During her career, Sabolchick has emphasized persistence, the willingness to continue to learn constantly, networking relentlessly, and the necessity of understanding the craft inside and out as the best way to succeed. Communication is also key: “It’s all about figuring out what the artist’s vision is.”
Additionally, she stresses the fact that although there’s a creative element to mixing, there’s something very important to always keep in mind. “You work for the band. They don’t work for you,” she states. “You’re presenting the artist’s music to the audience. The artist has to trust you’re going to do that the way they want.”
In 2013, Sabolchick co-founded Soundgirls.org with long-time Pearl Jam monitor engineer Karrie Keyes after they both served on a panel at the 2012 AES show. Although she’s since removed herself from an active role with Soundgirls, she remains an avid supporter and continues to be a contributor when time permits.
Everything Fits
Beyond satisfying her love of music, science, and technology, working as a touring engineer has fed an enduring passion for travel. “My family used to do a lot of traveling and camping every summer,” she says. “I always knew there was a huge world out there and wanted to see it. So live sound was perfect. I could do what I love, travel, and get paid for it.”
In seeing the world, going to places she never dreamed she’d visit, Sabolchick’s found herself in some areas where, frankly, personal safety was a concern. Case in point was a tour with Mr. Big in India. “A couple of years ago we did three shows in 10 days there, and it was the hardest touring I’ve ever done, emotionally and physically draining,” she says. “It’s hard to fathom that there are still millions of people without basic necessities: clean water, shelter, electricity. I’ve been to a lot of countries where you see poverty, but in India there’s just another layer to it.
“We were outdoors playing in these huge polo fields,” she continues. “The third show was for 15,000 people, with another 7,000 outside that they couldn’t let in because the venue was packed. Right before the band walked on stage, the system tech from our Indian sound company said to me, ‘It’s amazing you’re here.’ He’d been at all the shows, and I said, ‘Yeah, It’s amazing.’ But he said, ‘No. It’s amazing because it’s really dangerous. There are two tribes here that fight constantly. There are murders and kidnappings, but the government negotiated with them to stop fighting so we could have this concert.’
“So then I’m thinking, ‘Awesome, we’re gonna die,’ but it was an amazing show. The band was exhausted, but they gave it 120 percent, and the audience was insane. It was incredible.”
Ultimately, it’s the challenging gigs you remember, she concludes, rather than those that go off without a hitch.
“When you get into a tour, day in and day out, you do the same thing, and it’s nice when it’s easy and it all comes together, but then you have a day when you’re outdoors and all of sudden there’s a tornado coming in, and it’s like, ‘What are we going to do?’ That’s the day you remember, when everybody pulls together to make the show happen. That really makes it memorable and rewarding.”
Based in Toronto, Kevin Young is a freelance music and tech writer, professional musician and composer.