The Musician Experiences Page

We believe that the learning process can be enriched through the exchange of ideas and experiences between fellow musicians. It is our desire to host a collection of written experiences from musicians at all stages of the learning process. We feel that these writings will help to create a sense of community and to combat feelings of isolation which sometimes impede the learning process. We have provided a similar page for Parent Experiences.

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One of my chief interests is working with the local heavy metal band, Sardonyx. As their guitar technician, I am responsible for setting up and taking care of the lead guitars, amplifiers, and effects, and working with the bass guitarist as time permits. When I am finished setting up the guitars, I help the drum technician or stage manager with their jobs. It is actually not a particularly glamorous job. Especially if you do not like standing outside in the cold, biting wind, unloading bulky equipment and trying to successfully navigate it through narrow doors, up stairs, and around corners. We members of the road crew must arrive at the venue before or at the same time as the members of the band, so that we may immediately begin to set up the stage in preparation for the concert. After the show, we stay until the "tear-down" is completed.

The first step in setting up the guitars is to move all of the equipment onto stage left and arrange it in an orderly fashion, improvising if the stage is too small. The power amp is located in a large, reinforced rack-mounted flight case, along with the pre-amp, noise suppressor, multi-effects unit, and wireless mike system. The front and back of the flight case can be removed, allowing total access to the front panels, containing the knobs and buttons, as well as the rear panels, into which the cables and patch cords, which connect the individual units together, are inserted. This flight case is mounted near the back corner of the stage, facing the audience, making it accessible to both Rod Feltman, the guitarist, and myself. Praying that this set-up will not blow a fuse, I then attach the main power cord from the flight case to a power strip on the ground, connect the power amplifier to the speaker cabinet with a pair of cables, and connect a guitar tuner to a headphone jack in back of the pre-amp, setting it on top of the flight case, so that Rod can tune his guitars between songs.

The multi-effects unit contains many different effects that can be used to enhance the actual sound of the guitar. A chorusing effect simulates the addition of a second identical guitar, the digital delay produces an echo effect, and a flanger distorts the pitch of a note, to name a few. Each effect is assigned to a number. These are switched on and off by a pedal board that I place near the front of the stage. The pedal board has a display that shows the number of the effect in use, along with seven hard rubber switches: two, to scroll up and down through the various effects, and the remaining five, to represent digits one through five, or six through ten. The pedal board, built to withstand the fury of the heaviest boot, is connected to the multi-effects unit by a cable, and is powered by an AC adapter. When I have set up the electronic equipment I place both guitars on their stands near the side of the stage, after I have checked to make sure they are in tune. I also make sure Rod has a plentiful supply of guitar picks, and extra batteries in case the batteries in the wireless mike system should run dry.

During the concert I stay backstage, but as close to the amplifier and effects as is possible. Rod will signal me if he needs to make adjustments. I am also prepared with the necessary tools to replace strings if they should break during the show, or to make minor repairs on the guitar. I am also responsible for tuning the guitar that is used for the opening song. This song begins with a bass line that suggests a bit of tension. The guitar and then the bass drum join the introduction that leads into a powerful crunching chord, beginning the body of the song. The bottom string of the guitar is tuned down one whole note to achieve a low gut-wrenching sound. For this reason, the guitar does not stay in tune as long as it normally would, and I must check the tuning before it is used again during the encore. I ran into some trouble the first time I attempted to do this. I was so intent upon tuning the guitar quickly that I forgot to plug the end of the cable into the guitar. I could not figure out why the needle of the tuner did not jump when I plucked the string, and imagined a horrible sound echoing throughout the auditorium when Rod played the first chord of the encore song. I finally realized my oversight and proceeded to tune the guitar very carefully.

It takes teamwork to put on a successful concert. Sardonyx and we "roadies" work with the sound and light crews to tie all of the audio and visual effects into one coherent event. It is worth all of the effort to know that the fans are glad that they have come to the concert and are impressed to hear music of such quality from a band that is still relatively unknown.

Being on the road crew of a band can be a great learning experience for musicians and non-musicians interested in a career in music. Depending on how active the band is, as a member of the road crew you will have the opportunity to go with them to the recording studio and learn about the business end of things in addition to everything that you will learn through working at their shows.

The best place to start is probably with a local/regional band who plays out regularly and whose music you enjoy personally. Find out where they are playing and go to every show. Observe everything that happens on and offstage. Talk to the musicians about what kind of equipment they use. Talk to the people selling merchandise. Ask the band if they need any help posting flyers around town. Eventually you will become a familiar face among a sea of strangers. At this point they will probably appreciate an offer to help them carry equipment out to their vehicles after a show.

Jeff King plays keyboards for Fountain of Tears.