It Begins: Anticipation
Ben awoke at dawn filled with hope and excitement – this was the day he was to kneel before the audio gods at Frank’s Sound Company and Show Rentals.

Ben had been waiting for this day for two years while he worked his way through the daunting challenges placed before him at the community college audio program.

He was ready to prove his worth and show his mettle to the gods, and he knew they would be impressed. There wasn’t a knob he didn’t know. There wasn’t an audio formula he couldn’t recite. There wasn’t a cool-guy piece of equipment whose alphanumeric name he couldn’t rattle off like machine-gun fire.

But even more impressive, he thought, would be his system test CD. Yes – he had IGY, Babylon Sisters, Toy Matinee, and some Diana Krall. He knew the gods would recognize one of their own when they saw this.

And last but not least, Ben would have a Sharpie and a greenie subtly placed in his right rear pocket in just a way that these gods would see, without being too obvious. He was ready.

Ben poured himself a bowl of Captain Crunch, doused it with 2 percent milk, and sat down to fortify himself for the coming gauntlet. Through the rhythmic munching and the heaping spoonful of goodness brought to his mouth every 6,500 milliseconds, he thought about the things he would need to know today.

In his mind’s eye, he visualized the Inverse Square Law in three dimensions. He silently calculated the impedance of a series/parallel loudspeaker cabinet loaded with six 8-ohm drivers. He recited to himself the resistance, both ways, of a 12AWG loudspeaker cable that was 50 feet long.

Ben’s education had been a good one – his teachers made every effort to ensure that their students understood the fundamentals.

But Ben was even more excited about mixing. He knew that the experience he’d gained by working on everything from that recording project with the reggae band to being an assistant system tech at the Spring Fling festival at his community college had perfectly prepared him to “mix the big time.”

And this is where Ben saw himself – up on the big platform at the big show with the big artist. “The Big Time” Ben said as a few drops of peanut butter-tainted milk dribbled down his chin and visions of thousands of screaming fans echoed in his head.

He was ready to take on the world as he grabbed his resume and CD, heading down the staircase at his apartment complex to his car, starting out on his way to Frank’s Sound Company. It was only a few miles away – just enough time to hear IGY again in the car.

“I wonder what this CD sounds like on Frank’s best sound system. Probably a line array,” thought Ben as he pulled into the parking lot at the sound company. It was 9:54 a.m., right on time for the interview at 10.

As he stepped out of his car and readied himself to enter the realm of the audio gods, Ben tucked his black EV t-shirt into his black Levis and looked down at his black Reeboks.

“I’m as ready as I’m ever gonna be,” he muttered under his breath as he strode purposefully toward the big double doors at the front of the building. He paused at the door, took a deep breath to still the twinge in his stomach, and then reached for the handle. He gave it a manly tug before entering the lobby with his head held high and walked straight to the reception desk.

“I’m here to see Frank,” he said with the most mature but casual voice he could muster for someone of a mere 20 years of age.

“And you are?” asked the receptionist, with just a faint trace of haughtiness, as if Ben could clearly not really be someone that Frank would know.

“Ben Davis” he said, again with the calm, mature and casual voice he had already used seconds before. “I’m here for an interview.” He could not see that she had rolled her eyes while looking down at the appointment book.

“Please have a seat,” she uttered. “I’ll let him know you’re here.”

Ben looked around at the lobby and noticed that there was a nice-looking leather couch along the wall behind him.

But what really caught his eye was the array of large, framed pictures of what looked like super-awesome shows and tours from years gone by. “Whoa…” came out of his mouth almost as a whisper as he chose one of the pictures and approached it. He stood staring at the rock stars on stage covered in a wash of colored light and dripping with sweat.

He walked over to another picture, this one of a political rally. “This is exciting stuff” he said under his breath just as he heard doors open behind him and the sound of footsteps approaching as someone walked into the room.

Ben turned on his heel just as the man said “Ben?”

“That’s me,” was his simple reply. The man introduced himself as Frank and asked Ben to follow him to his office. Frank Martin had the look of mature confidence to which Ben aspired. And although he must have been only 40, to Ben thought he looked like “the old guard.” Ben felt a tickle of electricity as the moment had finally come.

He felt for his Sharpie and greenie. Check.

He looked down at the CD jewel case in his hand. Check.

He had his resume in his hand. Check.

He was ready, and he knew it…

Coming next: Part 2, The Interview

Taylor Jensen is a freelance pro audio writer.