Finally got a little work!

[scout man]

Here are some pictures from my work this week. We setup, had the concert, and loaded out in one 20 hour day. This is from the Hillsong United concert at the Budweiser Event Center.

This is what I do for a "living" (I use the term loosely these days)

[Smash]

That looks awesome! Glad you finally got some pay in your pocket. Any more possibly coming up?

[brian pleasant]

glad you got work, not much at this moment but hope fully will open up some in near future.

[Funrover]

Looks fun!

[Brody]

Really happy to hear that! Nothing wrong with some money coming in...

[96blkbeauty]

Back when I used to work at a Community corrections house, I knew a guy that did that. He seemed to enjoy it but got him in lots of trouble (drugs, alcohol, exc)

[WINKY]

hey any money is better than no money

[Rob]

Way to go, Steve.

BTW, did you ever work the Heaven Fest gig near Brighton? It might be coming to Longmont and we have a reporter looking to talk to anyone who was at last year's.

[KnuckleHead]

Glad to hear that you got at least some work. I wish you the best for future work and hopefully soon...

[scout man]

96blkbeauty - Yea, you can get into trouble fast in this business. I am not worried though, seeing as I have never done a drug in my life, and with a class A CDl and random drug tests I dont intend to start. There is definitely a serious drug problem in my industry though, and for whatever reason most companies seem to accept it without a problem too.


Rob - I did not actually work that, although if I remember correctly the company I worked for this week was in charge of that show. I beleive a buddy of mine may have been on it. He was actually on this forum at one point but I am sure he has been booted by now.

[Haku]

Back when I used to work at a Community corrections house, I knew a guy that did that. He seemed to enjoy it but got him in lots of trouble (drugs, alcohol, exc)

Stagehands these days are a lot cleaner then they used to be. There is the occasional odd coke head tweaker and pot use is pretty prevalent (think thats society wide though these days), but in general they are a bunch of stand up people. The more technical they get (i.e. the techs in charge of making things work like Steve and I), the more this is the case. Definitely some dim people on the lower end, but it works. 2 years ago I would have said that it was an industry that is relatively easy to get into at a base level and work your way up. The last few years have been touch and go with the economy, and jobs have dried up a bunch. I've been trying to get a job on a tour for the last year or so, and even little stuff with people who put on parties is hard to come by these days. Really hope that changes, as I feel like I am loosing touch with what is going on, and fear I might have to start looking for another career if something doesn't come soon.

Congrats on the work, and getting a real gig. Hope that you get the tour spot like you were hoping would come out of this gig.

JH

[Rob]

Rob - I did not actually work that, although if I remember correctly the company I worked for this week was in charge of that show.

Can I have a reporter get in touch with, maybe for an interview or at least so you can put her in touch with the folks who run the company?

[scout man]

let me check and make sure I have the right company. It is either the one I worked for this week, or the company across the street they partner with sometimes. I worked with both of them jointly after heavenfest and now cant remember which company it was. Let me get back to you on it. I dont think it would do any good to talk with me, but I will see if I can get you someone that would be worthwhile.

[Rob]

Let me get back to you on it. I dont think it would do any good to talk with me, but I will see if I can get you someone that would be worthwhile.

Sounds good. Thanks, Steve.

[Brody]

Back when I used to work at a Community corrections house, I knew a guy that did that. He seemed to enjoy it but got him in lots of trouble (drugs, alcohol, exc)

Gee, I just went to concerts to hear the bands and managed to get into a lot of trouble (drugs, alcohol, wild women, etc) and I didn't have to do any work....:D

[Mporter]

Looks great man. What exactly do you do though? Like what is your specialty in all that mix, or is it just a overall thing?

[Haku]

Looks great man. What exactly do you do though? Like what is your specialty in all that mix, or is it just a overall thing?

For me, I'm either at front of house, which is our name for where the techies hang out in the middle of the audience, designing/controlling the lighting and making it flash and wiggle or back at Dimmer Beach, which is the coloquial name for the area where all the power and control cables come to be distrubuted. Realistically for a show that size, I'd be back being at System Tech at Dimmer Beach, making sure that the lights are doing what they are supposed to. I wasn't at this event, but I've done lots of similar ones both bigger and smaller.

Steve (scoutman) is much the same, but on the Audio side of things. I'll let him say if he prefers to be the one mixing for sure, but I suspect he does. For gigs the level seen in the pictures, you rarely get a chance to mix unless you are traveling with the band, since they like to bring both their own sound and audio guys for that. Steve has a great ear though, and knows his stuff. Still, I think we both do more "tech" work then creative work. He's got a few other tricks up his sleeve too, like being a Class A driver, and a Stage tech for mobile stages.

These days, even those jobs are hard to find though, so we both find ourselves doing whatever comes along. I'm kind of grumpy about it, since Lighting Tech/Freelance guys seem to be the first cut from a tour or the budget. Steve has been getting more steady work then I, but I have a feeling that its because I know more audio guys then lighting ones, so word of mouth gigs don't come up as often for me.

Its a really rewarding industry though, and is one of the few that will cater well to guys who don't get along with College too well (like me). As long as you have a decent mind for trouble solving, and can learn how technical systems work on the fly, its pretty easy to get decent work. Well, decent work when the economy is good and people still want to spend money going to concerts and such. Optimism has me hoping that we have at least hit rock bottow or gotten close to it, and that it will start getting better soon. As it stands, I'm really struggling to find work, and the only reason I'm not freaking out right now is because of Unemployment Benefits.

JH

[DETN8R]

Looks awesome