Nicholas PellWhen you see a show, you're not just hearing the band. You're hearing the hard work of the live sound engineers. It's a thankless job, done often in anonymity.
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And it's not just about learning how to operate the sound board: Every room is different. What works at The El Rey isn't going to work at The Echoplex. But the good part is that L.A. sound engineers are a community: While there's a competitive element to it, live sound engineers tend to celebrate each other's successes.
Here are seven of the best that Los Angeles has to offer, in no particular order:
Brian Haught
Age: 45
Venues: The Dragonfly, The Joint, The Opium Den, King King, The Garage, The El Rey, Henry Fonda Theater, The Viper Room, Roxy, Troubador, Key Club.
Years in Town: 18
Years in the Biz: 12
Gig Pet Peeves: Tardiness. “When you're in the studio you have all the time in the world. That's not true when you're playing live.”
Favorite Piece of Gear: Any digital mixing console. “It allows you to be fluid and fast.”
Tomas Wolfe; Credit: Courtesy Tomas Wolfe
Tomas Wolfe
Age: 31
Venues: The Viper Room, Echo, Club Nokia, Fonda, The El Rey
Years in Town: Native
Years in the Biz: 4
Gig Pet Peeves: “When the audience is telling me how to mix.”
Favorite Piece of Live Gear: Venue profile console
Shawn London; Credit: Courtesy Shawn London
Shawn London
Age: 47
Venues: The Roxy, The Whiskey, The El Rey, The Fonda, The Opium Den, The Key Club
Years in Town: Native
Years in the Business: 24
Gig Pet Peeves: “Bands that are late. Bands that have their input list and it's completely wrong.”
Favorite Piece of Live Gear: Midas XL8 or a Heritage.
Jerry Lopez; Credit: Courtesy Jerry Lopez
Jerry Lopez
Age: 38
Venues: The Fox Theater Pomona, The Glasshouse, The Mayan, The Viper Room
Years in Town: 18
Years in the Biz: 18
Gig Pet Peeves: “Miscommunication, abusive employers, underpayment, people that don't get their shit together and still get pay for it.”
Favorite Piece of Live Gear: X32 Midas/Behringer, Ableton Live and Waves Plug ins.
James Young; Credit: Courtesy James Young
James Young
Age: 45
Venues: 14 Below, The El Rey, Fonda Music Box, King King, Key Club, The Viper Room, Glasshouse, Club Nokia
Years in Town: 15
Years in Biz: 25
Gig Pet Peeves: “Line checking band over the PA in front of an audience. Use your cans!”
Favorite Piece of Gear: SM 57 microphone.
Matthew Andrade; Credit: Courtesy of Matthew Andrade
Matthew Andrade
Age: 35
Venues: The Viper Room, Whisky-a-Go-Go, House of Blues Sunset, Club Nokia, Fox Theater Pomona, Troubadour, Roxy, Key Club, Avalon, Fonda Theatre, Greek Theater
Years in Town: 7
Years in Biz: 7
Gig Pet Peeves: “Not getting to work with the best bands. Unprepared and unprofessional bands.”
Favorite Piece of Live Gear: In-Ear Monitors (IEMs)
Leonard Contreras; Credit: Courtesy of Leonard Contreras
Leonard Contreras
Age: 39
Venues: The Whisky, Roxy Theatre, The Viper Room
Years in Town: 22
Years in the Biz: 18
Gig Pet Peeves: “Tune your instrument.”
Favorite Piece of Live Gear: Behringer X32 and waves Maxx BCL
See also: If Your Band Wants to Sound Good You Must Give the Sound Guy $20
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