Any live pro live sound mixers here?

[plexisys]

How the hell did you guys manage relationships (long enough to have kids at least) while gone so much of the time?

1. Most didn't survive. The divorce/breakup rate is very high.
2. Never marry a dancer

The longest I was ever gone was about 15 months straight. At some point you have to grow up and make a choice, the road or your wife/family. More times than not, your wife/girlfriend will make that decision for you.

[Jim vanBergen]

Originally Posted by Michael Zick

How the hell did you guys manage relationships (long enough to have kids at least) while gone so much of the time?

1) You can impregnate someone backstage, on a dinner break, in a hotel room, or on a bus.

2) Most touring acts want the holidays off. That means the crew gets furlough.

[memphisindie]

Originally Posted by Michael Zick

How the hell did you guys manage relationships (long enough to have kids at least) while gone so much of the time?

You can't and you shouldn't expect to raise any healthy kids if you do. They will have problems and issues to overcome above and beyond normal growing up issues. All my friends who toured and had kids had some problems, they managed, but, they weren't expecting the impossible. I had to come off the road for mine, but, mine had severe health issues. They're all good now. I think fathers should come off the road while the kids are young and teach them the way to go. You can always go back out if it gets to be too much, but, there is no substitute for a good dad being around for boys or girls.

[memphisindie]

Originally Posted by Jim vanBergen

1) You can impregnate someone backstage, on a dinner break, in a hotel room, or on a bus.

2) Most touring acts want the holidays off. That means the crew gets furlough.

Except Van Morrison, dude wanted me to work on turkey day, first time I ever said "no". Wanted to do the family thing with my in-laws for once.
Ex-in-laws now, I'm such a schmuck!

[plexisys]

4-5 Christmases in a row with Ted Nugent in Detroit. Countless New Years and pretty much every holiday/birthday/anniversary for many, many years. It's part of the life.

My personal life was actually harder after I first got off the road. I started working at Westlake but I didn't know what to do with myself. Drove my girlfriend nuts. As I've gotten older, I can't blame her for leaving. Other than people I toured with I realized I didn't know anyone where I lived. For most people I know it was a very rough transition when they did finally get off the road.

[memphisindie]

We should start a town, just outside LA, in the desert, bet the PA would be awesome! Nuttin but crew, everywhere you look, you could get ANYTHING done there. Come uop with an idea BAM! It's knocked out in a day!
Oh, hell yeah!

[jude]

it would be a nasty place.

imagine if a band came to town, the whole audience would be chin stroking saying "oh i cant belive he used thos settings on the vocal compressor, why so many gate, he's using an analog desk" etc, etc

[memphisindie]

As if we don't do that at every show we go to now?
No bands will come to this town, only the crew will play there.
This place will be for people who already know.
You'd have to go to LA to se someone else's band play, and your buds get payed.

[jude]

well i spose i should chime in with what i did.

i used to be a live sound engineer.
i mainly mixed monitors, and for the most part i prefered it to FOH (4-24 mixes to do, kept me busier)

my wepon of choice was a yamaha M3000 (24 mono, 4 stereo, 8 groups, 8 VCA's 16 monitor sends) For processing i had 4 x KT DN360 and 1 3600, 6 gates, 8 comps and a reverb (cant remember what type)

wedges were EV1122, XI1122, MSR Jsubs (drum/side fill subs) subs and MSR 2112s (side fill)

i really miss those days but in reality i was away from my partners, and i say it plural as i went thru so many cos of distance and time apart. sure i saw alot of australia, but i still havnt decided if it was worth it.

[Jim vanBergen]

Isn't that Hawaii, where old roadies go to retire, own gear & rent it to the corporate schmucks?

Originally Posted by memphisindie

We should start a town, just outside LA, in the desert, bet the PA would be awesome! Nuttin but crew, everywhere you look, you could get ANYTHING done there. Come uop with an idea BAM! It's knocked out in a day!
Oh, hell yeah!

[memphisindie]

CRAP, still gotta make a livin, eh? I guess I'm off to Hawaii. Some luck, eh?