The hours are long, the work is hard, days off
are rare and family time is limited. You live in
a rolling submarine for months at a stretch,
in close proximity to a dozen other guys, eat
whatever the catering room prepares—and
you can forget about sick leave or benefits. In
this economy, chances are you’re also pulling
double duty as tour manager. You’re the front
of house engineer: the alpha and omega of
what the band sounds like onstage. There’s a
lot more to FOH than knowing when to turn
up or how to run the signal chain. Knowing
how to control the mix is key, but you also
need people skills and grace under pressure—
because there will always be pressure. Five
front of house engineers, mixing for five very
different artists, spoke to Premier Guitar about
the rewards of the gig, the challenges they
face, why they do it and what it takes, professionally
and personally, to be the best.
Doug Nightwine is tour manager and front
of house engineer for Shinedown, and a
respected veteran in his field. Joining him
is his longtime colleague, guitar tech Galen
Henson. The two met 12 years ago when
Nightwine was Joe Satriani’s tour manager
and Henson was Satriani’s rhythm guitarist.
Shinedown is currently performing in arenas
and theaters, playing two-hour
shows on a
three-nights-on,
one-night-off
schedule.
Kevin Padilla is front of house engineer
for Sick Puppies and Hurt, with whom Sick
Puppies shared a summer co-headlining
tour.
When Hurt went on break, Padilla joined Sick
Puppies. “It worked out perfectly,” he says.
“I went from one tour bus to the next.” Since
he began his music career as a guitarist,
Padilla understands the instrument’s place in
the mix, which is crucial in this case because
there are only three musicians onstage and
every note has to count.
Shawn Hammer is front of house engineer
and tour manager for Adelitas Way, whose
selftitled
debut was produced by Johnny K.
With two guitarists coming from two different
schools of rock, Hammer—whose resume
includes a year and a half as drum and monitor
tech for 10 Years—has the challenge of
separation and balance on both sides of the
stage, in both arenas and clubs.
Billy Kirk is front of house engineer for
Blackberry Smoke, a two-guitar
country/
rock/bluegrass/blues band that Dann Huff
saw playing in a club and decided to produce
before they even had a record deal.
Kirk also has a background in monitors,
and has worked with Patti LaBelle for the
past 11 years, in addition to stints with
Eric Benet and Vanessa Williams. When we
caught up with Kirk, Blackberry Smoke was
on tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd, and preparing
for a stunning 22-date
back-to-back
run of
their own in Europe.
Hugh Johnson is in his 21st year as front of
house engineer for Vince Gill and is Gill’s
production manager. Johnson also taught Live
Sound Reinforcement at Belmont University
in Nashville. An English major/Broadcasting
minor from East Carolina University in
Greenville, NC, Johnson credits “the school of
hard knocks” for his music industry education.