Disciplinary Expert Tour

I got the chance to speak with one of my oldest friends, Adam Skidmore. Adam holds multiple titles at Harvest Bible Chapel; Front of House Audio Engineer, Production Director, and Director of Young Adults. Unfortunately, it was a struggle for us to meet in person, we ended up speaking June 26th, after he had already went home for the day. Adam was preparing to travel for work starting 6/27-7/2, so he was busy preparing for that. Due to this, all pictures I was able to get of his equipment and his job were taken from social media (with his permission).

On a given day, Adam could be found doing multiple tasks:

-Volunteer management- training, recruiting, and scheduling tasks for volunteers

-Equipment management- preventative maintenance, repairs, upgrades

-Event management- planning, coordinating, executing events throughout multiple campuses as well as retreats with the church.

-Personal Growth- developing his own craft and knowledgebase in ever evolving technologies.

Adam is the head audio engineer for the church, and is the man behind the soundboard for most masses, concerts, and any other event that the church is apart of.

Equipment:

The equipment Adam uses includes, but is not limited to (believe it or not):

-Soundboards- Yamaha OM7, CL5 (pictured to the right), & QL5

-Digital Stage Racks- Yamaha Rio Boxes (shown above)

-Dante digital audio networks for connects all devices

-Sound systems- Clair Brothers, L Acoustics Kara and K2, JBL VRX

-Recording software for broadcasting- Pro Tools

-Wireless mic systems for performers, speakers, preachers, etc.- Shure UHFR

-Lighting Consoles- Jands Vista, Road Hogs

-Laser Projectors for digital projection

-LED Walls

-RESI Streaming Infrastructure for streaming to all campuses and online

-All computer controlled devices are MacBook Pros

-AssetTiger software is used for all equipment management. Can schedule maintenance, check-out, barcode items, and more.

-Smarrt software for being able to read frequencies in the room. This helps Adam check levels on his board and be able to adjust to improve sound quality.

-Trello as their project management software. This helps Adam plan events, schedule his employees and volunteers, let's him know when he is traveling with the church or with the Vertical Production crew. (Vertical Production crew works with more than just the church specifically. They do other worship events and the Vertical Worship band).

Adam and his crew with discuss current and future events that they need to be at. After assigning duties, Adam will go through and check what equipment is needed for each event. Then, he and his team will make sure all equipment is working and is in no need of maintenance. Next is the set up. Most of the work actually comes before the event. Setting up requires a lot of mental and physical work. Anything from setting up microphones, linking cables, setting up the lights and making the projector is ready, Adam is constantly running back and forth, up and down ladders. After the stage or even space is set up, comes soundcheck. Whoever is performing or speaking comes in and sets up what they need. Adam will work with them to make sure everything is to their liking, while also making sure everything is up to par for the room they are in. Then comes the actual sound check. The performer(s) speaks or plays individually to check volume and they all the microphones are working. They then will play together to check balance. Adam will also check decibels to make sure they are not at risk of damaging hearing and insuring the best sound possible. Once that is all set up, if they are streaming from campus to campus, or doing a livestream, the connection needs to be tested. Adam also needs to have someone on the other end of the stream to make sure that everything sounds well on that end. After all this is set, Adam or the person who will be running the board at the event just need to be sure everything is running appropriately and be able to adjust anything on the fly. They also need to be in contact with the rest of the crew incase something happens on and behind the stage that needs attending.

Outside of actually events or planning of events, Adam is in charge of upkeep for all the equipment. If something is not working, he needs to find out if he can fix it, if it needs to be sent out for repairs, or if they need to replace it. Adam also has to keep track of the budget, making sure repairs are done under budget, and if an upgrade is needed that they can afford to make the upgrade.

I always knew my friend was busy with work, but I honestly had no idea how much he looked after and did with the church. He also is on the road a lot, I do not know how his family ever sees him!

How technology is used as a way to mediate what people "do, mean, relate, think, and be":

Do: The sum of everything Adam works with allows him to manipulate the music/sound to be as pleasing to ears as possible. These technologies not only allow you to adjust volume, but the tone, where the sound is coming from, balance, and adjusting on the fly to help portray the message of the song or speaker.

Mean: Working with live sound provides and audience with music that is pleasing to their ears. We have all been to a garage band show, the sound is awful. That's not just the garage acoustics! Working with live sound means you are helping the performer share their art and/or their message.

Relate: I think being an audio engineer is really the unsung hero for musicians and speakers. Everyone thinks that the speaker can deliver a really good speech, or this band is really good, but they don't know how hard the man behind the board is working to make them sound that good. The audio engineer is the person who makes all these performers sound as good as they do. Everyone loves going to concerts, but they only watch the band. Try to go early and watch a sound check (in a small venue) or try to pay attention to the person doing the sound. They are constantly moving and adjusting on the fly to make sure you have the best experience possible.

Think: The live sound portion of Adam's job forces you to be quick on your feet. His brain is constantly going, if he starts to hear a buzz, or someone is popping their "p's", or if the decibels are reading too high and the sound is no longer pleasing to the audiences ear, he needs to know what to do to fix it. If a guitarist turns up their amplifier without Adam knowing, he needs to be able to recognize the balance is not the same as it was during soundcheck and turn the guitarist down from his board.

Be: Using any combination or single one of the technologies that Adam works with can relate to a vast variety of professions. Utilizing any of the music equipment (soundboards, microphones, wireless packs, Pro Tools, Sound Systems, Digital stage racks, etc. can help with being a live sound technician, a radio DJ, a record producer, or even a music teacher if part of your job ends up being the auditorium manager.

Teaching Implications:

I think it is very important to show music students as well as prospective music students that there are careers other than being a music teacher or a musician. Adam was never in band, he only ever played guitar (seriously, the man can play. One of the best I've ever heard) and never had a home for his music talent growing up. He then went to Elmhurst College with me and joined the music program to study music business. He struggled at the start because he was not able to get a formal training or be in a music class growing up.

Adam is the student that I do my best to find a home for in my schools. Students like him are why I find guitar programs, music technology, and recording courses so important. I do my best to help teach my students about these careers and utilize as many of these technologies as I can to give them some experience, but I also was not trained in music production. Also, budget obviously becomes an issue. You won't be able to get all of these technologies, but maybe some entry level versions, or at least teach awareness. The soundboards Adam uses cost tens of thousands of dollars, there is not way schools would ever purchase those.

My hope is to be the teacher that sparks the interest in enough students that they go on to teach and the next generation of students will be that much better off. If I were to still have been teaching my recording and music technology courses next year, Adam Skidmore would have for sure come in and worked with my students.

I think bringing awareness of career paths such as this is one of the biggest things I can do for my students. I think that is a lesson for all my classes, whether it be music technology, recording, guitar, or band, I am certain there are students in all classes that would love to hear about this type of job. Taking time in all of my classes to take them to the auditorium and walk them through the soundboard. What purpose(s) does it have? What are it's functions? Walk them through setting up microphones for varies types of events and run a simulation on running live sound. I would bring in someone like Adam to talk to my students, and/or take them on a field trip to an event hall or recording studio and take a tour with a professional in the field. Music class should not just be about learning your song and go home. We need to show what possibilities can come from their passion.

After working through the entire process of running sound for a performance, I can have students make a small group project out of it. They can simulate one of two jobs. Running through all the steps to do sound for a concert is option 1. Check the venue/ what performance will be taking place, figure out what equipment you need, budget for any additional equipment you would need to purchase, set up the auditorium for your performance, have a group of musicians from the class do a sound check, and you run the soundboard (with my supervision) to make sure the performers sound as good as possible. Option 2 would be running a recording studio. Find a band (a group from class), set up the room as if you were going to record them. Set up microphones, space out the instruments accordingly or have them record individually. Plug the performers into an audio interface and let them record. Then you go through and edit each track and export the final product. We would then upload the final songs to a class Spotify.