When I started my first business around 1994 called Liverpool Sound Hire, I carried a full production for small gigs in my Toyota HiAce van. Just me and the gear usually went out for $250-$300 a night. Was amazing the amount of equipment I fitted into that van. PA consisted of a 16 channel analog mixer and rack of EQs, Effects etc, 30-metre multicore, two EV SX200 mid/hi boxes, two PA People custom front loaded subs with two 15” speakers in each, (damn heavy, but they had rollers on the back!) plus amp rack. Monitors were four wedges and a drumfill, all passive. Lights were eight Par 56s, two winch ups, dimmer and lighting desk.
On most gigs, it was just me loading in and out plus operating. Was brutal but I lived to tell the tale! This van also doubled as the family car so every time I had a few days off from shows we would unload the van and reinstate the rear seating to accommodate the wife and kids!
During the first year, I was subsidised by the Australian Government due to a fantastic new business incentive scheme introduced by Paul Keating and Bob Hawke. Put simply, I got the equivalent of the dole for a year whilst I got my new business happening. Like any new business with no reputation, I just went out there and learnt really fast! Back then, the best way to get gigs was to advertise in Drum Media which was a free weekly publication that featured stories about bands, live gigs etc. From memory, to place a small ad was around $30 a week, but in the pre-internet age, this was the best way to get your name out there.
During the few years I ran this business, there were many memorable moments, some for good reasons, some for bad! One of the more memorable shows I was booked for was a punk gig at the old Petersham Inn on Parramatta Road near Sydney. The plan was simple, five bands on the bill, each band would play for 40 minutes with a 20-minute changeover. Nobody wanted to open the show and punk promoter had no idea, so I just selected the soberest band to go on. I remember they had two “singers” who took turns in swearing at the punters whilst the other drank and distributed VB’s to the rest of the band. I was stunned seeing them knock over a full slab of 24 “throw-downs” in their 25-minute set.
This pattern happened for the rest of the night as each band struggled to have enough songs to fill out 40 minutes. Eventually, the headlining band came on. They were an all-girl band from California who stunned local audiences with their ability to almost get to 35 minutes before they stumbled off stage. Given that there was a 5-minute poem in the set by the drummer dedicated to a part of her anatomy I really didn’t want to know about, it was a very short set!
Highlights of the load out of the gig were a bunch of Asians in fast cars taking the piss out of the punks on Parramatta Road and then it was on for young and old. Watching it all disperse in a nanosecond when the police sirens got near was hilarious. The promoters paid me in cash and were such great guys I didn’t check it. The next day I realized they overpaid me by $30 so gave them a call. They told me they made more money on the night than they planned so gave everyone who worked on the show more dollars. Gotta love the punks!
