What is it really like to be a professional touring sound man? While some might believe it’s little more than lugging gear and pushing a few buttons, Heil Sound alum Randy Burton will be the first to tell you it’s much, much more than that.
In this episode the second half of a two-part interview, Randy dives into stories from the road and shares his perspective on what it really means to be an effective sound engineer and work effectively with artists who are often insecure. You’ll also hear about how he was hit in the head with Pete Townshend’s guitar, how he almost witnessed the demise of Journey’s frontman, Steve Perry, and why he thinks B.B. King is such a nice guy.
Randy’s stories and insights will entertain and inspire you in your own journey as a music fan, sound buff, or fan of classic rock ‘n roll.
Randy had a great ear to balance the sound differences in each specific hall or arena.
As his partner Roadie, we had multiple experiences with various groups. Some were great, some were not.
I remember how nice this one start up group was in their preppy, izod, polo shirts, clean shaved college guys. That was ZZTop!
Then there was traveling a charter jet to Japan playing 3 cities, jackknifeing the semi-truck on an icy bridge in Winnipeg, scraping the side of taxis in Manhattan while on the way to the studio to be with Mountain’s Missippi Queen Leslie West, Ginger Baker (Cream) and Corky Lang , practice in LA with Humble Pie where Carol King was in the adjacent studio.
So many stories….