Some of you have asked, who is that sound man working all those controls for the band? It's our good friend Wayne Strand. Wayne is the president of the Wisconsin Country Music Association but is also a huge fan of classic rock, doo-wop and more. We met Wayne at the jam sessions the WCMA holds throughout the year, for which Wayne is always busy setting up and monitoring sound equipment. He always helped me and the Boomers set our levels when we played at those jams and we thought it was great that he could make our sound so good.
So as we picked up more show dates and were playing almost every weekend this past year, and the venues got bigger, we knew we couldn't handle the sound on our own. And we felt it'd be so much better to have someone to perform that function for us regularly as part of our band than to hire this or that company who didn't really know each of us personally or internalize our songs and how we play them. After asking Wayne to help us set our sound for a few shows, just as was the case when we met Rick, our keyboardist, we knew we had a real pro in control.
What surprised us even more is how much personal effort and dedication Wayne brings to the task. He goes online and devours pages and pages of technical information about electronics like you or I would read the Sunday paper! And every time we play a benefit, Wayne is there, hauling our stuff and whistling and smiling even though he isn't getting paid. Sometimes he even puts in a full day's work at his metal fabricating business (but thankfully, not TOO often!) Usually, he's studying his craft for the benefit of us and our audiences.
So we always enjoy it when we can coax him out from behind the sound board to join us on stage to thump the bass or play a few songs on guitar. This guy is multi-talented. Just don't get to know him too well - or you'll become "fair game" like we have. Wayne's adage is "You can say anything you want to anyone, as long as you say it with a smile." Don't we know it!
Phil
