the club, it depends on the town, it depends on the show. But around here your regular soundperson at a regular rock club will make 75 a night. That's a 6:00 call for soundcheck, and done by 3:00 am (latest). So... you're looking at about 9.00/hr, benefits include loss of hearing, loss of patience, tinitus, a drinking problem and a sudden distaste for... music?!

Im joking, it's not so bad...well, it can be. It's just that it can be a very tough area of work. If you truly LOVE live sound, you'll do alright. It's jsut that the bar/club scene can be very unrewarding. My recommendation would be to join the local stagehand union, get in good, get your member's card and hitch a ride on a tour and work your way up. Live sound's the shit when all you have to do is show up and mix on a real rig, while getting paid 120,000 for half a year's work with a $75 per diem. That would be hot.

mtar

I did live sound at a 500 person club three or four nights a week for about 2 years. I did another year prior at a 175 capacity club. The worst parts were smoking about 1.5 packs in 6 hours and having to deal with assholes. Thankfully assholes were far less frequent than good people. The things I loved were actually making bands happy and making myself happy at being able to get, at least what I thought, was a good mix. Work was different every night. That kept it interesting. Plus, without it, I would have never had the courage to speak with Agostino when Bellini played or I would have never gotten to hear great stories from one of the Jesus Lizard's soundman Whitney (probably the best and most genuinely friendly touring soundman I met). For those two reasons alone, it pretty much made up for any crap I ever had to deal with from Fishbone or ...trail of dead or any other terrible band that felt they deserved a lot more from life then they really did.

Jon

Barbo wrote:Plus, without it, I would have never had the courage to speak with Agostino when Bellini played

Now that's just silly.

Barbo wrote:I would have never gotten to hear great stories from one of the Jesus Lizard's soundman Whitney (probably the best and most genuinely friendly touring soundman I met).

Seconded and thirded.

Barbo wrote:For those two reasons alone, it pretty much made up for any crap I ever had to deal with from Fishbone or ...trail of dead or any other terrible band that felt they deserved a lot more from life then they really did.

This holds true for bands dealing with soundmen too.

Maybe this post should go in the pass along some love thread, but for what it's worth Jon, all of Mono and Bellini spoke highly of you for the rest of our tour. So nice.

Things that made my life a lot easier while working live sound, that I always made sure were either on my belt or in my pockets, are a sharpie, white electrical tape, a leatherman, a penlight and a pair of ear plugs (once I get my stereo image set and the show is well under way, I'll put one in and alternate ears every couple of songs, or just put both in if the band is loud enough). Also, to work live sound, you'll need a really bitchin' ponytail. Those are totally mandatory.

Everyone's given a lot of great advice. If you're the reading type, you can check out the Yamaha Book that has some good information in it (you may already know a lot of it though - I started out as a live engineer before doing any recording and I found the book to be helpful). Other than that, I would suggest getting a good set of reference or program material together - songs you know really well, that you've listened to in all kinds of places (car, home stereo, computer speakers, etc.). Getting to shows early and playing reference material before the band gets there will give you an opportunity to hear what the house speakers sound like, what the monitors sound like, what the room sounds like so that you can change things accordingly.

Live sound can be a lot of fun, and if you're prepared and act in a professional and friendly manner, the musicians will usually do the same. Good luck and protect your hearing.

soul_rancher wrote:i have spent parts of the past 8 years working as a freelance live sound tech in a myriad of locations around my hometown. not being conversant in american rock customs, i can only rely on australia being an indicator. this said, live sound is relatively simple once you have experience. it can, however, be a thankless job.

expect substandard rigs with faulty wiring, bass-trap caverns that pass for clubs, house mics that have been used as footballs, monitors like nuclear powered AM radios. expect shitfaced punters cursing you out, telling you to play records, and occasionally throwing stuff in your general direction. you won't be able to avoid arsehole bands and managers who won't listen to reason or instructions, bands who can't play but are good folks. expect the occasional venue owner giving you the "you'll never work in this town again" speech because their 25 year old PA crossover decided to snuff it that night during the headliner's set. if you're really on fate's shitlist, you might have this all in one night.

on the upside, if you do a great job and the band sound great in spite of how many obstacles were overcome,.......virtually no one will notice. they'll all be congratulating the band.

i'm probably being a tad cynical.

not at all!

once you really notice the fact that nothing works without you, then the fall of troy starts...
it is the band that makes the sound-you just put them louder and you sort out the trash that comes out of your speakers using mouldy mics and cheesy systemparts...
the mixer-YOU- does not do the sound! and you work for the audience. why wanna set the club owner confident? he does not pay for the band and the beer...and if the audience is satisfied the club owner has no other choice to be satisfied-a money-floating night.

"...yes, it has to be that loud!"
"...yes, i do know the function of all these knobs!"
"...no, this is not the light console!
"...no, i am not the DJ!"
"...no, i don't have any gaffer tape!"

and so on.
i like it. just because you are the man that puts confidence in the eyes of musicians, club owners, youth hostel service people and yourself. because we do a job nobody really needs and everybody cries out for it!
we are wanted dead or alive...

jesus, did i really say that? -again?