Installation

Finished up a sound system installation today: A new restaurant, Spoonriver, located across the street from the new Guthrie Theatre complex. The creative forces behind the project are Brenda Langton and her husband, Tim Kane. The opening of any restaurant is an exciting, chaotic affair; thousands of little pieces of an interlocking puzzle that must be fit together, the sound system is but a small part, simple compared to the food handling and prep, or even the lighting, decor and furnishings. Still, the audio component is one of the five senses, in a restaurant setting its role is to mask neighboring conversations, while not stepping on your own. There are some tricks and gizmos that help to even out and keep the music in the background, it always annoys me when I go into a place where the sound system is not adjusted properly- it's loud, but you can't understand anything.

When I finished the wiring, I turned it on, hoping for the best.

It worked perfectly! No "hot spots", echoes, peaks or dead zones. Tim and I were having a conversation and as we spoke the music filled in the gaps, but did not intrude. Hopefully, the new place will be as successful here as their other café, where the food is sublime, delicious and healthy. It isn't really work to be a part of this endeavor...any time I can help make the world a better place (choir swells in background) it is true art.