When did you first start working for Adlib?  Summer 2008

 

What’s your job title? Warehouse Assistant

 

How old are you? 19

 

How was your interest in production embellished at school? School christmas shows. I was always curious about how they put it all together.

 

When you left school did you know what you wanted to do? Did you go on to further education?  After spending a year in sixth form, the opportunity arose to work full time as Adlib and that was it.

What led you to join Adlib? At school (Gateacre Comprehensive), a local company would come in and perform training days and it just so happens the company was Adlib. They were very responsive to my interest in the industry and offered me my opportunity.

Was there anyone throughout school/uni/college that you would describe as a mentor? Ian McMillan, Rob Jones and Graham Warner were all very positive at school. They helped me get my foot through the door.

What was your first experience of working for Adlib? Before I started with Adlib, GCC organised for me to help with a gig on the Wirrall with Adlib engineer Kenny Kristiansen.

Was working for Adlib what you expected? It was better! It’s a great atmosphere to work in, with friendly people and the training has really helped me develop my skills as a sound engineer.

Is it really glamorous working out on big gigs? It is better than working on smaller gigs. The great thing about big gigs, is there’s so much going on that you can get stuck into anything. Also, the crowd reception at a gig is amazing!

What does a typical working day for you entail? When I’m in the unit, we have to sort out all gigs coming and going. This means tipping trucks, checking stage cables, cleaning gear, checking/fixing speakers and we all take turns making the brews!

What is the best part of your job? And the worst? The best job is going out on a gig and mixing for the bands. When I’m in the unit I like fixing the speakers, but the worst part is checking the cables cases.

 

What advice would you give to school leavers who want to get into the industry? If you want to get into the industry try and get as much work experience as you can, like local crew work on gigs and don’t be afraid to ask companies for work experience and start off on small jobs like sweeping floors and cleaning the gear. 

 

Keep your head down working, be interested in all parts of the industry and one thing I recently found out is you need to ask the questions! If you are not sure what to ask then find out what type of questions to ask from others who have been in the same boat. They’re all nice people with time to share their knowledge