Living where I do, in the town that immortalized both Jim Morrison and Paramahansa Yogananda, I experience the sacred and the profane, even in such a prosaic endeavour as sound mixing.

I never know if, on a given night, I will be taking a deep breath and opening up the gain on a mic at FOH, when Stevie Wonder walks out and starts singing in the middle of a Maceo Parker show, or whether porn legend Ron Jeremy will casually appear, with his date, and stand placidly next to my monitor board, while Anthrax is thrashing madly a few feet away.

We have spent a year working on ProSoundWeb.com. What is it about? Is it the sacredness of younger mixers writing in to say how much they enjoy reading Dave Rat’s column? Peter Franco told me recently that, since he included his e-mail address in his articles about mic placement, he has received missives from as far away as Sweden and the UK.

Or is it the profanity of a manufacturer going through the roof over something we said about their product? Is it about the people who post on the LAB, and the way they were quite willing to raise a public fuss, when they felt that I had published an article which advocated unsafe work practices? I am not above making adjustments – as I did in both those cases - when someone’s argument convinces me that I should.

I am proud of what we have done. My goal has been to generate material to both help the younger surfers, and at the same time manage to entertain the old dogs. I am glad that the experience has introduced me to so many bright people, from both camps, who are interested in furthering the field in general, and not just in promoting themselves.

We do each have to promote ourselves, though, it isn’t all bong hits and backrubs. Many of us older soundfolk grew up in the counterculture, and find it unnatural to be sales people. So, “Another Dave” Dermont wrote about how to sell, and served as the ever-faithful moderator for our live chats, while Chip Self talked about how to analyze an audio business’ income stream.

The Live Audio Board was Dave Stevens’ baby before it was folded into PSW last year, and it is still going strong. It is one part nut house, one part some kind of strange cargo cult religion, one part obsessive gear heads, and zero percent boredom. I love the LAB, because I have seen it help so many people. Doug Fowler helps Dave keep it civil, when he isn’t mixing shows or writing about how to use Smaart.

A year ago, I was welcomed into a group of people that had moved over from EAW with Ken Berger when he started PSW – Deb Ferguson, Rob Carey, and Karen Pockey. It was not long before I understood how they could be relied on, for anything I needed to ask, to help me get the job done.

I met Keith and Julie Clark, and art director Tony Oakes, and grew to appreciate their professionalism. I shook Bruce Borgerson’s hand when I mixed a show near his Oregon home. I saw John Ross and Ernie Black’s faces for the first time at the PSW offices in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, and had more than one meal at Peg’s Diner. John Bosco was brought in by Dave to help with the tech that runs all this, and I helped snag Robert Chambers for the Lighting section.

A whole raft of writers have done excellent work for us, including Nancy Caronia, Steph Jorgl, David Weiss, Keith May, David Norman, Chris Bunish, Debra Kaufman, Dan Laveglia, Sven Anderson, and Claudia Kienzle. I have tried to do unto them as I would have had done unto me when I was freelancing.

I can tell you when the best time is to use the pool at the Providence Holiday Inn, and where the speed traps are near the Masschusetts border. The PSW gang has gathered at pirate table meals in Las Vegas, Orlando and Anaheim. And, I have sat here at my computer early in the morning and late at night, doing my best to steer the input and shape it into a cohesive output.

Big Mick Hughes cheerfully talked to me on a dicey mobile connection from London (stay tuned, we’ll get him for a chat one of these days,) and I walked along Studio Row in Nashville for the first time. I have watched Tori Amos, Eric Clapton, and the Barenaked Ladies from the mix positions at their shows, and been graciously received by their FOH and systems people.

I claim that I am not a tech head, but I derive a suspicious amount of enjoyment when Ken Berger or David Scheirman grabs a napkin and starts making sketches, that simplify concepts I was not clear on before. We’ll see what transpires in 2002, but whatever develops, I will be a better mixer, and business person, due to what I learned from some highly knowledgeable teachers, in 2001.

Yesterday morning, I flew home from Las Vegas, and more than my arms are tired. I don’t gamble, and I didn’t drink that much, but the days of me zipping merrily about on planes on a weekly basis have declined, only partially because of the September attacks. Part of me longs for that wired cottage on a hill in the woods somewhere, but I haven’t made that move just yet.

It’s a short drive up to the Sunset Strip, where I will run monitors for Etta James tonight. The show is being recorded for a live album, and there will be a six camera video shoot. She and her band are more concerned with the stage sounding smooth and musical than having insane-o amounts of volume. The last time I did this, I was transported by her willingness to take the music to an adventurously impressionistic place, much like I heard the late Paul Butterfield do. It may start with the blues, but it isn’t limited by that. There I go again. Talking about music on an audio website.

Part of me is still that kid who didn’t ask why he felt driven to go to all those shows thirty years ago. When I walked through that showroom door the night before last, and heard Gary Allan ripping it up honky-tonk style, through Brian Belcher’s excellent mix, I felt the same rush I did way back when.

“I know I get wild, I know I get drunk, but it ain’t like I got a bunch of bodies in my trunk,” Gary sings in his song “Alright Guy.”

I think we’ve got an alright site.

C.K.
Los Angeles, CA
December, 2001


Questions or comments for Chris? E-mail him at: chris@prosoundweb.com