PROFILE
Andrew " Slipper " Brown
By Andrew King
Big Sugar . Big Wreck . Bigger tours . Bigger venues .
Andrew “ Slipper ” Brown has seen his resume and profile as a touring and audio pro grow pretty big , pretty quickly in recent years , from selling merch to mixing FOH on an AC / DC-sized rig .
Though he was born in Mississauga , ON , Brown and his family moved to the tiny town of Forest , ON when he was five years old . “ I still vividly recall asking my mom , ‘ Where are all the people ?’ when she told us we ’ d arrived ,” he laughs . “ It was very much culture shock !”
He and his family found a few ways to pass the time , including his brother taking apart and fixing computers and his mom regularly jamming with family in the living room . “ My dad was always fixing things and working on projects around the house ,” he adds . “ He had a mint pair of Marantz cassette decks and a very nice Marantz receiver , and I would get tapes going and just fiddle with all the knobs and whatnot . I loved watching the red and blue VU meters bounce around .”
In middle school , he started playing drums in various bands – bands that wanted to play shows , so he and his cousin started booking their own . “ He ’ d handle most of the business and I ’ d handle the tech stuff ,” Brown recalls . “ That kept us pretty busy in our free time throughout high school .”
After graduation , he attended OIART in London , ON , to learn to properly record bands and cut records ; however , after realizing recording studios “ weren ’ t doing so hot ,” he focused more of his attention on live sound .“ OIART was an amazing experience for me ,” he enthuses .“ I ’ d never truly focused so hard on education until I got there .”
Out of school , he started taking on freelance projects while working at the mall to keep afloat . Next , he took a job pushing boxes at London audio retailer The PA Shop , which led to a steadier gig with local production and integration firm Frischkorn AV .
When he jumped back into the freelance pool , he found himself busy with corporate gigs in the winter months and festivals in the summer .“ I kept meeting people and taking on bigger projects ,” he says .
Then came a career turning point : in 2010 , a friend who happened to be Big Sugar ’ s tour manager asked him to replace the band ’ s outgoing merch person . “ That was my ticket to touring ,” Brown says . “ I hit the road with Big Sugar as their merch person , did lights on a tour , and then got the call for FOH .”
Since , he ’ s worked with a host of major artists “ at both ends of the snake .” Currently , he ’ s out mixing FOH and tour managing for Big Wreck on the band ’ s highly anticipated In Loving Memory Of … 20 th Anniversary Tour . “ We have an incredible crew out with us , and the band is just so tight ,” he says . “ I ’ ve been a fan of the band since the record came out in ’ 97 , so to be out on this tour is such an incredible experience .”
Tour managing a major artist while also overseeing a live mix night after night is often challenging , Brown admits . “ There are so many things to juggle around all the time , and it ’ s non-stop on the road . You want to be mixing the best shows every night , and you also want the
band and crew to be comfortable . Learning that balance and a lot of the back end of the business was a challenge for me , but a rewarding one . When we ’ re out on the road and everything is working the way you planned , it ’ s a great feeling .”
That ’ s been the case for several of his career highpoints thus far . One was touring with burgeoning pop star Tyler Shaw as he opened the Canadian dates of Selena Gomez ’ s Revival Tour . Another was mixing FOH for Big Sugar ahead of AC / DC ’ s Moncton , NB date of the Rock or Bust Tour . “ That was hands down the largest PA I ’ ve ever had my hands on ,” he says excitedly . “ No soundcheck . Very much a throwand-go . We all pulled together to make it an incredible show and an unforgettable memory .”
Last year had its share of memories , too : Big Wreck ’ s Grace Street Tour , runs with Madeline Merlo and Dear Rouge , and a big one-off with Mother Mother at the PNE in Vancouver . “ The overall vibe at that show was electric ,” he recalls with a smile . “ A real pleasure to mix and a fantastic bunch of people .”
Brown is a resident of Etobicoke , ON , where he lives with his girlfriend , Kerry . “ Outside of work , we like to travel whenever we can ,” he shares . “ I really like to go back to places I ’ ve toured because I see so many things I want to actually experience . It ’ s hard because I tour more than I travel , so the wish list is pretty long .”
He also likes to catch concerts and sporting events , even though he ’ s not a huge sports fan – “ Just a fan of live events and experiences , whatever might be going on and interesting .”
Mostly , though , he likes being a part of delivering those experiences . “ There are so many ways you can impact hundreds , if not thousands of people ,” he says . “ Putting on an event that people will remember for years to come , that ’ s a pretty special feeling . I ’ ve been on plenty of stages in the last 10-plus years and the roar of a crowd never gets old .”
PHOTO : NINA SKOW
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of Professional Sound .
18 PROFESSIONAL SOUND