Story: Sound Dept. (at Assembly)

by Jim_TX 18 Replies latest jw experiences

• 

  Tish

  You all sound like very naughty little boyz, I'm just jealous that I was never allowed privledges as I was deemed to only have 1 brain cell as I had an illness called being FEMALE!!

  But as I am now out I can reveal that that certain brothers in Peterborough called Jason, Peter and Martin (yes you know who you are and you are all now elders!) if you are naughty enough to look at these kind of sites, used to spend all the time at Dudley assembly hall zooming in with the cameras, checking out all the girlies and who had fallen asleep (that's everyone!). Well one day we knew what they were upto, so whilst taking notes (as I was very studious, or playing hangman) I wrote them a note that they read and apparently they were laughing so loud they got in trouble with the chairman.

  Tish
• 

  Jim_TX

  Well,

  Since this thread has taken off a little, I feel that I can relate another moment that was quite embarrassing to me.

  At most of the assemblies I recall, we strung our own speaker wire, and ran our own microphone system. There was one exception, where the city had to have their own union workers there, but they pretty much let us run the show our way.

  Anyway, we had one room set aside for storage of the boxes and extra sound equipment. (I often wondered who stored all this junk the other 10 to 11 months outta the year.)

  We put a speaker into this storage room, and it was on a 'list' of places that I walked around to checking the sound levels during the sessions... hey, it was about the only way I could stay awake (no, not that magazine...).

  Well, I would wander - all official-like from one pole-mounted speaker to another - making minute adjustments, where necessary. (The levels are usually ok - but it looks cool to be 'in charge' of something.)

  I then got to this storage room - and decided to check the level in this room. I wandered in, but someone had 'loaned' out its use to the sisters fer a 'baby room' - which included nursing mothers. YIKES!!!

  I was a single guy at the time - and was beet-red (I seemed to do that a lot - turning red - when I was a teen), briefly checked the levels in there, and beat a hasty retreat.

  You'd have thought I had stirred up a hornets' nest with all the buzzing of angry gals around me. I barely got out of there with my hide intact.

  Well... one of them biddies went and complained to one of the higher-ups (probably her husband) - who then went to the head of the sound department - and pretty much read him the riot-act.

  I knew I was in trouble - big trouble. When the big-wig left - he turned to me - could see I was pretty much already crushed (beet-red again, too) - and he told me to not worry about the sound levels in that room during the meetings.

  I think he was about to laugh - he thought it was funny as hell - in retrospect - he's right. It was funny as hell... at the time though... I just wanted to crawl away somewhere and die.

  I figured that I had done something terribly wrong.

  Hell... I don't even think I saw anything either... I was looking at the floor!

  Regards,

  Jim TX
• 

  Simon

  I rmemeber once when the brother doing the sound dropped his song book on the record player (going back a while I guess) while it was playing and it jumped to a different song. The funniest part was then everyone tried to just carry on singing the old song to the completely different tune and rythm.

  The singing was always the same wether the music was right or not though!

  City Fan ... we used to have an old couple (Florry and Enie who was a lovely guy) that would start singing if the music didn't come on quickly enough and then just carry on if it did. Half the hall would sing along with them and the rest would try and sing to the music.
• 

  staceman

  We had a speaker who had pre-assigned people in the audience to read scriptures during his part and

  when it came time for one brother to read his, he had fallen asleep!!! The speaker was like.... calling on the

  brother really loud and the microphone carrier was nudging him with the mic... It was hilarious. And to top

  it off, the CO was visiting that week too!!!!
• 

  EXJWBrit

  But the sound dept cock-ups weren't half as funny as the old folks who had bowel problems and needed to release their inner tension.

  Did you have those terrible one-piece plastic seats too? If you let rip on one of those babies then the whole KH shook. We had one old sister fart really loudly just when the circuit overseer was visiting and giving a very important talk. He paused for effect and she chose to parp one out! The funniest thing was seeing the giggles grip the whole congregation and the elders staring at everyone nastily. Lighten up you wankers!!!!
• 

  Ray

  I remember back several years ago, I was handle the sound system. The Kingdom Hall had just brough completed new sound system. They had install that Sat. night and elder told me to be ready for Sunday meeting. I had no instrution and manual book about new sound system. That morning, I went Kingdom Hall 10 minute early, I look over the new sound system. I have noticed their are no speakers, wires, microphones, tapes, etc had set up and sound system are still in the box and had not been open. I ask the elder, who got the system last night, where are the old sound system. He told me that he took the old sound system to paw shop and sold it. I told him that the sound system are not hook up. He got mad that I should had set up 10 minutes ago. I walk out the door. Then elder call me back. I kept walking out the door.

  Why do Kingdom Hall need sound system? The Kingdom Hall building size is only 20' x 40'. The tape machine with buildin speaker is all is need to hear in one small room. No need to have large speakers for one small room.

  I found out that elder sold the old sound system at paw shop for $50. I ask him to see the receipt of sold items. It was sold to elder personal names, not Kingdom Hall name. Also I ask what it cost for new sound system. He told me not to tell other and he said it paid for $3,000. Wow Wow. $3,000 for new sound system for one small Hall. Elder say some witness have hard time to hear the speaker speak. I believe him that some witness do not want to hear the speaker words and it just bog
• 

  Knotty_boy

  When our Hall switched from the corded microphones, to those wireless ones, on a stick.. They must have installed the wrong type of antennae, or did'nt hook it up correctly.. But if the mic was in use for someone answering, it would pick up cell phone, CB, and the city's two way radio conversations.. There was nothing that made me laugh more, than when Sister goody 2 shoes, was giving an obviously 3 day prepared, know it all answer to the watchtower study.. and to have a foul mouthed trucker drive by, talking on his CB!!!!!!!!
• 

  TheSurvivor

  Try this one on for size. When I was about 20 or so and the stage/sound geek, I was changing the stage in the middle of the thursday night meeting. I dropped one of those big heavy mic counterweights on my foot, and let out a nice audibel "SHIT." I just pretended that I never said it, and no one got on me about it. But talk about being mortified! LOL

  TheSurvivor
• 

  Jesus Christ

  My biggest memory of working the sound system was when I wasn't baptized and in high school. I've always been into that kind of stuff and have actually worked sound for various concerts since then so I actually did enjoy doing the work and was happy to do whatever I could.

  I wasn't baptized which was apparently a requirement to work sound at the two day assemblies but they still had me running wire and setting up remote speakers for the first time. For some reason they didn't set up the night before and they guy who stored the system didn't get to the auditorium until an hour or two before it was supposed to start. Once he got there and unloaded he realize that he left the diagram to set it all up at home. The program was supposed to start in about 45 minutes and he lived over an hour away. Anyone see a problem? All the brother that were working on the sound department were called together to see if anyone knew how it worked. Nobody did so they just started asking for suggestions. Long story short, a 15 year old kid (me) ended up going from just running speaker wire to setting up all the controls and power amps in about 20 minutes because nobody else could figure out how to do it. I still wonder what would have happened had I not been there that day.

  A couple years later when I started getting into trouble for having girlfriends they told me I couldn't work the sound system at my congregation anymore. That went on for about a week or two when middle school kids tried to do it because the normal brothers were busy doing other stuff. After getting complaints about how horrible things were going I was told that I would be allowed to start doing the work again since I had been repentant. I just told them that I didn't really want to do it anymore. Hey, if they're going to punish me for being a normal kid and take away the one thing I enjoyed doing then they can stick with the crappy work that comes when you let other people do it.