This guy is a legend and 99.9% of the audience will never know. The work that goes on to make bands sound and look as good as they do is massively undervalued, a great video, you have a new subscriber in me just from this one video.
Thats the thing. People just see an awesome band and give them all the credits. But they forget all the guys behind the stage which contribute a lot to that band being so awesome. A band is nothing without their team.
Live Audio is a field that moves both very slowly and super quickly. Technology has improved dramatically,and being able to reproduce basically the same show every night in every different venue is great for the audience. it's mega expensive, but the end result is worth it, especially for a band that actually plays their instruments! ;)
RESPECT to Cookie. Had the privilege of hosting Styx a few times at our venue and I learn so much from their whole crew every time. Cookie is a never ending well of knowledge and so generous in sharing what he knows.
wow this is some incredible insight. Crazy how knowledgable Chris is. Seems like he's an expert on things i hadn't even thought about, like the thing about playing with the time alignment to focus the audience's attention on the stage.
The “Haas effect” just lets the delay speaker’s audio ride on the backside of the primary waves if the main arrays. I’ve even had customers complain that the rear speakers weren’t on - until we Ruben the front arrays off! DiGiCi consoles, with dynamic EQ are amazing. Few FOH consoles have that feature. The ability to leave an EQ filter inactive, until certain volume levels, is just genius. Nice job, getting this interview! There aren’t more than a handful of people who really get how incredibly talented this man is!
The level of technology involved in a show like this is absolutely mind boggling! Thank you for sharing these videos - as a long time concert attendee, I’ve always been impressed with what these people do, but to really hear about the level of control they have (and the knowledge to do it) is beyond belief! Absolutely amazing!
Back in the day 70's & 80's I engineered bands on the road, listening to Cookie talking about what he does. WOW! how things have changed from the analogue days, he is a wealth of information and thanks for sharing with us all. Great guy.
Local stagehand here (farm aid 1 was my first ever gig 1985) - every single time I’ve worked with Styx the crew, the band, everyone involved with the production is exceptional and top level in every way. Loved hearing Chris walk you and your dad through the rig.. if he’s not now, he will be soon - absolute legend - wealth of knowledge, never condescending. I’m usually assigned to Libby so it’s been awesome to get this focused insight. Thank you!!
Just finished the full video. Cannot wait for the next part in the series. Styx is one of my all time favorite bands. But every aspect of this backstage style video is fascinating
This video better get 100's of thousands of views, I swear, lol. Not only is it the hype from the size of the operation, but the first dude you interviewed (I'm still just 10 minutes in) is amazing and so well-spoken. You must have done a good job making people feel comfortable and like they could fully answer. Great video!
this guys gonna trip how much good feed back hes gonna get, as well as likes and appreciation from us viewers. recording studio loser great questions and good job letting him talk and explain with out interrupting.
I wanna give Chris a big thanks for sharing his day with us and being so good at explaining everything. I feel like I have a much great understanding of FOH now, but still light years to go in regards to his knowledge.
You’re welcome. Maybe someday when I’m too beat up to tour anymore I’ll find some creaky rocking chair and spout my opinions on how to tune PA’s for rock bands and mixing considerations.
that was a privilege to watch. Thanks! Thanks so much RSL for making this happen, recording - and of course Chris Hoff for sharing such a world of wisdom - letting him talk and giving us the whole thing was terrific.. Great job, super enjoyed, very educational. [postnote: RSL you rock; this was terrific, thank you so much, I couldn't even give you a suggestion for improving; this was amazing]
This is BADASS CONTENT MAN! My favorite quote on sight from Mr. Hoff "it's all about emotion". I know so many young sound guys who are too concentrated on the science and forget that ultimately, they are completely responsible for delivering the emotion that comes off that stage. Not everyone can pull that off. It's like playing an instrument. You need a total package that contains all the right things. Anyone can learn it, but not everyone is above average. I am persuaded that It's something you're born with. Such an awesome look into an avenue of modern live sound engineering. So Sick man!
I ended up watching the backstage portion first and just watched this one a few days later. I think there's more but I'm not sure. Just need to say I am totally amazed at the FOH guys professionalism and taking the time to talk about the rig and everything that goes on behind the scenes. Didn't seem rushed or anything you can tell he really knows his job and had no problem talking about it. Class act!
Any and all people interested in working for live events. So many companies and crews are hiring. I mentor, and many others are always willing to teach and share info. There is so much more to audio than just pushing a fader. Great video. Todd is one hell of a drummer and mix sounds great.
This is amazing, thanks for shouting out the crew. I've done roadwork and the military and believe it or not I found many similarities between the two. I am eager to see more great job.
What a cool dude to be willing to share all this stuff with you, and us! A lot of top techs like to keep their little secrets of how they do things to themselves. This guy was well open and happy to walk you through anything you asked. Really interesting and so cool!
Such a pleasant video. Chris was so upfront on explaining what they do, and his experience shows as he obviously draws from it to shape the sound in any venue.
Amazing video. Nerdy stuff, but man, what a story and great insight from a veteran. He's the dude you want on your team. "Took 30 years to learn." Hells yeah. So comfy. Earned confidence. Love it. Thanks for this one!
As an industry’s major (who later got an additional BM and MM in performance), this was an amazing trip… especially his discussion about that first industry class. So many schools with this degree program do such an incredibly poor job of guiding kids to find what part of the industry they will work in. Glad that he found his way!
Few things feel better to me than listening to a top-tier professional who enjoys his work tell me about it. This guy should have his own TH-cam channel. Imagine a behind the scenes compilation video for every tour stop where he addresses the different issues and get the show ready and then pulls it off successfully after fighting all the different problems that pop up. I’d subscribe to that in a heartbeat. It wouldn’t even be hard to shoot. Keep a go pro on him, a camera filming the sound booth, and one floating with him that he keeps on “the current problem”…anyway, a man can dream 😂
Really enjoyed the video. The band I mix, 70s rock band Head East, spent last summer opening for either STYX or REO. Last year they did separate tours. Chris was always a great guy to learn from and didn't mind helping when needed. Brings back some great memories. Hopefully, you got to meet Joe, FOH with REO. He is another top guy to work with. Thanks for capturing and sharing this video.
This is too cool. Absolutely insane how many systems are involved in live sound at this scale! Love the video, can't wait to see the rest of the series 👍
Wow ! Chris just streamlines through the systems.. I am not new to sound engineering but, was blown away with the information shared. Thanks for this video.. Can't wait for Part 2 !
Thank you for these videos with Chris. I was "initiated" into FoH mixing at my church when the young man who was mixing started going out on national tours (Kyle Gerhart - InPhase). I enjoy the small scale mixing I do - but what a different world it is for big-house mixing. Makes me want to try to do better as you can never get it perfect. A guy with a couple X32s like me is tiny compared to the tech used on the big stage. But as he said in the video - it's about emotion - delivering emotion to your audience. Even if it is 300 or 30,000.
I've loaded in some shows in 2000. Line arrays where so shunned to everyone, it took years for it to be a standard system and glad it did. Here we are, 23 years later and cabinets to drivers have exponentially expanded into its own beast. Us boomers had such a hard time transitioning from solid state, and analog to digital. But digital is improving slowly. You will never beat the correct analog foh equipment, but some day we will! This is its own world and it's a wild ride. I enjoyed working with the bands. I was always told "foh's job is move the audience involuntarily" the band plays, gives showmanship. Foh makes you remember how you were shaken during your favorite songs and it works very well! The scientific research these guys do is also note worthy!
Styx was one of the 1st shows I ever saw live maybe 15 years ago when I was a kid, I always distinctly remember how great it sounded and this guy is probably one of the reasons I still do live sound, if he was doing FOH then as well! There's no other job like it.
Thank you so much for the video! The thing that struck me the most, with all the techs and engineers, is their passion and pride with their craft. So inspiring!
Listening to the big guy with that hat is pure gold. What a invaluable amount of info. Tapping into this kind of wisdom is something I would have never thought would be free. Thank you for the awesome videos!
Whow, this is awesome! Didn‘t know that these live engineers do kind of the same like recording engineers, but in realtime, I mean especially the effect stuff like vocal doublers, parallel compression, saturation etc. This is insane, thought it‘s just about some EQ‘ing 😲
Imagine sitting in your big control room trying to mix an album top to bottom at high SPL with no stops and thousands of people sitting in the same room screaming, yelling, whistling and singing while you are doing it.
I understood like 10-20% of what they were talking about, but man this is interesting! Great in dept info, and I woud have never known the amount of work goes in to this. New found respect for these craftsman. Thanks for this video, well done
I helped assemble Todd's drum set yesterday at the Florida State Fairgrounds Amphitheatre. Super cool and Mark (his new drum tech) is a total badass and super professional and knowledgeable guy.
This is one of the jobs where experience and practical work is the most important factor in becoming a professional, even without having any academic degree. The relationship between sound engineering and physics is one of the secrets of the essence of music, which only a few are able to understand and enjoy. Great content.
Could hear them playing at the Iowa State Fairgrounds last year and I live 3 miles away lol. Now I understand why! The Styx crew seriously rocks I haven't heard anything like it before
Going to school to become an AE. I’m in the very beginning and all the terms I’ve been hearing make so much more sense now. This was awesome for me. Thanks!
I’m only 8 minutes in but this already the most in-depth video I’ve ever seen related to Arena level FOH. I really appreciate that y’all even got down to things like splay and rigging. That’s something I’m starting to learn more about. Dope video 😎
I worked with them on the Rock for Relay show in Bloomington, IL a few years back. Super cool crew! The recap is exactly how I would describe it. I too am a FOH engineer for an act I’ve been with now for about 12 years running. Nice work on the documentary. Looking forward to your next ones.
I'm a beta tester for Waves and I've had the pleasure of using Sound Grid live before. It's great they really nailed the live sound game. Great video Jeremey, I do a bit of live work on the side. This is great, thanks again!
Ruoff is a local venue of mine in Indiana that I’ve been to plenty of times. Great sound overall and love the amphitheater vibe. Great to see exclusive backstage access!
I got to meet Gart Loizzo a couple of times before and during shows - always a friendly, classy guy. RIP. This is really fascinating, and it explains why every STYX show I see sounds so good!
The amount of control these modern digital consoles gives you is mind-boggling. I retired from live work back in the analog days, and it's amazing how much the gear has changed since then.
im glad I took a stage production class cause it helped me see one that it wasnt for me and two how difficult and how much work goes into it how much you have to know and learn!!
This is amazing. I was on the edge on my seat for the whole conversation - the amount of clear, concise language and information on tap here is astounding. A sound engineers dream nerd-out session. Mixing and recording has me way more educated than I ever knew - I was expecting to be lost during this explanation but I wasn’t. Now I want to apprentice for FOH 😂😂😂😂
The biggest thing is knowing how to tune the PA. That’s the biggest obstacle to creating a consistent mix and having a satisfying show. Otherwise frustration will be high always chasing the sound in your head.
Excellent video! I always try to sit near FOH when I go to a concert so I can peak at what goes on in the booth (and appreciate the mix the way the FOH intended it). I was at a Kacey Musgraves concert a few years ago. Before the show started I was standing behind the FOH "booth" watching in admiration . The mixing engineer was more than happy to talk about the PA setup and other details with another "nerd". It was equally insightful and awe-inspiring.
yep! I stuck around and hit subscribe....basically one of the coolest videos I've ever seen....period...such a great guy...so friendly and transparent...just excellent...and yeah...I'm a huge gear nerd, so this bts stuff is right up my alley!
Wow. I bought their Grand Illusion and Cornerstone albums when they first came out. Have long since had the LP's stolen, and have the content replaced in digital format now. That was way before internet, digital, or CD.
Cookie is an absolute legend. Fantastic conversation and insight, here. I can’t help but cringe just a bit at that instant replay machine on the left hand side of the desk. I’m sure he’s probably firing some playback/cues. I just have a bit of a nightmare experience where I was asked to do similar fires with one…probably waited 6 hours to see if it would properly boot up. Never did…that encounter ended in the technical lead (fortunately with the client side) pulling an “Office Space - Damn it feels good to be a gangsta,” moment. 😅
You know that thing has always booted up quick (just jinxed it) except one day in Denver. Then it was fine the next day in Salt Lake. It just does walk-in and walk-out music for the show. I do have an iPad ready to go if it flakes on me.
Failed to boot up again on me last week. I tapped on the drive and it fired up soooooooo this week I replaced the old IDE platter drive with an SATA SSD drive. Probably get another 10 years out of it. :)
Back in the day (late 70's early 80's) I played with 20K FOH with 5K sidefill monitors and various wedge monitors at the front of the stage. The bottom end was handled by JBL 45/60's, not sure of the mid-range & high-end. There was no attention paid to phase as there was no way to control it.
I actually got to help load and build a Styx show at the Sunset Center in Carmel, nothing but good things to say about their touring techs. Had the chance to work side by side with Libby, and she was both sharing and confident with her knowledge of lighting!
Yes. It was evident how pro everyone was in their position. What I did not expect was how nice they were. You hear the story of angry roadie. I did not see that there.
@@fendishgouls been there. Worked a show with Dwight as the headliner and I know exactly what you’re talking about. Sat at FOH while he was checking the levels on Dwight’s wedges and they were taking my head off out there!
Check out the SECOND VIDEO - th-cam.com/video/1NOpZhL8ti8/w-d-xo.html
I am astounded by all of this. Totally absorbing.
Can’t thank you enough for doing the vid.
This guy is a legend and 99.9% of the audience will never know. The work that goes on to make bands sound and look as good as they do is massively undervalued, a great video, you have a new subscriber in me just from this one video.
He is.
Hey can you tell my teenager that? She just shakes her head at me and rolls her eyes.
Thats the thing. People just see an awesome band and give them all the credits. But they forget all the guys behind the stage which contribute a lot to that band being so awesome.
A band is nothing without their team.
there is a saying , that if nobody comes to you complaining , you did a great job
Live Audio is a field that moves both very slowly and super quickly. Technology has improved dramatically,and being able to reproduce basically the same show every night in every different venue is great for the audience. it's mega expensive, but the end result is worth it, especially for a band that actually plays their instruments! ;)
This video has an absolutely WILD amount of deep cut information. What an insane amount of knowledge this dude has
Imagine trying to edit this.
That’s why it’s so long! I couldn’t let it go
Thanks for all the hard work to make sense of the story for us normies. Just spent a few hours today learning about line arrays before finding this.
RESPECT to Cookie. Had the privilege of hosting Styx a few times at our venue and I learn so much from their whole crew every time. Cookie is a never ending well of knowledge and so generous in sharing what he knows.
wow this is some incredible insight. Crazy how knowledgable Chris is. Seems like he's an expert on things i hadn't even thought about, like the thing about playing with the time alignment to focus the audience's attention on the stage.
And that’s just what I caught on camera!! He is super knowledgeable
The “Haas effect” just lets the delay speaker’s audio ride on the backside of the primary waves if the main arrays. I’ve even had customers complain that the rear speakers weren’t on - until we Ruben the front arrays off!
DiGiCi consoles, with dynamic EQ are amazing. Few FOH consoles have that feature. The ability to leave an EQ filter inactive, until certain volume levels, is just genius.
Nice job, getting this interview! There aren’t more than a handful of people who really get how incredibly talented this man is!
@@soundmanks Now let’s talk about Fletcher - Munson curves.
These guys who are total pro, and willing to share for those who are interested, are great. Thanks for bringing this.
The level of technology involved in a show like this is absolutely mind boggling! Thank you for sharing these videos - as a long time concert attendee, I’ve always been impressed with what these people do, but to really hear about the level of control they have (and the knowledge to do it) is beyond belief! Absolutely amazing!
Back in the day 70's & 80's I engineered bands on the road, listening to Cookie talking about what he does. WOW! how things have changed from the analogue days, he is a wealth of information and thanks for sharing with us all. Great guy.
Local stagehand here (farm aid 1 was my first ever gig 1985) - every single time I’ve worked with Styx the crew, the band, everyone involved with the production is exceptional and top level in every way. Loved hearing Chris walk you and your dad through the rig.. if he’s not now, he will be soon - absolute legend - wealth of knowledge, never condescending. I’m usually assigned to Libby so it’s been awesome to get this focused insight. Thank you!!
Amazing FOH walkthorugh. What an amazing guy! ❤
This guy is an absolute legend. These are the guys that make shows happen and they will never get the recognition they deserve.
Just finished the full video. Cannot wait for the next part in the series. Styx is one of my all time favorite bands. But every aspect of this backstage style video is fascinating
Keep an eye out for on Monday (I believe)
Great job ! Thanks for this interview ! This guy knows his job
This video better get 100's of thousands of views, I swear, lol.
Not only is it the hype from the size of the operation, but the first dude you interviewed (I'm still just 10 minutes in) is amazing and so well-spoken. You must have done a good job making people feel comfortable and like they could fully answer. Great video!
I think it was more their graciousness in sharing. I just showed up with a camera. Lol
@@RecordingStudioLoser
Absolutely. But I thank them and you, sir!
Styx came to our little town, and had to go of course! And I met Cookie!! He was so cool! Nice guy and made the venue sound really good.
Great to meet you!
this guys gonna trip how much good feed back hes gonna get, as well as likes and appreciation from us viewers. recording studio loser great questions and good job letting him talk and explain with out interrupting.
I wanna give Chris a big thanks for sharing his day with us and being so good at explaining everything. I feel like I have a much great understanding of FOH now, but still light years to go in regards to his knowledge.
You’re welcome. Maybe someday when I’m too beat up to tour anymore I’ll find some creaky rocking chair and spout my opinions on how to tune PA’s for rock bands and mixing considerations.
Hi Chris my names Robert! Lots of great information..I have Yamaha Hs5 studio monitors @ home
Amazing. Never had a clue how much preparation and audio shaping was involved. Great video
This is so cool! Never really considered how much goes into putting on a show at that level. So glad they let you share this with us!
This is insane in-depth. One of the best videos ive ever seen on engineering. Love how he says he doesnt always make it. No ego...brilliant.
that was a privilege to watch. Thanks! Thanks so much RSL for making this happen, recording - and of course Chris Hoff for sharing such a world of wisdom -
letting him talk and giving us the whole thing was terrific..
Great job, super enjoyed, very educational.
[postnote: RSL you rock; this was terrific, thank you so much, I couldn't even give you a suggestion for improving; this was amazing]
Fantastic job. I've been around FOH, Monitor world, bass/guitar teching and stage managing for many years. Chris is one of the best in the business.
This is BADASS CONTENT MAN! My favorite quote on sight from Mr. Hoff "it's all about emotion". I know so many young sound guys who are too concentrated on the science and forget that ultimately, they are completely responsible for delivering the emotion that comes off that stage. Not everyone can pull that off. It's like playing an instrument. You need a total package that contains all the right things. Anyone can learn it, but not everyone is above average. I am persuaded that It's something you're born with. Such an awesome look into an avenue of modern live sound engineering. So Sick man!
What a joy to watch!
I’ve worked with some big act FOH guys before. This guy is in the top 1% of knowledgeable FOH guys.
Chris is a gold mine
I ended up watching the backstage portion first and just watched this one a few days later. I think there's more but I'm not sure. Just need to say I am totally amazed at the FOH guys professionalism and taking the time to talk about the rig and everything that goes on behind the scenes.
Didn't seem rushed or anything you can tell he really knows his job and had no problem talking about it. Class act!
Any and all people interested in working for live events. So many companies and crews are hiring. I mentor, and many others are always willing to teach and share info. There is so much more to audio than just pushing a fader. Great video. Todd is one hell of a drummer and mix sounds great.
Thanks SOOOOO much for recording and posting this! 🤩 Thanks to all involved.
This is amazing, thanks for shouting out the crew. I've done roadwork and the military and believe it or not I found many similarities between the two. I am eager to see more great job.
Logistics, schedules, mission critical planning. Personnel. Specialty training. Sound familiar? The military does the same thing.
@@cookie_mix 100%
A whole bunch of knowledge ... Great videos
What a cool dude to be willing to share all this stuff with you, and us! A lot of top techs like to keep their little secrets of how they do things to themselves. This guy was well open and happy to walk you through anything you asked. Really interesting and so cool!
Such a pleasant video. Chris was so upfront on explaining what they do, and his experience shows as he obviously draws from it to shape the sound in any venue.
Im an artist with basic production skills, just enough to understand everything he's saying, but this is so interesting
Amazing video. Nerdy stuff, but man, what a story and great insight from a veteran. He's the dude you want on your team. "Took 30 years to learn." Hells yeah. So comfy. Earned confidence. Love it. Thanks for this one!
As an industry’s major (who later got an additional BM and MM in performance), this was an amazing trip… especially his discussion about that first industry class. So many schools with this degree program do such an incredibly poor job of guiding kids to find what part of the industry they will work in. Glad that he found his way!
Few things feel better to me than listening to a top-tier professional who enjoys his work tell me about it. This guy should have his own TH-cam channel. Imagine a behind the scenes compilation video for every tour stop where he addresses the different issues and get the show ready and then pulls it off successfully after fighting all the different problems that pop up. I’d subscribe to that in a heartbeat. It wouldn’t even be hard to shoot. Keep a go pro on him, a camera filming the sound booth, and one floating with him that he keeps on “the current problem”…anyway, a man can dream 😂
There would be a lot of cursing. 😂
Really enjoyed the video. The band I mix, 70s rock band Head East, spent last summer opening for either STYX or REO. Last year they did separate tours. Chris was always a great guy to learn from and didn't mind helping when needed. Brings back some great memories. Hopefully, you got to meet Joe, FOH with REO. He is another top guy to work with. Thanks for capturing and sharing this video.
Bill! We really beat up that little Nexo rig that day, didn't we?
Have seen Styx several times in the past decade. This mix is always pristine. Can hear every voice and instrument clearly.
This is fascinating!!
This is too cool. Absolutely insane how many systems are involved in live sound at this scale! Love the video, can't wait to see the rest of the series 👍
It gets more intense in the next one.
@@RecordingStudioLoser Can't wait! Thanks for sharing the experience with us.
Crazy amount of work behind the scenes!! Very talented people!! Great video thanks for sharing!!
Everyone sees the stage. But everyone on stage, in front of house, backstage etc. all are performing. It’s nuts.
Wow ! Chris just streamlines through the systems.. I am not new to sound engineering but, was blown away with the information shared. Thanks for this video.. Can't wait for Part 2 !
He is so eloquent in his knowledge, incredible!
This guy is simply awesome!!!
Thank you for these videos with Chris. I was "initiated" into FoH mixing at my church when the young man who was mixing started going out on national tours (Kyle Gerhart - InPhase). I enjoy the small scale mixing I do - but what a different world it is for big-house mixing. Makes me want to try to do better as you can never get it perfect. A guy with a couple X32s like me is tiny compared to the tech used on the big stage. But as he said in the video - it's about emotion - delivering emotion to your audience. Even if it is 300 or 30,000.
Amazing that you also do this with your dad. That is so cool.
Yeah that was special
I've loaded in some shows in 2000. Line arrays where so shunned to everyone, it took years for it to be a standard system and glad it did. Here we are, 23 years later and cabinets to drivers have exponentially expanded into its own beast. Us boomers had such a hard time transitioning from solid state, and analog to digital. But digital is improving slowly. You will never beat the correct analog foh equipment, but some day we will! This is its own world and it's a wild ride. I enjoyed working with the bands.
I was always told "foh's job is move the audience involuntarily" the band plays, gives showmanship. Foh makes you remember how you were shaken during your favorite songs and it works very well! The scientific research these guys do is also note worthy!
Styx was one of the 1st shows I ever saw live maybe 15 years ago when I was a kid, I always distinctly remember how great it sounded and this guy is probably one of the reasons I still do live sound, if he was doing FOH then as well! There's no other job like it.
Styx was my first concert too. I was a Sophomore in high school and saw them in Brussels, Belgium in 1981
@@JD99FraserI was in 8th grade! But that was also in 2008 so I'm a young bull. hahahaha.
Have seen Styx twice on this tour and they sounded absolutely incredible. So excited to go into this career.
Thank you so much for the video! The thing that struck me the most, with all the techs and engineers, is their passion and pride with their craft. So inspiring!
Listening to the big guy with that hat is pure gold. What a invaluable amount of info. Tapping into this kind of wisdom is something I would have never thought would be free. Thank you for the awesome videos!
Whow, this is awesome! Didn‘t know that these live engineers do kind of the same like recording engineers, but in realtime, I mean especially the effect stuff like vocal doublers, parallel compression, saturation etc. This is insane, thought it‘s just about some EQ‘ing 😲
Imagine sitting in your big control room trying to mix an album top to bottom at high SPL with no stops and thousands of people sitting in the same room screaming, yelling, whistling and singing while you are doing it.
His philosophy on mixing is spot on.
I understood like 10-20% of what they were talking about, but man this is interesting! Great in dept info, and I woud have never known the amount of work goes in to this. New found respect for these craftsman. Thanks for this video, well done
THAT WAS SUUUUPER intresting , even for an foh mixer like myself its alwys realy realy worht ton listening to such experienced workhorses
I helped assemble Todd's drum set yesterday at the Florida State Fairgrounds Amphitheatre. Super cool and Mark (his new drum tech) is a total badass and super professional and knowledgeable guy.
Cookie is awesome. The life/career story is gold
This guy is awesome and had my attention throughout this video. Not many can do that w online video. Great stuff!!
Heck yeah. One of my buddies is one of the PA tech's on this tour. One of the smartest kids I know.
Right on. Thanks for sharing.
Really cool to see the back ground work going on ! Thanks and looking forward to the next video.
This is one of the jobs where experience and practical work is the most important factor in becoming a professional, even without having any academic degree. The relationship between sound engineering and physics is one of the secrets of the essence of music, which only a few are able to understand and enjoy. Great content.
Could hear them playing at the Iowa State Fairgrounds last year and I live 3 miles away lol. Now I understand why! The Styx crew seriously rocks I haven't heard anything like it before
I totally believe that. Lol
Going to school to become an AE. I’m in the very beginning and all the terms I’ve been hearing make so much more sense now. This was awesome for me. Thanks!
Awesome. Keep moving forward and never stop the curiosity.
THIS IS FANTASTIC! one of the best videos I've seen in quite sometime
Got to see STYX at Pine Knob in 1997. I'm so glad you uploaded this !!
! New Subscriber !
A lot to learn here, and close to home in Indianapolis!
This is literally my dream come true. Thank your for documenting this!
I’m only 8 minutes in but this already the most in-depth video I’ve ever seen related to Arena level FOH. I really appreciate that y’all even got down to things like splay and rigging. That’s something I’m starting to learn more about. Dope video 😎
45 minutes of speed foh ted talking, incredible, thank you!
TED talk on caffeine.
I worked with them on the Rock for Relay show in Bloomington, IL a few years back. Super cool crew! The recap is exactly how I would describe it. I too am a FOH engineer for an act I’ve been with now for about 12 years running. Nice work on the documentary. Looking forward to your next ones.
Actually, I think it was called Rock to the Rescue.
I'm a beta tester for Waves and I've had the pleasure of using Sound Grid live before. It's great they really nailed the live sound game. Great video Jeremey, I do a bit of live work on the side. This is great, thanks again!
Ruoff is a local venue of mine in Indiana that I’ve been to plenty of times. Great sound overall and love the amphitheater vibe. Great to see exclusive backstage access!
I got to meet Gart Loizzo a couple of times before and during shows - always a friendly, classy guy. RIP. This is really fascinating, and it explains why every STYX show I see sounds so good!
Love it ! I watched the whole thing. Super cool.
That’s some time!! lol
This FOH guy is very informative. Thank you
can't believe I watched 48 minutes of this. awesome video sure be watching the rest now!
The amount of knowledge and experience is mind blowing!!
Y'all mixers are doing the lord's work! Thank you for everything you do so the rest of us can enjoy the show.
The amount of control these modern digital consoles gives you is mind-boggling.
I retired from live work back in the analog days, and it's amazing how much the gear has changed since then.
One of the best and informative videos on live sound in a venue ever done.. thank you 🤘🏼
im glad I took a stage production class cause it helped me see one that it wasnt for me and two how difficult and how much work goes into it how much you have to know and learn!!
This is amazing. I was on the edge on my seat for the whole conversation - the amount of clear, concise language and information on tap here is astounding. A sound engineers dream nerd-out session. Mixing and recording has me way more educated than I ever knew - I was expecting to be lost during this explanation but I wasn’t. Now I want to apprentice for FOH 😂😂😂😂
The biggest thing is knowing how to tune the PA. That’s the biggest obstacle to creating a consistent mix and having a satisfying show. Otherwise frustration will be high always chasing the sound in your head.
L2 last 4evr! Rock on! Love this video. Thanks!
This is INCREDIBLY informing! I'm looking forward for the rest of the videos!
Excellent video! I always try to sit near FOH when I go to a concert so I can peak at what goes on in the booth (and appreciate the mix the way the FOH intended it). I was at a Kacey Musgraves concert a few years ago. Before the show started I was standing behind the FOH "booth" watching in admiration . The mixing engineer was more than happy to talk about the PA setup and other details with another "nerd". It was equally insightful and awe-inspiring.
How generous with his knowledge and experience
this is a must watch man...lovely
yep! I stuck around and hit subscribe....basically one of the coolest videos I've ever seen....period...such a great guy...so friendly and transparent...just excellent...and yeah...I'm a huge gear nerd, so this bts stuff is right up my alley!
dude at front of house described it exactly as I've always wanted to describe a live mix... !!! Love the ability to do a virtual soundcheck live!
Wow. I bought their Grand Illusion and Cornerstone albums when they first came out. Have long since had the LP's stolen, and have the content replaced in digital format now. That was way before internet, digital, or CD.
Cookie is an absolute legend. Fantastic conversation and insight, here. I can’t help but cringe just a bit at that instant replay machine on the left hand side of the desk. I’m sure he’s probably firing some playback/cues. I just have a bit of a nightmare experience where I was asked to do similar fires with one…probably waited 6 hours to see if it would properly boot up. Never did…that encounter ended in the technical lead (fortunately with the client side) pulling an “Office Space - Damn it feels good to be a gangsta,” moment. 😅
You know that thing has always booted up quick (just jinxed it) except one day in Denver. Then it was fine the next day in Salt Lake.
It just does walk-in and walk-out music for the show.
I do have an iPad ready to go if it flakes on me.
Failed to boot up again on me last week. I tapped on the drive and it fired up soooooooo this week I replaced the old IDE platter drive with an SATA SSD drive. Probably get another 10 years out of it. :)
woah, so glad I decided to watch this... and big thanks to you for making this. Soooo damn interesting
More to come
Back in the day (late 70's early 80's) I played with 20K FOH with 5K sidefill monitors and various wedge monitors at the front of the stage. The bottom end was handled by JBL 45/60's, not sure of the mid-range & high-end. There was no attention paid to phase as there was no way to control it.
I actually got to help load and build a Styx show at the Sunset Center in Carmel, nothing but good things to say about their touring techs. Had the chance to work side by side with Libby, and she was both sharing and confident with her knowledge of lighting!
Yes. It was evident how pro everyone was in their position. What I did not expect was how nice they were. You hear the story of angry roadie. I did not see that there.
Angry roadie, that would be Dwight Yoakam’s monitor engineer lol.
@@fendishgouls if you had to mix him you would understand why.
@@fendishgouls been there. Worked a show with Dwight as the headliner and I know exactly what you’re talking about. Sat at FOH while he was checking the levels on Dwight’s wedges and they were taking my head off out there!
Waow ! A lot of gold knowledge, thank you so much for the insights
awesome video, so much info in here! thanks fo sharing this, can't wait for the others =D
I’m editing as fast as I can
@@RecordingStudioLoser thank you for that :) take your time, I'm sure it'll be well worth the wait :)
Had a freaking black. Thanks to Chris and the whole crew! Let me know when your back in town!
Absolutely. It would be an interesting contrast if we were in a small venue.
Great to see some behind the scenes at a local venue, but it will always be Deer Creek to me.
Same. We called it that all day
Great video! And Chris "Cookie" was very generous when sharing info. Ha has an amazing job! Subscribed