As many of you are already aware, this Sunday night Crash will host best-selling author and speaker, Francis Chan at North Phoenix Baptist Church @NPHX
For many of us church staff guys, when an event that is expecting to draw people by the thousands seems like a great deal, however the logistics can be overwhelming. And sometimes church musicians may feel out of place when suddenly placed in a big room, lots of people, lots of pro sound reinforcement, and lots of expectations.
So @NPHX, I want to minimize that stress as fast as possible so that everyone, including the band, has a great experience. Here are a few steps I try to take to make those “special events” better:
1) We made the shift to www.planningcenteronline.com recently and this site organizes our musicians,MP3s, charts and flow sheets in one central hub. The smart phone/Ipad app is also very powerful.
2) I have a Master Input list available for the front of house sound engineer. This specifies all needs of every instrument and vocalist, including types of microphones, DI boxes, and stage placement. Also, I have a general monitor mix level guide for the monitor engineer. Be specific as possible. Mine is on an Excel spreadsheet that can easily be tailored to the event.
3) For the day of, start with the time of the event and work backwards as you plan. Communicate the time musicians must arrive and “Load In” gear. For us this is about an hour prior to Sound Check, which in turn is an hour prior to the doors opening.
4) In church world, sound check often includes going over last minute music details, monitoring, lighting and video cues. Make sure your sound check is as detailed for the sound, video and lighting engineers as well as the musicians. You can never over communicate cues and details.
