Audio engineers’ roles crucial for sucessful shows

Master Sgt. Loren Zimmer explains a digital mixing console to audience members prior to a performance by The U.S. Air Force Band at Davison High School in Davison, Mich., April 12, 2014. Zimmer, a native of Eagle, Neb., is an audio engineer with the Band. His technical knowledge has been an integral part of developing the Band's recording program. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Tammie Moore)

Audio engineers’ roles crucial for sucessful shows

Senior Master Sergeant Robert Kamholz assembles a drum kit prior to a performance by The U.S. Air Force Band at Davison High School in Davison, Mich., April 12, 2014. Kamholz, a native of Lorain, Ohio, is a tour manager for the Band. Before joining the Air Force in 1998, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Radio and Television Production from Kent State University. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Tammie Moore)

Audio engineers’ roles crucial for sucessful shows

Tech. Sgts. Micah Killion (left) and Dave Balandrin unpack a xylophone prior to a performance by The U.S. Air Force Band at Davison High School in Davison, Mich., April 12, 2014. Killion, a native of Gainesville, Fla., is a trumpeter with the Concert Band. Balandrin, a native of Salt Lake City, is a French hornist with the Concert Band. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Tammie Moore)

Audio engineers’ roles crucial for sucessful shows

Master Sgt. Mark Hannah checks microphones prior to a performance by The U.S. Air Force Band at Davison High School in Davison, Mich., April 12, 2014. Hannah, a native of Tama, Iowa, is the audio engineer for the Concert Band. Prior to joining the Air Force, Hannah attended Iowa State University on a four-year scholarship, graduating in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and a minor in computer science. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Tammie Moore)

Audio engineers’ roles crucial for sucessful shows

Tech. Sgts. Daniel Anderson and Hannah Rigg set-up a speaker system prior to a performance by The U.S. Air Force Band at Davison High School in Davison, Mich., April 12, 2014. Anderson is a tenor vocalist with the Singing Sergeants, the official chorus of the U.S. Air Force. Rigg, a native of Tomball, Texas, is a soprano vocalist with the Singing Sergeants. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Tammie Moore)

Audio engineers' roles crucial for successful shows

Published April 13, 2014
By Master Sgt. Tammie Moore
Air Force District of Washington Public Affairs

DAVISON, Mich. -- Hours before vocalists and instrumentalists with The U.S. Air Force Band take the stage for a performance, audio engineers and crew members arrive on scene to lay the ground work for a successful show.

During the Concert Band and Singing Sergeants' 2014 Spring Tour, two audio engineers and nine crew members arrived at performance locations about four hours prior to each show.

"We are typically able to set up really quickly," said Master Sgt. Loren Zimmer, audio engineer with the Band. "The crew is normally done before the allotted frame; however, we still need time to set up and test the equipment. My job is mixing and interfacing with all of the folks in the band and making sure they have what they need so they can do the job they need to do."

Master Sgt. Mark Hannah is the second audio engineer on the spring tour.

"He specializes in making sure that the stage is set up correctly and all of our wireless microphones are working correctly," Zimmer said. "He really makes sure everything is organized."

The Band's audio engineers are hand selected for the job and are required to audition for the position by taking a math and physics test. Once hired for the job, just like their fellow bandsmen, the audio engineers remain with the Air Force's premier band for their career. Additionally like their Band colleagues, the audio engineers strive for absolute perfection at every show.

"My hope is that the job Mark and I do is transparent to the audience," said Zimmer, a native of Eagle, Neb. "If we do our job, they don't notice. If we don't it becomes real apparent real fast that something has gone wrong."

In order tostrive for perfection for each show, Zimmer and Hannah begin taking steps to mitigate problems prior to departing for a tour.

"A lot of what we do prior to the tour to make sure that we are ready and successful is preventative maintenance," Zimmer said. "We check cables to make sure that connections are working properly. We go through the consoles to make sure they're functioning properly. We make sure everything is organized, labeled and in the right spot, so it is easy for the crew to get the parts that they need."

This process also includes calling halls ahead of time to ensue they have adequate power.

"Sometimes you are already committed to a hall that is not appropriate for you and you have to make it work anyway," said Hannah, a native of Tama, Iowa.

This is why building in flexibility within the Band's performance routines is important. This is also why only the best audio engineers can compete to become members of the Air Force Band.

"A lot of people who aspire to be audio engineers think that it is as simple as walking up to a mixing console and pushing some faders, but there is a lot of math and physics to the job that people don't realize," Hannah said.