• INTERNATIONALIssue 39 • May 2011

LIVE • COMMERCIAL • RECORDING • BROADCAST

:;..LIVE SOUND FROM THE FRONT LINES

Jock was straightup, always to the

point and aninspiration to

anyone.

Robert 'Jock' BainDave Swallow's column is dedicated to the memory of Robert 'Jock' Bain ...

This month I want to dedicate all my words to Robert'Jock' Bain, who very sadly past way in April. Thismonth's column was going to be all about PIasa Focus

and the talk I had just given, but it just doesn't feel right.I first met Jock on the 2007 UK Amy Winehouse tour,

where he was my system tech. I had been living in Berlin forjust under a year at that point and Jock, as I found out, spentmost of his time when he was off the road in either Berlin orMelbourne. He pointed me in the direction of some of Berlin'sfiner things that I might not have known if it weren't for him.Jock was one of those people that could pull you under his

wing, and make you feel comfortable in any situation. He wasstraight up, always to the point and an inspiration to anyone,not just sound nerds, who came across him. You could alwaysrely on him to be sitting in the front of the bus, above thedriver sipping a glass of red before quietly slipping off to bed sohe was ready for the following days action - just like a trueprofessional.Jock was a true teacher in the art of sound. He taught me

so much in a very short space of time, and his straight downthe line attitude towards sound is still with me today, and hisinfluence is in the work that I love.

We kept in contact for a short while after that tour, but ashappens a lot in this industry, people move on but they doremain as ghostly images in your mind's eye, resurfacing fromtime to time. It is hard to keep contact with people once youhave finished touring with them. They touch your life in somany ways for such a short period of time, and then we allmove on to the next project. It's not that you forget eachother at all, but you are so wrapped up in what you do andhow you do it, that the next thing you know it's been threeyears since you last spoke.

I've often spent time thinking about Jock, and where he is.and what he's doing. But, there never seems to be enoughhours in the day to quite pick up the phone and call. We areall guilty of this, and this has made me feel extremely hollow.

Seeing the tribute page to him on Facebook makes yourealise how respected he was among his friends and peers, an",for the very short time that I knew him for, I have nothing burgood words and memories to share.

The world of touring is a hard place to exist for such a longperiod of time. Jock isn't the first, and sadly won't be the last.Be there for each other, and let others be there for you.

is a 1S-year veteran FOH engineer who has worked with the likes of Amy Wine -= and La Roux