I have exhausted this subject matter in the last 12 months and I will continue to advocate for its importance. Dear Entertainers: sound check will NEVER be uncool. Sound check can NEVER be uncool. What is uncool though, is you missing sound check and pitching up 2 minutes before your performance slot and expect the Dj or Sound Engineer to magically have your music ready.
That literally means because of your selfish and unprofessional conduct, the whole event will be delayed. What exactly will cause the delay you ask? Entertainers generally have their music ready on USB’s and CD’s. The better resourced entertainer will have a Dj that will run its set from their players with a laptop. In terms of a USB, it will need to be plugged into a PC or Dj players.
Some PC’s/laptops have safety features that makes it compulsory for a USB to be scanned, and its software to be installed before it helps you with an option to access the USB. That takes time. About two to five minutes. In some cases, these PC’s/Laptops reject the USB. That means the sound engineer or Dj can’t access your performance mix and in turn you will not perform. Had you pitched for sound check all the mishap could’ve been avoided and rectified by the parties involved in advance.
How does one make a plan of any sorts two minutes before your set with fans screaming for your name and your USB is not recognized by the equipment at hand?! With CDs, one would find that you perform with this same CD everywhere you go. By the time you perform for the 11th time with that CD, that CD is scratched. Meaning while you are lip synching on stage, the CD will skip a beat and you would’ve made a fool of yourself and cheated the people who paid at the gate to be entertained.
Sound check makes everybody’s job easy. You make your job easy. You make the role of the sound engineer easy. You are definitely making the role of the MC easier.
It goes without saying for live acts. Live acts cannot afford to miss sound check. No, heck no. Live music is on another level of complication. You need to connect your instruments to the mixer. Than you need to tune your instruments. Sound engineer needs to double triple check the sound levels. Monitors needs to be adjusted. My goodness there is just no way can a live act miss sound check. Sound check is important. Sound check is cool. You can’t think you are bigger than sound check. Humble yourself and go for sound check.
Until the next Loop, we say #GMTM
Song of the week: Young T ft. Mrogan, K’chinga & KP Illest: Levels
Flop of the week: Any song by Get Rich Neega
Its year-end function time! Book NSK to MC or provide sound for your company/organization/firm’s year-end function. Contact NSK for a quote at naobebsekind@gmail.com
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