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FOH Hometown Heroes
Peers Honor Six Who Stand Out in Their Region
By KevinM.Mitchell
Despite their different zip codes, backgrounds and equipment preferences, every one
of these six sound companies quickly jumped to the same explanation when asked
about what makes them successful: It’s the people they hire.
“We invest in people,” Bobby Brantley says emphatically. “I say this again and again, you
can have the best gear out there, but if you don’t have the right people behind the gear,
you’re starting with one hand behind your back.”
“I think it’s the people we hire that help us stick out,” echoes Roy Kircher of Austin’s Big
House. “It’s as important as the gear.”
It’s hard to disagree — or argue with the success — of that. Yet obviously, the “people”
part of the equation must start at the top. Selected by their peers, these six companies are
honored as standouts in their region. They are:
20
Great Lakes Sound
Toledo, OH
The team at Great Lakes Sound
Bill Robison was installing small sound systems for bars and
working with local bands when he founded Great Lakes
Sound in 1985. Today, they have ten full-time employees
and serve corporate, music, sporting, theatrical and festival
clients. Their reach has expanded beyond the Midwest, and
they’ve grown into a full-service company handling lighting
needs as well.
“About a year and a half ago, we started focusing on the
business end of things,” says Vice President Todd Mitchell.
“Not only audio and light, but also staging and a store that
sells equipment.”
Mitchell, who has been with the company since 1997, says
that while they go as far as St. Louis and Phoenix, Toledo continues
to be their biggest market, followed by the tri-state
area that includes Michigan and Indiana. “We do a lot of nonprofit
fundraisers, and as Toledo has a lot of big insurance
companies here, we handle many corporate events. Also we
do about 90% of the larger festivals around here.”
At Great Lakes, they keep their eye on the ball: “We have a
creative staff here and we just stay on top of things. We don’t
focus on what other people are doing; we focus on what our
markets need, what our customers want.” A solid foundation,
a diversified customer base and a passion for what they do
are all key to their success. Also, respect is important.
“We have a lot of good allies, and we try not to burn any
bridges,” Mitchell says. “We try to maintain friendships with
everyone in the area.”
The future entails Great Lakes making things better, bigger
and maintaining the infrastructure of the organization.
“We follow Bill’s business plan, which involves growing slowly
and keeping up with trends.
“Bill is not a hands-off person. For example, he’s out driving
a truck down to a job this morning!” Mitchell laughs. “He
has a lot of passion about what he does.”
OCTOBER 2007
www.fohonline.com
Out of all these honorees, one will receive the Parnelli Award for Hometown Hero in Orlando,
Fla., at the gala award event on Nov. 16. The Parnelli is the industry’s highest honor for
live event professionals. (For more information on the Parnellis and to make your reservation,
go to www.parnelliawards.com.)
Carlson Audio
Seattle, WA
Carlson Audio’s Mark Carlson (L) and Jon Myers (R)
Two decades ago, Jonathan Myers worked for another sound
company, which also employed Mark Carlson, and left it to follow
his own road. He toured with bands, went back to school, and then
was all set to start a sound company in Spokane, Wash. Meanwhile,
Mark Carlson got wind of Myer’s idea. Carlson was already prepared
to launch a similar company in Seattle, so the two decided to join
forces.
“We spent virtually a year putting a business plan together and
then officially launched the company in 1990,” says Carlson. “It started
in a 10-foot by 18-foot garage, and the plan was to service the 3,000seat-and-under
market, which wasn’t being serviced at the time
in Seattle. We achieved our goal rather quickly, and then business
flourished.”
T o d a y
they have
a 22,000square-foot
facility, and
Midwest: Great Lakes Audio
Northwest: Carlson Audio
Southwest: Big House Sound
Southeast: Brantley Sound Associates
Northeast: Firehouse Productions
Canada: Sound Arts
“We know who pays the bills, and what
we’re asked to do is often inconvenient. In
fact, MOST often it’s inconvenient!”
— Mark Carlson
their gear and people have toured with clients all over the world.
The core staff numbers under 15, with a tried-and-true list of freelancers
topping 100. They handle everything from corporate to
national touring acts. Recent clients include REM, Pearl Jam and
Modest Mouse.
“I think our proudest achievement is that we’ve grown our market
in and out of our region, and we’ve gained the trust of clients as
we’ve grown,” Carlson reflects. “Picking up national tours, and gaining
the respect of FOH engineers has been really rewarding.”
Like all artists, they make it look easy: “We know who pays the
bills, and what we’re asked to do is often inconvenient. In fact, MOST
often it’s inconvenient! [Laughs.] But early on I heard, ‘You can’t tell
your clients what they want,’ and it’s something we take to heart.”
While they have toyed with opening offices elsewhere, including
Portland and Las Vegas, they took a step back from that and
came to the conclusion that their core business strategy still holds
up — that serving their customers as they have in the past makes
the most sense. “We’re sound guys,” Carlson shrugs. “We do events.
So we’re happy where we’re at.”