That Go-Go Sound
The P.A. was rigged.
Oh, you may talk trash about how, “I’ll never play on that sorry P.A. again.” But in your desperate last hours before a big show you may find yourself paying that same sound man top dollar to bring that sorry P.A. to your club, or block party. Most fans and band members have a poor understanding of sound systems, how they work, and what goes into getting the best sound quality. They are also unaware of the cut-throat tactics carried out by local sound companies against one another. As owner of Mike’s Sounds, Mike Warren he has seen it all as both a band member, sound engineer, and now the owner of two fully equipped systems. In his 6 years in business he has earned a reputation for the clearest sounding P.A. on the scene. Reo may have the most years behind him. Buck, Eric, and Glenn may have the cheapest prices, but Warren has the system that makes your band sound like a CD. He started in his mother’s backyard in 1992. As the roto-tom player for the original Intimate Groove he was tired of seeing up and coming bands getting dogged by an unfair system that deliberately prevented them from getting good sound. Determined to change things Warren began building his system piece by piece, In the beginning few gave the inexperienced youngster much of a chance. After all, this was a business dominated by a network of old timers. Never one to doubt himself and give up, Warren learned by trial and error, and within two years distinguished himself not only as a tight sound man with a clear P.A., but also as someone who would give fair sound to all of the bands that played on his system, regardless of who was headlining. He explains that there exists a little known rivalry among the various sound companies as they compete for what is the only steady income in Go-Go. Warren: People want to talk bad about you, undercut your prices, and even threaten bands that if they use your P.A., they will never play on their system again. They’ll even start a rumor that you went out of business if people ask them for your phone number. What is most surprising about this cut-throat competition is that there is more than enough work to go around. If you add up all of the bands from the elite to the newest up and coming there are well over 100 bands in Go-Go - especially during the summer time. Warren: I have to turn a lot of work away. Even with two P.A.’s I can’t keep up with all of the demand especially during the summer months. Demand is so heavy that even lower end systems (my opinion, not Mike Warren’s) such as those owned by Buck, Eric, and Glenn can demand the same price as high end systems such as those owned by Mike and Reo. Warren: They know that by the time you call them, you have already been turned away by both myself and Reo. They hit you with basically the same price because you have no where else to turn. One of the oldest dirty tricks in Go-Go is P.A. rigging. This is done especially at larger shows in which many bands share the same stage and P.A. In order to save the P.A. for the headline bands - and also to keep an up and coming band from sounding too good - some of the systems major components are kept off. Warren explains some of the ways that this is done. Warren: One way they get you is by turning off some of the bass bottoms. You may be looking at 10 bass cabinets, but only 5 are actually on until the headline band takes the stage. Another trick involves the EQ rack. If it’s not connected right you can’t make the proper adjustments. I guarantee you, that too, will be fixed by the time a headline band takes the stage. But not everything that is wrong with a band’s sound is the fault of the P.A. Often, many bands forget to bring their own sound man to run the P.A. board for them. Warren: You’ve got to bring your own sound man, and it has to be someone who knows your set as well as one of the band members. Surprisingly, many bands don’t event think about a sound man until they get to the show. By that time they are forced to settle for who ever set up the system. This could still work to the bands advantage if they paid the engineer the fair rate. However, as Warren points out, too many bands expect a sound man to work for free Warren: Bands don’t want to pay any money. So they get a bad or average mix. If you want to hire a serious sound man to run your board expect to pay no less than $50.00. If you pay $20.00 than I guarantee you’ll get exactly a $20.00 mix, and you’ll be mad about it later. If you want me to personally mix your sound, show me a Ben Franklin. Then there’s also the monitor man to take into consideration. He might not cost you anything. As a matter of fact he can be your manager, or rhodie. But he must understand that the monitors must not clash with the main system. Turn me up in the monitors
These complaints create nightmares for both the monitor man and sound man. Warren explains that good sound depends on these two people working well together. Warren: There must be
a balance between what’s coming from the house and what’s coming from the
monitors.
Warren further elaborates that the real secret to good clear sound is not in pumping the volume up, but in reducing it to optimum levels. It’s very much like listening to music on your car stereo. Turn the music all the way up (assuming that you can do this without blowing your system) and you will find that the music is distorted and inaudible. To restore the full range of sound you must turn the volume down to the right level. The same goes for live sound. Warren: If you want good bottom and clarity turn the volume down just enough. It will still be loud, but now you’ll be able to hear everything better. It’ll be like listening to a CD. Too many bands don’t think that they’re crankin’ unless it’s turned all the way up. With so much money to be earned in the sound business, why aren’t there more people with P.A.’s ? Warren explains that the cost of building and purchasing the system, in addition to maintenance costs and hours involved in repairs, is enough to make your re-think such a business venture. Warren: You don’t really make any money unless you have 2 P.A.’s constantly working. Most of all, you must have a crew you can trust to not blow up your equipment and crash your trucks. And expect to spend at least 10 hours per week on maintenance. For this you need either a large garage or a small warehouse space, because when it’s cold and wet you can’t work outside. Warren is not tied to any particular bands, but does regular work for Proper Utensils. Call him with enough notice and he’ll send you the sound. But as he stated earlier, you bring the sound man. With the winter months upon us he’s not nearly as busy as during the summer. In addition to maintaining two full systems, Warren also operates a practice facility and a 24 track recording studio in Forestville, Maryland.
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Statements
such as these are made constantly throughout the Go-Go scene. Ironically,
the much maligned sound man and sound system are the two most essential
factors in any live gig.