Should I crash weddings?

miriam

Active Member
Just to shmooze a bit with whoever is mixing. About the setup, the sound issues that arise with bands, vocals,and feet stamping, and whatever else.

What do you think? Will they think I am obnoxious American and tell me to go away and not touch anything? Not that I would touch anything, but they don't know that.

Or are they "on" the entire time and won't have any time to shmooze?

I'm trying to think of ways to get experience without having what to practise on. Any ideas?
 
Any local theatre companies that will let you go help, or at least just watch their sound tech? Most of the smaller ones are generally happy to train up local techs if you're eager enough to learn - at least the companies I've found around here.

I haven't tried crashing a wedding, but I doubt it would be a good idea, there's better places to learn. ;)
 
Very few bands have a sound guy. They usually leave it to the drummer or just make a "smile" on the eq and leave it. If they even have a PA.

And even so, just walking in on them is no way to earn the trust of the few bands that do have a sound guy and/or a decent enough sound system to warrant needing one. Do your networking on the phone, the internet, or in person BEFORE the gig, not during.
 
I agree. Wedding DJ's will teach you as much about live sound reinforcement as they will about theatrical lighting. If you wanna learn, go to a musical theatre type of venue. Call the box office and get an email address for their TD or sound engineer or leave them a message with your info. Folks in this business are usually very eager to help teach younger folks their trade. We also like to show off our systems to someone who can respect what it is we do.

If you're ever in the Wisconsin Dells area, go ahead and drop me a note. I'd be happy to give you the tour.
 
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I am a venue technician in Oz.

The advice I usually give to people who wish to get involved in the industry is ring up all your local venues theatre companies etc. and tell them that you are keen to learn tech. Ask if you can come in and observe without been a hinderance. more often than not they are more than willing to have you come along and watch, you will pick up lots of information as once you get a tech talking about something they usually wont stop.

also by doing this you get your name known and they will hopefully remember your face, if you keep doing this they might eventually offer you a job!
 
I understand, my people (Canadians) have been invading the USA with hilarity for years. It was time for an American to have a joke heard.

I will listen next time I promise.

Sincerely sorry.
JH
 
I am a senior technician in 3 venues in the South of Melbourne and can tell you that this is not true.

The state theatre requires you to have done some form of certification however no other venues that i currently work in or have worked in have ever asked for anything like that. we have a couple of guys who reguarly come into one of the venues i work in without any problems.

if you want more info or any help PM me.
 
well i asked phonix theatre company and also a venue in box hill, that the name escapes me of

both said thanks but no thanks, your age is fine (17) but we need at least cert3 qualification before we can let you be a stage hand
 
There's a difference between being a stage hand and being an observer.

Many a venue has let me watch a performance from the bio box - providing the client does not object. You're not touching anything, and as long as you're eager to learn and don't pester when the operator requires full concentration, you're fine.

Also depends on networking. But what part of theatre doesn't?
 
true, i haven't tried as an observer, yeah everything theatre relies on networking, and controlbooth is a great asset for that, because you meet a lot of people (some my age with my passion, which is great)

and you also find solutions to problems.
 
You pay for drinks at weddings!?! For real? Or am I being very gullible and it's a joke?

I just thought of it because there are a few hotels near me so it would be easy to get to.

But I guess it was a bad idea. I will find out about theaters in the area, and see if I can get a grand tour anywhere, and watching. Thank you for pointing out a better way to go about it.

A friend of a friend of a friend (it works that way a lot in Israel) has a recording studio in his home. Should I try to go over, check it out, ask some questions? Or is that like weddings, a totally different thing?
 
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"Recording studio in the basement" can mean any of a thousand different things. It could be a RadioShack knockoff plugged into a PC or could be a full-on ProTools HD rig with the best mic selection available. If he knows what he's doing and doesn't mind you hanging around, a studio environment can be a great way to get started. I say go for it.
 

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