Head East is a hard-working Midwestern rock band that has earned a reputation for its invigorating live performances. But despite all the practice and preparation for their concerts, much of the work to ensure their sound remains pure to the audience takes place behind the scenes by experienced sound personnel such as Bill Schnake.
The Beardstown, Illinois, native said, "I started taking piano lessons when I was 5 years old and played trumpet in high school. By the time I was 15, I was recording my own music on a Tascam four-track open-reel machine." He added, "I learned keyboards and guitars, and started playing in bars with bands by the time I was 16."
Graduating from high school in 1979, Schnake enrolled at Western Illinois University in Macomb and went on to earn his bachelor's degree in music performance. While in college, he worked part-time at the school's eight-track recording studio and decided to continue his education, earning his MBA and a master's degree in computer science in 1985.
Schnake said, "I was also married in 1985 and went to work as a computer programming analyst for an insurance company in Springfield, Illinois, for several years, not doing too much with music. In 1992, I went to work for IBM until they bought me out in 2010." Grinning, he added, "That's when I decided to start doing music full-time."
He said, "I basically took all of the sound equipment that I had bought over the years, put it in a pile, mixed it up ... and started providing the sound for festivals and other events."
Embracing the audio qualities he had picked up as a musician along with technologies from his programming career, Schnake "beefed up his sound equipment" and soon progressed from small events to doing sound for a Beach Boys concert in Moline, Illinois.
Throughout the next several years, he was called upon to provide sound for several artists ranging from country acts such as John Michael Montgomery to rap and hip-hop artists like Snoop Dog and Lil Wayne. He was hired in 2014 to provide the sound for a Head East show at a winery in Carlyle, Illinois, resulting in a long-term professional relationship with the band.
"When the show was finished, Bill Johnson, who was at that time the road manager for Head East, and Roger Boyd, a founding member, liked the sound I had provided and asked if I could do sound for them again," he said. We just kind of hit it off, and they started calling me to do not only sound for their shows, but the mixing as well."
As Schnake explained, providing the sound for a show and doing the mixing are two different sets of responsibilities. With the sound, he had to ensure that everything was brought to the venue, set up and ready to go when the performing band's engineer shows up. This includes a routine of system checks to ensure the monitor is thoroughly working.
When everything is functioning properly, the band has an easy day, and everyone is happy, he noted. This often results in the performing act telling other bands about the quality of the sound company, leading to Schnake staying busy providing sound for various other shows.
"Head East eventually asked me to start mixing the sound for their shows, and I decided to get out of providing the sound equipment," Schnake said. "But that means we must rely upon other sound companies, and if we have a good company that has thoroughly prepped everything, we are are going to have a good show.
"But I have experienced the opposite -- a long, hard day," he continued. "Everything is digital now and some companies don't keep the software updated on their mixers, which means the equipment won't read our sound files. We've had other companies that forgot to bring any microphones for the show and then there was a scramble to find some."
For the past several years, Schnake has continued to mix sound at live shows for Head East. In a recent concert at Steelville, where the band was joined by original lead singer John Schlitt, he recalls the joking that took place when comparing changes that have occurred in the band's lifestyles now that everyone is a little bit older.
"We were back at the hotel just sitting around watching a little baseball before the show, playing a little guitar and having a nice conversation," Schnake said. "I remember somebody made the comment that this sure isn't like the party environment that used to take place back in the 1970s." he said with a laugh.
His second career in music has become a highlight of his many good memories, providing Schnake with a second chance to pursue an interest in music and sound that began during his childhood.
"The friendships I have developed with all the guys in Head East is great ... it's a nice atmosphere where everyone gets along well." he said. "We all respect one another and the jobs we must do, and all want the same outcome -- a quality and fun concert.
"I honestly couldn't ask for a better work environment."
Jeremy P. Ämick is author of the biography of the band Shooting Star.
Courtesy/Bill Schnake: Schnake took this photograph from his mixing console of members of Head East onstage during a recent concert at the Iowa City Casino.