A Day In The Life of An Audio Engineer

This is what it's like from my point of view on the current tour im on!

From load in, microphone setup, cabling, the show, load out, pickin up the snakes, and flying in the PA!

FOH Engineer - Alex Markides @darkides on all socials

Slipknot Tour 2021

[digdigdigdigdig]

Crazy to see someone doing the same shit I also do professionally for some reason. Everything detail down to the mess of cables, to the satisfaction of perfectly lining up the cases in the truck after a long 12 hour day haha. Felt like I was at work, and I can gladly say that its not a bad thing at all. I love the studio, but there's a certain magic in live sound that you cant get in the studio. Very blessed that I lucked out getting with the crew I run with down in Dallas!

[UltimateGamer]

Hell yeah man! living the dream Alex. Love the organized chaos of each night. Hope I can do it one day.

[trscsaeg]

The start of this video makes this field look super easy and convenient and non time consuming at all

[CamOpKyle]

An audio engineer that actually goes hands on with load in/out? Impressive. A lot of A1s and L1s that I've worked with won't even look in the general direction of the truck during load in.

[SlothMotions]

I am so happy I got to see this video, this type of work is 100% not for me, but I absolutely love all the details this video shows!

[InfinityShadow]

I can't imagine the effort of packing up all that every time the show is finished just to have to set it all up again the next day or week...
Props to you all..

[chrisclose]

The lighting and sound technicians and engineers are the unsung hero's at concerts and events and shows without us these gigs would never happen

[radioflatland]

That´s a hell of work! As a local musician, we do our stuff on our own but on a way lower level. Your work is incredible. Good to show what´s behind the stage! Thank you!

[calebkey]

This is so wild, I was at that show. So cool to see the other side of things! Everyone absolutely killed that night, great times

[woodybob]

Not gonna lie doing all this is pretty impressive. Even just the fact that you remember where everything goes

[jamesscott]

I can feel this in my quads, glutes, and hamstrings. Pushing these cases up and down ramps for 16 hours will make you feel the burn. Add a sunny day in 90+ degrees Fahrenheit and shitting in a well used portapotty to get the full ambiance.

Touring bands should do this work for a week before they decide to show up late, drunk, high, or hungover to appreciate all the hard work that goes into letting them perform for an hour.

[equilibrium]

Holy shit. That looks so fun, but at the same time nerve-wracking. Cool to think about, that without you they would not be able to preform the liveshow. You have one hell of an awesome job :)
And to everyone that reads this, I hope you are having a great day!

[FlyingBeerman]

Pays close attention to cable wraps to see how experienced this guy is. Surprised you were able to film so much. A lot of these venues do not like crew filming because of the chance of recording stuff you weren't supposed to.

[dbarbz]

I do not miss doing this for a job. So stressful, constant travelling. Long ass days and nights. Working every weekend. If you're young, single and want to see the world then this is the job for you.

[huntermorgan]

I've never been on a stage in my life, but there's something really fun for me in the physical and technical aspect of setting up equipment. I'd love if you did more videos like this and added captions with a bit more detail!

[Tkibbs]

This is what I’m about to finally start doing full time as well as being a symphony musician. I understand what it’s like being on both sides of the mic, but to finally be starting as a full time live sound engineer is amazing

[aaronquinn]

As an artist, you really don’t initially realise the mechanism that goes on behind a successful event. Kudos to all live sound & studio engineers, I’ve DJ’d many a club to realise they’re serious about the craft & it works their way for a reason.

[joshuacervenkamusic]

Yo, just want to say thank you to you and the whole team your with for the hard work you guys put in for these shows. Most concert goers don't realize how much goes into it.

[pilotmichael]

It's crazy how fast the loadout starts. I went to a concert last year where I was in the front row and as soon as the band got off stage and the house lights came up, the techs came out and started shooing us off the barrier so they could dismantle it. Large touring shows are logistical nightmares and masterpieces at the same time. Thank you for the work you do to bring entertainment to so many people!

[Hauki]

im currently studying to be an audio engineer and its really sick seeing this thinking about that that might be when ive finished my studies! keep it up man :D