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Access All Areas: On the road with Funeral For A Friend
Backstage with the Welsh rockers' drum tech
Claire Davies, Thu 8 Sep 2011, 3:44 pm BST
Heading to a music festival? While you're out front enjoying the plentiful supply of live music thrills, spare a thought for the hard-working, gear-laden tech crews who will be oiling the wheels of your favourite band's festival performance.
From in-ear monitor catastrophes, slippery drum risers and over-stretched stage managers, to impossible 20-minute changeovers, tuning-warping humidity, and dressing rooms the size of toilet cubicles, these incredible techs are practised in the fine art of getting the job done.
Professionals who have honed their trade with some of the biggest, hottest, and most influential acts in the world, these drum, guitar, bass and keys techs, plus backline wonders, tour managers, production managers, stage managers, lighting engineers, production directors and sound directors have decades of experience between them.
In an exclusive series on MusicRadar, Access All Areas brings you an invaluable insight into what it takes to tech at festivals, how to survive one of the toughest days of your working life, and when to stand back and say, 'job well done'.
The latest in a series that has so far included U2, The Killers and Slipknot among others sees us check in with Welsh rockers Funeral For A Friend.
Steven Kneale, drum tech
A real young gun in the world of techs, Steven Kneale is three years fresh into his career. Having worked as part of the Twin Atlantic road crew, Steven got his break in Funeral For A Friend when Raw Power Management came knocking.
Now the drum tech to Ryan Richards, Steven is looking forward to this summer's slew of festival dates. Like any good drum tech worth their salt, Steven has his routine down when on the road.
"My job consists of loading and unloading at venues or festivals, then setting up the drum kit, cleaning it and tuning it. Getting the levels right on Ryan's in-ear monitors are a priority, as well as preparing the stage, waters, towels and setlists, and making sure everything runs on time, including change overs and line checks."
Even though Steven is a relative newcomer, he's well-placed to inspire all of you who are looking for your first tech break.
What has been your best, and worst, festival tech-ing experience to date?
"My best festival experience would probably be at T In The Park festival, two years ago with Twin Atlantic. I had only been tech-ing for a short time and it was an amazing atmosphere and a really energetic show.
"My worst festival experience would probably be at Ramfest, in South Africa. Lots went wrong, and the monitors had totally changed since soundcheck. Plus, the drums were sat on a massive riser and it was hard to see what was going on!"
