A day in the life of a bass tech

As part of a behind-the-scenes look at a Matthew Good concert, we talk to Steeve Hennessy, who handles bass, keyboard and drum backline/tech duties from night to night. Check out this issue's Guitar column for the man who works the other side of the stage from Steeve.

Explain how long you've been an instrument tech, and how you ended up doing this.

After being a musician my whole life, it was a very natural transition for me. I have now been an instrument tech for over 10 years. At the time I decided to do it for a little while to get away from playing music every night. The first thing I did was get my name out there to production companies in Vancouver like Rocky Mountain Sound and Christie Lites. Both companies eventually hired me part time in their shops. Then a friend who worked at Rocky, Leslie McManus had the idea of starting a musical instrument repair and rental company. Backline Musician Services was born and needed someone with an overall knowledge in musical equipment to come in and help set up the shop. In that environment, I got to work with a lot of different artists and their gear requirements. Bands like Matthew Good would sometimes rent and/or have their equipment serviced there. So, eventually you're in the right place to meet the right people.

What's the most important part of your job?

The most important thing to me is the opportunity to work with different people from all over the world, and the chance to sometimes work with vintage, obscure and/or 'one-of-a-kind' handmade instruments they bring with them. I always strive to have a good show regardless of circumstances. What I mean by that is that you can't always choose the perfect stage, weather, equipment and people to work with. When you're faced with an unfavourable situation, the biggest challenge is to stay focused, objective and positive. Ultimately, at the end of the day, you want to get the job done in a way that hopefully people will want to work with you again. That's important to me. It's like the old saying, "The show must go on," I live by that.

What do you do to prepare for a show on a daily basis?

While on tour, you have your daily 'list of things to do' like make a trip to the local music store. Then when you get to the gig, figure out where you will set up your world. I found by being flexible in where I set up on stage sometimes left a better sightline for our in-ear monitor tech and the band, or gave myself better access to the stage. It's different if you are travelling with your own stage and doing arenas every night. If you don't already have one, make yourself a workbox - a kind of "first-aid kit" for the road. In there, you may have the obvious basics; guitar strings, spare cables, assorted connectors and jacks, tools, tuner, new batteries, a cable tester, meter, soldering kit, picks, assorted rolls of tape, glue, Velcro, bailer's twine, screws, a flashlight etc. Anything you can think of that could potentially help fix a problem on the spot. Then over time, as you work for different musicians, you get the odd requests for things like clothes pins to hold sheet music on a "windy" music stand. Just keep adding to your kit. For me it can be as simple as every time I go to a hardware store, I'll start at one end and just walk down the aisles looking at everything. Sometimes you won't know you need something until you see it.

Explain your role during the show. What's the most important part of this part of your job?

During the show your role is to be aware of everybody and everything on that stage at all times. Even before the musician takes the stage, you and your fellow crewmates line check every instrument and microphone so that even if everything worked during sound check, something may have gone wrong since then. Then all your musician has to do is walk out on that stage, pick up their instrument and go. From that point on, you expect the unexpected. If something stops working for whatever reason, your immediate attention is expected. While trying to stay invisible, you assess the situation, fix it if you can or replace it with a spare if you've got one. All with the least amount of disruption to the show as possible...

What's involved after the show's over?

First thing I do or ask a stagehand to do is clear the stage of all bottles and unfinished drinks to avoid spillage during the strike. Then right away, put away all individual instruments (guitars/bass/keyboards) in their protective cases so they don't get knocked over. Then I go on to packing up any small bits and pieces before stagehands start grabbing and moving stuff. Tear down and put away drums. After every piece of equipment is packed away and accounted for, you do what's called an 'idiot check'. That's when you walk around looking behind curtains, around corners, under the stage, just to make double-sure, that even if, in your mind you think you packed everything, it's usually during 'idiot check' that you'll find something like the drum carpet is still sitting on the stage. Have your gear lined up and sent to the truck in order of pack. That way you avoid clutter and it's easier to keep track of everything as you go. Before you know it, your pulling the door shut for another day.

And because Steeve is much wordier than his 6-string counterpart in this issue's Guitar column, we'll be running Part II of his advice next issue.

Steeve Hennessy is an instrument/backline tech for Matt Good, specifically bass, keyboards and drums. He also plays guitar/keyboards in his own band, Rymes With Orange. Find Steeve online at steevehennessy@hotmail.com or www.rymes.com.

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