Concerts are all about sound, but rarely does a concert goer find themselves focusing on the balance of specific audio levels. Audio engineering is an art form and for the past 14 years, Kyle Pace has been sharpening his craft, as a freelance audio systems engineer.

Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Pace, 31, pursued his natural passion in the audio world. He refers to himself as a “really big nerd”, as he enjoys going out and buying college type textbooks on audio mechanics, electronics, etc. and them to expand his knowledge.

Pace broke into the production scene as a stagehand with Anchor Stage Management, a production company in Salt Lake City, UT. “I would go out to Wendover, NV, Friday until Sunday and work the concerts at the Peppermill Concert Hall” Pace recalled. At the time, the company dealt mainly with lighting and staging jobs, so Kyle aspired to work as a lighting technician. He learned about the lights, power, rigging, truss structures, and more, all while maintaining his interest in audio. “When I would work shows that I had the opportunity to play around and ask questions about audio, I did.”

After four years in the field, Pace was hired by Euphoric Beats Audio, at the age of 22. He worked as an entry-level technician and stagehand, while carefully picking up on behind the scenes secrets. Despite his lack of schooling, Pace did the dirty work with aspirations for bigger and better opportunities.

Kyle was offered his first big audio opportunity as the Production Manager for The Complex, a venue in Salt Lake City. There he sought to master his craft and be more than just a fader jockey. He was responsible for audio production, budgets, and worker payouts. When Excision played The Complex, Kyle had his first run-in with PK Sound, a loudspeaker manufacturer and international touring company. “I remember vividly standing at front of house and…when the first drop hit, my throat vibrated,” he said. After his first time experiencing PK Sound live, Pace aspired to push a system and find a sub that would shake his core.

Pace caught his next big break as an audio technician at Cornerstone Technologies, a large production company in Utah that handled solely corporate events. There, Pace befriended Mike Freitag, an Audio Systems Engineer, who quickly became one of his most influential mentors. “He taught me things they don’t teach you in books or in school.”

Based on Kyle’s knowledge of the inventory software, and his ability to create quotes and invoices, Freitag fought for him to become the new Department Manager, while simultaneously taking him under his wing. “With his help over the course of a few years, I advanced further than guys…that had been doing this for 20+ years.” As Manager, he was responsible for overseeing the entire audio team, including price quotes, sound designs, inventory selection, employee payouts and more.

Pace attended InfoComm, the largest professional audiovisual trade show in the United States, as Department Manager. What many in his position would see as a vacation, Pace treated as an opportunity to feed his hunger for bigger opportunities. There he ran into Jeremy Bridge, CEO & President of PK Sound, who saw a hungry professional eager to prove himself. Paces work at that time led him to yet another opportunity on his journey to success. Bridge invited Pace to the Life is Beautiful Festival in 2016, where he had his first Bassnectar experience.

He was blown away.

“I told Arlen (Senior Vice President at PK Sound, and an old friend of Bassnectar) after that set that I wanted to mix a Bassnectar show just once in my life as a bucket list thing.” Being the artistic mind that he is, Pace wanted to experiment with the sound and the dynamic range of Bassnectar’s music.

PK was the bridge connecting Pace to Bassnectar. PK Sound is the technical side and Bassnectar is the artistic side. Kyle was hungry for big opportunities and would not stop until he is full. The combination of Bassnectar and PK is the only thing that could keep him satisfied and gave him what he desires from both a technical and artistic standpoint.

Pace continued to work on some of the largest corporate events in the United States and was able to get a grasp on the aspects of running a multi-million dollar audio division, but still wasn’t fully satisfied. “I felt like there were bigger things for me on the horizon…So I left.” Pace bounced from production company to production company before finally being hired as Lead Audio Manager at Clearwing Productions in Denver. His various experiences helped lead him to the bigger opportunities he received in the future.

In 2017, Pace worked his first PK Sound event manning the Cave of Souls, the second stage at Excision’s Lost Lands Festival in Ohio. “I jumped onto a very strange pirate ship where ‘Bud’ and ‘Aye’ became part of my vocabulary and I’ve never felt like I belonged somewhere so much until PK.” After his performance at Lost Lands, Pace was hired by PK and finally had the financial security and freedom of expression that any artist wants.

Following their 2017 New Year’s event, the Bassnectar team was looking for a new audio technician. Arlen Cormack asked Pace if he would be up for the opportunity, and he accepted and began working with Bassnectar in March of 2018 at Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival.

The opportunity to work for Bassnectar gave Pace what he always wanted, economic stability and artistic freedom. Bassnectar’s style of play grants Kyle with endless possibilities for studying the audio outputs in music. He enjoys developing a better understanding of how different low, middle and high frequencies of the tracks will affect his audio system live. Leading front of house as Bassnectar’s Head Audio Engineer has a lot of high expectations, but Kyle loves it. The team grants him complete freedom to create whatever type of audio system he feels will be most effective. Pace estimates he can design his audio setup in roughly two to three hours. However, when the venue is new, the process to set up the new system is exhausting.

Once the audio configuration is in place, components like visualizers, venue shape, and elevation, which all affect how sound travels, require the audio to be restructured and re-tuned.

As much as volume is important, audio clarity is the most important aspect of the sound to a technician. “The majority of the fan base wants it louder,” Pace said. “People don’t understand that when you turn up the low end…everything needs to be balanced again.” When the levels are turned up this high, the volume is borderline deafening, but “once I start dialing back the masses complain.” Pace advocates for hearing protection, and appreciates artists like Bassnectar and Excision taking the time to offer free earplug options for those fans who come unprepared. He feels guilty when fans detail their suffering from tinnitus or other hearing issues and he is currently in works to try and bring in more earplug vendors to sell their products at these events.

With an artist of Bassnectar’s magnitude, it’s not uncommon for the audio team to be on the road for 5 months or more, making it tough on family members. “It beats you up physically and mentally and hurts the family and the family life,” Pace said. With only festivals needing to be covered, “Bassnectar has been a blessing,” as he is able to do his job and then go home and spend time with his family.

Pace has developed a connection with bass music fans that he hasn’t felt since he was immersed in the punk rock scene as a spectator years ago. “At all these festivals with all these bass heads, I feel more at home, and more comfortable,” he said. He credits bands such as Iron Maiden and Thrice for changing his views on music; “Thrice was my Bassnectar,” he said. Pace never got to work in punk rock, pushing it away to begin his journey to bigger and better opportunities.

Pace spends his downtime appreciating other artists work. He respects the art of acting, finding it to be one of the most pleasing art forms to experience. “Breaking Bad was the first time I felt completely immersed in a TV show,” he said. “My mind is constantly moving and it allows me to escape reality.” Pace appreciates the stimulating components of inter-dimensional art, similar to the visualizer graphics of Tipper and Bassnectar. He loves the work of artists like Justin Casey, of HELM Projects, who maintains all the lasers and lighting at Bassnectar events and works alongside Pace at Front of House.

Audio engineering is an art in itself. Kyle Pace is a master of his craft because he is hungry while others are satisfied. He is an artist, surrounded by artists, helping people experience sound, not just hear it. No matter the level of the opportunity, the rise to this level of success was never easy for Pace. He worked the hard jobs and took the necessary steps to climb the ladder of success, both admirable qualities for a true master of their craft.







