Sonic Encounters: Engineering for G.E. Smith
G.E. Smith at Live Wire Music Hall 26 Feb 2009 Photo credit: Brenden Robertson
Behind the Console with a Guitar Icon
Was it another day of working at the family club on historic River Street? Or was it something more? We spent the first couple of hours unloading a large truck, parked on the cobblestone road, and carried the cases up the narrow doorstep. This was just like any show, until he appeared. A shorter man with long hair, faded hoodie, road-worn jeans, and Chuck Taylors, approached us at the door and stopped to lean up against the building and muttered something about “the old days”. It was very New York. It was GE Smith. The GE Smith.
The GE Smith I knew from television, as in GE Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band, that toured with Bob Dylan, and Hall & Oats was at my club to perform! This moment was real. I spent my musically-formative years watching him on rerun episodes of SNL marathons, while learning to play guitar and bass at my band mate’s house. The skits and one-liners from this era are synonymous with the first songs and riffs I would practice. For more context, think the casts from Chris Farley to Will Ferrell and early hits from Green Day to Foo Fighters.
The gig was Moonalice, and Smith was the hired musical director. The ensemble was led by a California-based tech-mogle with enough dough to buy a band of monster players– not just GE (guitar), but also Jack Casady (bass, Jefferson Airplane), Pete Sears (keys, Jefferson Starship and Phill Lesh and Friends).
Jack Casady at Live Wire Music Hall 26 Feb 2009 Photo credit: Brenden Robertson
Pete Sears at Live Wire Music Hall 26 Feb 2009 Photo credit: Brenden Robertson
Soundcheck was mildly chaotic, not because of technical failure, but because of the great number of musicians and crew, plus local staff, in our small venue. Our main room was long and narrow, the ceiling and the stage deck were quite low, and the ground floor felt oversold if more than 100 people came. Albeit an intimate space, the regulars of our beloved Live Wire Music Hall relished in the up-close experiences without complaints.
GE stepped to our small stage with his vintage Telecaster and began to play through a Fender amp that was wrapped in a moving blanket to baffle the loudspeakers. He would adjust the volume and tone knobs on the fabled 50’s Tele and play some riffs. The old pots would scratch and pop noticeably with each turn. Smith, not bothered and cool, continued until his guitar tech called out “what about that breakup?”, thinking there would be a need to address this.
“I’ve been breaking up for forty years!” Smith rebutted, assuring everyone that this wouldn't phase him nor any ear in the house. We were among a true master, teaching a profound lesson in finding comfort among the environment. Unforgettable.
G.E. Smith at Live Wire Music Hall 26 Feb 2009 Photo credit: Brenden Robertson
We would continue with soundcheck through the afternoon, adjusting head amps and eq’s to fit the needs of each engineer. My system, at this time, was mostly analog– a single Yamaha MG2412 for both front of house and monitors, fed by my Protools LE 002 rack with Focusrite and Presonus micpres. I remember having to adjust some gains that would affect the entire signal path because we had no splitter snake, however, the crew were very easygoing about the changes.
The Moonalice sound was reminiscent of Grateful Dead, or if you slowed down Zappa to almost a halt. The night was opened by Col Bruce and the Quark Alliance, who were very dialed in, and an impossible act to follow.
I feel so grateful to have seen GE Smith (and Jack Cassidy) ringing out, and swaying, and giving cues with strong countenances, under my faders. Looking back, GE Smith mentioning the old days outside Live Wire Music Hall, marks an era I can refer to as my old days – cutting my teeth as a young sound engineer and player.
I encourage you to share any positive experiences you have working with the elite players in the world, and lessons received.
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“I’ve been breaking up for forty years!”
— G.E. Smith
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