Moving Farther Away
That said, Leamy also admits to “an impatience for incompetence and crappy sound” that has played a key part in his professional advancement.
The ethic served him well when he departed Electrosound in 2000 to work with JBL Professional, where he held a number of positions – some he was instrumental in creating – before becoming vice president of installed sound.
During his tenure at JBL, he added some impressive projects to his portfolio, among them a system retrofit of the Grand Ole Opry, as well as installations like the Walt Disney Concert Hall and dozens of high-profile sporting venues, including Chicago’s iconic Soldier Field. Working on permanent installations for very large venues was a logical next step in his career.
“The whole nature of modern music has matured, so the whole concept of installations has matured,” he explains.
“There’s good audio all around us – in our cars, in our homes. People’s expectations, whether they’re going to a cinema, a sporting event, or to worship, are higher than ever.”
Ultimately, however, he felt he was moving farther away from the front line of the audience experience, and, frankly, missed it. Not that the front line had always been pleasant: “The cold showers, the crappy food; you’re not living the life of glamour.”
Another complication, he says, was one of the personal experiences he spoke of earlier – the ongoing effects of a childhood illness that had once evolved into a life-threatening situation in the early 1980s.
“Still, the problem is that getting off the road was the first step away from where the excitement is. A concert, or a sporting event is a tribal experience.
“To go to the new Meadowlands and stand in the middle of that crowd and do some critical listening is incredible in the context of the event. What you’ve done is an additive element to that tribal experience.
That’s excitement. That’s a measure of success. To be able to affect a change on that front line and see a positive difference, it’s awesome.”
Coming Back Home
Inevitably, that conviction prompted his move to Pro Media/UltraSound in 2007. A homecoming, he says, both professionally and personally. “At JBL I didn’t do the installations, but here I do, and I’m running a business that I absolutely adore.”
“When I was with Electrosound and we did the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan stadium tours, Don Pearson (co-founder of UltraSound) and I became such good friends. And UltraSound and Electrosound, gosh, you could hardly tell the companies apart, we worked so well together.”
Leamy also counts Pro Media founder Drew Serb and Pro Media/UltraSound’s Derek Featherstone among his close friends and business associates. “These are folks that have known me for ages. It was just a good life decision for me.”
“About every three or four years, even during my tenure at JBL, they’d call me up and say, ‘c’mon, come and work here.’ My only regret is that I come here after my dear friend Don passed away and that he and I never had the opportunity to sit in the building together as comrades in arms.”
In Leamy’s world, it comes down to the people – “Mick Whelan, Jim Douglas, Sam Berkow, Mark Gander at JBL, and many others,” he says, that informs his enduring conviction that, as an audio professional, businessman, and human, it’s important to look ahead as well as behind you.
“A lot of people have helped me, which is why I say that if you achieve some level of success, you’ve got to turn around, see who’s behind you and help them.”
Coolest Place To Be
It’s a philosophy he puts in practice by sharing his own perspective and experiences with others. He’s a contributing editor and writer for various pro audio publications, and also serves as associate director of the Zappa Institute of Technology – now an officially accredited academy in the Los Angeles Unified School District that teaches at-risk students about job opportunities in production.
Looking behind him and lending a hand to help others move forward is something Leamy intends to continue to do as long as he continues to work at making good sound, which he intends to keep doing. Period.
“For me there’s something about audio that inspires the concepts of God and creation. These are the laws of physics, the laws of the universe, the foundation underlying what music and audio technology are.”
“It’s really the optimization of a loudspeaker system that has inspired and excited me the most, and continues to. And now I’m back to the edge of the audience experience, to the nexus of art and science, and it’s the coolest place in the universe to be.”
Fast Facts
Job Title: Chief operating officer at Pro Media/UltraSound
Location: Hercules, CA
Years in the Business: 30-plus
Favorite Tools: Practical common sense
Worked With: Pro Media/UltraSound with various touring artists and on installs including Dallas Cowboys and New Meadowlands Stadiums, JBL Professional on installations including Walt Disney Concert Hall, Soldier Field, the Grand Ole Opry and multiple NBA, NFL and major league baseball venues; and Electrosound as system engineer for Rod Stewart, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan, Rush, Lenny Kravitz, Def Leppard, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Billy Idol, Bob Marley, Ted Nugent and others
Based in Toronto, Kevin Young is a freelance music and tech writer, professional musician and composer.