Posted by ANDREW BOURGEOIS on February 18, 2002 at 19:59:38:
In Reply to: Re: New guy getting into the biz posted by Dave Rat on April 18, 2001 at 21:35:58:
: Hello,
: Check out the thread on "I need a leg up" on the Rat Message Board. It has some info.
: We mainly hire people that we meet and work with, that have a great attitude and show a strong work ethic.
: Sound companies, in general, get quite a few inquiries from people looking to get into the field, so finding a way to show that you can be a valuable asset to a company is key.
: There are drastic variations in the amount of crew people we require at any given time. From our stand point , it is of the utmost importance to have every show go as close to perfect as possible, so we are very cautious about hiring new people without one of the following:
: 1) A strong recommendation from a trusted source.
: 2) Someone we are familiar with and meet while they are working for someone else (Freelance, local crew, band tech or engineer).
: 3) Someone who comes out to meet us and makes themselves available for work. (Timing is key, a well timed call when we are stretched thin on people can get a "come in right now" response.
: Your actual skill level is not as important as some may think. Yet, those with less experience can expect shop type work until they are knowledgeable enough to be an asset on tour. We try and focus on people who enjoy all aspects of sound, be it the technical stuff, mixing or building systems to pull off an excellent show.
: Many people have aspirations to be solely and "engineer" and we kinda shy away from that. With those goals, pursuing working directly for bands would most likely be a more direct route.
: Eventually, the opportunity does come up where we offer our techs, engineer positions for bands as they arise. We match their experience level with the band and in a perfect scenario, the band would take them on and as the band grows. When that happens, we often end up being the touring sound company supporting the band and engineer.
: I hope that helps
: Dave Rat