Michelle Sabolchick on Tour Life and Mixing Fundamentals (Episode 159)

Low maintenance / no drama.

Michelle Sabolchick has spent about 30 years on the road as a concert sound engineer, averaging 250 days a year on tour for artists like Melissa Etheridge, the Goo Goo Dolls, Jewel and Elvis Costello. She co-founded SoundGirls.org to empower the next generation of women in audio, and she runs Mixing Music Live, an online program for aspiring engineers.

In Episode 159 of The Career Musician, she and Nomad cover two big things: how to survive and thrive on tour, and the audio fundamentals every musician should know, from gain structure to EQ. If you want to know how to never be strapped for work as a musician or engineer, this is the playbook.

Pick your lane, and plan for lean times

Early on, Michelle got offered monitor gigs all the time. She turned them down. She had watched front of house engineers move to monitors and get stuck there, because good monitor engineers are hard to find. She also watched great engineers take a combined tour manager role and lose the front of house chair once the band could afford two people.

So she focused. It meant some lean stretches at home, waiting for the right call. Nomad sees the same thing with players: say you only play country and that is all you'll get called for. Her caveat is honest. Focus is a choice, and you have to plan for the downtime.

Her plan: live within your means, keep an emergency fund for when you are not working, and network constantly. Nobody foresaw the pandemic shutting the industry down, and her fund had to last far longer than she ever expected.

Network like a human

Her biggest early lesson came after her first major tour, a festival run full of production managers and tour managers. She kept to herself and stayed out of everyone's way. A year later, the tour ended and the only people she knew were also looking for work.

"It's not just, 'Hey, what can you do for me?' You've got to look at it like building a personal relationship. It's having a real conversation with them."

Michelle Sabolchick, 11:58

Ask what coffee they drink, whether they are a foodie, what gets them out of bed. The worst version is the LinkedIn connection that immediately says "here's my song, get me an agent." That is not networking.

Show up, shut up, and do the job

Michelle calls it the big three for anyone on tour, crew or band.

Show up. If call is 9:00 and you arrive at 9:00, you are late. Be there 10 or 15 minutes early, and never show up after the person you work for. Nomad's rule is 30 minutes. And when someone hands you an opportunity, take it. Don't cancel and don't make excuses, or the opportunities stop coming.

Shut up. Don't be the new person on the bus who talks nonstop, drops names and recites a resume. You are living in a tiny space with a lot of people, so be easy to live with. She remembers a tourmate in the late 90s with dietary needs who stocked the bus with her own food so she would never be a burden on catering.

"I've seen more people lose their gig because of personality issues, alcohol or drug abuse problems, drama, rather than because they couldn't do the gig."

Michelle Sabolchick, 17:59

She knows a guitar tech who can barely troubleshoot but has a gig for life because he makes everyone laugh. And she has seen brilliant, toxic people replaced at the first chance. That is low maintenance / no drama and reliability beats virtuosity, straight from 30 years of buses.

Do the job. Treat a dive bar like Madison Square Garden. You never know who walks in, and somebody in that room paid to be there. Everything you do is an audition.

Pack like a pro

Her road rules are practical: luggage with wheels, quality bags built to last, and only what you can carry yourself, because nobody is carrying it for you. Pack nine or ten days of clothes, since laundry is always possible. Keep a small bunk bag with a change of clothes and toiletries, because crew often shower at the venue. Nomad adds one more: always bring shower shoes.

And bring a good book. Opening for The Rolling Stones in European stadiums (a full circle moment, since her first tour, with the Spin Doctors, opened for the Stones on the Voodoo Lounge Tour) meant a lot of hurry up and wait. Line checks happen without the band, ideally, so musicians: stay off the stage until the crew is ready.

Negotiate: let them name the number first

When someone asks her rate, Michelle asks what the job pays. She keeps a range in her head: her floor, her normal rate and her dream rate. If the offer is low, she politely shares her usual rate and lets them respond. Name your number first and you might underbid yourself by a lot.

On her first tour, she accepted $200 less than she planned to ask. Six weeks later, when the band loved her, she renegotiated and got a raise. She has also taken less for a great artist and crew, and turned down three times the money for music she couldn't stand. It is not always about the money. Quality of life counts.

It's not the gear, it's the fundamentals

Michelle's advice for every musician recording at home: learn signal flow, gain structure, mic choice and placement, EQ and dynamics. She watches opening acts stare at plugins and room analysis software all night while missing the guitar solo. Music is alive, she says, not a bunch of computer programs.

"It's not the gear that creates a great mix. It's knowing how to use it, and how to use it correctly."

Michelle Sabolchick, 48:43

Her quick lessons: experiment with mic placement and use your ears. Great sound starts at the source. Avoid even subtle digital distortion, because it causes ear fatigue. Treat compression as the most overused tool in mixing and use it lightly. Learn the frequency spectrum so every part has its own space. She points to drummer Pat Torpey of Mr. Big, who tuned his kit so it never fought the vocals or the shredding guitars. And when you EQ, cut before you boost.

No vocal booth? Try a quiet car, a cardboard box lined with a heavy blanket, or simply turn off anything with a fan. Billie Eilish and Finneas made a hit album in a bedroom. Start with what you have and master it.

The takeaway

Michelle's closing words: you are a business. You are the brand and the product. Work every day, even when that work is phone calls and practice, and go after the gig instead of waiting for it. To prepare for your next call like a pro, grab the free Audition Secrets guide.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

Watch on YouTube or find every episode on the TCM Podcast page.