MixMasters

Welcome to Episode 50 of MixMasters!! Thank you to every single person who has downloaded, listened, subscribed, and commented on this series - I truly appreciate it! This episode is unusual as it features not one, but two separate guests. In part one, Dave Peterson (FOH, TM, Monitors) joins to provide an update from Upheaval Festival and to share details about SoundEFX's newest gear additions (including one very large piece of gear). Part two features Steve Litscher (FOH, TM, Monitors). What?! Yep, that's right. I sit down with Dave to tell some of my story. I've received a bunch of e-mail, messages and comments asking about my history, as well as a number of other questions, so I figured it was time to answer some of them on the podcast. I give a number of shoutouts to friends and colleagues; sorry if I missed anyone along the way - I'm not used to chatting so much. I hope you enjoy this milestone episode; it's longer than usual and it probably sounds quite different as we used some different gear (including a new mastering suite in Logic, which truth be told, I'm not thrilled about)... and we've been away from our mics for a few months. I also didn't edit this episode as heavily as I normally would, so you'll hear more pauses, more "ums" and "ahhs" but the conversation felt so natural that I didn't want to cause any disruption by editing. Thanks again for your continued support, kind words, and time. I'm absolutely floored that people listen to this podcast, and I'm grateful for every one of you. Follow me on Instagram: @thegeekysteve Follow Dave Peterson on Instagram: @sound_dave

Live (sort of) from Warsaw, Poland (partially) - it's Matt Dierkes! Matt Dierkes is the man behind the controls of one of the hottest bands on the planet today: Bad Omens. He joins Steve to chat about consoles, mic packages, techniques, touring, and a whole lot more. The intro was recorded from the back of a tour bus in Warsaw, Poland, so please forgive the excessive background noise and poor audio quality. But listen in for a special surprise guest! Follow Matt on Instagram: @mattxdierkes

Dig-in and listen to Jon Klucharits (Monitor engineer for bands that include: Pierce the Veil, Black Veil Brides, Andy Black, Interruptors and Set It Off) chat with Steve about all things monitor engineering. From his early days with Vans Warped Tour to his current gig with Pierce the Veil, the guys dive-in deep and geek out while running through console choices, mic packages, philosophies, RF challenges, tour experiences and more. Follow Jon on Instagram: @eaglescoutjon

The amazing Dave Peterson is back again to catch-up and chat about all that's been happening for him over the past 18-months or so. Dave has served as the FOH tech for artists like Nelly and the star-studded Mt Westmore tour, FOH for numerous artists and festivals including Bill Murray and Upheaval, and monitor engineer for Steel Panther. There are a *ton* of fun stories from Dave and Steve; they worked together quite a bit this year. Follow Dave on Instagram: Sound_Dave

In this episode, Steve sits down with Elmo Arteaga (FOH for Ice Nine Kills) and Logan Beaver (FOH for Motionless in White) to chat about their recent time together on the Trinity of Terror Tour. In addition to tour talk, they dive into their respective histories and discuss how they got involved with touring full-time. The guys also talk about the challenges with broadcast mixes and the pros and cons of using social media videos to evaluate mixes. Follow Elmo on Instagram: @elmoarteaga Follow Logan on Instagram: @lbeavr

Hey, remember us?! What a crazy busy year it's been... In this episode, Steve Litscher sits down with Ross Landis, the FOH engineer for the band Nothing More, and they chat about how Ross got his start in music, his experiences with Nothing More, and their most recent tour together, featuring Nothing More, Asking Alexandria, Atreyu, and Eva Under Fire. This episode was recorded in July of 2022, but wasn't released until December 2022 as both Steve and Ross have been on the road for most of the year. Enjoy this holiday season treat - it's a fun one, for sure! Check out Ross on Instagram: @ross_landis

Kyle Gerhart is the owner of InPhase Productions LLC, as well as an accomplished FOH engineer. He's worked with artists and groups that include the likes of: Alien Ant Farm, Drowning Pool, Fuel, Miss May I, Scott Stapp, Sebastian Bach, and most recently, Kurt Deimer. Learn about how Kyle got started in the industry, his relationships with other A-list engineers, his approach toward system tuning, thoughts on consoles and more. Kyle can be found online at: Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/kyle.gerhart.507 Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/kyle_gehrart

Simeon Panov joins Steve to chat about his experiences with mixing live sound for Infected Rain. They talk about how Simeon got his start in the music industry, how he got connected with Infected Rain, touring in the United States, and more. Simeon also shares some of his infamous advice and lessons for improving the podcast, so stay tuned until the very end to catch his pointers. :-) Simeon resides in Bulgaria and is looking to work and tour with US bands; if you or a band that you know of are looking for a top-notch FOH engineer with a great sense of humor and fantastic work ethic, give Simeon a shout! Follow Simeon on Instagram: @x3m.foh Follow Steve on Instagram: @thegeekysteve

It's been a while since we've published an episode, but that's because we've been busy TOURING! Who would've thought we'd be out making things loud in 2021?? In this episode, Steve Litscher is joined by Alex Markides, Brian Hardaswick, Bryan Campbell, and Erik Rogers to talk all things touring (during a pandemic). The guys talk about different protocols for their respective artists, venue and festival differences, and the change in "vibe" from audiences during this challenging time. Follow Alex on Instagram: @darkides Follow Brian on Instagram:@brianhardaswick Follow Bryan on Instagram:@bryancampbell Follow Erik on Instagram:@erikmrogers Follow Steve on Instagram:@thegeekysteve

Listen in as Shelby Eisenberg, FOH engineer for Wage War, talks to Steve Litscher about getting started in music, early tours with Wage War and a Midas Pro 1 console, tips/tricks for quick set-up/tear down, and more. The guys trade stories from their most recent tours as well. Follow Shelby on Instagram!

This episode of MixMasters Podcast features Dave Peterson of SoundEFX. Dave joins your host Steve Litscher to talk about preparing for and managing a festival stage, mixing techniques, working with the Allen & Heath dLive, and many other topics. Dave has worked with a number of bands (in a house capacity), including: Bring Me The Horizon, Disturbed, Ice Cube, Coheed and Cambria, and Fit For A King. He's a notable FOH engineer, Systems engineer, Sound Designer, Lighting Designer, Drum Tech, Guitar Tech, and Guitarist. He's based in the Lansing, MI area. Look for Dave later this year at Nellie's Lil Bit of Music Series, where he'll be touring as the FOH engineer for one of the acts! Follow Dave on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paviddeterson Visit SoundEFX website: http://soundefx.net

On this episode of MixMasters Podcast, Steve Litscher is joined by Sean Dailey, a tour manager with 15+ years of production experience. Sean has worked with bands and performers that include the likes of Chai, Steel Panther, Fitz and the Tantrums, and countless others. In addition to tour management skills, Sean is experienced in stage management, production management, large scale festival events, and just about anything else related to making the gig happen. If you've ever had interest in what goes on from the production management side of the house, give this episode a listen!

Welcome to Episode 38 - the first in Season 3 of MixMasters with your host, Steve Litscher. Steve is joined today by Drew Sullivan, the multi-talented engineer for bands that include We Came As Romans and Crown The Empire. Drew has experience with mixing in studios (including a recent acoustic album), system engineering, corporate engagements, and more. In this episode, Drew and Steve talk about mixing heavy bands, the benefits of profiling amplifiers, the new Behringer Wing, microphones, and so much more. Stay tuned for future episodes? We're not sure what 2021 will hold, so keep an ear open for new episodes...

Happy New Year, and good riddance to 2020! Bid farewell to this "challenging" year by listening to the final episode of MixMasters, Season 2. The episode features FOH masters (and former guests) Drew Thornton, Erik Rogers, and Josh Sobeck. The guys join Steve for a round of beverages and a deep-dive conversation about all of the adjustments, changes, tips, and tricks they've had to learn and employ to deliver killer mixes for streaming and digital environments. This is a FUN conversation - lots of laughter and good times. Maybe booze makes the podcasts go better? ;-) Enjoy, and thanks for listening! Erik Rogers: https://www.instagram.com/erikmrogers Josh Sobeck: https://www.instagram.com/joshsobeck Drew Thornton: https://www.instagram.com/drewmthornton Steve Litscher: https://www.instagram.com/thegeekysteve

Let the good times roll! This episode of MixMasters features three amazing sound engineers who share a common connection: Jon Tanner and The Machine Shop in Flint, MI. Join Steve Litscher as he talks with Bryan Campbell, Brian Hardaswick, and Jon Tanner about how they all met one another, how they've toured together, the importance of working closely with house/venue engineers, their best and worst touring experiences, and more. This is a fun episode as the guys decided to enjoy some cocktails while recording. If you're someone who enjoys hearing about fun and "interesting" experiences while at venues or touring, you'll want to listen. Links: The Machine Shop - www.themachineshop.info Brian Hardaswick - www.instagram.com/brianhardaswick/ Bryan Campbell - www.instagram.com/bryancampbell Jon Tanner - www.instagram.com/oneaudioguy Steve Litscher - www.instagram.com/thegeekysteve

Paddi Krause joins MixMasters by way of Hamburg, Germany and spends time sharing his story about getting into the live sound touring business. Paddi has worked with some of the most prolific bands of our time, including In Flames, Trivium, Alter Bridge, Korn, Toto, and more. We dive-in and talk about the importance of being prepared, how a little "OCD" can be a good thing, gear (including Shure wireless and Avid S6L console), and more. There's even some COVID speculation, so don't miss out on this amazing episode with one of the industry's best.

Nate Northway is an uber-talented FOH engineer with 10+ years of live sound mixing experience, and nearly 20 years of total mixing experience. He joins MixMasters to share his experiences with working with bands like: Rise Against, A Day To Remember, Seether, Animals As Leaders, and more. From having to rewire subpar club PAs just before a gig to working some of the biggest festivals and venues in the world, Nate's done it all. Listen in as he shares some of the stories from his incredible FOH career. Follow Nate on Instagram at: natenorthway Follow Nate on Twitter at: natenorthway

Mike McAree joins this episode of MixMasters podcast to talk about his experiences as a FOH engineer for some of the world's most iconic performers. Mike has mixed for the likes of: Sum 41, Sevendust, In This Moment, Hoobastank, Bishop Briggs, and more. These days, he's the Touring FOH engineer for Kidz Bop, which features young performers singing popular contemporary and pop hits. With more than 2.2-million YouTube channel subscribers, you can only imagine the level of production required for live shows. Mike's not much of a social media guy, so we don't have any links to share, but do everyone a favor and share this episode with your friends and colleagues. Mike has a ton of information that he shares, including details about a fully redundant FOH console system that he uses while on tour...

Johnny Keirle is the "man behind the scenes" who makes all of the system magic happen for artists that include Pink, Billie Eilish, Adele, Foo Fighters, and countless others. Johnny sat down to talk in-depth with Steve Litscher about all things system and touring. From conceptual design to practical application, Johnny shares incredible details about his experiences working in festivals, arenas, and stadiums.

Josh Sobeck and Josh Mahan are the tag team that mix FOH and monitors for the uber-popular band, I Prevail. This podcast offers and exclusive, inside look into how the two of them work together to produce some of the best sounding live audio you'll ever hear. Steve Litscher talks in-depth with Josh and Josh about their consoles, Waves use, microphone choices, stage gear, and more. This is a master class in live audio, so don't miss out! Josh Sobeck also owns and operates Phoenix Productions - give him a shout for any of your live audio production needs.