Last weekend, I was A3 on a show featuring A Band You’ve Heard Of. What I mean by that is twofold:

1) There were three of us on the crew. I was the “junior” guy.

2) The headliner tours nationally on a regular basis.

I mixed monitors for the locals, the A2 handled monitor world for the headliner, and I ended up mixing the last 20 minutes (or so) of the headliner when the A1 decided that we were basically home-free.

If you’re wondering what it was like, well – it was similar to everything else. Bands You’ve Heard Of aren’t some sort of exotic creature, festooned in iridescent feathers and endued with arcane magics that mortals cannot fathom. They’re bands, and subject to all the same physical laws as any other band. There are some differences though, and in my mind it tends to boil down to expectations:

Regional and national acts tend strongly towards knowing exactly what they want, know how to ask for it, and are confident in asking for it.

…and really, what that means is they’re experienced. A good local that’s been around the block will exhibit the same behaviors. They aren’t sitting up on deck, trying to suss out the requirements as they go. They’ve got a system for getting in the room, a system for building their set up, a system for getting the sound on deck squared away, and a system for figuring out if FOH is how they think it ought to be.

There’s also a very good chance that they will push your rig, and the physics of the room, to its maximum reasonable limit. This isn’t a character flaw, or a bad behavior. It’s simply another bit of skill that’s picked up as musicians become seasoned. They will have played through sound systems that are truly world-class, and they will want you to get your setup as close to that performance level as possible. It’s where their comfort zone is; What they’ve gotten accustomed to.

There are some people out there who are attitude monsters, of course. Those folks will try to take everything BEYOND any reasonable standard, and then whine up a storm when it doesn’t happen. That’s not what I’m talking about here: The pros simply want to get everything possible out of the electronics and acoustics available to them, so as to achieve the performance that they expect to give – and that their fans expect to get. If something doesn’t seem right, and it also seems like that something could be fixed to become right, Bands You’ve Heard Of will let you know. They’ll be professional and courteous about it, certainly, but they won’t just let it slide. If the vocals don’t sound quite right in mix 1, well, we’re going to dig in and see if we can’t get them to behave.

As a final point, let me say that Working with A Band You’ve Heard Of is a great way to learn that our job is to get the band’s sound, not the other way around. Local crews are rarely engaged because they will “bring something unique to the songs.” Rather, we get the nod because we can provide the necessary gear, and the expertise needed to put that gear in a state which will satisfy the artist.

Working with acts that take it to the next level is a great way for YOU to be taken to the next level, so embrace the opportunities when you get them.