Kurt Aschliman

Today marks my final show as the road manager and front of house audio engineer for Sanctus Real. Since that first show in June of 2008 in Grayson, KY, where I really didn’t know what to expect or really what I was doing, their shows have allowed me to travel to each of the lower 48 states as well as Australia, Canada, Mexico, The Caribbean, Finland, and Austria. Having managed and mixed roughly 550 shows, the time has come for me to make the decision to close this chapter and open a new one in my work life.

The decision came after a lot of thought, prayer and consultation from friends and family. I have never felt the long term call to road life and am looking forward to being at home with my wife and in the future, (hopefully) kids. I’m also one who wants to always keep growing and learning new things. As with many jobs, even while there’s always still room to improve how I work with the band on the road, I believe I have come to a place where I cannot grow significantly more than where I am now. And so, as other opportunities have opened up, the change is now becoming reality.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to the band and crew of Sanctus Real. To Matt, Chris, Mark, Pete, Dan and Jake, it has been a pleasure working with and for you. I have thoroughly enjoyed mixing your shows and think you have some of the best songs in all of Christian music. I will truly miss being behind the front of house console at your shows. To Mark Anderson, Mike Marcario and Tyler Hays, I want to say that you guys are awesome and I will miss working along side you every day. You have made work on the road such a blessing. To our current manager Tiffany and our past managers Jenn Manning, Matt Balm and Dan Spencer, thanks for allowing me to grow in this position and always having my back from afar.

For those of you wondering what I’m going to do next, I’ll be working to build the company that Ben Stewart and I started a couple of years ago called LOUDERmedia. We mainly seek to design and build custom for bands, ministries and small business. Our shared background in road management and production life allows us to be involved in a few conferences such as The EDGE and IndyCC. I’m looking forward to putting my full time, effort and energy into this company.

Many times when I’m about to start mixing a show, I’ll be approached by brave inquisitive people who are interested in a job in the Christian music industry.  I tell them that it has to do with 3 main aspects: who you know, what you know and who you are.  Here in part one, I’ll discuss who you know.

Who You Know

I was connected with Sanctus Real through a family connection.  I will tell that story in a later blog post.  No matter who you are, you’re exponentially more likely to get a job in this industry because you were introduced and connected by someone.  So how do you get to these connected people?

1. Where you live will determine who you can reach - Living near a music centered city makes a huge difference.  Nashville is the center for the Christian music industry and where most Christian record labels, management and touring companies are located.
2. Networking - I am always happy to talk with interested people about my job.  Most people in this industry are.  Sometimes a simple message through email, Facebook or any other social media platform can be an easy in.
3. You may already have a connection - Think through your friends, your family and acquaintances, think about with whom they may have connections and see if they can introduce you.  A referral can make all the difference in how you are perceived in your first introduction.

When trying to network, don’t be nervous or intimidated by the position of an individual.  Just like the bands for which we work, we’re all normal people who happen to have really cool jobs.  Yet when you do talk with someone, seek to ask questions and be as inquisitive as possible.  There’s certainly a balance between asking good questions and being annoying.  I am quickly annoyed when people seem to want to impress me with their knowledge about their church’s audio system or their little PA they rent out occasionally.  So present yourself as someone wanting to learn, not someone who just wants to talk about what you know.

There’s no guarantee that knowing the right people will get you a job, but seeking to learn from people who are already in the industry will certainly give you a much better chance.

In the next two posts, I’ll talk through how what you know does matter as well as how your personality and who you are can make all the difference.

I’m a procrastinator.  Motivation seems to arrive only when a deadline is fast approaching.  Blogging has no deadlines, and self imposed deadlines are meant to be broken from the beginning.  Hence a good reason why my last post was from January.  The chasm of time between posts has two other culprits: perfectionism and busyness.  In fact, this summer has been the busiest one since I started working for Sanctus Real.  It wasn’t set out to be so, but through many strange and frustrating circumstances, a lot of sleep and work hours were lost.  I’ve also been trying to hard to be the perfect professional blogger.  Yet isn’t the number one rule of blogging actually posting blogs?  All that said, I’m working toward just writing instead of perfecting first.

So here’s a quick update on this summer:

LOUDERmedia is in full swing.  Ben Stewart and I have spent quite a few hours together at local coffee shops designing and coding websites.  We’ve had a lot of good times developing for some pretty awesome clients.

My job Sanctus Real has continued on in full force.  We have had 34 shows since May all over the country.  And we’re heading into an even busier time, soon to be out on tour with Casting Crowns.  Yet I’m excited for the tour because I’ll actually have less to do than the one offs of the summer.  The downside, being away from my wife, Hannah.

Speaking of Hannah, we both moved on campus at Belmont University as a result of her taking a Residence Director position.  It’s interesting living on campus for the first time, as I transferred in and missed that experience altogether during my college years.  Last week, students moved back and classes kicked into gear today.  We live in an apartment style complex so it’s not much different than any other apartment.  I’m just waiting for a drummer to be one of our neighbors.  Luckily, I happen to know the one who can easily write people up for noise violations.

So as I look forward to the fall, I’m excited to see what will come.  This summer was honestly difficult, with a lot of self reflection and digging to find out more about myself and my personality.  I never experienced stress levels so high that I felt sick before this summer.  I was never ahead on anything and probably could not have caught up even if I slept 4 hours a night and worked the remaining 20.  Yet in making it through and looking back, I am finding growth through it.  I will feel good about myself and my experiences so long as I can say I am growing in the process.  So I would say this summer could be dubbed the one of growth, at a high cost.

A few summers ago, I went through one of the most physically, mentally and emotionally challenging experiences I have ever experienced in my life. Fortunately, it was positive, not based around sickness or suffering that I know many have had to or are in the midst of enduring.  I do not pretend to put my experience on the same level as those I know who have lost loved ones or have endured great suffering.  No, my great experience came through my foray into enduro style dirt biking.

Ok, so I set you up with a big idea of great suffering and then said it had to do with dirt biking.  Yes on the outset it sounds rather trite to equate with real suffering that many go through each and every day.  However, in the experience I had, I learned a lesson that started a change within that has been growing ever since to truly form me into the person I am and want to be.

It was the summer of 2004 when my brother, Kevin, and I decided to buy a couple dirt bikes and literally get on a crash course into the world of enduro dirt biking.  It’s a sport that involves camping out in the wilderness and riding dirt bikes through forests, hills and sandy passes for around 100 miles a day.  We set our adventure in Michigan where a thriving community of like minded riders set up weekends of dirt biking through the thick of the Michigan forests.  My first time riding proved to have a very steep learning curve.

I had actually purchased a brand new bike for the trip (those of you who know my history know that as a kid I had an excess of money from a lawn care company and a lack of sense to not spend it).  So this was my first real experience riding and I didn’t have a clue what I was doing.  Sadly, the trails were not meant for people who didn’t have a clue what they were doing.

So I bumbled my way through the forest, crashing at a rate of about 1 crash per mile for the first 20-30 miles.  It took a severe toll on my body and even broke the fender on my bike.  Fortunately I had enough body protection rivaling that of a quarterback, so no major injuries were had.  But flying head first over handlebars quite a few times makes one very sore, not to mention that dirt biking proved to be a much more physically challenging sport than I ever thought.

After what seemed to be hours of riding and crashing, Kevin and I made it to the two-thirds point of the trail ride where we stopped to refuel and have some lunch.  I was exhausted, bruised, battered and just plain worn out.  We refueled and found the best food the gas station had to offer.  Ending up sitting on a curb to rest and eat, I began to really feel the weight of all the trees I had hit after flying off my out of control bike.  Every muscle hurt as if I had both worked them out to the max and been in a boxing match at the same time.  I didn’t think I could go on.

Being at a stopping point, there was an option to stay there and simply wait for Kevin to complete the trail and come back for me with our truck to pick up my bike and me.  That would have meant hours of waiting alone at a gas station with no idea of when I would be picked up.  It also meant quitting.  With tears in my eyes from the pain and the sheer exhaustion, I’ll never forget that decision moment.

Kevin was exhausted too, but he was able and willing to take off on the trail alone and come back for me.  But in that older brother toughness, he pushed me to really think about it and make a choice.  Quitting was an ok option, but it also meant, well, quitting.  Heroes stories aren’t told because they quit when they reached their breaking point.  While this was no hero’s tale, the decision, as I would learn later on, would have substantial impact on me personally.  I am not a confident person by nature for some reason, but in breaking point moments, I have found growth in courage and confidence in who I am.  In that moment, I somehow found the strength to get up and get back on the bike.

I don’t think I could have done it without my brother there.

In life, I am amazed at the lack of leadership I see around me and even experience every day.  Many of my sports coaches in high school were most detrimental to me in their lack of true leadership.  I came out of football and basketball feeling like I was worthless and no good.  I face leadership issues every day around me, wondering why people make the decisions they do.  Then I begin to look inward and see that I too am a culprit of indecision and poor leadership.

But in this moment, with sweat and tears running down my face, I was pushed to make a choice by a brother, and in that I found strength.  He brought me to search the depths of myself and then stretched out a hand to lift me up off that curb.  I found confidence and strength to finish the ride, crashing fewer times and finding greater speed along the way.

I learned in that trip that trip that I really could do more than I thought myself capable, but not on my own.  I needed a person who could lead me in that moment, who could stretch out a hand and help me find the strength I couldn’t see on my own.

Do you have a story like this?  Do you find it hard to truly form brotherhood bonds with those around you?  I do, and I am beginning to understand what is holding me back.  Maybe I need to bring myself to more breaking points, maybe you do too.  I learned and continue to relearn that diving into the unknown with high risk is a good thing and in those moments you may just find who your brothers are and further who you really are.

One of the many hats I wear is that of a road manager.  Often, when presenting this job title to an unsuspecting questioner, I am met with a look of confusion.

“So, you manage the band?”
“No, not exactly.  The band has management back in Nashville.”
This in turn is met with a few different responses:

1. “Oh, so you’re not the one I should give my cd to.  Well, maybe you could give this to one of the guys in the band, it’s just a demo, really rough, but I think the band would like it.  Could you do that?”
   “Um…Sure”
2. “Oh, so what do you actually do then?”

Most people outside of this world, in my opinion, have an understanding of the music industry gleaned from tv shows and that one random conversation they had with an unsuspecting front of house engineer who ended up wishing the barricade was further from his console.  I even didn’t know how much it took to make a band work and all of the dynamics involved before I started working for one.  In future posts I’ll give an overview of how things are set up in the Sanctus Real world, but for now, more about road management.

When it boils down to it, being a road manager is a cross between being a full time travel planner, personal assistant, administrative assistant and whatever you would call someone who makes sure a contract is executed to its specifications.  That last one is the biggest part.  It all starts when I am handed a contract.

Contracts contain all of the information of which I usually had no power in negotiating before they were signed, but have all the responsibility in making sure they are carried out.  (However, I do get to write the concert rider, so don’t think I’m just an innocent victim here, I do have some control).

Once I have a signed contract in hand, there are certain jobs to be done.  Here are the five main jobs I encounter as a road manager:

1. Advance Shows
2. Plan Travel
3. Communicate Plans
4. Prepare for Show Day
5. Execute Day

As you can tell, this list is heavy on the side of planning.  Someone important once said something about life being 90% planning and 10% execution.

Advance Shows
This is the communication of details with whomever is putting on the show, typically known as the promoter.  The big pieces of information gathered in this stage are schedule (including arrival, load in, meal times, show time and sequencing, and departure), lodging, and transportation if needed.  I also handle the production advance in this part of my job.  As is the case with many Christian bands, I act as both road manager and production manager.  In a future post I will detail out my processes for advancing and the tools I use to make my life easier and more streamlined.

Plan Travel
This one is fairly straightforward, but includes mapping out bus routes, booking flights and making sure all the timing lines up.  I set bus call, van call and plane call (or at least when we need to leave to get to the airport on time).

Communicate Plans
I included this as a separate duty because it is an incredibly important task that I overlooked for the first six months of my job with Sanctus Real.  This includes communicating all details of the show day to come.  Some bands may prefer to just know when and where to show up and nothing more, but what I’ve found is that the more details you can push out to band members, the better.  The biggest one is schedule, followed by details of scheduled items.  It helps for band members to know what to expect when they head to a scheduled interview / signing / etc.  I usually send an e-mail ahead of time and also have a day sheet (a sheet of paper containing all pertinent information) for each band member on the day of the show.

Prepare For Show Day
Preparation for the actual show day is incredibly important.  I have walked into some show days where I had all the details I needed but was not organized.  These days usually result in a great deal of stress and frustration for not preparing.  On a prepared day, I usually have details in an easily accessible place.  I create a calendar event with everything from the promoter’s contact information to the venue to the schedule.  This provides quick access in the event of any confusion or questions.  With so many shows happening all the time, the reality is that one cannot remember all the details of every day.  Having them close at hand saves a lot of frustration for both you and your band.

Execute Day
This is straightforward.  Do what you’ve prepared to do.  I make sure I’ve checked in to all applicable flights, provided bus driver with fuel and toll money, handed out all information and made sure everyone is where they need to be when they need to be there.  I handle a lot of jobs on show day, but executing the day as the road manager over arches everything.

So there’s my road management job in a nutshell.  Let me know what you think by commenting below!

Tonight, ABC News World Report featured the story of the Hammitt family and the following they have created through their blog, Bowensheart.com. It was an honor to be a part of the site, building the backend code of design by Ben Stewart (benstewart.net). Ben and I have started a web design company called Louder Media (Loudermedia.com).

On the road there are days that feel like they contained more than the standard twenty four hours. As if somewhere along the line you pushed a pause button, stopping the cosmos in its tracks and stealing a few extra hours.

Today was that kind of day for me.

Waking up at 7:30 this morning I began the day reading from Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. Reading something intellectually challenging somehow calms and focuses me. This set the tone for the day and I feel it to be one of the most productive I’ve had in a while. What is astonishing to me upon review is the number of different jobs I did and just how different they really are.

1. Audio Engineer – Worked on production information for the fall tour.
2. Road Manager – Planned and coordinated bus departure from Nashville amongst many other smaller duties.
3. Merchandise Manager – Ordered new bracelets and guitar picks.
4. Web Developer – Specified tasks for a project and worked on further development of my own website.
5. Financial Manager – This one is a stretch, but I made the deposit for the band.
And finally (and probably the most obscure in this list)
6. Bus Driver – Yep, I drove the 65′ total length bus and trailer from Nashville to West Memphis.

It’s that final job that brings me to the point of this writing:

When your job happens to also be something in which you strongly believe, you will find ways to increase the number of job titles you have.

I’m not saying that I joyfully take on all these jobs because they are easy and I just love doing them. There are only a few that are not done out of necessity, and from those necessary, few of those are actually a part of my job description. Simply put, in the Christian music industry you are not always going to get paid what you’re worth for all that you might do for a band. Often times the work you do will even go unnoticed and at times that can be terribly discouraging. But the peace that comes from knowing you’re where you’re supposed to be is second to nothing in the work world and is something of which most people only dream.

So here’s my takeaway:

Find what you love to do and simply do it. Deal with the unpleasant tasks quickly to get on to doing those which you love. Cherish what you have, because as with any dream job, especially one on the road with a band, there’s always going to be a line of people who would want your job in a heartbeat.

So follow your heart and drive the bus if you must.

So my flight from Australia was ‘rescheduled.’ Meaning, we arrived at the airport for an 11 am flight to find out our plane was still in LA and we wouldn’t be leaving until 7 PM. But, Qantas Airlines put us up in a 4 star hotel for the afternoon as well as gave us meal vouchers ($20 for lunch and $30 for dinner at the hotel).  After ordering some room service, Pete and I decided to head out to see a bit of Brisbane with our recent added time in Australia.  Here’s to making the most of getting delayed!  We were certainly not put off a great deal, the airline took care of us and it gave us a chance to see a bit more.  This was not the felt emotion of the ladies behind us.  You know the type, show up to the airport with barely enough time to make an international flight and then get incredibly huffy when you find out your flight has been delayed.  She snarled quite a bit and in the ever so making Americans look great way, she said, “This is ridiculous, I’m going to get everything, vouchers, first class, how dare they do this to us.”  Life is too short for things like this to be the spark that ignites a wildfire.

So now I’m sitting at a coffee shop in downtown Brisbane, soon to head back to the hotel to grab some dinner and then head back to the airport.  I still am not sure when I’m going to get home tonight, as the e-mail I just received states an entire different itinerary than the confirmation I received at the service desk.  So all in all, who knows.  But, here’s to a rolling with the punches attitude and enjoying a bit more time down under.

Woke up today at 7:30 am, showered up while Pete called Melissa through the magic jack. I called Hannah soon thereafter and chatted for a while. Pretty awesome that we could talk being on the other side of the world from one another. After that splendid communication I went to eat breakfast at the hotel next door. It was excellent. I had the eggs Benedict and they were delicious, though they still didn’t beat my best eggs Benny from Cafe Marie in Perrysburg, OH. That has stood the test of many an eggs Benny. I’m currently sitting at Star Garden Town Cafe in Toowoomba, Australia listening to a good acoustic band whilst drinking a cappuccino. It’s absolutely beautiful here, the weather is the perfect temperature and some how I feel like I can breathe deeper than usual. That may have to do with the fact that Toowoomba was voted the cleanest city in Queensland in 2007 according to our bus driver yesterday.

Tonight I found myself tearing up while mixing for a show on tour. I believe it was the first time it’s happened since coming out on the road; somehow the beauty of the voices and music combined with such incredible lyrics hit me hard. Last week was probably one of the hardest weeks of my life emotionally. I don’t believe I have ever cried more in my life. Hannah’s grandfather, we called him Granddaddy Bill, passed away unexpectedly a week ago today. He was such a sweet, caring, vibrant man that we all thought had been given a new lease on life after his hip replacement surgery took away all the pain he had been dealing with for quite some time. He was up walking around quickly after the surgery and said he was pain free considering what he felt before. But somehow God’s plans were different than ours, and he took Grandaddy Bill home that night, one week ago.

I still remember so vividly the anguish and sorrow that I had never felt before last Monday morning when Hannah’s dad called us early to tell us of Granddaddy’s passing. It was the hardest thing to watch my wife go through when all I could do was hold her and cry with her. Even now I have tears streaming down my face just thinking about it.

I was fortunate to be home that morning, but I don’t believe it was an accident or just happenstance. You see I do believe in a god who orchestrates all things to his glory. I don’t often understand how, but he does. Even in the small things, like making sure I would be there in one of the most painful moments of my wife’s life this far. I was able to make the trip with Hannah to Virginia as well, and to be there through all of the tough moments of those three days after Granddaddy Bill passed away. Through it all I count it a blessing to have been able to, even if just ever so slightly, share the weight of sorrow. It’s a hard thing to say goodbye, and it is especially hard when it is the person who you thought was the most fit and healthy. We didn’t leave town after Christmas thinking this would be the last time we saw our Granddaddy Bill. It becomes even harder when you begin to reflect on a persons life and all you can think of are the amazing memories you had with that person. I only knew Granddaddy Bill for a little over a year and a half I believe, but he had become a grandfather to me in that short time. He had a huge heart for his kids and grandkids, which I saw most exemplified when he held Hannah as she crawled into his lap during our visit over Christmas. It was amazing to see, such a normal thing in life for them I am sure. I do hope that in heaven moments like that can be played out whenever we should desire. I realize that heaven is the eternal worship of God, but moments like those I believe are close to our heavenly fathers heart.

Moments like tonight, listening to such beautiful music and songs, feeling the wrench in my heart of all that I don’t deserve yet have been given, I believe are close to his heart too. Something I don’t think I will ever forget in my life are the words of Hannah’s grandmother, Mama June, saying to me after the showing, “I’m blessed, I’m blessed I’m blessed, I’m blessed.” She was so strong, and she knew that this life and all the things in it are a gift. If only I could follow that example, to know what incredible gifts I have. My new bride, my family, my job, my friends, my life.

Truly I can say, “I’m blessed, I’m blessed, I’m blessed, I’m blessed. ”