Behind the Curtain – September ’13

Meet the behind-the-scenes team of workers who make performers on stage look and sound great

Unlike band members who typically remain on their bus or in their hotel rooms until show time, these music industry technicians work hard from the load-in until the last case is packed up at the end of the night.

Members of the road crew (a.k.a. “roadies”) are responsible for maintaining, setting up, operating and dismantling a band’s musical equipment each night, as well as operating the large sound and light systems during the show.

Because many of them operate in the shadows, the road crew typically receives little recognition from anyone other than the musicians they support. But without the road crew’s effort and expertise back stage, there would be no rock stars on stage.

So here’s an explanation, and some kudos, to the men and women in black:

Front of House (FOH) Sound Engineer: Responsible for operating the mixing console, which processes signals from all vocal and instrumental microphones on stage, creating the FOH mix heard by the audience. FOH engineers operate from the sound booth, typically located directly in front of the stage. In addition to the mixing console, they operate compressors, equalizers and other pieces of electronic equipment that turn electric signals into songs you know and love.

Lighting Director: Typically sharing the FOH sound booth with the sound engineer, LD’s design a grid of stage lights, and then manipulate lighting scenes during the show via computer or lighting console.

Monitor Engineer: Musicians on stage do not hear what audiences hear. Instead, each musician listens to an individual custom mix played thru a speaker located on the stage in front of them, or via small monitors that fit inside their ears. Each musician tells the monitor engineer exactly what they want to hear in their “monitor mix” – typically a combination of their own instrument and / or vocals, along a few other instruments or vocals that allow them to keep time or harmonize properly. The monitor engineer prefers to operate from a console located in the wings on either side of the stage, but can also operate from the FOH sound booth.

Guitar Techs: These guitar gurus restring, tune, and repair a band’s supply of guitars and stringed instruments. They also assist on stage, when musicians switch instruments between songs.

Drum Techs: Replacing drums heads and assembling the drum kit are the main focus for this group of technicians. They can also troubleshoot and rearrange drums and cymbals for the drummer in mid-song, if anything goes wrong or any equipment needs adjusting during a show.

Backstage Coordinator: Many popular bands also have someone who sets up and maintains the backstage area and green rooms. This might include laying out wardrobe options, arranging items to be autographed, preparing the catering, babysitting a musician’s children, and a variety of other odds and ends.

Merchandise Managers: While t-shirts and CDs are not sold at most corporate concerts, these items do create significant revenue streams for touring bands. The band’s merchandise manager ensures the supply chain never runs dry and oversees local crews in each market who sell items on the band’s behalf.

Drivers: Rarely seen because they sleep during the day and drive overnight, bus and truck drivers are responsible for the safe and timely arrival of a band’s buses and tractor-trailers, which carry band members, crew and equipment from town to town.