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FOH ENGINEER /
It’s the ears, not the gear
First & foremost I am a music fan who loves live music & wants every gig I’m working on to sound the best it possibly can. You won’t hear excuses from me about the PA not being good enough or the mixing desk being the wrong brand. I’ll be too busy making sure that you sound great, whilst enjoying yourself on stage & making every audience member go home with a smile on their faces rather than ringing in their ears.
Have you ever been to a gig & experienced sludgy sub bass that made you feel like your bowels were about to rupture & vocals so sibilant it felt like someone was taking a cheese grater to your eardrums? If you have, then you can be certain that I wasn’t mixing that gig.
High volume is a weapon used by some engineers to compensate for the fact that they don’t know the basic principles of acoustics, sound reinforcement & balancing a mix. Many engineers use the same techniques, equipment & lazy short cuts regardless of the artist they are mixing & obsess over individual technical details whilst ignoring the music.
I believe the most important factor in getting a good sound is understanding the music & putting the artist at ease. The technical side of the job is important to me but should be invisible to the artist & the audience.
I’ll cope with any issues allowing the artist to enjoy performing & the audience to enjoy the gig.
Currently mixing:
House engineer at The Cluny Newcastle
Past Clients Include:
James Bay
House FOH engineer at Cluny 2 Newcastle upon Tyne
Beth Jeans Houghton
Detroit Social Club
Frankie & the Heartstrings
Monarchy
Cloud Nothings
TOUR MANAGEMENT /
Is it buy out or PD mate?
For Artists
When it comes to tour management I have a simple philosophy, being nice gets better results long term, than being a dick.
Life on the road is an alternative lifestyle but sadly, all too often I come across tour managers who seem determined to take a fun & exciting life & reduce it to something akin to a mobile office job.
All bar the luckiest bands have a pretty short career. When their time on the road ends I want them to be able to look back on any tours they worked with me as being some of the best moments in their lives.
Let me take care of the logistics & you can focus on having fun and performing to the very best of your abilities.
For Management & Labels
I’ve never missed a show, I’ve never gone over budget, I always get paid & your client is always safe.
Currently working with:
Awaiting my next adventure, please get in touch.
Previous Clients
James Bay (Worldwide) – Closer Artists/Republic/Virgin
Beth Jeans Houghton (Worldwide) – Mute/Dick O’Dell
Frankie & the Heartstrings – Wichita/Gareth Dobson
Detroit Social Club – Wildlife/Geoff Barrowdale
Monarchy – Kayak MM
Let’s Buy Happiness – Spiral
TESTIMONIALS /
Posterior Smoke
Even though I have spent thousands of pounds on extensive therapy, I still feel uncomfortable telling people just how brilliant I am. So here direct from the mouths of those who have paid my mortgage for the past 10 years are words of honesty, wit, warmth & charm.
James Bay
Ross is my spirit animal
Beth Jeans Houghton
Never in my life have I met a soul so funny, kind, non-judgemental and intelligent as Ross Lewis.
Yes, he can get you to the places you need to be on time, he can collect the fee at the end of the night, organise instruments when yours break in a land where he knows nothing of the language, and get you through five countries in one day and talk police round with his quick wit and humour when they catch you driving a little too fast. But regular tour manager duties aside (all of which he deals with impeccably), he is an awesome person.
Countless times Ross has saved my backside in situations in which, had I been left to deal with things on my own, I would have failed miserably.
Once, after a lovely walk along a river in a small town in France, our key broke off in the door to our van, with only hours to go before we were due to arrive at our next venue.. Within 15 minutes Ross had located a key cutter with his rudimentary French and quick thinking, and we were back on the road.
This next ones for girls: every so often Ross will arrive at my hotel room to deliver me a tampon. I’ll say ‘not today Ross, I’m not due on!’, to which he would reply ‘you just wait and see!’. Sure enough later that day I’d be greeted by the fruits of my menstrual cycle.. How did he know? Because within days he will have an understanding of you, how you work and what behaviour indicates certain outcomes. He will know you better than you know yourself. He is always one step ahead, going above and beyond to make sure not only are you on time for your appointments, shows and interviews, but that before hand you are the happiest, healthiest version of yourself that you can be.
For those looking for someone to figure out and execute the mundane logistics of a tour, Ross is the man for you. For those of you who want something more for your money, Ross will provide you everything you could want. If you want to be left alone, he will leave you alone. If you want company, he will show you the time of your life. If you want steak he will find it for you. If you want to cry he will comfort you and he won’t be awkward about it. If you’re sick he will be there with his Manuka honey and countless remedies and medications. If there is an interviewer who is being an asshole, he will get rid of them. And if, like me, you have a nervous breakdown in a hotel in Zurich to the point of paralysis and spilling gibberish from your mouth like something from the exorcist, Ross will hold your hand for as many hours as it takes for you to fall asleep, and have you laughing about it days later.
A constant source of hilarity, Ross has been not just a tour manager, but one of the greatest friends I ever had. He has dealt with situations far beyond either of our control and turned the tables. He has made it possible for me to work in conditions under which I would not have imagined I could handle. He has brightened my life at its darkest and done so with grace, humour, sense and intelligence in a way that nobody I have met, professionally or personally, ever could.
I almost don’t want to let you have him.
Frankie Francis – Frankie & the Heartstrings
“Ross Lewis is the guy for the job, a real caring TM on the road & his FOH skills are second to none.”
Dave Burn – Detroit Social Club
“Just make up anything you want mate & put my name to it.”
Dave Harper – Frankie & the Heartstrings
“I’m going to do this later on, predictably hilarity will ensue”
*time passes, this arrives*
“Trained by retarded ninjas deep within the cheese pastie mines of Kumtiwinte, Ross Lewis remains the highest scorer for Newcastle United by miles and a tip top gent to boot.
What sets Ross apart from most other ‘sound guys’ is that he owns a telescopic hover donkey which he straddles throughout shows. This gives his ears a geographical advantage which other ‘sound guys’ simply do not consider.
When it comes to tour management, well, get out of town. Ross is quite literally the bomb da boom da band b’biddy macaloon. And you can take that to the bank. Not only will he book a hotel and take you there but he is always prepared to go the extra mile.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Ross to anyone.
Hope this helps
Uncle Dave”
Graham Anderson – Jumpin’ Hot Club
“Its nearly 30 years since The Jumpin’ Hot Club opened its doors & in that time we have put on literally, thousands of live music shows. To say Ross Lewis is the best sound engineer we have ever worked with is quite something, but its a fact.
His skill as a engineer is second to none & he has those extra qualities of reliability, is a great communicator with the bands, and has a relaxed & easy manner. I’ve lost count of the amount of artists that have asked him to tour with them, when they’re next time round.”
Sarah Hall – Let’s Buy Happiness
“Ross Lewis is a wonderful TM organised, professional, has great rapport with bands, event organisers and venues. He is highly attuned to the needs & workings of the bands he works with and always keeps a cool and collected demeanour.
As FOH Ross is always aware of how a band wants to sound, and creates the means in every venue to do that. Even with the ranging of quality of equipment that differs from venue to venue, the sound is always at its best.”
BLOG /
Dave Harper
Posted on: August 27, 2021
“Alright ya bastard!”
“Hello ya arsehole!”
Dave Harper is dead.
Typing those words just feels wrong. Typing those words means it’s real and he’s actually dead. Typing those words means that this searing grief we are feeling is hurting so bad because Dave Harper wasn’t larger than life, he was made of flesh, flesh that failed him, flesh that failed us and now the glorious contrary bastard is dead.
This isn’t how he wanted to die, he told us on many occasions he wanted to be bummed to death by a pack of rabid dogs and to prove that he was capable of change, one of the last messages from him declares,
“I‘m hoping to be the first full gay to top himself by steering a canal boat up his own arse”
Dave Harper is dead and people will never experience his tenderness again or his graphic, side splitting offensiveness again. Dave Harper has been decked, KO’d, he hasn’t beaten the count, he hasn’t been saved by the bell and death has defeated him, not on a contested split decision, it’s smashed him flush on the chin seconds before he was about to be crowned champion and now he’s out cold.
There’s a moment in boxing history, the sport that Dave loved so much, that highlights the knife edge between heroic glory and abject defeat. Herol Bomber Graham had absolutely outclassed Julian Jackson for four rounds, before the punch of the century knocked Herol unconscious before he hit the canvas.
Dave watched that moment again and again. He watched tear ups, he watched bore draws, he watched far better boxers and far less skilled boxers win world titles, but he kept coming back to that punch. Proof that life in the ring and out of it wasn’t fair, it was cruel and brutal and no matter how good you were, how hard you worked, how much you prepared, the perfect punch could take it all away and leave you on the deck, hope in tatters, glory snatched away and your life and career reduced to the question what if?
What if Dave Harper hadn’t died?
He’d have fought on, fought on to open his new venue, fought on to provide opportunities to people who most need them. Fought on to provide refuge to society’s most vulnerable. Fought on in the face of thieves stealing what he would’ve given them if they’d just walked in through the front door and asked for it. He’d have fought for funding, fought for audiences, fought for everything that is good and proper about existence in the face of bigotry, privilege and indifference he’d have fought with class, he’d have mixed it up, he’d have been quick on his feet and ducked and dived and…
WALLOP!
Dave Harper is dead. Seconds before being crowned the world champion of Sunderland, the punch of the century hasn’t just knocked the daft cunt on his arse, it’s killed him.
Dave Harper is dead.
Dave Harper is on the front page of the Sunderland Echo and suddenly those who made life so fucking difficult for him are blowing smoke up his corpse’s arse.
Dave Harper is dead because opening a venue in the City he loved took it’s toll on his body. He scrapped for every quid when other more privileged people were given thousands. That takes it’s toll, can make a person bitter, can make them want to give up the face of such obvious unfairness.
Not Dave Harper, he fought until he was punch drunk and then he kept on fighting. He’s out on his feet but he’s still throwing punches.
Dave Harper has just died and already people are saying his legend will live on in his venue.
He should be alive to be at the opening. He should be able to enjoy that night. His wife and son should be able to watch him have his moment as the wonderful living human he was.
Opening a venue that provides opportunities for the most vulnerable in society should not cost a man his life.
Yes he was an awkward bastard, yes he called you all out on your bullshit but that shouldn’t mean he’s had to die for you to realise that what he was doing was vital and should be supported.
Dave Harper is dead and the funding tap, so often rusted tight when he went to use it will suddenly flow freely.
Dave Harper is dead and now you see him for what he always was. A selfless individual trying to make a positive difference.
Dave Harper is dead and too many of you are talking about yourselves.
Dave Harper is dead.
Dave Harper is dead.
Dave Harper is dead which means we’ve all received the last picture of a Sunderland musicians face grafted onto a porn star doing something unspeakable.
Dave Harper is dead which means we won’t have to make sure we are in a place without kids being able to overhear our conversations with him.
Dave Harper is dead and it is our collective responsibility to make sure that his vision isn’t sanitised.
Dave Harper was many things to many people but at his core Dave Harper was a youth worker. Dave knew that the people who most need help are also the most self destructive. Dave knew that for most people just walking through the door was a battle and that to help those who need it the most, you have to go out and drag them through the door. Dave passionately believed that the arts and culture and great food and enjoying the finer things in life should be the right of everyone and that kids raised on Findus Crispy Pancakes should be enabled to grow up and become adults who eat at El Buli and can make their kids a home cooked meal made from scratch with fresh nutritious ingredients.
Dave wanted us all to live like a Tory but vote Labour.
Dave Harper is dead.
Dave Harper is dead.
Dave Harper is dead.
Dave Harper is dead.
It doesn’t look right on the page, it doesn’t feel right in the heart and it has our guts knotted and we are bent double gasping for air after an expertly executed punch to the liver.
Dave Harper is dead.
Dave Harper is dead.
Dave Harper is dead.
What a fucking cruel world.
How unbelievably unfair.
Don’t sanitise his memory. Don’t make him more palatable to the establishment. Don’t miss out the offensive turns of phrase and filthy monologues which could simultaneously split your sides open and make you question your morality.
Dave Harper is dead and for many that makes him easier to deal with and that’s not what he would’ve wanted.
Dave Harper is dead and that’s one less working class man who is alive and championing the working class.
Don’t let them make his ghost middle class, don’t let them make his legacy middle class. It’s already started. Dave Harper is dead and the self aggrandising culture sector are trying to claim him as one of their own and he’s not even buried yet and already he’s spinning in his grave.
Dave Harper professional drummer.
Dave Harper speedboat owner.
Dave Harper son.
Dave Harper husband.
Dave Harper altruist.
Dave Harper friend.
Dave Harper dead.
Available To Hire
Posted on: November 12, 2019
- 3kW PA System
- SQ5 Desk & Digital Stagebox & Snake
- DSP Controlled Monitors
- Comprehensive microphone and DI selection
- Do you want your small capacity (50-200) show to sound amazing and be mixed by a time served professional who can communicate effectively and make sure your gig or event runs as smoothly as possible?
- Do you want the technology to be discreet and the audience to be blown away?
- Email ross@immediateaudio.co.uk for a competitive quote
Soundbites by Daft Shites Vol 3
Posted on: July 4, 2017
Sitting still makes my head spin.
Chitter Chatter Chit!
Posted on: January 30, 2016
A talk (US) or chat (UK) show should be a wonderful experience for bands & artists but often isn’t. It seems amazing that shows which showcase live music (sadly such a rare thing on television these days) should inadvertently do so much to increase the chances of a poor performance being captured, but they do.
The usual working day for one of these shows goes like this:
6-8 hours before the recording – Crew set up backline & instruments. (Often the backline will be hired in, will be not quite what was requested or will not be in great working order.)
4-6 hours before the recording – Band will arrive and will settle into dressing rooms and then be called to do 2-3 run passes of the track allowing their monitor mix to be set & for the broadcast mix to be pulled together.
3-4 hours before the recording – Band & crew will kill time in a dressing room that contains no forms of entertainment.
30 minutes before recording – Hair & make up will be done
15 minutes before recording – Someone from the TV show will appear, they will be wearing a headset & carrying a clipboard. They will announce “15 minutes till recording”. Crew will go & do final instrument tunings
5 minutes before recording – Headset Clipboard comes back & walks band to the studio floor. They will be introduced, get into position & then reintroduced for the recording so it looks like the whole talk/chat show was seamless as live take, rather than being a smoke & mirrors job.
Recording time – The band will do a take of the song & they & their team will immediately have to decide if the take is good enough for broadcast or if they will (if allowed) try for a second take.
This is pretty much the way of all shows all around the world & it is the reason why if your favourite band has done a good talk/chat show performance it was down to as much luck as judgement.
Now here is how I think things can be improved.
1 – Stop designing schedules based on worst case scenarios. Stop adding so much dead time into a day. If something does go wrong, make it part of the show, stop making every show a bland illusion of professionalism. Celebrate the differences of each artist, band & crew.
2 – TV & production companies are worth millions & spend hundreds of thousands on utter wasteful bollocks. Buy a few sets of world class backline and maintain it to be in perfect working order.
3 – Put some sources of entertainment in the dressing rooms or create a fun room. Xbox, dartboard, pool table, pinball, table football, air hockey etc etc. Ease the nerves, add the fun & get a better performance.
4 – Get a room and put an electric drum kit, some guitar & bass Pods, keys & a vocal mixer in it. Allow the band & artist to warm up before the recording. I can think of few things less conducive to a good music performance than to have the band & artist sit around bored for 4+ hours and then have them be rushed to their instruments and be told to be brilliant in one take.
5 – Factor in multiple takes. Tell the audience the band will play the song 3 times back to back & then get the artist rep/management/label to pick the best one. Even better record 3 different songs as a mini gig. Broadcast one & put the rest online, do more with an 8+ hour day than get one ropey to average performance.
6 – Do something different! You all have the same format of a few guests & then a single song. Use the band, make them part of the show. Musicians are some of the most spontaneous & fun people I know, every night they feed off an audience & produce flashes of brilliance. Many actors on the other hand need other people’s words, multiple takes & the full might of Hollywood to appear interesting. Give more screen time to musicians, talk to them as well as letting them play.
Sorry
Posted on: January 22, 2016
I cannot get you an opening set or support slot at a James Bay concert. It is very impressive that you have used rudimentary Google skills to find me & email/tweet/Facebook message me with a few days until the show you wish to play. Sadly I am unable to help because the live music industry is slightly more organised & thinks on a longer term basis than you.
The way to get a support slot is to get either a manager, a booking agent or more likely both. If you are good enough these things will naturally happen and soon enough your management & booking agent will be talking to another artist’s management & booking agent and will land you a support gig or tour. If you have landed poor management they may go down the murky path of buying a support slot.
This has been the way since the music industry began & will continue to be for the foreseeable future & no matter how many emails or messages you send me, I will be unable to help. Sorry about that.
Many young musicians seem to think that landing a support slot with an artist they love will be a life changing moment but unless you are opening for the right artist & with the right team behind you, you’ll achieve nothing. Say you land the slot & 2000 people in the audience love you, what then? You have no product to sell them, no strategy to build on this sudden adulation & no team to advise how to repeat this success.
Soundbites by Daft Shites Vol 2
Posted on: September 14, 2015
Always remember it’s the music business not the business music. It’s right there in the name, music always comes first.
Soundbites by Daft Shites Vol 1
Posted on:
The best bit of equipment you can buy for any tour is another day in the rehearsal studio.
Some advice for fans
Posted on: August 22, 2015
What follows is some advice & a few tips for fans. First let me state loudly & clearly that I love fans. Without fans there would be no music industry. We need you, we like you, hell some of you even become genuine friends that we stay in touch with outside of music. So don’t take this advice the wrong way, I’m just offering some insight into how to not annoy the bands and artists you like.
- Don’t take it personally if you are not instantly recognised by the artist or crew. Hundreds of shows per year x thousands of audience members = a lot of faces to remember. We aren’t being rude if we ask you to refresh our memory, just most likely suffering the effects of sleep deprivation, jet lag & hunger.
- Don’t be offended if we are in a rush & can’t instantly stop to chat. Our schedules are usually crazy & there are loads of things that can go wrong when we are on the road. If we say we are in a hurry, we aren’t lying. Most bands and artists love spending time with fans but as they get more successful that time is eaten away by ever larger promo schedules & longer more technically demanding sound checks. Understand that us rushing past you outside a venue isn’t being rude to you personally, it’s us making sure that the show is as good as possible for the thousands of other people attending. FYI if you want to meet bands & spend time with them, 6pm – 8pm is the dead time that most artists hate and will be found killing time in pubs, video arcades & other time wasting places near the venue. That’s a good time to say hello and catchup.
- Most artists I know love receiving gifts from fans as long as they are small & not weird. By all means pour your heart & soul into something creative but why not keep that for you as a reminder of how inspired you were? If every successful artist kept and hung up every painting of themselves that they were given by a fan, their house would look like the set of a terrifying horror film. At a tired low ebb after a long journey, there can be something quite harrowing about stepping off a tour bus & having an abstract or photo-realistic picture of yourself thrust under your nose. Whereas key rings, soft toys, mugs, local sweets & chocolate will always raise a smile & be welcomed.
- An important point but one often ignored by many people. When a band & crew are on the road we are basically homeless. The tour bus & the hotels we stay in become our home. I have yet to meet anyone who enjoys a bunch of strangers (no matter how friendly) standing outside their house. It’s pretty much the same for us with regards the bus & the hotel. They are places of sanctuary for us, a home away from home & the easiest way to piss off an artist you love is to pester them by constantly hanging around a hotel or the bus. (I know this for a fact as I once had an awful encounter with Steven Malkmus from Pavement. The young fan me thought he was a dick, the older me now realises that I was a dick & he reacted quite calmly given the circumstances).
- Don’t be upset if your request for a song dedication is politely declined. If a band or artist followed every request each show would consist of approximately 50 birthday shout outs, 15 engagement announcements, 10 anniversary commendations & at least 5 marriage proposals. All of the music that was planned would have to be cancelled just to accommodate the fan requests. Sorry in advance for not making your special moment more special.
- Your ticket gets you entry to the show & hopefully you’ll have been entertained and have memories that will last anywhere between until you get pissed in the pub afterwards to a lifetime. Your ticket does not guarantee you a souvenir, a personal meeting or allow you to be rude to me, my crew or the band/artists. I print 10 set lists a night so sorry that you can’t all have one. We sometimes have a very tight schedule so have to dash off after the show. We aren’t being rude, we are just making sure the thousands of people the following night enjoy as good a show as the one you saw.
- From the artists leaving the stage it will take anywhere between 60-90 minutes before the tour party is ready to leave the venue. People need showers, industry folk need to swan around being important, friends & family need to spend brief time with their loved ones when they are in town & we may need to eat & drink. We aren’t being rude keeping you waiting, we are just getting shit done.
- Don’t be a dick!
- Be nice. Everyone responds better to nice behaviour.
Tour Life Laws No1
Posted on:
The better a city, festival or venue is, the less time you will have to spend in it.
Apologies
Posted on: May 28, 2015
I appear to have neglected this blog due to the massive workload that has resulted in James Bay becoming a bit of a big deal.
I shall endeavour to write more and give the handful of you who have ever checked this site something to peruse.