PROFILE
John Bruce Affleck
By Michael Raine
How many professionals in the audio and music industries can trace their career back to an item found in a garbage can ? Probably not many , but front of house engineer John Bruce Affleck happens to be one of them .
“ When I was 13 my friend found a Nirvana CD in the garbage at school , and we took it home and listened to it like it was some kind of religious experience . I remember dubbing it all to a cassette and wearing it out . After that I went through my dad ’ s records and listened to anything that was remotely associated with Nirvana or punk and that ’ s when I connected with music for the first time on a deep level ,” recalls Affleck , who is currently on the road as tour manager , production manager , and front of house engineer for acclaimed Canadian rock and roll band The Glorious Sons . “ This led into learning guitar and starting my own ( not very good ) bands , but it got me into recording and pushed me to listen and focus on sounds to figure out how they worked together .”
Affleck grew up in Charlottetown , PEI , in an era before the Confederation Bridge connected Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick . As a result , the PEI of Affleck ’ s childhood “ felt like it was its own little world ,” he says . “ My parents were great and made my childhood fun , so I was very blessed in that regard . My dad has always had a great record collection so I was exposed to lots of different types of music from a young age , that probably started my curiosity . My teen years were tougher – I was frustrated with who I was , who I wanted to be , and the options I felt were available at the time .”
Music was a salvation during those tough teen years , and Affleck taught himself the basics of recording in high school and university . “ This was before you could find tutorials and such on YouTube . There was one music store in town so I had to figure anything out with whatever gear they had in store ,” he says . “ School was always easy for me but not very inspiring , so I ended up dropping out of university and moving to Toronto to take an eight-month recording class at the Toronto Audio Recording Academy ( TARA ). It served two purposes : One , it was an excuse to leave PEI for a while ; and two , it was spending money on learning something that was already a hobby .”
His initial entry into the pro audio world was interning and eventually being hired at a Toronto recording studio , but the atmosphere was poor and “ one day the owner went on a rude tirade , so I just never went back . I found myself done school and living in a big city with no money . I reached out to the owner of TARA and they got me a job at a local production company where I literally unloaded trucks for four months straight , and then counted mic cables and XLRs for a few months after that . It wasn ’ t pretty but it was a foot in the door and a paycheque every week .”
Affleck spent two years there , eventually running the audio department and prepping gear for tours . It also meant he spent a lot of time at venues , getting to meet folks from the touring world .
“ My first real touring gig was with Great Big Sea , which in all honestly was an opportunity I didn ’ t deserve at the time . They were already a legendary Canadian act and I was only 25 , but they had a busy schedule and it gave me the chance to fast-track my skills . Couple years in , on one of my off weeks , I get a call from a Toronto A & R guy I knew asking if I could fly to Germany the next day but he wouldn ’ t give me much detail . An hour later , I got flight info and turns out I was headed out to mix Justin Bieber for his European promo tour . The only reason I got that opportunity was because his normal crew were in rehearsals at Staples Center for a big tour . I worked well
with his management and musical director , so they said they would keep me in mind if they ever needed someone . A year later they just signed this new singer and hired me to work with her . It was Ariana Grande . I was her first tech and was with her for three or four years . It was a crazy schedule and a real whirlwind . I travelled a lot and got to do a lot of cool things . It felt very surreal but I ’ m very grateful for those life experiences .”
Following those whirlwind years , Affleck wanted to focus more on his home life and also use his experiences to “ become a useful tour manager and production manager , really focusing on taking my front of house skills to the next level .”
Now , Affleck has been the Glorious Sons ’ full-time FOH engineer since 2018 (“ the busiest and best rock band in Canada ,” he calls them ) and also hits the road with Death From Above 1979 and The Tenors .
Away from the rigors of tour life , Affleck says , “ I live in Ontario with my partner Alannah and our dog Arnie . I ’ m away from them way too much , so spending that uninterrupted time with them over the pandemic was amazing . We have moved a lot over the years but as long as I ’ m with them it feels like home . Going for drives in our Jeep and exploring with the dog has become some of the most satisfying moments of the last few years .”
Michael Raine is the Editor-in-Chief of Professional Sound .
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