On Tour With Coldplay: Stephen Cutin and Jim Allen
The two Show Production & Touring grads took time out from the tour to catch us up on their careers
Stephen Cutin (left) and Jim Allen
Full Sail grads Stephen Curtin and Jim Allen recently visited campus during an off-day of the work on the second U.S. leg of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida Tour.
As employees of Cleveland-based Eighth Day Sound, Stephen and Jim have both lent their audio skills to a variety of touring acts across the globe. Stephen, System Engineer and Crew Chief for the tour, oversees the bulk of the audio gear that’s used for the show each night.
“I’m there in the morning, emptying out the truck at 8:30 or 9:00, and making sure that all of the gear is up and running before show time,” says the Recording Arts ‘00 grad. Shortly after graduating from Full Sail, Stephen began freelancing at Eighth Day and was eventually hired full-time and given the chance to tour with a diverse line-up of artists in a variety of positions. “I did monitors for 311 for about five years. I recently was doing front of house for Gnarls Barkley, as well as monitors for Tool. At this point, I periodically do work for Whitney Houston, and when I’m not mixing, I’m Crew Chief on whatever tour I’m on.”
In contrast to Stephen’s extensive resume, Jim has just started his career. “I’m pretty fresh,” the Show Production & Touring ’07 grad laughs. Even so, his position as PA tech at Eighth Day has paired him with some huge touring acts. “Two months after I started with Eighth Day, they sent me out with the Foo Fighters for my first tour. I also worked on a Cyndi Lauper tour, and did work with Switchfoot, Jars of Clay, and Robert Randolph. For a first year, it’s been really busy, which is very cool for me.”
The Coldplay tour has found the grads working as part of a 60-person crew, putting on a show that’s epic in its scale. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” Jim enthuses. “All of the people that we work with are really cool, and Coldplay really knows how to work the crowd. It’s quite a production, much more than what I’ve been used to; the whole performance really builds throughout the show and the experience is much more visual than what I’ve done before.”
“There’s a tremendous amount of video and lights,” Stephen confirms. “It’s a huge challenge for us as audio guys to be working with so many other people. We’ve got to work around a lot of other departments to get our stuff out. The rig is huge, and it’s just really a lot of gear, so it takes a lot of preparation to make sure that everything’s going to work properly every day.
“Four songs into the set, the band plays one of their big singles, ‘In My Place,’ and they turn on all the lights in the arena,” he continues. “Everyone in the building is on their feet, yelling as loud as they can,” he continues. “It’s those moments that just make you think, ‘Cool! This is why I do this.’”
While both grads admit that life on the road can be demanding, with 14-hour work days and so much time spent away from friends and family, they are also quick to point out that their careers have taken them to places they’d never dreamt of going to before.
“It’s like being a paid tourist,” Jim smiles. “I was in D.C. the other day on an off-day, and I was exploring the sights and being the ultimate tourist, just thinking, ‘I can’t believe I’m getting paid for this.’”
“I’ve traveled all over the world,” Stephen adds. “This past year alone, I’ve gone to Morocco and Kazakhstan – I don’t know anyone else who can say that they’ve done that!”
As employees of Cleveland-based Eighth Day Sound, Stephen and Jim have both lent their audio skills to a variety of touring acts across the globe. Stephen, System Engineer and Crew Chief for the tour, oversees the bulk of the audio gear that’s used for the show each night.
“I’m there in the morning, emptying out the truck at 8:30 or 9:00, and making sure that all of the gear is up and running before show time,” says the Recording Arts ‘00 grad. Shortly after graduating from Full Sail, Stephen began freelancing at Eighth Day and was eventually hired full-time and given the chance to tour with a diverse line-up of artists in a variety of positions. “I did monitors for 311 for about five years. I recently was doing front of house for Gnarls Barkley, as well as monitors for Tool. At this point, I periodically do work for Whitney Houston, and when I’m not mixing, I’m Crew Chief on whatever tour I’m on.”
In contrast to Stephen’s extensive resume, Jim has just started his career. “I’m pretty fresh,” the Show Production & Touring ’07 grad laughs. Even so, his position as PA tech at Eighth Day has paired him with some huge touring acts. “Two months after I started with Eighth Day, they sent me out with the Foo Fighters for my first tour. I also worked on a Cyndi Lauper tour, and did work with Switchfoot, Jars of Clay, and Robert Randolph. For a first year, it’s been really busy, which is very cool for me.”
The Coldplay tour has found the grads working as part of a 60-person crew, putting on a show that’s epic in its scale. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” Jim enthuses. “All of the people that we work with are really cool, and Coldplay really knows how to work the crowd. It’s quite a production, much more than what I’ve been used to; the whole performance really builds throughout the show and the experience is much more visual than what I’ve done before.”
“There’s a tremendous amount of video and lights,” Stephen confirms. “It’s a huge challenge for us as audio guys to be working with so many other people. We’ve got to work around a lot of other departments to get our stuff out. The rig is huge, and it’s just really a lot of gear, so it takes a lot of preparation to make sure that everything’s going to work properly every day.
“Four songs into the set, the band plays one of their big singles, ‘In My Place,’ and they turn on all the lights in the arena,” he continues. “Everyone in the building is on their feet, yelling as loud as they can,” he continues. “It’s those moments that just make you think, ‘Cool! This is why I do this.’”
While both grads admit that life on the road can be demanding, with 14-hour work days and so much time spent away from friends and family, they are also quick to point out that their careers have taken them to places they’d never dreamt of going to before.
“It’s like being a paid tourist,” Jim smiles. “I was in D.C. the other day on an off-day, and I was exploring the sights and being the ultimate tourist, just thinking, ‘I can’t believe I’m getting paid for this.’”
“I’ve traveled all over the world,” Stephen adds. “This past year alone, I’ve gone to Morocco and Kazakhstan – I don’t know anyone else who can say that they’ve done that!”
