Soundcheck Diaries

The school bus arrived 30 minutes late, and students from the Whittier Union High School District All-Star Big Band came filing out.

Like ants marching—dressed in all black—they walked in a line carrying instruments and amps, heading straight for the stage at Campus JAX.

Then reality hit.

Once they set their gear down, they realized they had forgotten:

• Music stands
• A keyboard stand
• Power cables for their amps
• Drum cymbals and hi-hat

At traffic hour, Whittier is about a 50-minute drive from Newport Beach. Going back wasn’t an option.

The band director made a call.

He reached out to a colleague at Costa Mesa High School—just 2 miles away.

And just like that…

Costa Mesa High School to the rescue!

They showed up with a truck full of gear for Whittier to borrow.

“Wonder Twin High School Powers… ACTIVATE!” ✨
(If you know, you know. If not… I’m officially dating myself.)

The Whittier director was understandably frazzled and apologized for the chaos.

I told him—calmly and confidently—everything was going to be fine.

And I meant it.

My Secret Weapon: Saved Mixer Scenes

I mix quite a few big bands at Campus JAX, and the setups are usually consistent:

• 4 trumpets
• 4 trombones
• 5 saxes
• Piano, bass, drums, guitar
• 1–3 extras (like a vocalist or, in this case, vibes)

Because of that, I’ve built a go-to starting big band scene on my mixer.

A scene is essentially a saved snapshot of your entire console—gain, EQ, compression, routing, effects, fader levels… everything. It allows you to instantly recall a mix setup that you’ve already dialed in from previous shows.

Instead of starting from scratch, you’re already 80–90% of the way there.

And on this night?

That mattered—because we didn’t have a real soundcheck. Just a quick line check.

Not every engineer saves scenes, but I’ll say it straight:

It’s one of the keys to consistency—and a lifesaver when things go sideways.

Their concert turned out great!

From the very first downbeat, they were about 85% dialed in. I made a few small adjustments, and we were off.

And honestly?

They were really good—especially for a high school group.

These kids have a bright future.

Trust, But Verify

Here’s the takeaway for anyone working with high school students:

The students who loaded the bus didn’t get the job done.

No blame—just reality.

Note to anyone who works with high schoolers:
When working with student crews, make a checklist… and then double-check the checklist. 😊

From Chaos to Showtime

At the end of the day, this is what live sound is all about—real people, real problems, and real-time solutions. No amount of planning can eliminate every curveball, but experience gives you the tools to handle them when they come. A delayed bus, missing gear, no soundcheck… on paper, this one had disaster written all over it. But with a calm approach, a solid system in place, and a little help from the community, it turned into a great show. That’s the goal every time—not perfection, but being ready when things go sideways.

Here’s a short clip from their performance.