Professional Sound - February 2020 | Page 18

PROFILE Allyssa Rawes By Maxime Brunet G rowing up in Guelph, ON, Allyssa “Roz” Rawes devel- oped a passion for music at an early age. While some children might spend their Sundays at church, Rawes spent them watching a DVD of Queen live at Wembley Stadium with their drummer father ("they/ their" being Rawes' preferred pronouns). Ultimately, worshiping at the altar of rock had a strong impact on their career ambitions. From the age of 14 onwards, Rawes worked in retail, eventually moving up to being head of the billing and invoicing department of a local company. They loved both music and computers, so decided that they eventually wanted to get into audio engineering. After graduating high school, they enrolled in the Harris Institute’s audio production and engineering program, where they focused on live sound. Ever the go-getter, Rawes was the student council president dur- ing their studies. After graduating, Rawes worked many stagehand, stage management, and patch tech shifts with various production companies until they were able to support themselves exclusively with mixing work. For the past five years, they have been primarily working as a monitor engineer, both locally in Toronto and with touring acts such as Broken Social Scene and Alvvays. Asked about why they prefer the stage side of the snake, Rawes states: “I love the con- nection that’s made between empathy and tech. I get to learn each musician’s preferences and body language during sound check and let that knowledge translate to their needs mid-show. I enjoy knowing what a musician needs before they ask for it, making a change to their mix and watching them get right back in the groove – especially when you’re feeding off of the band’s energy, totally in tune with each person on stage and you get into a bit of a flow where your mix moves are almost subconscious. There’s nothing like it.” As in-ear monitoring technologies and capabilities have evolved, Rawes has taken a strong interest in 3D audio mixing, which allows engineers to place instruments and vocals in a truly three-dimensional audio field, compared to the traditionally-used stereo field. They particularly enjoy the Spat Revo- lution platform from FLUX::. “It has far more spatial parameters available [than its competi- tors], has better infra-red tracking possibilities with Blacktrax, doesn’t require extra hardware, and connects well via AVB to the [Avid] S6L,” they say, citing their preferred console. Besides working as a freelance technician, Rawes is also the technical director of The Mod Club in Toronto. They also find the time to teach at the Harris Institute, where they cre- ated the curriculum for the digital live audio class in 2017. Rawes was offered a teaching position after giving a guest lecture, and felt strongly about taking the job. “I was hesitant to take it on due to my busy schedule, but I was able to work out a part-time schedule on Monday mornings with the option to teach via Skype while on tour. I also really wanted the opportunity to give the students some exposure to a non-male tech.” Rawes received the Harris Institute’s “Excel- lence for Music & Audio Production” award this past fall for their work thus far. Like many women and non-binary tech- nicians, Rawes has experienced sexual harassment and assault. Recalling those stories, they are grateful that they didn’t quit the music industry, and in fact, notes that those inexcusable experiences made them a stronger person. They have also struggled with imposter syndrome, or as they explain: “The constant feeling like you’re not qualified enough or ‘not ready’ for a gig or position. I went the better part of my career thinking I wasn’t ready for bigger gigs until I found a mentor that pushed me to take gigs I would have never thought I was qualified for. Time after time I was proven wrong and rocked it. I still struggle with that same fear, but it’s that fear that drives me to keep growing my skills and challenging myself.” In 2020, they would like to both further develop their monitor mixing skills as well as focus on finding more ways to integrate 3D and immersive in-ear monitors into their workflow. “I’ve been raving about it for the past few years and finally I’m seeing some of this new 3D tech being implemented with larger touring acts. I’m very interested in using infra- red tracking for real-time spatial mix changes. I’ve seen how 3D and spatial mixes can posi- tively influence a musician’s performance. I’d love nothing more than to dive head-first into this niche field and potentially tour with a 3D IEM rig. I’ve done a bit of touring in the past few years, but I’d love to do more. I have a couple of potentials for 2020, but nothing confirmed as of yet.” Rawes aspires to tour for the next few years before settling into a more permanent position in audio, ideally something involving IEMs or 3D audio. Having already achieved so much at this stage, their future in audio looks bright. Maxime Brunet was introduced to audio at the age of 17 through community radio. She now works as a touring FOH engineer, splitting her time between Los Angeles and Toronto. She developed an introduction to sound class, The DIY Audio Tech Workshop for Women+, which she has taught throughout Ontario. 18 PROFESSIONAL SOUND