Listen and learn from a panel of expert professional audio engineers as they share fun and interesting stories, dos and donts, useful tips, and guidance on how to best relay your sound requirements in a live performance setting. This is a must attend event for musicians who want to succeed in music venues and live events where pro sound is provided, as well as those interested in the real world experiences of working professional audio engineers.
Panelists: Graham Smith-White, Russell Gordon, and Carolyn Bragg
Host: John Trupp
Graham Smith-White is a creative placemaker and organizer working to create resilient communities with music, art and positive change. With his creative consulting practice, The Infinite Goodness-The Agency of Creation, Graham works at the intersection of Artistry, Entrepreneurship and Community to bring creative placemaking and design-focused solutions to community issues, industry needs and opportunities for artists. As a practicing artist, he brings 20 years of professional music and sound engineering to his project The Sunrise Review, a sustainability-focused Ecomusic practice centered around solar-powered recording equipment and nature as creative inspiration and studio space.
Russell Gordon founded Bluestreet Productions in 2006. Bluestreet is a full service, DC based production company specializing in live events providing sound systems, lighting, video production and staging for concerts, festivals, large and small meetings, press conferences and galas for corporations, institutions, universities, bands, venues and anyone that will have us. Before opening Bluestreet, Russell worked on a series of political campaigns including Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Al Gore. he worked at the US Senate Democratic Policy Committee and for NASA - TV. In 2017 Bluestreet purchased Wagtech Sound, a Silver Spring, MD based sound company specializing in live music sound production.
Carolyn Bragg has 27 years of live music production experience. She started this adventure by providing and running a sound system for bands playing in small to medium sized venues. Two of the most notable bands she worked with regularly “back in the day” were Eddie From Ohio and The Pat McGee Band. She then went on to work at a few notable venues: Trax in Charlottesville, VA; The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA; and finally settled in at Whitlow’s On Wilson in Arlington, VA when she discovered she couldn’t pay the bills with integrity. While continuing to work at Whitlow’s, she went “on tour” for a couple of years with Carbon Leaf, but ultimately decided she really liked sleeping in her own bed, and has been working at Whitlow’s and various other venues in the Metro DC area ever since. Working as a system provider, house tech, and touring soundguy has given her the ability to see issues from various perspectives and uses her position at Whitlow’s to “train” young bands how to work with system and house techs to make every show the best it can be.
John Trupp is a musician, songwriter, audio engineer, producer, and promoter. John is a native of Washington, DC and continues to be very active in its music scene. Early on, he joined New Potato Caboose, a nationally touring group that got signed to Rykodisc Records and did extensive touring. John has performed with many acts including Derryberry and Alagia, The True, Soul Gravity, Radio Mosaic, and Hayley Fahey Band. He has won an array of WAMA awards for graphics and music performance. John has been fortunate to perform many thousands of concerts on many of the east coasts finest stages. He is a member of the Recording Academy (The Grammys), is a board member of the Songwriters Association of Washington (SAW), and does community service through affiliations with Rotary International (where he recently won their Paul Harris award). He also does a significant amount of studio work as a musician and producer, and hosts and promotes concerts. John hosts the area’s longest running Songwriter Showcase (in its 8th consecutive year) and promotes and develops new talent in the region.
A virtual Community Day event, held over Zoom
