This week on our throwback to The Indie Files we had spoken to Soundlass all about her journey of working in the music industry in the North East, and this is what she said.
Meet Sound Lass, the female sound engineer who is breaking the stereotype of working in the music industry in the North East. She has worked at tons of gigs and experienced a lack of females working in the North East music industry and this is what she said...- What made you want to become a sound engineer? "Mainly, it was listening to music in the car with my parents growing up. Both of them worked really intense jobs in nursing and policing so I spent a lot of time waiting for them to finish shifts and while I was waiting id listen to music."
2.What has your experience of working in the North East music industry been like? "My experience in the music industry in the north east is quite vast, I started by working as an Engineer for local equipment hire companies, then decided to become independent as a freelance Sound Engineer. Now I work in almost every venue in Newcastle and occasionally tour with the local artists lanterns on the lake and Frankie Archer. "
3.Have you found the North East music industry lacks in anyway? "The music scene in the North East lacks a lot of Women, for a few reasons. Luckily with organisations like Crew Gal this is improving! I think it also lacks a bit of individuality, there are a few bands doing similar sounding stuff and it'd be great to see some differences."
4. What do you think the North East music industry is good for? "The NE music scene is good for upcoming artists, and people who are really new to gigs. It's our job as northerners to basically be very friendly so we tend to really look after new comers."
5. What is a day in the life entail working as a Sound Engineer?" A day in the life for me - usually if I'm not on tour then my working days starts at 3/4pm for a local gig. So I usually get a nice lie in, get lunch and do my day to day stuff. Then it's load in, soundcheck and ready for a show! Afterwards, I'll pack down and usually get home for about 12/1am. "
6. Why do you think there isn't enough females working in the North East music industry? "l think there's a lack of women due to lack of representation, if we don't see someone like us doing our job then it can be really daunting to consider it as a career path."
7. What would be your advice to someone who wants to be a Sound Engineer? "My advice would be to start slow. I didn't tour until I was in the job for 5 years, and even then I was super worried something would go wrong. But taking your time to solve every possible issue you come across is the best way to make you a really reliable engineer. Also be kind to the people you work with - kindness goes a super long way in this industry and it certainly gets noticed!"
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