Spring Break
Behind the sound
Eau Claire student helps prepare venues for events, has covered Clinton, McCain
Frank Pellegrino
Issue date: 3/26/09 Section: Student Life
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The likes of John and Teresa Heinz Kerry, John and Elizabeth Edwards, Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and John McCain have all trusted the same young man.
Senior Andrew Loftus has been setting up the audio for public events since he was in grade school and has been doing it professionally since he began college.
The one thing that separates Loftus from other students his age is he possesses a skill set way beyond his years.
Jason Anderson, Event Production Coordinator at UW-Eau Claire, has worked with Loftus many times and describes his skills as incredibly advanced.
"It's rare that you get someone with such a professional background so young, and so early in their career," Anderson said.
How it began
Originally Loftus was introduced to the audio world by his father.
"He taught me how to use a small baby mixer and he pretty much knew some of the basics," Loftus said.
From there Loftus got to junior high school and had a few friends with gear that were willing to help teach him some things.
Contrary to what one might expect, Loftus didn't really have a reason for sounding events and furthering his skill set.
"Someone needed to do it," Loftus said. "I jumped in and just loved it right away."
Next up for Loftus was high school, when he started to get more help from friends in his area.
A group of guys from his hometown began to teach him how to use a bigger mixer with a few more features.
After graduating high school he was hired by Urban Communications, a professional audio company from the Twin Cities.
Loftus said it has taken him an incredibly long time to learn what he knows, but insists he is far from knowing it all and will always be learning.
"I had a lot of people teach me a little thing here, a little thing there, and a lot of it was me just figuring stuff out," he said.
Originally everything started out as fun, but it has turned into rather serious business that provides a nice income, Loftus added.
What goes into sounding an event?
Loftus said the hardest part of doing sound for an event are the hours of planning that go into it, most of which people don't even notice.
Before he even lays down a cord he must thoroughly plan every aspect of how things are going to work.
"For the last event I did, I probably put in seven hours of advanced work like writing lists, figuring out where cables are going to run, and (seeing) if there are obstacles in the way," Loftus said.
Although he loves his work, Loftus said if he could change anything, it would be the hours, which he described as ruthless.
For each event, any number of things can be desired by the client, and the first step is whether it is going to be indoors or outdoors.
Setting up microphones is far from the only work that needs to be done for each show.
Loftus said he and his colleagues have built stages, over 40 feet wide, with roofs that can go over it.
He also said they set up different types of lighting from small kits all the way to intelligent fixtures that move around and do things on their own.
He does this all in addition to developing a sophisticated audio plan so that everyone can hear an event.
For a recent Biden event, it took 10 and a half hours just to set it up and three hours to take it down.
In a nutshell, Loftus described what to do when sounding an event.
"You show up with a truck full of gear, go to a space that may or may not be designed for a performance area, and you turn it into one," Loftus said.
When everything is finally done, Loftus thinks it feels incredibly rewarding.
"When the rig finally comes to life, that's the best feeling," he said.
The events
Loftus' first event was in sixth grade. He was given the job of sounding his neighborhood's very own block party.
His first professional show didn't come until quite a few years later when he first got a job at Urban Communications. In the first show he did for them he was just an average 'hand' at a private event for a Sony Classical artist in the Twin Cities.
Now Loftus has done audio for hundreds of events as he continues to gain valuable experience.
"He is a dream to work with from a supervising standpoint because I can turn over a lot of shows with a significant size that normal students probably couldn't handle," Anderson said.
Some of the more memorable speakers for Loftus were the recent speech by Biden, hearing Al Franken and the town hall meeting with John McCain last summer in Minneapolis.
Two of Loftus' favorite concerts he has covered were singer Shawn Mullins and rapper Afroman last semester at The Stone's Throw.
"Mullins put on probably the greatest show I've ever seen," Loftus said.
The most recent events Loftus has covered, other than Biden, were a few shows surrounding the Republican National Convention, the Afroman concert and the University of St. Thomas' (Minn.) homecoming.
Coming up this spring he has more work at St. Thomas, this time a dance, and he has a large street musical festival on Grand Avenue in St. Paul.
If he had his way, Loftus said he would love to do mostly musical events, but he realizes that a lot of other events also require professional audio help.
What it's like
For the most part, Loftus said his job is enjoyable, especially when he's going to get to see these famous people in person. But it isn't all fun and games.
"At first it's really exciting when you hear you're going to be covering the vice president," Loftus said. "But then I realize how much work I have to do."
Sometimes the work he does can be shocking, Loftus added.
"We've walked into gyms, hung curtains and lights, and other than the floor … it doesn't even look like a gym anymore," Loftus said.
However, sometimes it can be frustrating working with certain clients, he said.
"There is a lot of stress from people not understanding how involved it is, people sometimes don't even realize I need power," Loftus said.
Furthermore, he said it isn't uncommon for politicians to arrive more than an hour late, and that it can become incredibly enduring after a while.
The musicians are typically in a setting where he gets to meet them, but the politicians are usually just rushed in and out by security.
"Shawn Mullins was a terribly nice guy, almost to the point where I had to tell him I had work to do," Loftus said.
During the events Loftus usually doesn't even get to hear the specifics of what's being said because he has to focus so much on the sound of the event. He realizes that everyone gets to hear the event through him, and admits sometimes it can be scary.
"(One time) I had 400 people in the room, obviously I was worried how it sounded to them, but my head kept going to the fact that every news camera that was there was getting audio from me," Loftus said. "It came through my fingers and I was responsible."
Beyond his years
Loftus loves his job and just feels fortunate he's been given this opportunity.
"I'm very lucky to be where I'm at," Loftus said. "I'm 25, most guys that would be in the position that I'm on in these shows have had 25 years of experience."
The company his father works for hires people for Urban Communications and Loftus was lucky enough to be given a job.
"They weren't just babysitting me like they probably thought they would," Loftus said. "I ended up really holding my own."
Anderson thinks Loftus does far more than he gives himself credit for and does much more than just hold his own.
When asked where Loftus would rank in the audio world, Anderson didn't hold back in praising Loftus.
"I would put him in the professional bracket," Anderson said. "I think he is incredibly talented and shows a lot of potential to grow even further."
Now and the future
Loftus only works at Urban Communications during the summer, but currently works Friday and Saturday night concerts at The Stone's Throw.
However, the club gig at The Stone's Throw is far from what he usually is required to do.
"It's great to be able to wrap up a few cables, put some mics in a drawer, and you're done," Loftus said.
Without any definite goals, Loftus just hopes to continue doing something he has a passion for, however he knows the one event he'd really love to do would be a presidential speech.
Anderson thinks there is an incredibly bright future ahead for Loftus.
"I came out of a professional rock 'n' roll background," Anderson said. "I think that Andrew could hold his own amongst that group currently."
Loftus said there is only one thing he knows for sure.
"I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing for the sound," Loftus said. "(I'll) just keep taking whatever shows I can get and be happy doing something that I love."
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