Chris Braun has been a Sound Engineer for over 15 years. First working as a studio assistant making coffees to working on Grammy and ARIA nominated and winning records.
The last 10 years have seen Chris predominantly as a Front of House Engineer and touring with the likes of All Saints, M.I.A, Portugal. The Man, Sheppard, Chet Faker, GOTYE, The Rubens, KIMBRA, Allen Tousaint, Dean Lewis and so on.
What would you normally be doing this time of year?
Normally I’d just be coming out of the post SITG break from doing sideshows etc and getting ready for the Sept to Nov touring bracket that leads into the Summer Festival run.
If I look back at my calendar from past years, I’m almost always either just about to start a fresh run or am already in rehearsals right about now and this year is no different. I would have been saying goodbye to Katie and Murphy tomorrow morning and jumping on a plane to start a couple of days of rehearsals at The Tivoli in Brisbane for a five-week run around the country but ….. COVID-19.
What’s a fairly normal day at the moment for you?
At the moment I still get up at a reasonably normal time, about 7:30am. My partner Katie is still working so I get up for breakfast and coffee with her which has definitely kept a sense of normality to my day. Once Katie leaves around 8am, it’s just me and the pooch (Murphy) for the rest of the day.
I’m still doing a couple of days a week for NAS Solutions which has been great so that generally takes up my Monday and Tuesday or as required.
Outside of that, I’ve been doing a bit of woodwork and building things for something new. I’ve built an outdoor kitchen/ BBQ area, a coffee table, some speaker stands, a bookshelf and a couple of other bits and pieces for around the house. It’s really relaxing being on the tools and the days can just melt away.
I’m also on the beta teams for both WAVES and MIDAS so given the downtime, both programs have been using the time to their advantage with a lot of work being done, especially for the firmware on the new MIDAS HD96 console. I’m pretty lucky to have these outlets as it’s kept me actively mixing and my head in the game during lockdown.
Other than that, it’s general stuff around the house, walking Murphy, riding my bike where possible and sucking at C.O.D. Warzone!
Are you learning anything to improve your skills set?
I’ve done a few refresher courses like Dante, Shure Wireless and have done some I.T. Networking courses and just generally tried to educate myself in different areas so I can come back ready.
I’ve also been looking at different ways of doing things from both a project management point of view through to how I mix things. An upside of all this is that it’s actually been really cool to have the time to reset some things and try new ideas.
I’ve been actively mixing a lot during lockdown, like… a lot! I’ve always multitracked tours over the years where possible so I’ve got a pretty extensive library of past shows from lots of artists that I can dust off to try new things, see what works and what doesn’t.
It’s also just been nice having all the memories come flooding back as soon as you hit play on a show as well. It’s amazing what you remember, the smallest little details that seemed so insignificant at the time. From the memory of having to stroll across stage to fix something and sharing a look with the bass player as you do (Hi Wil – The Rubens) or hitting play on that festival set that was her first triumphant festival appearance and was killer from start to finish … it’s definitely been memory lane.
What bad habits have you slipped into?
Allowing the days to slip away! The main reason I have made it through all this is that I’ve been able to keep myself busy. Whether that be doing audio stuff, being in the garage building something or having Murphy at the house during the day or going for a ride, I’ve generally been able to fill days but if I’m honest, that’s not always the case and sometimes the motivation just isn’t there.
There have definitely been days where I’m taking it easy, maybe watching some Chicago P.D. in the morning and then BOOM …. it’s 2pm in the afternoon, I haven’t walked Murphy and I’m still in my tracksuit pants. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not me and I’ve been pretty conscious of trying to be somewhat productive during the day just to keep my head above water … if that makes sense.
How are you coping financially?
I’m lucky enough to be on JobKeeper through NAS Solutions. I could have done JobKeeper myself as a Sole Trader but doing it through NAS means I’m accountable for a couple of days each week and have designs to do which keeps me active both in general and professionally.
If I’d done JobKeeper myself, I wouldn’t have the Projects Team or Shane Bailey to answer to and would likely have a couple more of those lost days.
JobKeeper only goes so far though but it’s definitely been a big help in making ends meet. I’m lucky to be on it as many of our touring family fell through the government cracks and have been doing it tougher than they should be.
When do you think live entertainment with return and in what format?
That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? During all this I’ve been keeping in touch with many of the managers I regularly work with and this topic inevitably comes up. There are lots of different opinions and it’s all relative to what kind of return we’re talking about.
If you’d asked me a week ago I probably would have had a different answer. A full return, to the way things were, is probably quite a ways off. I hold hope that we’ll see a summer festival circuit back for 2021/ 22 but that depends on so many factors. Putting 30,000 people into a field, into campgrounds, into communal showers, toilet facilities etc will be hard if COVID-19 is still kicking around.
It’s really promising to see what’s going on in Western Australia right now …. they’re doing gigs! Spacey Jane is doing a run down the west coast at the moment and the gigs are full. I’ve been following Jeremy Bestes Instagram posts with a great mix of happiness and jealousy! I don’t know if they’re running reduced capacities but the photos I’m seeing look like the good ol’ days so maybe there’s hope yet of a faster return to smaller capacity shows.
I think we’ll see a staggered approach to capacities on the East Coast and as things progress and if we don’t see any community transmission attributed to shows, we’ll see that capacity grow. It’s going to be a team effort and it’ll be a bit of a house of cards. If one show has an outbreak, the house will come tumbling down again.
I don’t know what guidelines will be put in place but I know it’s going to be super important that we and the public follow them, regardless of what they are. I can see temperature checks on entry being a thing and if they say that masks are mandatory, then wear the mask! It’s only going to take one muppet who isn’t feeling 100% but wants to go to the show, to ruin it for everyone again.
I definitely hope I’m wrong but I don’t see large scale shows getting back to normal with zero restrictions anytime soon.
Do you have any words of encouragement?
Yeah. If you’re feeling shit because of all this, know that you’re not alone. This has been really hard in different ways for everyone, no one is getting through this as if nothing has happened. People put on strong faces, especially in our industry but everyone is feeling it in one way or another.
If you’re doing well, keep an eye on your friends who might not be. Pick up the phone, flick them a text, slide into their DM’s. Just stay in touch, it can be a really powerful thing for someone who might be having a crappy time, to get a simple “Hey, how’s it going?”.
If you’re up for it, a few of us have created Roadies Who Ride. It’s early days yet but the whole idea is for people to be able to go for a ride with crew, musos and other industry folks. We’ll be running bike service days to get that dusty rig you haven’t looked at in years, up and running again and doing easy social rides where zero skills are needed through to hitting downhill tracks at Red Hill and You Yangs where we recommend a full-face helmet!
We’re on Instagram, Facebook, STRAVA and www.roadieswhoride.com
Support Act is getting on board along with a bunch of other things in the works but in the end, it’s just about getting out for a ride. The advantage is you’re surrounded by people who right now, are going through the same thing .… even if you think you’re alone, you’re not.
What makes you happy at the moment?
Honestly, Katie and Murphy are the reason I’ve been able to get through this as unscathed as I have. My Family have been there checking in here and there as well .… as mums do anyway!
Staying in touch with mates, weekly zooms and keeping busy has kept me sane. As I mentioned, I’ve made a point of doing a lot of mixing while in lockdown because mixing makes me happy but I do hope I get to mix something real again soon.
Instagram: @chrisbraunfoh
