Recently, we caught up with FOH engineer Michelle Sabolchick, who’s currently on tour with Gwen Stefani. Here’s what she had to say about sound engineering, living out of a suitcase, and what seems to be the calming effects of estrogen in the testosterone-driven industry of audio engineering.
	Being a sound technician isn’t a traditional career choice for women. How did you get started in the business? For as long as I can remember, music has been important to me. I always knew I wanted to be a part of making it happen, in a behind-the-scenes sort of way. I started out working at a little sound company—as a stagehand, at nightclubs, mixing local bands—doing whatever I could, to learn as much as I could. Even with the inroads women are making in pro sound, it’s still predominantly a boys’ club. What challenges have you faced? I personally haven’t really experienced the “boys’ club,” or had any problems being a woman in the business. I’ve actually found that a lot of the guys like having a woman on the crew; they say it turns things down a notch, kind of levels out the testosterone. When I started out in the business, I went out of my way to work harder, smarter, and better than the guys I was working with. Once they saw that I really knew what I was doing, I gained their respect. What advice can you give women who want to pursue a career like yours? You need to be confident in your abilities, have a thick skin and try not to take things personally.
	How about being on the road? Honestly, touring isn’t for everyone. It’s not an easy lifestyle, so you’ve really got to have it in your blood to want to do it or you’ll never last. You’ve got to like—or at least be good at—living out of a suitcase for months at a time without all the comforts of home. And you need to feel comfortable working closely with men, which, in my case right now, requires living with eight of them on a bus. Do you feel you approach this gig differently than your male counterparts? It’s been my experience that sound engineers have their own personal, individual styles and ways of doing things that really don’t have anything to do with gender. How did you hook up with Gwen Stefani? The same way I’ve gotten all my other tours: They needed someone, and I was available. You’re presently on the “Harajuku Lovers” tour with Gwen. How many people are involved? There are 62 of us: 34 crew, eight dancers, five in the band, 14 drivers, and Gwen, of course.
	What are your responsibilities? Along with mixing the show, I set up and tech FOH, tune the PA, collaborate with my system engineer on how we’re going to fly the PA in each venue, play 'Julie the “Love Boat” cruise director' on my days off, and run the occasional load-out bar. What do you mean by “run the occasional load-out bar”? Once a week, after I finish loading out FOH, the drum tech and I whip up a batch of cocktails for our crew. What audio challenges do you face, going from venue to venue? The biggest issue is coverage. We’ve got to be able to cover a seating area over 270° in various sizes and shapes of arenas. Acoustics also vary dramatically from venue to venue. Some of these arenas have done acoustic treatments to the room to help increase the quality of the sound, while others have done nothing and are just large rooms with metal roofs and lots of concrete that make for a challenging night. How does doing sound for concerts like Gwen’s—which are more elaborate productions— differ from doing traditional, singer-standing-behind-a-mic performances?
	For one, there’s a lot of dancing and running around. Gwen might be right on the front edge of the stage for a lot of the show. She’s on the subs, in front of the front fills and in front of the PA, which keeps you on your toes. And maybe she’ll stick the mic right into the front fill, so you've really got to watch her. And because of all the dancing, there are a few songs where running out of breath might become an issue, so you have to work harder to get the vocals above the band. The dancing also makes for a less than perfect mic technique: Her microphone can end up being more like an overhead for the room than a vocal mic, so there’s a lot of riding the fader. So you need … ? Keen eyes, quick fingers and a good ear. What do you like most about your job? The feeling you get after you had a great show where it all came together: The mix was great, the crowd was great, the band played great … and knowing you were a part of making it all happen. Many thanks to Michelle Sabolchick for her “sound” advice about being a woman in a male-dominated industry. We appreciate the time she took to share her thoughts with us and wish her continued success, which, given her aptitude and attitude, is already a foregone conclusion. She’s a role model for every aspiring sound guy out there … female or male.
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