If you are fortunate enough to have a Sound Tech, AWESOME!!! If you are fortunate enough to have a good Sound Tech, then EVEN BETTER!!!
Sound Techs make a difference. Ever been in a situation where you can’t hear ANYTHING that is going on? I have. The most catastrophic one was when a sound tech didn’t get scheduled for my service and I couldn’t figure out how to turn the monitors on the sound board. A good band plays more timidly than usual. The vocalist either sings too softly – thus causing the band to play even more timidly – or oversings. It’s just not a good situation to be in.
So… What do I mean by “shielding” your Sound Tech?
Your Sound Tech needs to report to one person. If there isn’t a designated person, then that person needs to be you. You don’t need whoever is at the sound board to be taking orders from everybody in the congregation and everyone in the band. They need to be filtered out.
Even if there is someone out in the house, you need to be the one that controls what is happening on the stage. One band I scheduled had in-ear monitors available. My general rule was that the stage monitors would reflect what was happening in the house and that if the band wanted to hear anything differently, they could use the in-ear monitors. What I didn’t allow them to do was continue telling the Sound Tech to turn things up on the stage monitors. One person needs to make the call, otherwise it is chaos.
And for Heaven’s sake, if you have a situation where your stage monitors are being used to pipe sound throughout the house, quit immediately.
