Evan Kaspar is a renowned audio engineer, producer, and live sound specialist. He’s best known for his work in both studio production and live sound mixing for a variety of artists, particularly in the rock and indie music scenes. One of his most notable collaborations has been with the Black Pumas, an award-winning band that gained significant attention in recent years, including Grammy nominations.
Black Pumas are a neo-soul and rock band from Austin, Texas. The core members are Eric Burton on lead vocals and Adrian Quesada on guitar and production, who met a few years ago and began their fruitful collaboration. Recently, Black Pumas have been touring various cities across Europe.
On the occasion of Black Pumas’ European tour, we reached out to Evan Kaspar, the band’s MON engineer, to get an insider’s perspective. Let’s see what interesting details Evan will share with us.
Iwona, AV Tech Magazine: Hi Evan! It’s a pleasure to talk to you. To begin, could you tell us how you got involved in the world of audio and music technology?
Evan Kaspar: As far back as I can remember, sound reproduction technology has always fascinated me. From messing around with my grandparents’ record players to making mixtapes from my parents’ record & CD collection. As a teenager, I’d set up rehearsal PA systems for my bands, and later being responsible for recording ourselves, I was always the one finding the gear, setting up the mics, and turning the knobs.
AV Tech Magazine: You’ve worked extensively in studio environments and music production. Could you share more about your experience in this field?
My experience in studio environments began with the necessity of recording my band’s music. I had a small project studio in a friend’s garage, recording all kinds of bands, and eventually was referred to a proper commercial recording studio where I landed my first regular gig as a house engineer. Being a studio production-minded person became a way for me to meet new musicians, and through it, I’ve formed many strong, creative friendships that have lasted to this day. There is a rich, ever-percolating community of musicians in Austin, so there’s never been a shortage of projects to work on.
AV Tech Magazine: While doing creative work in the audio field, do you have a preferred role, or do you enjoy all the different aspects of the work you do?
I truly enjoy all aspects of the audio field. When I look at each role—whether it’s the musician, front-of-house engineer, monitor engineer, patch tech, system tech, RF tech, shop tech, truck loader, etc.—I see each as an invaluable piece of the whole. With each role there is a craft and an art, and I fully appreciate the depth involved in mastering each one. An understanding of each position in the audio field informs all others. So by adopting a holistic approach and trying on all the hats, I believe it makes you more well-rounded as an individual while also a compatible and understanding team member. After years of working various gigs of all sizes, I still find it gratifying pulling feeder or setting up a small powered PA for community events.
AV Tech Magazine: When exactly did you begin working in live sound, and what is your history in this area?
I used to bring a small 16-channel mobile recording rig (2 Motu FireWire 8-channel interfaces and a homebuilt desktop PC) to clubs around Austin to record my friends’ bands. Over time, I formed friendships with the house sound engineers, and it was only a matter of time before one night, when the monitor engineer called in sick, I was deemed knowledgeable enough to fill in on the spot. After that, I was added to their call list and started working at various clubs in Austin, including one 500-capacity mid-sized venue where I became a full-time engineer. I spent 10 years there until it closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Along the way, I made connections with engineers from the local sound company. During this time, I had access to better gear and learned how to load trucks, fly PA systems in the field, and maintain and tech gear.
AV Tech Magazine: What is the most challenging part of working as a MON engineer for a band like Black Pumas?
The band truly does all the work. Each member is a master of their craft and requires very little from me once the mix is set. The only adjustments I typically make are subtle mix changes to accommodate different room or stage acoustics.
AV Tech Magazine: Can you walk us through the typical monitor setup for a Black Pumas show? (e.g., monitor mixing desk, sound processors & effects, plugins, monitor and PA systems, microphones)?
Big shout out to our audio providers: Solotech London for our European tours, and Nomad Sound Austin, TX for the US. Our monitor desk is an Avid 24D. We use PSM1000 and JH Audio Roxanne IEMs, along with a few L-Acoustics X12 wedges for reinforcement for our two primary artists. The only effects we use are built-in: an Avid Spring Reverb for drums, backing vocals, and lead vocals. We have only two snapshots—“Effects Up/Aud Mics Down” and “Effects Down/Aud Mics Up”—which are triggered between songs to help transition the artist into the song or back into the room between songs. The mics we use are mostly standard, but a few notable favorites include the DPA 4055 on the kick-out and vintage MD409s on all the guitar cabs. The vocal capsules of choice are DPA 2028, all mounted on
Axient handhelds. Multi-tracking is handled using Reaper, and RF Coordination in Wireless Workbench and an AD600 unit.
AV Tech Magazine: What are some of the most common requests or preferences from the band members when it comes to their monitor mixes?
The individual mixes generally stay the same night to night. However, due to varying room dimensions, stage construction, and sub deployments, I always check the polarity relationships between the low-end sources. This is done both at the desk and where the artist stands. Most of the time, I can set these appropriately ahead of soundcheck and predict how the artist will feel about them. However, it’s during soundcheck with the full band playing that those adjustments are confirmed.
AV Tech Magazine: Would you be willing to share your plans for audio work in the coming months? Are there any new audio technologies or techniques you’re excited to explore on upcoming tours?
I’m about to do a short run in the U.S. as front-of-house for Alejandro Escovedo, and I’ll also be working as a system and RF tech for an in-the-round PA deployment for a theater production in LA. In addition, I’m looking forward to finishing mixing a couple of albums I started earlier this year in the studio, picking up regional work wherever I can, spending time with my wife and animals, and seeing what other tour opportunities come my way.
As for new audio technologies- I’m excited to learn more about and implement WMAS into my workflow, going forward.
Thanks and a pleasure to talk to you
Photos: Bryan Wilkinson and Matt Trevino
