The Long-Haul Machine
Five minutes with Karrie Keyes

By Steph Jorgl

Karrie Keyes studied and played music throughout school, but still doesn’t consider herself a musician. “I was part of an unknown punk rock band in my youth,” she confesses. And it’s a good thing she was a punk rock fan, because that’s how she encountered Dave Rat of Rat Sound. “I met Dave at a Black Flag show in ‘86 and asked if he would teach me sound,” explains Keyes. “When he did, it inspired me not to give up, since I think he believed that I could do it.” Soon after, she became a partner at Rat Sound, an experience that definitely helped increase her knowledge through hands-on experience.

“I got to learn all about gear, how it works and operates and how to trouble shoot so many problems, hands-on, and on a day-to-day basis,” she notes. “And working with Rat has given me the chance to try out new things, and maybe do things that are not 100 percent technically correct.”

Keyes hails from Los Angeles and got her start in the audio biz by loading trucks and setting up shows in clubs and theaters. “I did everything - load in and load out, setting up the sound system, wiring the stage and doing the set changes on weekends for like 20 dollars a show or something ridiculous,” she recalls.

A terrible show in her youth would have devastated her, but now she realizes that you just can’t always have perfect shows. However, she does try to draw from the bad shows and analyze what she could have done differently.

“I’m always learning. When I started doing sound 15 years ago, I took a lot of heat from people. You just didn’t see women doing monitors, you still don’t, but I can say it has mellowed a bit 15 years later. Either that or I just don’t care anymore and tune it out.”

Having now worked with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam for more than a decade, Keyes credits her diverse mix experience for contributing to the long-standing nature of both relationships. She’s done sound for numerous acts over the years, with artists such as Sonic Youth, Fugazi, X, Neil Young, Jesus Lizard, in addition to bands with styles encompassing jazz and metal and everything in between, even a mariachi festival.

“I know I needed all of the experience of mixing alternative bands, metal bands, reggae, jazz, country, punk rock and even classical music to be able to mix Pearl Jam. They’re not a normal five-piece rock band, or a straight-across-the-mix band. They all need different things - completely different - and play in a tight space. They have a million EQ changes and volume changes during the set, plus varying cues. And they want things to sound different from song to song.

“I’m lucky that I can understand what they want and need,” she concludes.

Editor’s Note: To read the full Karrie Keyes profile by Steph Jorgl, go to www.prosoundweb.com/live.

August 2003 Live Sound International