Shannon Mcnally is production manager at Phantom Power in Millersville, PA, and she told us all about it...
How long have you been running sound? How did you get into it?
I've been working in live audio on and off for 10+ years. I started in high school at my church and picked it up again my Senior year in College. While I haven't had much formal training, I've learned a lot from shadowing other engineers, internet searches and discussion boards, and hands on experience.
How did you get hooked up with Phantom Power?
I met the owner of Phantom Power at my previous job as the Venue Manager at Tellus360 and joined the team when he opened Phantom Power in March of 2020.
Any particular highlights? Which bands have been the best to work with?
My highlight is always the end of the shows when the band is packing up and loading out. There's a buzz in the air and everyone's chatting about what just happened the last 3 or so hours. It's hard to pick favorites but I'd have to say Lawrence, Kurt Vile and the Violators, THURSDAY, Felice Brothers, and Joyce Manor. All of their crews were great and it's always a pleasure to have folks who really know their stuff and are great people!
How would you describe the acoustics/layout at Phantom Power?
The main room of the venue is a big concrete box which isn't typically the best, but we've done some acoustic treatment, and once you get 50+ people in the room, the bodies significantly absorb those harsh tones from the loud bands. The building used to be a movie theatre, so the floor is sloped (great for short people like me!) and there is an upstairs balcony. With 6 fills to assist the mains, there really isn't a bad spot in the house to watch a show!
What gear do you use?
Our FOH desk is in the back of house left corner and we also use a tablet to mix out in the house. Our Mains are QSC KLA12 (3 each L&R), QSC Ks118 subs, Midas DL32 Stagebox, QSC PLD 4.2 Processing Amplifiers for the EAW JF80 fill speakers, Clair iO Sound Modeling Processor, Clair SRM Monitors, and Behringer X32 Compact Digital Console.
For more information, visit phantompower.net.
