Homemaker 2007 - present
Experience as Tech Crew
- Bon Scott Fest 2012
- At this AC/DC tribute festival, I volunteered as Tech Crew for AudioWAVE PA Hire alongside my colleagues at DD8 Music to put on a weekend-long show in Kirriemuir town hall - as well as smaller venues around the town. It was also down to me to help install a vocal PA into Buddies nightclub for a late-night event after the main show.
- Heb Celt Fest: 2009 - 2011
- For the last three years (and counting!) I have volunteered at the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway. My responsibilities included assisting with stage building, rigging the main stage trussing, moving heads, par cans, strobes, DMX and dimmer wiring, projectors and screens - as well as operating the vision mixing, on-screen announcements and occasional onstage camera work.
- Howie’s Album Launch, Fat Sams: 2011
- At this one-off event, I was a member of the Tech Crew for AudioWAVE PA hire.
- Oxjam Dundee: 2011
- I volunteered as a Tech Crew member to assist with the load-in and load-out for this annual charity event.
- Kirrie Ska Fest: 2011
- As part of my volunteer work with DD8 Music, I was involved in this now-annual music festival as one half of the tech crew and one quarter of the road crew.
- Live in the Den: 2010
- At this annual local event, my duties included assisting with load-in & load-out, as well as running the sound for the after-party at a smaller venue. My responsibilities included working with high voltage power distribution systems, Gensets and systems wiring.
- Heids Up Knees Up, Mucky Mulligans: 2007
- This was my first ever “gig”… I was working with DM Audio’s engineer Paul Dent (who now freelances at PMD Sound) as part of the crew, system tech and as ‘the guy that recorded the gig’. This event served as my introduction to live recording, delay stacks and many many more weird and wonderful things…
Experience as a live engineer
- DD8 Music Live Events: 2010 - present
- I am the resident “Live Sound Guy” and live event committee member with DD8 Music - It’s my job to load the PA into pubs/clubs and open-air venues, connect everything up, configure the mains supply, test said mains supply, soundcheck and run the FOH and MONS for small to medium size community gigs.
- Relay for life, Kirriemuir: 2011
- At this biennial charity fundraising event, we (DD8 Music) installed a multi-use PA system for this outdoor event. I was responsible for running front-of-house and monitors for rock bands, acoustic acts, DJs, karaoke, speeches and general playback all day and throughout the night.
Experience of location recording
- Ricky Cocozza - Stanley Clarke: 2012
- As well as performing MON and FOH duties for an honours musician (on different desks at opposite ends of the auditorium), I was also responsible for multi-tracking the live performance, and mixing this down at a later stage. I used my M-Audio system to record the group stems from the FOH desk (Soundcraft MH2), which I then mixed down to a stereo MP3 for the client using Logic Pro.
- NOISE. Sonic Arts Installation: 2011
- NOISE was a collaborative effort between myself and two colleagues - for which we had to exhibit a sonic arts production at North Inch Community Campus. For this, I performed binaural location recordings which were then processed in my DAW. I then used my computer coding skills to design an application interface with which to perform the exhibit.
- The Sellars Brothers Jazz Quintet: 2010
- I used my knowledge of multiple-microphone arrangements and DAW software to carry out a live recording session for a client in a music pub. I was able to experiment with the Blumlein pair vs spaced pair & XY Pair vs Glyn Johns mic methods. As of 2012, the tracks are being remixed and re-mastered to a better standard, based on my continuously evolving sound engineering skills.
Qualifications
- Audio Engineering BSc (Hons Pending)
- Sound Engineering HNC & HND
- Physics, Maths, English, Computing and Technological Studies
Skills
- Live Sound Reinforcement
- FOH & MON mixing, crewing, rigging, system tuning, logistics & repairs
- Systems design & wiring, electrical distribution, knowledge of safe working procedures
- Stage Lighting
- Knowledge of safely rigging PAR cans & moving heads, focusing and DMX addressing/programming
- Specialism in operating Strand Lighting consoles
- Studio Production
- Analog & digital recording/mixing/mastering, microphone technique
- Re-amping, re-snaring, convoluting reverbs and acoustic effects
- Multimedia
- In-the-box mixing, location recording, foley design, video editing, web design
- Producing with Cubase, Pro Tools, Logic, Ardour, Reason & VST plugins
- General Qualities
- I am primarily a technically-focused person, but can also function as part of a cohesive team.
- I conduct myself in a serious, yet approachable manner.
- I have an intense passion for my specialisms and attention to detail.
- I also have extensive knowledge of IT: I can operate digital audio workstations such as Cubase, Pro Tools and Logic as well as system management software such as DCX2496 control software or EaseFocus Line Array prediction software.
- I can also code in HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, Visual Basic & Microsoft ASP. I am familiar with Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac and several Linux distributions including Ubuntu, Mandrake and DSL.
Interests
- A vast array of both live music and recorded music
- Website programming, electronic circuitry, computers & photography
- Snooker, 5-or-more & real ale
Why Hire Me?
I possess an inquisitive mind.
I’m passionate about all things audio.
I want to explore audio engineering further in order to keep on learning.