A reflection on 2023: New Music, New School, and Lessons Learned

Introduction

If you're new to this website, hi there! Welcome to my website. I'm Jo, a live events technician specializing in sound reinforcement. I've had my hands in most facets of live production, including audio, video, lighting, rigging, logistics, leadership, and communications. I've also done quite a lot of work in studios with tracking and mixing a variety of audio projects, and have met so many amazing people through my career path. I love what I do and want to inspire others to do what they love as well.

2023 In a nutshell

2023 was quite a busy year for me full of new opportunities and experiences. I've learned a lot of lessons that apply to my personal and professional life.

In 2023, I finished my second-to-last year of my undergrad degree, did lots gigging, went on tour, travelled across the Atlantic, lived in a different country, obtained new hobbies, and explored a new discipline that I've been interested in for years. This post will finish with a list of hard and fast rules that I've learned in the last year.

3rd year of Undergrad

In the third year of a four-year undergrad program, things start to get real. The end is nearing, and for me at least, you're scrambling to squeeze as much experience as possible into a very short time frame. In addition to my job as an A/V Technician at my local convention center, I found myself taking any opportunity I could to get my hands in the many music events happening on campus.

Almost every week I was doing a new role in a concert through the Tuesday Night Jazz series offered by Capital, as a more experienced audio engineer I took this as an opportunity to mentor younger engineers and help them harness the skills necessary for success in live events. I was invited to work on student recitals for a variety of roles, including monitors, playback, stage management, and camera operator. I also began working in the scene shop of Capital University's Theatre Department, where I took up carpentry as my main role on the team. Since I knew what was to come in my final year of undergrad, I certainly made the most of my third year.

The make it go tour

In early 2023 I met the members of local band Noise Ctrl at a holiday party, and mentioned that I'm a live engineer looking to work more directly with bands. As they were beginning to play larger shows with no engineer, they graciously agreed to have me on as a band engineer.

At that point, I've never been a band engineer, but reflected on my days in the theatre for guidance on how to approach the new role. Coming to rehearsals and being engaged in the music was top priority. The band had an audio rack which I optimized for their use through some reorganization and programming. And in late July, I joined them for their first tour in relatively close cities.

I've always wanted to go on tour, so this was a great opportunity to cut my teeth and understand the lifestyle of touring without a prolonged commitment. You can read more about the Make it Go Tour in my portfolio. Overall this tour was a fantastic experience that further piqued my interest in touring, and I'm excited to work with this band in the future.

study abroad

My experience studying abroad really deserves its own blog post from the overwhelmingly positive impact it has had on me, but I can summarize it for the sake of this reflection post.

Living and studying in a new country for the first time required about a year of preparation and execution. There were many unknowns, fears, doubts, and hardships that came with successfully pulling it off. But in the end, everything had turned out exactly how it should have. I had a very successful semester academically, met some very close friends who I'll remember forever, travelled more than I ever have, and, most importantly, learned how to trust myself and my abilities in a time where I had forgotten. There will be a separate blog post about this experience, but if you've ever considered studying abroad, I would highly highly encourage anyone to do it.

Lessons Learned

I've included a list of lessons I've learned that I want to use to build on in 2024:

• Inputs = Outputs. Put quality in, get quality out. Put garbage in, get garbage out.

• When in doubt, trust your gut. You'll save a lot of time.

• Do not sacrifice your dignity or integrity out of fear.

• You get a lot farther when you learn to trust others.

• Not everything has to be perfectly planned for it to have a positive impact.

• Never assume that you know what someone else is going through.

• When it comes to reaching goals, discipline is much more important than motivation.

• Spend time outside. It resets your mind.

• Create small, sustainable healthy habits. They make a big difference.

Here's to a successful 2024, whatever that may mean to you!