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Tech Tips from Chris Tomlin’s Audio Engineers
While few church technical directors will be supporting their church worship team on a tour in arenas, there are plenty of lessons that can be learned from the professionals that support tours like Tomlin's—even from how they prep for the tour.
On the Tomlin tour, the audio team makes up cables to the right lengths ahead of time, and labels/color-codes everything. If you have a variety of stage set-ups, or are a portable church, put some effort into preparing audio snakes and cables, labeling things intuitively, and preparing paperwork ahead of time, so that set-up goes smoothly. Like the stage hands that serve when a tour comes into town, church volunteers can come and go. The more organized you are, the easier it is for volunteers to be productive.
And as Jeff Sandstrom, FOH engineer for Chris Tomlin's Hello Love tour, does at each venue where they perform, church techs should get out of the booth during rehearsals and walk around. The sound may change as you stand in different locations, and the sound in the booth may differ from sound in the actual seating area. If that's the case, learn from Sandstrom's example, and become familiar with what it should sound like in the booth for the sound in the house seating area to be optimal.
But working the gear is only part of the job—communication between the band and the techs is also crucial, and good communication requires good relationships.
“Chris sees our role as an extension of what they are doing," Sandstrom explains. "Too many times in churches there is an 'us and them' mentality between the technicians and musicians. I would love churches to be able to bridge that gap, so there's more of a partnership relationship. I view my role as being a worship leader. It doesn't matter what the band does on stage if it's not communicated through the PA. I take my role in that very seriously. Too many times we focus on being a technician—I try to see the music and the message aspect of the night just as much as the technology aspect. Without that, the people who have come to worship, who have paid to come see these guys lead worship, are not going to have the best experience.”
So how does one break through that "them and us" attitude? While we can't control other's attitudes or responses, we can control our own. Sandstrom and McMahon, monitor engineer, have some tips on the subject.
"Technicians need to be as prepared as possible," he explains, "so that the gear is working properly, it's maintained well, so that there are not technical issues when the band comes and plugs in. You don't want to put the band in a position to be left wondering why we can't start sound-check for 30 minutes because someone forgot to plug something in. There's a level of excellence and expertise that every volunteer should desire to have."
Sandstrom continues, "After that—knowing the material that's going to be played so that you are aware of any unusual instruments or new songs is important. As a mix engineer, you should be ready for what's coming. Get these things figured out earlier in the week so it's not coming crashing down Sunday morning. And from the technician's perspective, to really have the heart of a servant, asking 'how can I help you', instead of the band only looking out and seeing a guy bent over twiddling knobs. There needs to be a conversation; an interaction, instead of the band getting a stiff arm from the production team.”
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Jim Kumorek is the owner of Spreading Flames Media, providing video/media production and writing services to the A/V/L, technology, architectural and hospitality industries. He has led audio, video and lighting teams in churches as both staff and a volunteer for over 10 years. He can be contacted at james@spreadingflamesmedia.com.
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