Sometimes things just go wrong. Saturday night was an excellent example of that. The set up and sound check went well. The client's dinner was on schedule. After dinner, I was introduced and suddenly the evening became a series of errors.
In any form of public speaking, if you can't be heard, the audience will quickly lose interest. The presentation then falls apart. So when the sound, which was adjusted by someone AFTER the sound check, came out muffled and tinged with feedback, the program immediately got off to a rough start. It took about 15 to 20 minutes before the "sound man" could resolve the issue. I continued, determined to entertain the guests that could actually hear the show, and hoping others would move closer.
Once the sound issues had been resolved, the guests began laughing and enjoying themselves. Within minutes of capturing the room, the hotel's emergency alarms went off. A pre-recorded voice instructed all guests to walk to the nearest exit and move safely away from the building. Turns out, it was a false alarm - but the damage was done.
Last evening, I was upset for the client, who had spent a lavish budget to make certain the guests were entertained, only to have the evening fall apart. I was angry at myself for allowing my program to be destroyed by two situations that were beyond my control. Today, I have studied the issues and learned a valuable lesson. It will never happen again.
How do I know? You'll have to hire me to find out.
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3 comments:
Hi Tom;
I have been through some of these same horors. As a result I only use my own sound system as I know it works, and how it works. I have been performing in a school when a fire drill was called in the middle of the show, and everyone left the auditorium. As much as these things upset me, I try to remember that they are over and 50 years from now won't be important. In fact the next day they aren't important. But, being a performer like yourself I want every performance to be my best, and want them to be remembered that way. Keep giving it your best!
You are right Bob, using your own sound IS important. Problem is, if I fly to an event, carrying sound is not an option. My technical rider is fairly straight forward, but even then some folks just don't read the thing. The best thing about that experience is the fact it will never happen again! Thanks for following my rants. Tom
What I do if I can't bring my own sound system is to have my own sound man. He can make sure the settings of the mixer would match my voice and I can signal to him if the mic or music needs to be louder or otherwise.
Problem is...when a venue has it's own sound man and they don't want anyone messing up with their system. SOME of these guys are very unprofessional. After a sound check, the settings must be maintained BUT during the show, and often times during the middle part of the show, just when everybody is really enjoying the act, they change the settings and as performers relying on our vocals, we can immediately feel the change in settings and personally, I get affected.
The best thing still is to have your own sound system and own sound man...if we can't bring our own sound system, maybe we can insist to management of the venue that our sound man will have to operate their system at least as far as settings are concerned.
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